Keeping the Old Wreck Afloat

Yanks in the Windy City Department!!

2011-08-01T22:08:00.007-05:00

PINSTRIPERS TAKE 1ST GAME

OF THE CHICAGO SERIES!!

SOME THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT'S SWEET WIN!!

1. This was a game the Yanks won in typical fashion lately! Good starting pitching, timely hitting and making the opposing team pay big for mistakes!

2. CC Sabathia gets my player of the game for winning his 16th game! He actually seemed to get stronger as the game went on!! 6 K's on 104 pitches!!

3. Honorable Mention to Granderson who did the timely hitting with a big double and a big run scored later on!! The man is still on a roll!!

4. I watched the game on MLB.com TV which meant I had to deal with Hawk "He Gone!!" Harrelson. If I don't get YES next year I will upgrade to get Yankee announcers on MLB.Com!

5. Chicago killed two of their own rallys by not standing fast on line drives. We got to big line out double plays because Pale Hose runners were off at the crack of the bat!!

6. Red Sox took it on the chin to Cleveland. Yanks only 1 game out now!!

Hughes gets the start tomorrow. Everyone says he has stuff but he keeps getting hit somehow! We really need him to have a great game!! Danks on the mound for White Sox with an 0.61 ERA in the last 3 games.

White Knuckle Time!!!

Asleep at the Wheel Department

2011-07-31T19:27:00.002-05:00

POWER NAPPING 101

Power napping is a 50/50 proposition for me! I have had good results and bad results!!

Sometimes I will be totally refreshed and other times I will be groggy as hell!!

I decided to dig around cyberspace for some advice and tidbits on how to do the perfect power nap!!

1. Do a hit of Caffeine before you you nod off! Apparently the caffeine will hit you nervous system right about the time you wake up if your nap is a short one!! You will have the combined effect of the speed buzz hitting at the same time your brain is rebooting from the nap!!

2. Set you mobile timer for the right amount of time - How much time the perfect nap tapes is a matter of experimentation. Go to long and you will get into too deep a sleep. My best results are somewhere between 10-15 minutes. Perfect for a lunch break!!

3. Sleeping more than 30 minutes could cause "Sleep Inertia" which means you won't thaw out for quite some time! I recommend staying under 20 minutes from my personal research!!

4. Once your nap is over do something active. Quick walk. Throw some clothes in the washer. Quick push ups on a chest of drawers, etc. Signal you body that the party is over and it's time to Rock and Roll!!

5. If you are at your desk and no one is around. Just hang your head and close your eyes for a couple minutes! Then grab a cup of Joe. I am surprised how much that even helped!!

6. Pretend the lottery commission just called and told you where to pick up you check! A quick fantasy is a great way to come out of slumber land!!

I only take power naps when I absolutely have to. Only when I feel like I just took a Mike Tyson right cross and have to nod out!!

The power nap is a bit of risk but can be very useful if your willing to take the time to perfect the process!!

Yanks win again Department!!

2011-07-31T16:49:00.001-05:00

YANKS WIN OVER O's 4-2!!

QUICK THOUGHTS:

- Great to see the Yankees lock it down after the 6th inning. Noesi, Robertson and Rivera! If we can do this consistently we will be in great shape!! DRob was a monster on the mound!! Not sure why Joe took out Noesi all of a sudden but the result can't be argued with!!

- Teixeira looks totally back in the groove now going 2-3! We need him to produce with ARod out.

- My players of the game were Gardy for delivering a huge hit to put us in the lead and Garcia for only giving up 2 runs and getting 6K's. Honorable mention to DRob!!

- Jeter got plunked and had to be taken out of the game because he couldn't really throw. Looks like its a day to day thing. Most like miss about 2 games according to Roto.

- Love when Yes has Paul O'Neill and Ken Singleton together with Kay. Singleton has a great voice and O'Neill is a major smile!!

- I usually watch the game MLB.com TV on my laptop since the stream breaks up to much on regular PC. For some reason, I got a big treat when I was able to watch on my regular PC with the big screen and speakers. Hope that keeps happening!!!

Common Sense Weight Loss in the Hot Summer Department

2011-07-31T11:28:00.001-05:00

IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!!

Sweet common sense article that was on Trusted MD!!

Makes a great review of all the stuff we have learned but have not put into play thanks to all the fun in the summertime!!

Common Sense Tips for Effective Weight Loss

by vmiller | Fri, 08/21/2009 - 4:44pm | permalink

Featured in: Nutrition & Life

Weight loss doesn't have to be the complicated ordeal that most fad diets and weight loss programs make it out to be.

With all the various weight loss products and programs that exist today, you’d think that weight loss is a very complex and difficult thing to accomplish. Fortunately, with the right perspective, it’s not complicated at all.

For most people, not understanding the basic principles of a healthy lifestyle is what makes weight loss seem so elusive.
The following are 5 common sense tips to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

1. Avoid Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates
The typical modern diet consists almost entirely of processed foods. Many of these foods are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates which are two very common causes of weight gain. This often causes blood sugar levels to increase rapidly, and in turn, promote the storage of body fat. For many people, eliminating or severely restricting processed foods from their diet is all that’s necessary for effective weight loss. I unintentionally lost 30 pounds, which I didn’t even realize I needed to lose, after eliminating processed foods from my diet for health reasons.

2. Eat Real Food
By real food I mean the natural whole foods that we evolved on. This includes meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. It does not include modern foods such as bread, cereal, and pasta. Even if you choose whole grain varieties of these foods, they still contain a considerable amount of carbohydrates despite not having as much sugar. As such, they can still easily promote weight gain. Focusing mainly on meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables will simplify your diet by automatically ruling out nearly all foods that commonly cause weight gain.
The high nutritional content of whole foods will also help to satisfy your appetite and will reduce the chances of you overeating. If you don’t believe this, try to remember the last time you felt stuffed from eating too much processed food versus feeling stuffed from eating too much fruit and vegetables.
Most importantly, eating natural whole foods will also promote optimal health.

3. Minimize Stress
In addition to the popularity of processed foods, most people are leading very busy lives and are exposed to significant amounts of stress on a daily basis. This can be a significant obstacle for weight loss. Frequent stress causes a chronic elevation of the hormone cortisol, which in turn, can promote increased insulin production.

One of insulin’s primary responsibilities is to store body fat, and as such, stress is something that people looking to loose weight should be especially aware of.

A few simple ways to relieve stress include eliminating as many sources of unnecessary stress as possible, reframing your negative thoughts into positive ones, using deep breathing exercises, enjoying nature, and enjoying slow and relaxing music. Mild forms of exercise such as tai chi, qigong, and stretching can be very relaxing as well.

4. Do Interval Training
Even though diet is by far the most important aspect of weight loss, most people attempt to overcompensate for poor eating habits by exercising excessively. This is made evident by the people who do long bouts of intensive cardio nearly every day and fail to lose weight. This is a tremendous burden to the body, and like mental stress, can interfere with weight loss. This type of repetitive physical burden can also cause adrenal fatigue and promote poor health.
A much better way to exercise for weight loss is high intensity interval training which consists of a number of short but intense repetitions of activity such as sprinting or cycling. One of the best aspects of high intensity interval training is that it can cause your body to continue burning calories at an elevated rate for up to 48 hours after your workout.

5. Make it a Lifestyle
A common mistake that people make with their approach to weight loss is believing that they can make temporary changes to lose weight and then return to their normal habits. It doesn’t work this way. A healthy lifestyle will help you lose weight, but you’ll only keep the weight off for as long as you’re continuing to follow the lifestyle. This is why many fad diets don’t work long term. In many cases, they’re simply to impractical to follow for the rest of your life.
As you make changes to your lifestyle to promote weight loss, consider if these are changes that you’re willing to stick with for the rest of your life. If they’re not, it’s likely that you’ll regain any weight that you lose as a result of implementing them.

Health Comes First
The tips outlined above aren’t meant to be a quick fix specifically intended for weight loss. They’re merely common sense principles of good health. Weight loss is a pointless endeavor if it ends up detracting from your health and compromising your quality of life which is exactly what can happen if you approach it the wrong way. As such, the best way to lose weight is the healthy way which is by following the lifelong principles of a healthy lifestyle.

Full article: 5 Common Sense Tips for Effective Weight Loss | Trusted.MD Network http://trusted.md/blog/vmiller/2009/08/21/5_common_sense_tips_for_effective_weight_loss#ixzz1ThVjNquI

Visit Our Health Blogging Network Trusted.MD

Piecemeal Exercise Department

2011-05-08T19:48:00.008-05:00

PIECEMEAL EXERCISE SAVES THE DAY!!

There is no rule that says we have to do our exercise all at once!!

Its amazing how much exercise you can do during commercial breaks while watching sports all night on TV!!

I gave this a try while watching baseball playoff games a couple years back and was able to do over 100 push ups and 100 bicep curls!!
When I tried to find out more information about piecemeal exercise I found an article in About.com by Paige Waehner that said the following about how everyday people fared working out in at different times of the day!

They were able to stick to their workouts more consistently
They exercised more days a week than the long-bout group
They accumulated more exercise time each week than the long-bout group
They lost more weight, an average of 19 lbs versus 14 lbs for the long-bout group

Today, I really wanted to watch the Yankee Game, get my laundry done and run some errands.

I was able to accomplish all that and still get in a 5 mile walk and also do over 100 Push ups and Bicep Curls!

I did my 5 Mile walk in 3 increments and did the strength training during the commercials!

Turned out to be more than I would have ever done during one my hour workouts at the gym!!

Yankee Thoughts (Texas Post Game 5/8)

2011-05-08T17:36:00.004-05:00

WHAT A GAME!!

BRONX BATS WERE BOOMING!!

QUICK POSTGAME NOTES:

- Great to see Jeter come out of his funk!! 2 Dingers and 3 RBI's. Huge day for Mon Capitan!!

