WHERE HAVE ALL THE CANDY GONE?

So Halloween was over. We did not have as many kids visited. There were only a few cute kids with cute outfits. I did not care for teenagers dressing up as hippies or mobsters. At around 8:30 p.m., we decided to shut off the lights in the front porch as we did not expect anymore kids to come by. I immediately hid the candy to stop my husband from eating. The last two years, my husband has gained a lot of weigh (over 60 lbs) and he did not try very hard to curb his intake of sweet and junk food. I did what most parents would be doing after Halloween, trying to get rid of the candy the kids have collected. I brought the left over into the office.

Whenever my husband and I look at the photos on our wedding day and younger years, we would comfort ourselves by saying, "we are chubby now and we are happier". I remember when I used to tie a bandana around my waist and still making two knots at the end. Back then I used to walk ten blocks to get to a subway station to avoid the crowd when transfering from one train to another. A few Saturdays, I would go to the library at Hunter College on 68th Street, then walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 86th Street. That was almost 30 city blocks. No wonder I was 50 lbs lighter compared to my current out-of-shape, never leave home without my automobile, health status.

Last week I picked up a book from the library on weight loss guide for kids by Dr. Susan S. Bartell. At first I thought I would read the book and pass the information on to my brother VL. The books provided suggestions such as controlling the amount of time your child spend on viewing television, no snacking while watching TV, keeping a watchful eye on food (lunch) served at school, the vending machine and unhealthy snacks. Other suggestions include exercise and physical activities that would be interesting, better yet, making it fun and involving the whole family. Something simple such as assigning a chore (taking out the trash, sweeping the floor) could be good to get the child off the couch or a computer game.

I read thru the book and realized that my brother probably already knew about all the suggestions. We live in a world with ever-present temptations and children as well as adults are constantly losing the weight battles. Everyone knows the ways to break the cycle of unhealthy living patterns by eating good nutrition, exercise and engaging in physical activity. It is not too easy trying to putting these into practice. If I was to have a child, I don't know if I could do better or setting a good example with my husband and I are both overweight.

Last week I went to the Boxing Gym after work, Monday thru Thursday. I still enjoy my kickboxing classes. I am trying to encourage my husband to find an exercise that is fun for him. He has cut down on his intake of soda but still has a long way to go with his weight. We tried hypnosis, we tried an eight-week program of auriculotheraphy (stimulation of the external ears or ear acupuncture), none worked! These treatments were supposed to make the person feel full quicker to lessen the intake of food, thus losing weight. Again, along with the treatment, the person must modify his diet and suppress temptations to consume unhealthy food and to regularly exercise.

I am embarrassed and disapointed to report that none of these treatments helped my husband. I won't even tell how much we paid for these treatments. I just hope that it will not take something serious to happen to get my husband to realize that his health is in danger.