BigStar

Too hot; our members are extremely sensitive to the Thai climate, as it's never hot in the UK. Hence we can't wear trousers when reporting to Immigration. One man found that a bum bag and a camera are practical. You may not get far, however. --https://www.pattayamail.com/news/naked-foreigner-takes-a-stroll-through-pattaya-405838 Not sure about "camera," though. Our hipsters all know that a phone will suffice, with photos of one's passport.

Robert Atkins with his real food as opposed to all these simple-minded caricatures by the ignorant:

But, predictably, you've failed to delve into the details of how he came to weigh so much at the autopsy. Reading little news reports by hack journalists, as we often do here (cf. Twinkie diet), to fit a convenient narrative doesn't get you to an objective view of a matter.

Yes, but you see the enemies of the diet will always blame a death on the diet, as you did Atkins. Gary Taubes talks about this ironically in one of his books. Whatever he dies of, when he dies, a large audience of followers of other diets will attribute the cause to his low carbs, even though they dunno and even his doctors probably won't know.

The first can be thrown out as he neglects to mention the combo of fats/carbs as I noted. The second posits a straw man argument. No low carb guru says "eat like an Eskimo." None say "eat only meat." Eskimos never went into ketosis. And he seems to confuse early observations of Eskimos a century ago with more recent. He neglects mention of Eskimo healthcare system vs that enjoyed by modern vegans. And he cites a study of two female mummies a thousand years old whose arteriosclerosis can be explained by smoke inhalation; and the vitamin deficiency in part by sedentary living in an igloo. Meanwhile we have an impressive study authored by McDougall here that lacks a control group: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25311617/ and a further impressive three paragraphs here "refuting" the idea that vegans can be nutrient deficient. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3854817/ Why not read some real researchers or watch an objectively informative video by real researcher? I leave you with a proud modern vegan, Lizzo, as pinup for the day. Lots of these in the States. ????

Vegan propaganda and a myth up there with our beloved "exercise killed James Fixx." How come you're not mentioning H. Jay Dinshah, the "American veganism activist and natural hygiene proponent who was the founder and president of the American Vegan Society" who died at age 66 of a heart attack? Amazing how hard it is to find info about that early death.

You may be interested in this: We briefly review recent evidence that obesity can also be induced by nondietary sources of fructose, such as from the metabolism of glucose (from high-glycemic carbohydrates) through the polyol pathway. These studies suggest that fructose-induced obesity is driven by engagement of a “fat switch” and provide novel insights into new approaches for the prevention and treatment of these important diseases. --Uric Acid, the Thrifty Gene, and the Predisposition of Humans to Fructose-Containing Sugars In the 18th and 19th centuries, England was the first country to have an obesity and gout epidemic owing to overconsumption of sugar. --Sack and sugar, and the aetiology of gout in England between 1650 and 1900

So then you'll agree with my point that he conveniently ignores the combo of fat and carbs. Elsewhere, he cites a flawed study in favor of carbs while he ignores that the meat-eaters had a much greater incidence of smoking, explaining the poorer results. ???? You see, nobody denies (to once again mention our FAVORITE straw man argument) you can lose weight on most any diet. The low carb gurus all say exactly that, while our ace Nutritionists lie about them. I dunno why we don't just point to Weight Watchers and be done with it. Probably the most successful diet of all time and one of the oldest established programs. There, no foods are off limits!

Any diet's better than SAD. He'll finally fall back on calorie restriction, and weight loss can only be helpful. Counseling is extremely helpful and is in a way, cheating. The real test is with the independents who try to go it alone. There you'll find few who are able to overcome their insulin resistance with sugar and starches because they get too hungry and overconsume. The big success stories at overcoming T2D are in low carb. --https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6695889/

No. McDougall is correct that the fat you eat becomes the fat you wear, and eventually become diabetic as your metabolism becomes impaired, but then he's ignoring the excessive carbs typically eaten with the fat by those who become overweight. So simplistic it can only be marketing.