- Cervelli (The Cisco Kid) comes through with Grand Salami to let us know that he's back in the fold!!

- ARod still in his funk both offensively and defensively. Wish we could have had Chavez in there.

- Sabathia was a total professional and gutted through a tough day to keep the Yanks in the Game.

- Granderson is on Fire!! I think it was the visit to New Zealand since I am a huge Rugby Fan!!

- Joba, Soriano and Pendleton gave up no runs! Really starting to like Pendleton......

- I loved Teixiera's crank!! Ruthian suborbital shot into the stands. Very "Babe" like!!

- I think the warmer weather in Texas agrees with Pink Yankee Bats!!

Consistency Matters Department!!!

2011-02-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

I got this little tidbit of info from Shape Magazine. It was an article written by Alla Byrne called "Exercise advice from Jessica Simpson's Trainer"

“You can have the greatest trainers in the world get together and devise a workout plan for you, but if you only do it once a week, you’re not going to get the same results as someone who works with a mediocre trainer, but exercises four days a week. Also, the more consistent you are with your workouts, the less intense your sessions have to be. And again, diet is very important. I think people start to work out and they see it as an excuse to eat whatever they want. Sadly, that’s not the case.”

The One Less Excuse Department!!

2011-02-07T16:44:00.003-05:00

This popped up on a "Health Habits" Tweet! It's nice to know people with little time to spend on working out have options. I prefer the longer workout with interval training thrown in on the Elliptical!!

This also eliminates the "I don't have enough time" excuse!!

IMPROVE YOUR HEART WITH SHORT WORKOUTS!!

A recent study has concluded that short bouts of high intensity exercise is as effective at improving the structure and function of your heart’s arteries as the traditional long duration cardio-vascular training.

Participants in the study were divided into two groups:

* The “sprint” group performed only 3 workouts per week. Each workout consisted of 4 to 6 sets of 30 second sprints on an exercise bike. The participants pedaled slowly for 4 1/2 minutes between sets of sprints.
* The “cardio” group worked out 5 times per week. Each workout consisted of 40-60 min of cycling at 65% of their VO2peak.

After 6 weeks, both groups showed similar improvement of arterial structure and function.
Why Is This Important?

Traditionally, as we age, our arteries become stiff and lose their ability to dilate. This leads to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

And if you don’t know why that is important, please click the above links and spend some time at the Mayo Clinic site. You might be visiting sooner than you think.
Let’s Review

Sprint of High Intensity Interval Training is as effective as Endurance or Cardio training at preventing age related arterial stiffening.

That’s Good.

Sprint training requires a commitment of 20-30 minutes, 3 times per week (60-90 min per week) to effect that improvement.

That’s Good.

Endurance training requires 40-60 minutes, 5 times per week (200-300 min per week) to effect the desired improvement.

If you are like the rest of us time starved North Americans, that is Not so Good.

It’s your choice.

Health Habits Site

Pump or Puke Department!!

2011-02-03T20:19:00.000-05:00

This seems like a pretty good explanation of when to work out or just be sick!! Personally, If I feel fatigued, then my body is telling me to take it easy and try again another day!!

Is it OK to exercise if I have a cold but no fever?

Answer

from Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.

Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a cold but no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by temporarily relieving nasal congestion.
As a rule of thumb for exercise and illness:

Proceed with your workout if your signs and symptoms are "above the neck" — such as runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing or sore throat. Be prepared to reduce the intensity of your workout if needed, however.
Postpone your workout if your signs and symptoms are "below the neck" — such as chest congestion, hacking cough or upset stomach. Likewise, don't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches.

If you choose to exercise when you're sick, listen to your body. If your signs and symptoms get worse with physical activity, stop and rest. Resume your workout routine gradually as you begin to feel better.

The "Could It Really be This Simple" Department

2010-04-24T13:30:00.001-05:00

"Keep it Simple, Stupid" thinking I like to look for......!

The No-S Diet: Keeping Dieting Simple

by Ali Hale

The No-S Diet is the simplest diet I've ever come across. It has just three rules:

No snacks
No seconds
No sweets

Except (sometimes) on days that start with an S.
The author, Reinhard Engels, does explain those rules on his No S Diet site (and he's also recently writtena book on the No S Diet). So what exactly do the rules mean? And can it really work?

No snacks:
This is about "when" not "what" and means not eating between meals. You can eat whatever you want at mealtimes (including snack foods, such as chips, candy, and so on). Of course, since you're only allowed one plateful, you might want to go for something a bit more filling than empty junk food...
No seconds:
This means not going back for more: fill your plate once, and that's your lot! Particularly good for buffets, or if you tend to "graze" on leftovers.
No sweets:
This doesn't just refer to what we in the UK call "sweets" (candies) but covers anything which is mostly sugar. You need to use your common sense here: fruit is fine, of course, but ice-cream, full-sugar soda, etc is definitely out.

Except (sometimes) on days that start with an S:
All the rules are relaxed on Saturdays, Sundays and pre-designated Special days. But that doesn't mean you should start gorging as though you'll never see a bar of chocolate again - enjoy your treats, without feeling guilty at all, but don't go completely overboard.

Testimonials from those who've tried it insist that it does work. Enthusiasts highlight increased enjoyment of their food, an end to the "bloated" feeling after a meal, and greater appreciation of treats at the weekend.
For example, one successful No-S-Dieter wrote that:

No S avoids the pitfall of having to do things perfectly. I can choose the foods I like to eat, and am never very far from an s-day. "I can have chocolate at the weekend" is far more liveable with than, "When I reach my perfect weight, I can have some chocolate".

And I can certainly attest that being "good" during the week and relaxing at the weekend is a great way to lose weight or maintain your weight loss. For the past eighteen months, I've been following this sort of eating pattern, and recommend it on The Office Diet, as it tends to suit Monday-Friday, 9-5 workers well.

It allows planning ahead for some truly satisfying treats: I'd rather have a gorgeously gooey slab of chocolate cake at the weekend than have chocolate ice-cream for pudding every day...

So if you're feeling overwhelmed with complicated diet advice, or if you hate the thought of having to give up all your treats for an indeterminable period of time, why not give the No S Diet a try ... and let us know how you get on!

Burning the Candle at Both Ends Department!!

2010-04-19T21:51:00.005-05:00

Found this little tidbit on a Site called "Whole Living" Common Sense about the Sleep Connection!!

Why Stress Is Bad for Your Health

Weight Gain

Stress, fatigue, and weight gain are common companions: Sleep deprivation can cue your body to release stress hormones, triggering weight gain. Studies have shown that those who sleep fewer than eight hours a night have higher body mass than people who sleep a full eight hours, and that babies who sleep fewer than 12 hours a day are twice as likely to be overweight by age 3.

Meanwhile, stress can also lead to poor food choices; this can put your body on a blood-sugar roller coaster, which causes low energy (and, in turn, makes it even harder to get to the gym or outside for a walk). And the less time you have to take care of yourself, the harder it is to make healthy changes.

Common Sense Approach Pays Off!!

2010-04-03T12:09:00.000-05:00

NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- Spring and summer are always an inspiring time in terms of starting new plans or making good changes.

It's particularly a good time to make some "healthy" changes.

One woman did just that two years ago and got healthier by losing 137 pounds.

Karen MacNamara of Edison, New Jersey weighed over 300 pounds two years ago, and then she made a commitment to her health.

She joined a weight loss program, "Weight Watchers," and she started walking.

Walking for heavy people who cannot bear the thought of going to the gym, is the perfect thing to get started doing right about now when we are starting to have some good weather.
"I was a size 3x, which is like about a 26 in women's clothes," explained Karen MacNamera.

Now, this 53-year-old wife and working mother is a trim size 12.

Walking for exercise is now a way of life for Karen.

She began walking after joining a "Weight Watchers" group and really wanting to take off her weight.

She's lost 137 pounds in the last two years.

She began to eat differently, and she began to walk.

"No one wanted to walk with me, because I was a very slow walker, in the beginning two years ago," said Karen.

But slowly, sometimes trailing behind her husband, she kept walking.

"And then, Weight Watchers had a thing called the 'walk it challenge', and some of the members, and me, we got together a little group, about five of us, and we started walking on the weekends," explained Karen.

While participating in the walking challenge, Karen continued to watch what she ate.

"You wouldn't have seen healthy snacks before. We didn't have much fruit in the house before or vegetables," said Karen.

Eventually she added a morning exercise program, right in her TV, doing it everyday before work.

She's now even completed a 5K run with her husband.

But still, she continues walking, and credits a lot to having the goal of the "Walk it Challenge".
"Absolutely! Weight just melts off when you walk. I'm telling you, you have to eat healthy, but you have to move, and the walking has really changed my life," said Karen.

All you need is a good pair of walking shoes and patience.

As for weight loss, it goes with eating healthy and using portion control.

If you need a goal, a "Walk it challenge" is coming up.

Oprah also has a walk coming up.

Both are very good goals for anyone who wants to start walking to get healthier.

Karen began her weight loss efforts when her very dear friend confessed she saw Karen living so unhealthy and was afraid to lose her.
www.weightwatchers.com/walkit

The Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge starts April 4, 2010.

The Challenge will be held on June 6, 2010.

Members will train to walk a 5K in just 6 weeks with a step-by-step training plan which will also include info on how to form walking groups, and help finding an official Weight Watchers 5K or other 5Ks in local communities.

Copyright ©2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Sedentary behavior adds up!!

2010-04-03T10:54:00.004-05:00

I ran across this little snippet from Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed. She was in the process of answering how someone can walk 90 minutes a day and not lose weight! This is the first time I ever ran across the idea that we may be compensating for exercise by sitting the rest of the day!!

