Sunday, Knitting up a Storm

Alpaca and Silk Saroyan

I’m still working on finishing my daughter’s sweater, my sister in law’s scarf (photo above) and the Knitting Guild’s, Basics, Basics, Basics class. And I’m starting to feel kind of panicked.  If I don’t get these UFOs (UnFinished Objects) — how am I ever going to get to all the other lovely scarves that are calling my name?

And what about my original knitting theory: that if I’m knitting, I’m not eating?

Why Diets Make You Fatter — And What to Do About It

In this experiment, a group of dieters and a group of nondieters were given the task of comparing ice cream flavors. Participants in each group were divided into three subgroups. Before getting the ice cream, the first subgroup was asked to drink two milkshakes, the second subgroup was asked to drink one milkshake, and the third subgroup wasn’t given any milkshakes. Next, the researchers offered the groups three flavors of ice cream and asked the participants to rate the flavors, eating as much ice cream as they desired.

The results revealed that the nondieters ate as you might expect: those who hadn’t consumed any milkshakes ate the most ice cream, those who’d consumed one milkshake ate less ice cream, and those who’d consumed two milkshakes ate the least. The dieters, by contrast, reacted in the opposite way. Those who were offered no milkshakes before the taste test ate small amounts of ice cream, those who drank one shake ate more ice cream, and those who’d consumed two milkshakes ate the most ice cream!

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The dieters, however, reacted in the opposite way — the more milkshakes they consumed, the more ice cream they ate. Why did they lose the capacity to regulate their intake? According to the researchers, this “counterregulation” occurs because a milkshake preload disinhibits a dieter’s usually inhibited or restrained eating, almost like a switch: “I’ve blown it anyway, so I might as well keep eating before I go back on my diet.” This is an almost irresistible incentive to go on eating well past physical fullness.

That is supposed to be news? Come on — The part I don’t get is how they got a bunch of “dieters” to participate in an all-you-can-eat-ice cream experiment!

Here in Kansas City the news is all about the huge storm that’s coming. Thanks to Susie Madrak, I now know that it’s another mega-storm — Take a look at that graphic. OMG. Enough is enough. Isn’t it?

Ah, well. More time for knitting, I guess.