Most expats, like, say, 88% of the USA population are insulin resistant, however. So advice in favor of sugar and carbs, always with the proviso that "if you're healthy" (and of course aren't going to get unhealthy by growing addicted to sugar and carbs)--that advice can't be useful for them. Big Food and Pharma would disagree. Since Judy Durham of The Seekers died the other day, we should play a tune for you and other sugar promoters that Coke expropriated:

Ironically, veganism and hence your Dr. McDougall have a religious origin in the Seventh Day Adventists. Explains some of the fanaticism. So McDougall claims that "studies go back to the Christian Bible" show that "we are starch eaters." Certainly needs a closer reading of the Scripture. And the medical lit he cites here and there. All our members considering giving credibility to McDougall as an objective source of info should watch him in action ranting here: Seem to be suffering from growing senility at age 72.

Been some movement on this issue. I dropped by last Thursday and was told that during Happy Hour (1 - 5 PM) bottled beers, mixed drinks and cocktails are 1/2 off--for customers. Ladies drinks are still B160, however, even for a barfined lady. I promptly changed from my usual draft (B69) to bourbon and water. So I checked the website and found no expiration date on the offer. May have something to do with the 44th Anniversary. The big party's coming up on the 16th. Furthermore, I see there's a new Happy Hour from 11:30 PM to 12:30 AM. Word seems to be getting around, because business was pretty good for a random weekday in low season. If interested, read more about the promotion on the site. May it be permanent! https://tahitianqueen.com

Too big for the Americans. But the good news is that Aliexpress has The Brit Uniform in sizes that'll fit, if the Brit can overcome his bigotry against Chinese (avoiding the usual offensive racial slur, now contrary to forum rules). The beloved checked shirt, which could look like the crumpled version from an East End Thrift Shop after some wearings: And the mandatory cargo pants: Up to sizes 12XL or so. I dunno about white socks and sandals but probably. Just do a search for "[ITEM] men big size" on the site. https://www.aliexpress.com/

In Musk we trust.

The initial hsp wasn't Queen Sirikit but the other smaller Navy hsp in Sattahip. Got an X-ray, good; problem not obvious from the X-ray, and doc recommended seeing a specialist if anti-inflammatory didn't help. Reasonable first step that cost little. So the next step, assuming no efforts or success at self-therapy, would be the specialist. If cost-conscious, seeing a specialist at QS could be useful, but time-consuming of course even if the location's convenient. Must be some competent orthopedic surgeons there as one member had two hip replacements at Sirikit; no complaints, evidently. Sheryl has given the recommendation for the best-known knee expert, Dr. Panya at Bumrungrad. An MRI there would be relatively expensive, if quick, but it could be obtained for lower cost at an MRI center. I saw one ortho at BPH re: a case of tennis elbow. The diagnosis and solution was, "Yep, tennis elbow, here's a script for paracetamol at our pharmacy." In fact he and I seemed to share a mutually poor impression of each other. I skipped the paracetamol, ordered a Theraband flexbar from Amazon, did the exercise and stretching and fixed the problem myself. I'd not go back. Hammers tend to see only nails, esp if they work at private hsps. Friend of mine saw two surgeons recommending hernia ops to the tune of B200,000+. A third at Phyathai Siricha assured him no op was needed. Dr. Olivier in PTY later agreed with that diagnosis. Made sense: both hernias are very small and causing no problems or foreseeable problems. A team of researchers at ETH Zurich, a Swiss university, asked a volunteer patient with three tiny, shallow cavities to visit 180 randomly selected dentists in Zurich. The Swiss Dental Guidelines state that such minor cavities do not require fillings; rather, the dentist should monitor the decay and encourage the patient to brush regularly, which can reverse the damage. Despite this, 50 of the 180 dentists suggested unnecessary treatment. --https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/the-trouble-with-dentistry/586039/ If you can't trust Swiss dentists, who can you trust? But I'm sure Dr. Panya would give an honest, objective opinion recommending conservative treatment if possible.