Sedentary behavior adds up

A new area of focus in obesity research is trying to quantify not only how much people eat and how active they are, but how sedentary they are. It turns out that the more sitting you do the greater your risks of weight gain and chronic diseases, even if you do exercise, according to research reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Another phenomenon that has been found is that some people get more sedentary once they start exercising. Whether it’s biologically driven or it’s a psychological compensation (“I exercised today, I don’t need to go up the stairs, I’ll take the elevator.”) is unclear. But make sure you’re not slowing down. Wear a pedometer during all your waking hours and get a sense for how many steps you take throughout the day, and make sure you’re racking up 10,000 to 15,000, including your walks.

Many, many women have successfully lost weight through walking. And the National Weight Control Registry finds that the majority of those in its national weight-loss database report walking on a near-daily basis for an hour or more to help maintain their weight loss. You may need to control your diet intake. But even if you don’t lose weight, you are helping your health in myriad ways and definitely preventing weight gain. Keep it up!

Weight Loss Made Simple

2010-04-01T23:12:00.001-05:00

Why Consistent Exercise Helps Keep the Weight Off

There are numerous studies showing that those who consistently exercise during and following weight loss are much more likely to maintain their new weight. The common reasons most people have to continue exercise is to maintain the better feeling of health and fitness and to burn calories.

A new study provides a few new angles that may provide additional motivation. It showed that consistent exercise following weight loss directly reduced the urge to eat more food, specifically enhanced fat burning, and blunted the formation of new fat cells.

Big Pharma is spending hundreds of millions if not billions to develop drugs that will do what exercise will do. And they are also trying to make drugs to change the signals in your brain that could simply be changed by following the five simple rules of the Leptin Diet.

These are examples of the “vital research” Big Pharma does, the excuse they give for overcharging Americans for the current drugs which are available everywhere else in the world at a far cheaper cost.

In many ways, being healthy is rather simple. You either do what it takes or you don’t.

The choice is yours. Hoping for a wonder pill from Big Pharma, and allowing them to prevent affordable health care for everyone because they have to have money for ridiculous research, is not the right way to go about reducing the cost of health care!!

Byron Richards, CCN

Keeping Food Diary Doubles Weight Loss!!

2010-03-28T19:54:00.002-05:00

Found this article while surfing the net. Food Journaling is a bit of a PIA but became much easier after I started using The Daily Plate at Livestrong. com. It really makes you conscious of what you are eating and how many calories we ingest ever day!!

Dieters Who Keep Track of What They Eat Lose Weight Twice as Fast

Dieters may be able to take solace in the fact that one of the most powerful weight-loss tools available may be as close as a pen and paper.

Inn a recent study by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, participants who kept food journals lost almost double the weight of their nonjournaling counterparts.

And at a time when Americans spend $35 billion a year on weight-loss products -- a figure larger than the gross domestic product of most developing countries -- the finding could be good news for those searching for an inexpensive route to a healthier weight.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, focused on the efficacy of various behavioral weight-loss interventions in more than 1,500 overweight and obese adults.

Participants were schooled on lifestyle interventions, which included weekly group sessions, regular exercise, a heart-healthy diet, reduced alcohol consumption and the use of food diaries.

fter five months, participants lost an average of almost 13 pounds -- a significant amount, according to physicians. However, those who used a food diary more than five days a week lost almost twice as much weight as those who didn't. And perhaps more impressively, they kept the weight off.

When keeping food diaries, dieters write down, for better or worse, every calorie that passes through their lips each day.

Frank Bitzer, a 64-year-old retired project manager and study subject, lost 26 pounds during the study, and his cholesterol dropped to healthy levels. Today, four years after the end of the study, he has kept off 20 pounds and continues to feel the positive health effects. Asked about his experiences with keeping a food diary, he described it as "enlightening." He attributed much of his success to the ability to gain immediate information and "see the error of your ways."It enabled me to see how much of an impact it made with even just a slight change in your diet, such as having a bowl of ice cream or a fast-food cheeseburger," he says. "That can really skew your calorie intake."

Why the Pen Is Mightier Than the Pounds

But why do the diaries work? Experts agree that the ultimate value lies in the formation of a "foundation of personal accountability." Almost everyone agrees that accountability is the most important ingredient behind any successful lifestyle change, including weight loss.
Dr. Patrick O'Neil, director of the Weight Management Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, agrees. "Most of us don't really know how much we eat and drink; we have very charitable memories," he says.

In short, he explains, food diaries force an increased awareness of habits and eating patterns. By allowing patients to follow their eating patterns throughout the day, the visual diary can highlight pitfalls that may have previously gone unnoticed by a dieter.

Additionally, when clinicians such as physicians or dietitians review a diary, they can often point out problematic cues, triggers and habits that may be contributing to weight gain. The increased awareness and knowledge allows for targeted problem-solving to improve these troublesome situations. As O'Neil says, "Sometimes a little Monday-morning quarterbacking makes for a better score the next weekend."
Madelyn Fernstrom of the University of Pittsburgh Weight Management Center agrees, adding that food diaries help in "transferring that written record into a permanent mental database."

When Diaries Alone Are Not Enough

Study author Dr. Victor Stevens says that the power of food diaries lies in their flexibility, allowing them to be tailored for accountability for different goals -- from calorie counting to diet quality to overall assessment of eating habits.

But when it comes to a comprehensive weight management strategy, they may not be enough. Stevens suggests that in addition to using a food diary, some dieters may benefit further from joining an organized weight-loss program that provides social commitment and accountability.

Why Americans 'Tune Out' Fat Talk

If no formal programs are available, he says, "get organized with some friends and make a commitment to help each other."

Facebook Comment of The Day!!

2010-03-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

Hope Laura doesn't mind me borrowing her Facebook Comment.

Love the Common Sense thinking.........

Laura Contreras Cole

Biggest problem with p90x is the ever-marketing of a quick-fix. People looking for quick results are then shocked at the amount of work it requires to get 'em, or they believe after 90-days they're all done. Fitness is for LIFE. Think: The Tortoise and the Hare. Do it. Do it hard. Keep doing it. Die. :)

A Few Small Changes/Big Results?

2010-03-25T21:54:00.001-05:00

Weight Loss Made Simple

By Natasha Vani, MSc., ATCP

Once again your New Year’s resolution was to lose weight. You set your goals and started working toward them, but now, after less than a month, you find that you have fallen off your schedule more times than you have stuck with it. What are your reasons?

Other than the common complaint of lack of time, let’s be honest—the most common reason is that watching your diet and exercising just seem like too much effort.

What if I told you that you can lose weight with minor adjustments?

What if I told you that people only fail when they try to make huge changes in their lives? Sit back and look at your goals. You probably told yourself something like this: No chocolate, no candy, no chips, no pop, no eating before bed and (of course) exercise, exercise, exercise! Well who truly follows that?

Here’s what I want you to do: instead of feeling guilty every time you fall off your plan, follow these two simple rules and make minor adjustments. In doing so I guarantee you will achieve your goals.

The Rules
Rule #1
Set a realistic weight loss goal. Do not attempt to lose more than 2 lbs of weight in a week. If you aim for more, you will fail to keep the weight off in the long term. Besides, 2 lbs per week is a solid 10 lbs of fat lost in less than a month and half. Not bad!

Rule #2
Understand what 2 lbs per week means in terms of calories. Since 1 lb of pure fat equals 3,500 calories, 2 lbs equals 7,000 calories. So, each week you need to create a caloric deficit of 7,000 calories. Divide this by seven and you have 1,000 calories a day that you need to somehow get rid of. That may sound like a lot, but you know the best approach to losing weight is through diet and exercise, so, take 1,000 calories and divide it by two.
Your new goal is twofold:
a) to burn 500 calories a day through exercise, and
b) to eat 500 calories less.
I
f this still sounds like too much, no problem, just aim to lose 1.5 or 1 lb per week. To lose 1 lb a week you only have to burn 250 calories a day through exercise and eat 250 calories less each day.

Let’s assume you are aiming to lose one pound a week. The next step is to come up with activities you can do every day to burn 250 calories, as well as foods that you can eliminate or reduce to decrease your intake by 250 calories.

For caloric information on various foods, visit the Truestar Food Trakker.
To give you an idea, here are some common foods that contain roughly 250 calories:

1 muffin
1 bagel
1 chocolate bar
1 small bag of chips
500 ml of juice

Here’s how to burn 250 calories in a nutshell:
In the gym

35 minutes of cycling
30 minutes of rowing
30 minutes of cross training
30 minutes of stair climbing
90 minutes of weight training

In the pool

35 minutes of light effort swimming
40 minutes of water aerobics

Fun winter activities

45 minutes of skating
90 minutes of snowmobiling
35 minutes of snowshoeing
40 minutes of tobogganing
35 minutes of cross country skiing
55 minutes of downhill skiing

General activities

1 hour of walking briskly
35 minutes of light running
45 minutes of dancing

For other activities and the calories they burn, visit the Truestar CALObrator.

One last tip to keep you going
If you can’t exercise one day, don’t stress about it, simply eat a little less that day. And if the opposite is true, that is, you found indulge a little too much, just exercise a little harder. Finding and maintaining this balance of energy in versus energy out is the key to successful weight loss. Keep it simple and enjoy your triumph!

More Sanity vs Insanity.

2010-03-23T11:29:00.003-05:00

As many a diet plan has stated (when describing the competition), "rapid weight loss tricks your body into thinking you're starving and overwhelming you with hunger."

We've watched ourselves and others try this thing or that, only to balloon out again as soon as the goal is reached...or before. I, for one, am saying it's time to stop all the diet programs and live the way we already know is healthy.

There is a rational, common sense, dare I say, simple way to reach our optimum weight and stay there.

Diet Pills, Plans, Programs And Publications exist for one reason...to sell you something. You can follow the plan in any of the ads next to this article and lose weight. Your doctor is probably the best judge of which program is best for your specific health condition.

