Yesterday i ran across a BBC news story about a "global fat scale." It seems some brilliant researchers have compiled information from the UN and WHO and have a calculator that can tell you where you stand.
Since i enjoy such things, i plugged in my information. With my current height and weight measurements, according to this calculator i compare to women my age in Bangladesh.
Then i decided to plug in the highest weight i had ever been. Since i bounced up and down the scale like a yo yo for 30 years before getting my weight under control, i thought it would be interesting to see how far i had come.
It is interesting. As i have said, i was obese, and at that point larger for my height than over 90% of the women on the planet.
This sobered me up greatly. It got me thinking about what could have happened to me if i hadn't decided to get my act together just over 7 years ago.
It was simple (eat good food not trash, dummy! i told myself over and over), but not easy, like so much of life. This former major sugar addict managed to kick the habit, something i thought i could never do.
Each of us has something big in our lives that we have managed to change or overcome. For me, it was sugar as my drug of choice and fad diets that led to heartbreak and worse health.
What's your story? What did you fight to overcome or break, that has taken you to a new level in your life?
Today is
Be a Dork Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays, which encourages you to wear goofy clothes and fall off a swing set today and be proud of Dorkiness
Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim -- Istanbul, Turkey (about 750 swimmers cross the Bosphorus Strait from Asia to Europe)
Cigarette Warning Day -- anniversary of the 1968 law passed in the US that requires health warnings on cigarette packaging
Codman Estate Antique Auto Sho -- Codman Estate, Lincoln, MA, US (a day to appreciate antique and classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, and fire engines)
Concours D'elegance -- Forest Grove, OR, US (one of the premier vintage auto shows in the US)
Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival -- University of Fairbanks, AK (a unique study and performance festival; through the 29th)
Feast of Rowana/Rauni -- Druid/Cornish/Flemish (rowan tree goddess; date approximate)
Festival of Castor and Pullox -- Ancient Roman Calendar every five years (celebrated with a cavalry and chariot procession)
Festival of Santa Rosalia -- Palermo; Sicily (remembrance of the Patron saint of the city on the date, in 1624, when she stopped the plague)
Galla Bayramy -- Turkmenistan (celebration of the wheat harvest)
Gorestnici -- Bulgaria (fire festival of 3 days duration, honoring the ancient belief that these are the 3 hottest days of the year)
Gummi Worm Day
Hakata Gion Yamagasa -- Kushida Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan (festival of floats, dates back to the 13th century, includes dousing teams carrying one ton floats with water as they race!)
Hundadagar -- Icelandic tradition, the "dog days" of summer begin, through Aug. 23
Ides of July -- Ancient Roman Calendar
I Love Horses Day -- all over the web with no specific reason given
La Festa del Redentore / Feast of the Redeemer -- Venice, Italy (procession of gondolas and other craft to commemorate the end of the epidemic of 1575; through tomorrow)
Luxembourg Beer Festival -- Diekirch, Luxembourg
National Ice Cream Day -- since it's always the 3rd Sunday in July, the trick is to eat it fast enough that it doesn't melt, but not so fast that you get a brain freeze!
National Tapioca Pudding Day
No-Hitter Day -- George Bradley of the St. Louis Brown Stockings pitched the first officially recognized no-hitter in MLB against the Hartford Dark Blues on this date in 1876
Petal-Hopping for Beginners Day -- Fairy Calendar
Respect Canada Day -- because Canada deserves it!
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival -- Santa Fe, NM, US (through Aug. 20; 40th year of this highly acclaimed chamber music festival that draws international talent)
St. Bonaventure's Day (Patron against intestinal problems; of Bagnoregio, Italy; Cochiti Indian Pueblo; St. Bonaventure University, New York)
St. Swithin's Day -- Saint Swithin's Society Annual Celebration in Toronto, ON, Canada; the weather prognostication associated with this saint says if it rains today, it will rain for the next 40 days (Patron against drought; of Stavenger, England; Winchester, England)
St. Vladimir of Kiev's Day (Patron of converts, parents of large families, reformed and penitant murderers; Russia; Ukranian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut; Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Sultan's Birthday -- Brunei Darussalam
Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival -- Dorset, England; through the 17th
Birthdays Today
Tanner Maguire, 1998
Emily Roeske, 1991
Brian Austin Green, 1973
Beth Stern, 1972
Forest Whitaker, 1961
Kim Alexis, 1960
Jesse Ventura, 1951
Linda Ronstadt, 1946
Jan-Michael Vincent, 1944
Alex Karras, 1935
Clive Cussler, 1931
Mother Fraqnces Xavier Cabrini, 1850
Thomas Bulfinch, 1796
Clement Clarke Moore, 1779
Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1606
Today in History
Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege, 1099
John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, 1381
Alexei Chirikov sights land and sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska, 1741
The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, 1799
Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Belle Fountaine to explore the west, 1806
Napoléon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon, 1815
A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, 1823
Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union, 1870
The stratovolcano Mount Bandai, Japan, erupts killing approximately 500 people, 1888
In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing), 1916
Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others, 1955
AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation; the Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day, 2003
I don't know, I think I am still in training for the next level of my life!
ReplyDeleteKay, there is always that.
ReplyDeleteHow cool there's a Respect Canada Day.
ReplyDeleteI finally realized that I was not the international man of mystery that I envisioned myself to be and settled on the reality of being a chubby chatterbox.
ReplyDeleteI celebrate be a dork day often ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't feel like I can say I am at the point that I have overcome my biggest struggle in life (food). I'm still working on creating who I am and learning and growing each day. It's a long process, isn't it?
I am overcoming Depression, anxiety, ADD, a bad attitude towards life, pessimism and in general all around being snarky.
ReplyDeleteLeah, i like that one, too.
ReplyDeleteStephen, it's good to know where you stand with yourself, isn't it?
Jaki, we are all still "in recovery" our whole lives.
John, my own laundry list might be different, but it is equally long, i promise.
Nicely done-taking good care of yourself! Pat yourself on the back !
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue to overcome was to become more selfish. I was taking care of everyone but myself. Took awhaile and I only backslide a bit when we have folks come visit! Cheers.