Having a knee in working order will have numerous advantages of course, but helping you to lose weight isn't one of them, so you can go ahead and start working on that issue now by seriously dieting. Good idea. If you follow usual forum nutritional advice--starve 'n' sweat, push away from the table, and unprocessed foods--you'd have done it already. If that were easy to do, 88% of the USA wouldn't be metabolically unhealthy. I won't bother going into what the usual issues are, but they mostly boil down to hunger. Hunger always wins. Few know much about low carb here or are misinformed; and it gets a lot of hostility maybe because it implies giving up some foods sacred to the membership and a hard life of misery, like the one I lead. ???? But low carb + intermittent fasting is a great combo. So you can continue w/ Berg (he's good 'nuff) or browse some forums with sympathetic dieters, success stories, and some expert info: https://reddit.com/r/owcarb/ https://reddit.com/r/keto/ https://reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/ https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/ https://forum.lowcarber.org/index.php

Queen Sirikit can do MRIs, will take time & patience, gov't hsp. Take your current record, get an appt w/ the ortho dept. Talk to the low level ortho, show your records, note you've done the pills already and doc told you to see a knee specialist, try to get appt w/ knee specialist there, then get appt for the MRI. May need a new appt w/ the knee specialist for interpretation of the MRI result. You can also get a copy of the MRI and take it to a knee specialist elsewhere for a 2nd opinion.

Just a matter of time. Overweight friends of mine had no issues but then finally ended up with knee replacements. Lose weight.

Typical that the only possible remedies you'll get here are pills, creams, injections, supplements, and surgery; i.e., nothing that might involve any effort on your part and spending little to no money. Effort, OMG. I love this forum. First thing to do would be to try some physical rehab on your own that might well fix your problem IF you keep at it consistently a couple of months. Lots of free vids on youtube, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbe_DqMJfzg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSZkzh4BaxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikt6NME0k9E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UxUfRb619A And if you can't work on your own, you can also see a good physical therapist if you can find one. Maybe the members will have some recommendations; had some in a thread not too long ago here. Mostly we like to resort to physical therapy only after we've had surgery first, however.???? Doctors much prefer it that way as well, of course. You can also use a knee brace for a while to supplement the rehab. It's not a fix. Cheap on Lazada or Alieexpress. Nothing I don't do myself. I do some strengthening exercises, stretching, foam rolling, and massage to keep my knees rockin' along. Just massage is rather helpful; got that from Bob & Brad. I do it manually on the kneecaps and use a foam roller or sometimes a massage gun on the muscles surrounding. So that's it. Getting ready for my walk on the beach (sun's out!) and then up 15 flights of stairs.

The good news is that those waiting 25 years already for the prices of Royal Garden Cliff condos to colappse will be happy to learn that in only 5 more years they can pick up one for mere satang on the baht. ???? Can you hold your breath? Somebody go get the Imminent Collapse report. How long is a piece of string? We’re all still strong believers in the AN/TVF Mausoleum Principle: unlike in other countries, a Thai(land) construction/development/business establishment must last eternally, like the Great Pyramids, maintenance-free. So it’s been seriously wondered why Thais can’t build roads like Romans. Why does this country’s roads have potholes, unlike those in the UK? Thais! Well, I think we can all rest easy now that they probably won’t fall until the year 3000, certainly beyond any of our lifetimes, so again it’s a good time to buy. Why? AN (TVF) predictions are excellent reverse indicators. A recent prediction that the old Tops building would be a casino was how we knew it would most definitely NOT be a casino. But besides the portentous Economic, Financial, and Market Forecasts, we have such in Construction Engineering as well. Some of our Engineers still wait for the predicted collapse of the Central Festival mall. And we have a few in the closet still eagerly anticipating the flooding of the Tunnel. One has confessed to the comforting thought that it WILL flood whenever a typhoon hits Pattaya. Which could happen just any day now. Another has vowed to watch forever for land subsidence and the collapse of businesses near the Tunnel. Waiting, waiting . . . . A forum prediction never expires, ever. It’s good that we still have some still around to stir the pot. Sadly, you see, the ranks of our ace Construction Engineers were decimated after the first big rain following the completion of the Tunnel, that complete bodge job. The horrendous disillusionment and disappointment proved too much for many to bear. A Known Certainty demolished; worse, a basic principle of Forum Construction Engineering-- water naturally flows uphill, not downhill (hence into, not away from, the Tunnel) --shown the usual utter nonsense. And all the bigotry against Thais, too stupid to build a tunnel (never mind Chiang Mai) shown for what it is. Not that this mattered in the slightest, of course. For days you could hardly walk around Soi Buakhao without hearing the thud of another Bigot Engineer hitting the ground nearby after jumping from a balcony. It was like the ending of a Doomsday Cult but without the promise of redemption.