Most doctors I've spoken to say the same thing that the diet products say, "A healthy, well-balanced diet with lots of vegetables is necessary to lose weight." Now, the plans may differ on what the right balance is but they all say balance is required. Even the ones guaranteeing you fast weight loss by "starving" your body of something (carbs, fats, etc.) caution you to transition back to, what...a well-balanced diet?

So, why don't we transition ourselves without the expensive pills, plans, programs or publications? With a doctor's advice, it should be easy to transition to a healthy diet a little at a time, without shocking our system into starvation.

Eat A Little Less: Our common sense diet begins with a gradual transition to eating less. Not that anyone in the diet industry will tell you, but, if you are overweight, you're probably eating too much...at least that's the way it works with me.

One person told me, "Glen, to lose weight, you don't need to do push-ups, just push-backs."

Pushing back from the dinner table is the concept behind gradually eating less. We don't need that second serving...and certainly not that dessert. So, transition to eating less by taking smaller servings for a month (while transitioning to at least 3 meals per day).

Then, in a few weekly meals, eat only one serving...then 10 meals...then all of them. When offered another serving, get used to smiling while saying, "No, thank you! I've had enough!" Since most of us eat foods that are unhealthy, our common sense diet needs to do more than eat less. We need to slowly transition to more healthy foods.

Eat Unhealthy Less Often: It isn't that we can't ever eat pie, ice cream, cake, pizza, ribs, etc...It's that we can't eat something like that every day. Probably not even every week. We'll get into how to transition away from these things in the next section, but first, let's accept that they are not healthy foods.

We all know this even while we're chewing on that last tasty bite. Common sense says, you can't stay on a diet that rules these things out or replaces the real thing with those imitations that taste like cardboard. Eating is about more than nutrition! So, have them! If someone serves you a piece of pie, enjoy it! Go out to eat less than once a month but enjoy it when you do. Christmas party...have fun! Instead of imprisoning yourself, empower yourself by making those things a special treat.

Do you have a favorite dessert or meal? Agree with yourself that you can have that as a reward, once you reach your goal weight. That way you'll make room for eating healthier.

Eat A Little Healthier: Just like eating less, what makes this diet work is a gradual change to healthier foods. Begin by developing a taste for fresh green and yellow vegetables. While adding salad and lots of veggies to main meals, cut the carbs back to only one serving. Then, a month or so later, replace dessert with fresh fruit. A month later, replace chips with light crackers. Then, ice cream with sugar-free pudding, for instance. Replace beef, lamb and pork with chicken, turkey and fish for 35 % of your meals, then 60%, 80 %, 95%. Add fiber and fiber foods to your diet a little at a time. Add plain water to your diet, gradually working up to 10-12 8oz. glasses a day. By eating little healthier gradually, our bodies adjust without going into shock.

Shop Healthy: It's difficult to eat healthy when there are so many unhealthy things around the house to eat. As we gradually move from unhealthy foods, the supermarket becomes a very tempting place.

By following this one rule, we can eliminate 90 % of the temptation to abandon our new diet. Here's the rule:

If you don't buy it, you can't eat it.

We started this article with the idea that you can lose weight on all diet plans. That's the easy part! The hard part is staying trim and healthy without the diet plan.

That's impossible unless we've developed the habits of eating a healthy, well-balanced diet. It's the weakness of every diet that, after you reach your goal you have to learn how to live without the diet program.

Isn't it just good common sense to reach your goal weight by eating a healthy, well-balanced diet in the first place?

That's why it's called the common sense diet!

Glen Williams is Webmaster for http://www.e-health-fitness.com, founder and CEO of EHF, Inc. He has done extensive research on personal and family health and fitness issues and has been helping and advising people on health since 1987. You can comment on his articles at Health And Fitness Forums.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Glen_D._Williams

Are All Carbs Bad?

2010-03-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

The Common Sense Diet

We've entered the Twilight Zone when it comes to the multitude of diets being promoted today. Starting with the Atkins Diet, then the South Beach Diet.

Both higher in protein, lower in carbs, but the distinction should be quality of carbs, not singling out one nutrient entirely. If you are on the Atkins Diet or South Beach Diet simply adjust from eating low quality carbs like refined flour and sugar products (think comes in a box) to eating more whole food products like fresh vegetables and fruits - yes fruits.

Apples vs. Apple Jacks - You be the Judge
I know the traditional Atkins Diet doesn't advocate much fruit (too high in sugar) but think about that for one minute. My strong belief is that an apple is a good food, a bowl of Apple Jacks cereal may not be on an equal level. One is highly processed sweetened by added white sugar and corn syrup, and one is natural, plucked from a tree and sweetened by the sun. Which would you choose? Don't shun fresh fruit for the sake of following your low carb diet to the letter.

Eliminating healthy, wholesome foods is not the best way to learn to eat better, but severely cutting back on the frequency of eating highly processed foods is. I saw a site which called it GM or MM: God Made or Man Made. If you think of those terms when you go to choose your foods, it starts to make more sense. No one says you shouldn't eat chips, or whatever strikes your fancy, but make them a treat - and eat the GM foods more often.

Common Sense Diet
Common sense will answer the question about what to eat. If you are on Atkins, South Beach or any variation of low carb diet, avoid processed foods, not natural foods. Stop using "instant" breakfast, and cook whole rolled oats for instance. Sure you might have to get up 10 minutes earlier, oh well. You're worth it!

You can still stay on a higher protein food plan, but this one minor adjustment will allow you to continue with your eating plan for a lifetime, rather than a short-time. I'd go insane if I couldn't eat my daily apple, banana or other fruit. I love fruit. I think there's a very good reason humans desire sweet foods - Vitamin C, and other nutrients, including bioflavonoids.

Addicted to Fruit?
I heard someone complain they were "addicted to fruit" and I had to wonder, what do they eat? The person who refuses to eat fruit because they believe it is too high in sugar, probably does eat cookies, crackers and sugary cereals. They might even drink artificially flavored and sweetened drinks, but they refuse to eat a natural food, grown from our earth? That makes no sense, if you think about it.

Did our planet develop and thrive based on processed foods? No, of course not. They are very recent in the evolution of our world. Very recent. In fact, we've had processed foods less than 200 years while our planet is millions of years old.

With the high incidence of obesity, and our high consumption of processed foods, it's hard not to draw the conclusion that one causes the other. You won't hear big industry stating that case because our economy depends on us buying the products being produced by the companies that employ us.

You'll never see it reported that "scientists discovered refined flour kills," even if it were proven true because it doesn't support our way of life. We need industry.

Witnessing the epidemic of food illnesses such as Mad Cow, and now Bird Flu, I can envision a society without the mass produced meat industry. It will come to pass—nothing but your local farm will be allowed to sell meat, because the big farm industry cannot guarantee safety of the food supply.

Meat will become much more expensive because when they can no longer mass produce it, there is nowhere for prices to go but up.

So, do we whine and cry and moan about our misfortune or do we start to think of meat as something to savor and enjoy like the Sunday roasts we had years ago? Most families never ate meat every day then - and we weren't so fat either. We simply didn't eat as much processed foods.

Yes, progress marches on, but when it comes to your body, common sense rules the day. The Common Sense Diet!

Try it on for size today.

About the Author...
Kathryn Martyn is a master NLP and EFT Practitioner and has developed an 8-step process for ending the emotional struggle with weight loss. She is the owner of http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com and runs a successful practice in Vancouver, Washington.

Interesting Article on Motivation!!

2010-03-23T10:26:00.000-05:00

Betting on Weight Loss - Is it a Gamble?

Posted on Jul 10th 2009 9:00AM by Bethany Sanders

Filed Under: Diet and Weight Loss

Print Email More

Photo: Lisa Kong, sxc.hu

Think you can't lose weight? I bet you can. Let's put money on it -- or not. When it comes to money being a motivator for weight loss, the jury is decidedly out.

Earlier this year, we heard about studies that found that some people -- especially men -- were motivated to lose weight when it meant making or losing money. Sites like StickK.com and FatBet allow people to put money where their mouths are -- betting on their ability to take the weight off for good, and workplace bets were becoming popular too. But a new study suggests that when it comes to getting serious about weight loss, money just isn't a factor.

More than 2,400 people -- all overweight or obese -- enrolled in workplace weight loss programs were studied. One group was offered $60 for maintaining weight loss for one year. A second group of folks paid $100, with the promise it would be returned once they lost 5 percent of their weight. A third was told they'd receive $20 just for staying in the program for 12 months.

What they found was that -- meh -- the money really didn't matter. The group that lost the most weight, 3.6 pounds, was the one with participants who paid $100. But weight loss in the other groups was modest -- 1.4 pounds -- at best.

Perhaps the problem was that researchers didn't offer enough money. After all, weight loss is hard work. It takes dedication, mental and physical discipline, time and effort. Sixty dollars? No way. Ante up and maybe we'll talk. Better yet, maybe the wiser idea is to find motivation in a more important, lasting source -- yourself, your health, your future.

Simple is Good Common Sense!!

2010-03-18T22:39:00.006-05:00

Every good weight loss program has to address both sides of the energy equation: calories consumed (diet) and calories burned (physical activity).

The great thing about aerobic physical activity like brisk walking is that a person can get fit while losing weight at the same time.

Fitness cannot be attained just by diet; in fact if much weight is lost by dieting alone, significant amounts of muscle will be lost as well as fat. That is a bad outcome for a person's metabolism.

Establishing the habit of walking every day and gradually working up to 60 to 90 minutes of daily brisk walking should produce both weight loss and a high level of fitness for adults. (Getting advance medical clearance for this activity is important for older adults and for anyone with a chronic medical condition.)