Same here. But the OP's question was answered long ago. Problem is, many of our members, who claim never do anything unnecessary--merely eat, drink, bonk, sleep and defecate--are afflicted with the dread Pink Card Derangement Syndrome. So they absolutely MUST rehash the same old arguments about why they and nobody needs any stinkin' yellow book or pink card and how they're actually invalid for everything.???? It's all based on a straw man argument. First, nobody cares whether YOU have a pink card. AND in fact owners of YBs and PCs have all agreed they aren't necessary, merely convenient sometimes; and they listed, for the umpteenth time, the conveniences. They're multiple. And I've found mine convenient. I do need my card for proving my identity and account at my registered hsp for Thai SS. I used the yellow book to avoid having to get and pay for a CR to renew my DL. Yes, I really did. And after I got a property tax bill, I also found that showing the yellow book at the City Hall Tax Office would enable me to avoid paying tax on my primary residence--forever. Officer promptly canceled my current bill and told me ignore future bills.???? Nice; you keep paying yours if you like or find a workaround using your passport and driving license or whatever. As for acquiring them (another INSURMOUNTABLE OBSTACLE), I found it a fairly trivial matter even in Pattaya, which understandably has some of the strictest requirements, given all the riff-raff. Rather enjoyable, actually. Joked around w/ the ladies, gave my phone number to one (still waiting), met the Mayor and his capos in his big office overlooking Pattaya Nua, gave my witnesses some nice little gifts (all smiles) . . . . So, just do a google search for "yellow book" and Pink ID" on the forum and read countless thread with the same tired arguing. And let's stick a fork in this thread. It's done.????

Well, there you have to ask for the "extra mesh" with the op, as when you order extra chicken (piset) with your chicken and rice dish. More than fifteen years ago I had two hernias repaired, open surgery, mesh, at Queen Sirikit. No special order. They've been just fine since.????

Meet a fellow Kiwi stuck in NZ who'd much prefer to sit "it" out, whatever "it" is (you admit you dunno), in Thailand: I know where you are coming from. I'd give anything to be able to live in LOS the rest of my life ( in the style I was used to- I'm not talking about existing in a 2,000 baht a month hovel, eating rice every meal and not ever having a nice lady to sleep with ). --Why isn't every male in the UK living in thailand? I should stop sitting "it" out at the beach in Pattaya as I've been enjoying all these years? Can't think of any reason why. Been doing more than just sitting, actually. I guess, as P. D. Mangan says, One man's way of life is another's harsh discipline.???? Maybe. Who knows? Well, have you started the planning? Ideal would be to fall off a Pattaya barstool, beer in hand, as half-nekkid black-haired angels dance above your corpse to celebrate your Ascension. So far I haven't been muddling, so I'm not sure why'd start. Sounds more like you're muddling in NZ. Now if China and "the west" go to war, Kiwis will no doubt be affected as well. Perhaps it's time to re-watch On The Beach (1959).????

I had such lousy service from 3BB I terminated my contract early and took the hit. Went with TOT, much maligned here, and have had excellent service.