Sources:
nhlbi.nih.gov "Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity" (accessed February 12, 2010) National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
health.gov/PAGuidelines "2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans" Chapter Two, (accessed February 12, 2010) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Mayo Clinic Diet, The Mayo Clinic, published 201

Read more at Suite101: Walk Every Day to Lose Weight: A Permanent Weight Loss Program for Adults http://weight-loss-methods.suite101.com/article.cfm/walk-every-day-to-lose-weight#ixzz0iaec3fWG

Walking Motivation Moment!!!

2010-03-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

Does 10,000 steps sound overwhelming?

A little perspective: It translates into 4.5 to 5 miles, or one hour of rapid walking. Still sound like a lot? Try breaking it into shorter bits: three 20-minute errands on foot, one breezy 30-minute walk before breakfast and another after dinner. Or simply commit to getting up once an hour, every hour throughout your day and moving for five minutes.

However you break down the steps, there's only one fabulous result: a slimmer, more energetic you. In 60 minutes of walking, you'll burn 300 to 500 additional calories.

Keep that up for 10 days and you'll lose a pound. Keep it up for a year and you'll be 35 pounds lighter — without a minute of dieting.

By Julia A. Savacool in Good Housekeeping

Common Sense Dieting!!

2010-03-15T21:27:00.002-05:00

I found an article by a writer named Mark Kantrowitz and edited it some......Nothing alarming here but it makes more sense than another silly fad diet....basic, good common sense!!!

There are many diets, and most don't work. Some try to get you to lose weight too quickly, leading to a yo-yo effect as you regain all the weight you lost (and maybe a bit more). Others encourage you to eat an unbalanced and unhealthy mix of foods. There are also magic diet pills and herbal supplements that perhaps put your health at risk.

Many of these diets try to convince you of their power through pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo about "good" and "bad" nutrients and unproven claims to change your metabolism to burn more fat.

But the real goal of these diets is to produce income for their creators.

The key to dieting is not losing weight -- most diets will allow you to shed pounds -- but in keeping the weight off after you've lost it. Fad diets that require major changes in behavior won't succeed in the long run. Diets that make only minor changes in behavior can be continued long-term, making it easier to maintain the weight loss.

The simple diet described below is based on sound principles of weight control. It is just plain common sense that if you eat less and exercise more, you'll lose weight. The diet described below helps you achieve this by gradually changing your habits, leading to sustainable lasting results. It won't be as easy as popping a few pills, but you can do it. Judge for yourself whether you think this diet will work for you.

Cutting 100 calories a day from your diet will let you lose about 10 pounds a year. That's just one can of soda a day. (The mathematics is straightforward. 100 calories per day multiplied by 365 days in a year is 36,500 calories in a year. To lose a pound, you have to burn about 3,500 calories. So that means that a can of soda a day is the equivalent of 36,500 calories divided by 3,500 calories per pound, or 10.4 pounds.)

Take it Slow

It took you a long time to gain all that weight. It is going to take you just as long to lose it. If you try to lose it overnight, you will end up regaining it just as quickly. Starving yourself doesn't work on a long-term basis. Your goal should be to find a way to lose the weight in a slow but steady manner. Such a diet will be sustainable, allowing you to keep the weight off permanently.

Generally, if you want to lose weight, you should aim to have the difference between your calorie consumption and the calories you burn be around 1,500 calories a day. But a lot depends on the level at which you are starting.

Trying to lose several pounds a week may be overdoing it. A better goal is half a pound to a pound a week. This is achievable and sustainable. It may take you more than a year to get back to a healthier weight, but you will reach it if you take it slow.

Small changes are the key to sustainability. Take the dieting one small step at a time. Make a small change, get used to the change, and then make further changes, instead of trying to get from point A to point B all at once.

You should also plan on using a combination of diet and exercise to control your weight. Doing one without the other is unlikely to be successful.

Track your Weight

Weigh yourself on a daily basis, and keep a log of your weight. One of the best ways to do this is in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel, where you can graph the results and see trends.
Tracking your weight gives you feedback. It makes you aware of how much you weigh, and whether you are gaining or losing. Just awareness of your weight may make it easier to control your weight. If you see that you're continuing to gain weight, you can make further small changes.

Use Portion Control

Counting calories can help you lose weight, but most people find portion control to be more effective. Portion control allows you to eat the foods you like, just a little less of them.

You know how much food you usually put on your plate, and whether you go back for second and third helpings. Just try to cut back the amount of food you eat by a little each time. If you help yourself to multiple servings, try eliminating one of the helpings, or reducing the amount of food you put on your plate each time.

For example, instead of eating a whole sandwich, try eating a half sandwich, and save the rest for tomorrow's meal. (Or toss it. It may seem like a waste to throw away food, but it's better for it to go to waste than for it to go to your waist.) Eat just a single bowl of cereal, instead of two or three. Eat that calorie-rich dessert every other day, instead of every day. Instead of a 20-ounce bottle of soda, drink a 12-ounce can.

Some people find it helpful to serve themselves on a smaller size plate, such as a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. Most people have a tendency to fill up their plate with food, treating it as a target, so if you use a smaller plate, there'll be less food on your plate.

Don't eat out of the package or with the refrigerator door open. Mindless grazing like this makes it difficult for you to appreciate just how much you are eating. Often, you'll be eating for the sake of eating and not because you are hungry. Instead, put the food you want to eat on a plate, and sit down at the table to eat it

By seeing the total amount of food you are consuming all at once, instead of in small impromptu snacks, you will naturally inhibit your consumption, eating a little less.

Remember, your stomach is about the size of your first. If you eat more than two fistfuls of food at each meal, you're probably eating too much.

When you start to use portion control, start slow. Don't eliminate too much at once. Cut back a little once a week, and then try to maintain that level for a while before you cut something else. Try to reduce your calorie intake gradually, not suddenly.

Some people find it helpful to have two small planned snacks a day, in between the meals.

Make Substitutions for Calorie-Rich Food

Portion control can only work so far. If you're eating creme-filled donuts, inhaling ice cream sundaes and drinking soda every day, you may be reaching your calorie limit in just one little snack.

It helps if you keep a diary for a day or two of everything you normally consume. Then, review the diary to see how many calories are associated with each item. Don't forget that the nutritional information is given in terms of servings, and consuming the entire package often represents several servings. So multiply the calorie count per serving with the actual number of servings.

Reviewing the list, you'll see several items with very high calorie counts. Try substituting alternatives that have lower calorie counts and are more filling, such as fruits and vegetables. Substitute pretzels for potato chips, fruit for candy bars, fish or chicken for red meat, a small cookie or two for a creme-filled donut and ice cream, skim milk instead of 2% milk and 2% milk instead of whole milk, and a glass of water for a can of soda. (Frozen yogurt is not a good substitute for ice cream, because frozen yogurt is almost as bad these days.)

Also make substitutions for your condiments: mustard instead of mayo, jam or cream cheese instead of butter or margarine, salsa instead of cheese dip, and fat-free dressing instead of creamy dressing.

Try to avoid fried foods, since such foods stimulate appetite and make it harder to stop eating when you are full.

Drink Water

Water has no calories. When you feel the urge to eat a snack or drink a can of soda, drink a glass of water first. Often you eat when you don't really feel hungry, but have gotten in the habit of snacking. If you drink a glass of water first, you'll start to substitute a new and healthier habit. Eventually, the glass of water will be enough.

Water will cause your stomach to feel full sooner without any calories or carbohydrates. Drinking a full glass of water at least 15 minutes before any meal can help you lose weight.

When eating a meal, take frequent sips of water. The water will make you feel full, causing you to eat less.

Exercise

The experts encourage you to exercise for half an hour three times a week. It is actually better to exercise for half an hour to an hour a day. But most people don't exercise for even an hour a week, so something is better than nothing. It is especially important to exercise if you have a sedentary lifestyle.

Just as you are cutting your calorie consumption gradually, you should start exercising gradually. If you overexert yourself, you won't be willing to continue with the exercise regimen.

A key to exercising is to find something enjoyable about the exercise. This can range from a type of exercise you enjoy (e.g., walking your dog) to exercising with a friend (e.g., taking a walk with your spouse). Some people find it helpful to exercise in front of the TV, since that will distract you from the fact that you're exercising.

For example, I have an exercise bike and treadmill in front of the TV, and watch one or two DVDs each time I exercise. I currently exercise 2-3 hours a night. I started off with just 15 minutes of exercise per night, and built up to my current level over the course of three years. As soon as I stopped exercising, I would pause the DVD player. I only watch TV when I'm exercising, so if I want to watch TV I have to exercise.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Most people eat too much meat, eggs, salt, cookies, cake and ice cream, and too little fruit, vegetables and whole grains like rice. While you gradually cut calories, you should also try gradually shifting yourself into a more balanced, healthier diet. The key, of course, is to make the changes gradually through portion control. Cutting out the foods you love suddenly will cause you to drop the diet. You don't need to eliminate them entirely, just eat a little less of them.
Often it helps to focus on adding more fruit and vegetables to your diet, and to eat them before the rest of your meal. Substitute an apple or orange for one of your snacks. This will gradually cause you to eat less of the less healthy foods, by filling your stomach.
If you don't particularly like apples or oranges, try other fruits. I happen to like pears and mandarin oranges. Organic fruit and vegetables that aren't force-ripened also taste better.
Don't try to make excuses that a slice of apple pie or fruit cake is a serving of fruit. Pies and cakes are mostly sugar.
If your diet is unbalanced, you should take a daily multivitamin in addition to gradually restoring balance to your diet.

Control When You Eat

Put together a schedule of when you will eat. This can include the times of breakfast, lunch and dinner, and one snack in between each meal. Try sticking to the schedule. If you get the urge to eat at an unscheduled moment, look to see how long it is until the next snack or meal, and try waiting until then. (A good schedule is 7:00 am breakfast, 9:30 am snack, 12:00 pm lunch, 3:00 pm snack, 6:30 pm dinner.)
Whatever you do, do not snack after dinner.
When you eat, eat more slowly, savoring the flavor. It takes about 20 minutes for you to feel full after eating, so if you eat more slowly, you will end up eating less food. Try to avoid inhaling your food. Chew your food thoroughly, instead of swallowing it whole.

A Note On Cortisol and Over Exertion

2010-03-12T12:34:00.006-05:00

I felt pretty crappy after hitting the caffeine pretty hard then walking 5 miles during the course of the day. Did a little research then came up with this little tidbit. Its part of a whole article entitled "Recognizing the Signs of Stress and Over Training"

I took out the most important paragraph and posted it here to keep things simple and easy!!

"Over-training ties into the fact that hormones work in pairs. When adrenaline is released in response to stress, the even more powerful hormone, cortisol, is also released into our bloodstream. Excess cortisol stimulates glucose production and simultaneously catabolizes (breaks down) lean muscle tissue for energy. This is obviously not a good outcome for anyone on a fat loss program or for someone trying to build lean muscle tissue."

What are the symptoms of over-training?

* Tiredness, bordering on apathy

* Chronic fatigue

* Insomnia

* Injuries that do not heal

* Loss of lean muscle tissue

* Frequent colds and infections, due to a lowered immune system

* Biochemical depression

* Craving stimulants caffeine and sugars

* Having a tough time getting started in the morning

* Muscle cramps, due to mineral deficiencies

* Feeling 'brain-dead'

Teya Skae M.A.
Clinical Kinesiologist/Nutritionist
EFT Expert and Coach
Author/Presenter
Teya is the founder of Empowered Living
www.empowered-living.com.au

Top 10 Reasons You Keep Getting Fatter

2010-03-11T23:03:00.007-05:00

If you exercise and eat right but keep getting fatter then this will be the most important article you'll ever read.

Here's why. In this article I'm going to share with you the top 10 reasons why you keep getting fatter. Studies have PROVEN it. My experience has shown it. Bottom line is... at least one of these 10 hidden "weight gainers" is your primary culprit... guaranteed!

Here's the best part...

You can fix them right now. TODAY! It really is pretty simple stuff. Anyone can do it.

Now most likely you'll pinpoint three or four reasons on this list that are packing on the pounds. Maybe more.

But that's great news. Just means that if you address them quickly then you'll be able to start seeing significant results. Only takes a few days or less! I've witnessed this happen dozens of times to people just like you.

So read through the list of "The Top 10 Reasons You Keep Getting Fatter" and find your culprits. Then fix them. That's it.

Here's the list...
1. You believe you were created to be fat. That it's in your genetics.
2. You're living a "low carb" lifestyle.
3. You're dieting, cutting calories, skipping meals or flat out starving yourself.
4. You're consuming too much bread.
5. You continue to make bad food choices. (Bowl of ice cream at night.)
6. You're stuffing your face with "starchy" carbs like pasta or pizza crust.
7. You do not have a specific "goal" weight and a specific time-frame for achieving it.
8. You're consuming lots and lots of refined sugar. (Just check your labels for things like high fructose corn syrup.)
9. You're not working out at least five days each week.
10. You're not keeping your body in a constant state of hydration.

So what is the #1 reason that people struggle? Well from what I've seen there are actually four that stand out as the biggest culprits. They are #6, #8, #9, #10. But any of the other items could definitely be your reasons for getting fatter.

Here's how to make this really really easy...
Just take the top two items on this list that you feel have caused you to keep getting fatter and focus all your attention on them.

For example... if you strongly feel that item #9 and #1 are the dirty devils holding you back, then just begin to exercise five days per week and cement into your head that many studies have found that genetics play almost NO role in abnormal body fat

If you do that for two weeks and don't see results, then just try another couple of items on this list that you believe might be it.

That's all.

Super simple stuff. But it's wildly effective!

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Fad Diets Don't Work!!!

2010-03-11T20:35:00.002-05:00

Excellent article from a Teen Site called "Take Five"

Time to get real and knock off the stupidity!!!

5 Ways to Spot a Fad Diet

Lots of today's popular diets take advantage of our desire to drop weight quickly. Unfortunately, though, "quick-fix" diets don't work.

Here are 5 clues that a diet may be more about empty promises than real results:

The diet is based on drastically cutting back calories. Starvation-type diets that require the body to fast often promise quick results. But our bodies simply aren't designed to drop pounds quickly. In fact, doctors say it's nearly impossible for a healthy, normally active person to lose more than 2 to 3 pounds per week of actual fat, even on a starvation diet.

Here's the trick that very low-calorie diets rely on: The body's natural reaction to near-starvation is to dump water. So most, if not all, of the weight lost on quick-weight-loss diets is not fat — it's just water. And the body sucks this lost water back up like a sponge once a person starts eating normally again.
The diet is based on taking special pills, powders, or herbs. These are usually just gimmicks — and the only thing they slim down is your wallet.

Many diet pills contain laxatives or diuretics that force a person's body to eliminate more water. Just like restricted-calorie diets, the weight lost with these supplements is mostly water, not fat.

Other supplements claim that their ingredients speed up metabolism; suppress appetite; or block the absorption of fat, sugars, or carbohydrates. For most diet supplements, there's no reliable scientific research to back up their claims. And doctors consider diet supplements risky for teens because not much is known about how the ingredients affect the growing body.
The diet tells you to eat only specific foods or foods in certain combinations. There's no reliable scientific proof that combining certain foods works. And limiting the foods you eat means you might not get all the nutrition you need.
The diet makes you completely cut out fat, sugar, or carbs. Depriving our bodies of needed food groups is a bad idea (especially when they're still growing). It's better to eat smaller portions in well-rounded meals (meals that contain servings of protein, grains, fruits, and veggies). When your body gets the right balance of nutrition, it's less likely to send you willpower-busting cravings! Eating smaller portions also helps you set good eating habits that will help you keep the weight off.
The diet requires you to skip meals or replace meals with special drinks or food bars. As with diets that ban certain food groups, skipping or substituting meals can mean you don't get the nutrition needed to support healthy development. Plus, you miss out on the enjoyment of sharing a satisfying meal with friends or family.

How Much Walking to Lose Weight?

2010-03-11T00:30:00.003-05:00

I've done tons of reading on this subject, so I will give you my opinion on how much walking needs to be done!!

30 Minutes - Basic Health Gains. Lower Blood Pressure, etc

60 Minutes - Damage Control for the Days Eating. Break Even on
the Days Food Consumption. Even while Bad.

90 Minutes - What is necessary to actually lose Weight!!

Hope that's not to depressing but it's the bottom line from all of the articles I've digested.

Keep in mind it doesn't all have to be done at once!!!

Captain's Log - 3/10/10

2010-03-10T23:01:00.006-05:00

Decided to give my blog some focus dedicating mainly on good solid health advice minus most of the BS you see and hear out there!!

The "Captain's Log" segments are mainly a way of giving my blog a personal touch.

I am finding out as I navigate through middle age that the best exercise has to be something I like that I can do consistently!

Yes..I have a gym membership and am involved in Treadmills, Ellipticals and Strength Training but I have found the most consistent thing I do is Walk an Hike!

I can Walk or Hike just about every day and I can do an awful lot of it if I break it up during the day. Today I knocked out 5 miles in 3 different sessions and it didn't even inconvenience me!

I even had time to eat dinner, watch playoff Hoops, and even do the Laundry!!

We are getting unseasonably warm temps in the 50's here in Northwestern Ohio and it feels great to finally get outside after spending the winter at the Gym!! I've been averaging at least 4 miles a day now for about a week and, mind you, I refuse to get out of Bed early for anything!!

The big test will come next week when the temps fall back in the 40's!!

Common Sense from the Calorie Control Council!!

2010-03-10T22:04:00.000-05:00

Forget Fad Diets

Are you trying to lose those pesky pounds gained over the holiday season? Instead of turning to a fad diet in search of a quick fix, try healthy eating and physical activity, say experts.

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) says there are many varied "fad" diets offering miracle weight loss, but warns consumers that losing the pounds while on one of them is simply due to eating fewer calories.

The BDA has produced a list of the "worst fad diets to avoid this New Year" including the maple syrup, detox, blood group, warrior, peanut butter and banana or the cabbage/fat-burning soup diets.

The professional body for British dietitians also took aim at the Atkins and the Zone diets, instead urging consumers to reduce their food intake, exercise and eat more fruit and vegetables.

http://www.caloriecontrol.org/

Walking Motivation 101

2010-03-10T20:43:00.007-05:00

One of the best kinds of exercise is also the simplest!!!

Walking is the one thing anyone can do just about anytime!!

Based on research studies, walking on a regular basis has the following health benefits:

It reduces your risk of dying from heart disease or stroke
It lowers your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes
It lowers high blood pressure (hypertension)
It protects against falling and bone fractures in older adults
It may help protect against certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer
It increases the number of calories your body uses, which helps to control your weight
It helps control joint swelling and pain from arthritis.
Helps keep your bones, muscles, and joints healthy
Reduces anxiety and depression, boosting your mood
Helps you handle stress
Helps you feel more energetic
Helps you sleep better
Improves your self-esteem

Sad Day -Fauria Leaving the Fold!!!

2009-06-27T09:39:00.005-05:00

Apparently, something happened at one of the campus residence halls leading to a major disagreement between Joseph Fauria and ND administration!! I'm sure it was nothing worse than I did back in my Campus days.....

Notre Dame football:

Fauria's Notre Dame dream over

Tight End expects to transfer to a Pac-10 team.

By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer

The teardrops pocked the release papers as Joseph Fauria signed away his dream.

"When I committed to Notre Dame, there were tears too," the now former Irish tight end said Friday afternoon. "There was joy. It was all great. Now it's tears of sadness.

"I never lost my love for Notre Dame, and I never will. But my lifelong dream is over. It's time to move on and get a fresh start somewhere else."

Fauria asked for his release from the school Wednesday, the same day Notre Dame announced in a somewhat cryptic, two-sentence statement that the 6-foot-7, 245-pound sophomore from Encino, Calif., was not enrolled in summer school and would not be enrolled in the fall for football season "for personal reasons."

In actuality, Fauria said, he was suspended by the university's Office of Residence Life and is not even allowed back on campus to so much as visit until after Christmas.

ND head coach Charlie Weis, hamstrung from expounding on the subject by a quagmire of privacy laws and strict university policy, signed off on the transfer Friday afternoon and wished Fauria well.

"(Weis) didn't want me to leave, and I didn't want to leave, but I felt I had to," said Fauria via cell phone from California as he was driving to the beach to ponder his future.

"I didn't want to go back there (to ND) and have to be under the microscope and not be myself. I wanted to have a fresh start.

"I can't say enough about coach Weis, tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee, the guy who recruited me — coach Brian Polian — and the players, too.

"I know coach Weis can't come out and support me publicly because of protocol, but I know how he feels, and that's all that is important. It was an honor to be coached by him. I love him. I'll miss him. I still consider him a part of my family. It's sad to leave everyone, but I feel I was mistreated by the school and that the punishment didn't fit the crime."

Fauria declined to delineate publicly just what he was punished for.

"The people who are close to me know what it is, and they couldn't believe this is happening," he said. "I'm a good guy, a fun-loving guy. I have a 3.0 GPA. My team won Bookstore Basketball. I had moved up to No. 2 tight end. I was on Cloud 9. And then it all came apart."

Fauria said he was not allowed to appeal the suspension to the Office of Residence Life.

"They punished me without knowing who I am," he said. "And then when they said, 'No appeal.' Wow, even murderers get to appeal."

Fauria said he'll likely end up at a Pac-10 school but will have to sit out the 2009 season to satisfy NCAA transfer requirements. He'll have three years of eligibility, beginning in 2010.

Fauria was one of the biggest pleasant surprises of spring practice, jumping to No. 2 on the tight end depth chart behind incumbent starter Kyle Rudolph.

He played in three games in 2008, logging roughly 21 minutes of playing time with one special teams appearance. He caught two passes for 17 yards in the April Blue-Gold Game.

He was pressed into action, as a lithe freshman, late in the 2008 season when injuries and suspensions depleted the tight end corps.

"I got to live the dream for a short time," he said. "And I'm going to cheer Notre Dame on this year and hope they do well. And I'm telling you right now, they're going to do very well."

ND Football - Looking Ahead!!

2009-06-02T17:07:00.005-05:00

Been listening to a lot of talk radio...not a lot of respect for our schedule this season...Big Ten not what it used to be etc...

Only USC is on the Rivals Preseason Top 20....coming at 3 since they are overhauling their D

Here is how I break down the Sked....

Must Wins (If we can't win these we get zero respect)
Nevada
Purdue
Washington
Washington State
Navy
UConn
Stanford

Up for Grabs
Michigan
Michigan State
Boston College
Pittsburgh

Most Likely Will Lose
USC

Obviously, it all hangs on the "Up for Grabs" category. If we get knocked off by underdog team, we have to atone by beating USC (ODDDS)

If we win half of those..its at least a 9 win season......worst case scenario would be 7 wins (Cya Charlie)

10-2 does not seem all that impossible...Will have a better feel after the first game....Last years opener spoke volumes......

Am I drinking the Kool Aid?

Question, Comments?

"Angels and Demons"

2009-05-29T23:38:00.012-05:00

If I had to sum up my feeling about this flick into one word, I would say "Lukewarm".

I really felt like I was watching a super catholic retread of an Indiana Jones plot with the Hero rushing around ancient churches and catacombs in an attemp to put together clues in time to catch a bad guy in a race against the clock!

I will give it an "A" in terms of suspense and it also has a lot of twists and turns during the grand conclusion. Tom Hanks also puts in a great performance as usual.

I didn't really walk away from the big screen thinking I saw anything special.

Just another in long line of cliffhanging suspense thrillers!!

Captains Log

2009-05-27T21:38:00.006-05:00

1. Took another step forward in saving our local Kroger Store from suffering a consumer revolt due to not honoring a gift card that I bought for a now distraught friend. Hillary Clinton should hire me to negotiate her tougher issues..such as North Korea.

2. Big sports night as the Wings win the series with an Overtime goal! On to the Stanley Cup!!!

3. Managed to sneak about an hour workout in between periods of the Hockey Game. Still alternating exercises between all machines. I actually do dumbbell workouts while working
out of my home workouts.

4. The History Channel really went in the crapper the last few years. Now it all about Monsters, Mysteries and The Apocalypse. Whatever happened to all that great history stuff the channel was named for!! Thank God the Military Channel came along to take up the slack.

5. Hats off to KFC for their Grilled Chicken. Its about time someone thought of that!!

6. The great Sleep Apnea Solution Competition rages on! Cpap machine and Tap 3 Dental Device are part of my personal sleep off. Did Cpap last night and woke up an hour early sweating profusely. The Tap 3 Dental Device much more comfy. Plus I sleep like a rock when I use it!!

Tap 3 starting to pull away.

Turbulence Training - Kevin Style!!

2009-05-24T12:55:00.011-05:00

I think I've been very consistent with my exercise lately which has paid off with a few more pounds lost.

I'm done with the futility of counting calories and obsessing about fat grams. I know which foods are bad and which are good. Decided to be super consistent with my work outs (Minimum of 1 hour a day with big party days off) and try to only eat when I am legitimately hungry.

Dumped Ballys and joined up with Urban Active. I really love having cable TV on all of the equipment, especially with the Red Wings in the Playoffs.

My latest thing is to alternate between the running track, Treadmill with Incline, Elliptical and a killer new stair climber thing. Seems to really help with any boredom issues. Also, having an IPhone with serious tunes really helps me with intensity!!

Wish Maumee Urban Active had the small hoops court and steam room like Toledo UA has.

Also plenty of "Eyeball Liberty" available for Ex-Sailors at the Maumee location. Not to mention great sugar free smoothies.

No fake sugar either!!!

Charlie Wilson's War

2009-05-24T11:18:00.007-05:00

Came home early with a beer buzz, so I thought I would check out "Charley Wilson's War" that I got from Netflix!

Absolutely loved it!!

Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a screech as the bottom line CIA guy with cheap dress shirts and ties that were too short. Footage of Afghanistan and Pakistan were very interesting as I visited Karachi with the Navy back in the fabulous 80's.

Hard to believe a hard partying congressman can have such a big effect in the way of the world.

Movie ended with Mujahadeen giving the boot to the Soviets and Charlie asking for even more money to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan and getting none.

We all know what happened after that.

Health Notes!!

2008-07-20T22:11:00.005-05:00

My love handles have grown into an official belly over the last few years!

I have a new gimmick for losing weight every week or so, but they never seem to last!! My diet is a lot better with less calories, high fiber, etc...but the scale is not showing any progress. My attraction to boozing on Saturday nights isn't helping either. I log all my calories in TDP (The Daily Plate.com) but I am like a dishonest golfer giving myself Mulligans all the time!!

My sleep has gotten better recently now that I have new Cpap gear for my Sleep Apnea. I feel best on the weekends since I can sleep more hours. I guess I should start going to bed earlier but starting work later sounds like more fun!! A newly acquired mask to shield my eyes is a major improvement!! No sun waking me up prematurely!!

Staying pretty consistent with the exercise thing. I especially love the Elliptical at the Gym. I love the Hot Tub and Steam Room even better!!

When I don't make the gym, I try and hike at least 3 miles! I can't really do any resistance training since I had back surgery last February.

Captain's Log

2008-07-20T21:31:00.013-05:00

Lots of action with the my Posse today!!

Cousin Smash and his lovely wife have returned from a big trip out to Providence Rhode Island...The trip was highlighted by two of his sons announcing upcoming nuptials! This means a great party is coming next year in Cincinnati and Boston!!! He married off his two girls not long ago and it was a killer party in New York and Providence!!

Other headlines include my brother Jaxun and his lovely wife Peg are finally going to sell there house in Toledo's version of Hell's Kitchen and move to the Burbs!! This came as a total but wonderful shock!! They will no doubt be wondering why they didn't do it sooner like I was when I finally fled the mean streets of East Toledo. When the house we grew up in burned down, maybe we should have took that as a sign of some sort!!

Speaking of moving, my luck is still running hot as I got a check in the mail from Ohio Unclaimed Funds for 5 thousand big ones!! This means I to will be moving...but only across the hall to a 2 bedroom apartment with much more living space!! Also have a 50 inch Plasma targeted for my Living Room!! Should be real sweet for this upcoming football season!!

Lots of excitement everywhere and Summer starts winding down!!

Sunday - Stage 2 Hangover!!

2008-06-22T19:45:00.007-05:00

Started my day with a Stage 2 Hangover!

I had the Stage 1 hangover on Saturday after a wild Friday night birthday party when I decided to drink like an 18 year old!

A Stage 2 hangover is mainly the leftover tiredness after feeling the worst of Stage 1 the day before!

I did manage to rally and do a semi-serious circuit training workout with some 80's tunes for motivation. Also hiked about 2 miles just to burn some extra calories. I went to see my ENT for a serious ear dewaxing and he told me in a very direct manner that I would be a lot heathier if lost some weight. Big News Flash! He also said to forget the Elliptical and start taking Aerobics classes. This led to my big comeback with the combo aerobics and strength training workout which also generally leads to the dreaded "Workout Hangover" the next day! I am presently pounding water and protein to avoid that from happening!!

I had good luck with my afternoon sports investment as the Twins pulled a comeback win over Arizona with Webb pitching.

Enjoying an excellent sunset and watching Sunday Night Baseball! I got the Cubbies as a 2nd sports investment. So far so good as they lead the hated crosstown Chisox by 2 runs early in the game!!

Latest Workout Poop!!

2008-05-07T18:22:00.025-05:00

It appears that exercising piecemeal is better for your Bloodwork!

This is great for busy people that have to sneak in their workout at different times during the day!!

MIZZOU NEWS
Intermittent Exercise Is More Effective

By Jeremy Diener

Regular exercise is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle and for the prevention of coronary heart disease, Type II diabetes and obesity. Classic recommendations for endurance exercise have been 20 to 60 minutes of continuous exercise at a vigorous intensity. New research from the University of Missouri-Columbia suggests intermittent exercise is more effective at lowering artery-blocking fat in the bloodstream than continuous exercise when exercising just 30 minutes.

MU researchers conducted the study to examine the effects of continuous versus intermittent exercise on triglyceride, a type of fat, levels in the bloodstream after subjects ate high-fat meals. The results show that people who engage in 30 minutes of exercise can achieve lower triglyceride levels after a high fat meal if they engage in short, separated bouts of exercise rather than one continuous bout. The research team included professor of nutritional sciences Tom Thomas, post-doctorate fellow Thomas Altena, assistant professor of nutritional sciences Stephen Ball, and graduate student Jody Michaelson, all in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Altena, who is now an assistant professor at Southwest Missouri State University, supervised the study.

“Most Americans who exercise are exercising around 30 minutes a day,” Thomas said. “Based on the results of the research, the intermittent approach would probably be best for most Americans at lowering fat in the bloodstream.”
The researchers examined triglyceride levels following meals in inactive subjects. All subjects performed three different protocols on different days. On the control day, subjects ate a high-fat meal only.

On a second visit, the subjects ate a high-fat meal following a session of continuous exercise. On another visit, the subjects ate a high-fat meal following a session of intermittent exercise in which the subjects exercised in 10-minute bouts separated by 20-minute rest periods.

Results indicated that peak triglyceride levels in the subjects who engaged in intermittent exercise before eating a high-fat meal were reduced by 27 percent. Those who engaged in continuous exercise reduced their triglyceride levels by 15 percent.

Thomas noted that exercising before eating was crucial for fat clearing, saying that the researchers believe muscle contraction during the exercise process stimulates a fat-clearing enzyme in the muscle. According to previous research, the enzyme activity seems to peak about 12 hours after the session of exercise. In addition to showing what type of exercise is best, this information also could help someone determine what time is best for exercise.

Since it’s best to exercise 12 hours before eating a large or high-fat meal, those who eat large breakfasts could benefit more from exercise in the evening, while those who eat large dinners could benefit more from exercise in the morning.

However, Thomas said, the exercise effect on fat clearing does not last more than 24 hours, which suggests the need for daily physical activity to continuously stimulate the fat clearing system.

The research is published in the August issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Power Smoothies!!!

2008-05-07T17:26:00.005-05:00

This place Rocks!!

I can get a huge Smoothie made with Splenda and stay under 300 calories. Most of these island delights are loaded with whatever nutritional ingredients you are into at that very moment.

For example, I thought my immune system could use some support during allergy season, so I tried out a "Morning After" Smoothie designed to fight hangovers with a load of Vitamin C Immune Complex. It tasted awesome, filled me up, and gave me a nice energy bump!!

Need a little caffeine? Try a "Lean Machine" when you "Get up and Go" got up and went!! It's filled with Fat Metabolizers, Strawberries and Banana so you can get your Groove on.

If you are a Buff Bagwell Muscle Head you can go for another Power Smoothie called "Health Nut" that features Blueberries, Mango, Banana, Almonds and your choice of Soy or Whey protein!!

I also thought the Wraps were excellent but have not tried the Sandwiches yet because the Smoothie's were so filling.

The atmosphere is definitely of the ParrotHead type! Lots of Reggae, etc along with a decor to match!!

Tropical Smoothie Cafe gets my highest rating!!

Going Ballistic with Netflix!!

2008-05-04T15:12:00.009-05:00

Signed up with Netflix a couple of months ago and am really happy with it!!!

I like being able to browse online rather than having brain cramps while I am looking around a video store! If I get in the mood for a particular video or , I can use their search engine to find just about anything without worrying about not getting it back on time.

I've been watching a lot of old time TV programs and Mini Series including "From the Earth to the Moon"; "The Dick Van Dyke show"; Backstairs at the White House and "The Fugitive". "From the Earth to the Moon" was on of the best Mini Series I have seen...right up there with "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance"!

My latest video conquest has been the 60's drama "The Fugitive". I remember that show from my childhood and watching the episodes of an innocent man running from the law is every bit as great now as it was then!! Richard Kimble hits it off with a ton of sympathetic early 60's babes and always narrowly escapes Lt. Gerard and his nationwide network of flatfoots!!

A millenium version of "The Fugitive" came out starring Tim Daly in the year 2000 and was also really good...but it only lasted a short time, disappointing not only me, but my whole Saturday night drinking Posse!!

My life would be a lot more dramatic if I had a Narrator like William Conrad!

David Janssen got all the breaks!!

The Big Bush Bonus!!

2008-05-03T11:38:00.017-05:00

The Commander in Chief just came out and told us our economy will soon be "Robust" again and decided to send us a nifty little tax rebate to help thing along!

I plan on using my 600 dollar windfall as a beginning of an actual savings account which is a very tender first step to getting back on my financial feet after doing the paycheck to paycheck thing for many years!

Most likely, however, my Bush Bonus will be eaten up by impending car maintenance on my PT Cruiser. Every time I take the the thing into Chrysler they charge me an arm and leg even with my warranty in good standing. On top of that it will take two days and a significant amount of time off my job riding their shuttle back and forth!

If car maintenance doesn't wipe out my Bush Bonus, it will most likely be the financial fallout from my recent back surgery. I consider myself very lucky that I have an excellent health plan with my employer, but there is still about a grand or so that wasn't covered.

Looks like my new savings account will be short lived!!

Dirty Rotten Workout Hangovers!!

2008-05-02T18:24:00.003-05:00

As you may have read in my previous posts, I have found a formula that pretty much takes care of alcoholic hangovers. Now that I have that figured out, I am running in to "Workout Hangovers" !! In a nutshell, it's feeling bad for doing something that's supposed to be good!

I had back surgery (Microdiscectomy) last February and am recovering pretty well considering it's only been a little over two months since the surgery. I started Physical Therapy in early March and started working out every day (Mainly Elliptical Exercise) in order to lose some of the Gut I developed while laid up. This was all well and good until I started feeling like I was putting tequila in my Gatorade the day after the workouts! Draggy, Cranky, Headachey, etc.

Initially I blamed it on my allergies, but I think it may be simple over training! I ran across this little tidbit in an article by Tom Gorman about Ellipticals....

"Using your elliptical trainer every other day or three times a week should provide adequate workout time, and you should see results quickly. It is important to take “rest days” so as not to overwork your muscles. Overworking can cause your weight loss or muscle building to slow down, not speed up."

Not only does this explain my hangovers but also my reluctance to lose weight! It's easy to underestimate what a good workout the Ellipticals give since you don't actually notice how hard you are working out! It is very low impact!

Looks like I will be working out every other day for at least the near future!!

Common warning signs of over training include:

Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
Pain in muscles and joints
Sudden drop in performance
Insomnia
Headaches
Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
Decrease in training capacity / intensity
Moodiness and irritability
Depression
Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
Decreased appetite
Increased incidence of injuries.

Big Tuesday-Ohio Style!!

2008-03-03T20:11:00.004-05:00

All political roads lead to Ohio and Texas!!

Since I am recovering from back surgery, the one thing I have to do to pass the time (Besides getting fat) is watch all the political hoopla that sorrounds the Ohio and Texas primaries.

I've been getting drilled by Clinton backers on the phone and witnessed Obama backers freezing their asses off holding up signs out in the freezing cold!

My perception is that my senses have been assaulted more by the Clintonians than the Obamanites which might be why Hillary is ahead in the Polls here.

Although I like Obama, I will most likely vote for Hillary mainly because she at least tried to do something about the Healthcare crisis and also because there would be two Presidential types in the White House for the price of one. The Clinton machine has all the Political machinery in place and the experience to operate it. Obama needs a few more years of making contacts and gaining political street cred before he will be able to accomplish anything.

Most folks I talk to are split and not sure who they are going to vote for until they hit the Polls tomorrow....which could wreac havoc with exit polling!

Weather forecast for tommorow is horrible...but everyone is so jacked about having a Primary that matters, I'm sure there will still be a good turnout at the Polls.

Forecast from the Wayward Caucus Posse: Ohio to Clinton, Texas to Obama!!

Hangover Avoidance 101!!

2008-02-10T11:05:00.000-05:00

As I am out in my travels getting the pulse of middle America with my local Posse, I have run into issues with hangovers! Some lasting 2 days!!

In order to alleviate this Dehydration Dilemma, I took to cyberspace in order to find a plan to initiate before our weekly gathering last night. I focused on dehydration since I believe that is the main Perp in causing hangovers.

Today, I feel pretty darn good!!

Here is the basic plan that I used....

1. Eat a big meal before going out (I focused on fiber)

2. Pound Vitamins before you head out.

3. Drink Clear liquids (Vodka, Gin-I did Vodka and Tonics)

4. Funnel a Ton of Water or Gatorade beforehand. (Electrolytes a big factor/dehydration)

5. Drink water along with your alcoholic buzz bomb as the evening progresses.

6. Eat something when you get home (Oatmeal) and take a hit of Vitamin B/C

7. Sleep as late as you can.

8. Eat a solid breakfast

The downside of all this Damage Control is that you will be ingesting a ton of calories.

If you are worried about some cornball diet your are on, ignore the preceding advice and continue to lose weight while you are upchucking all over your bathroom!

Super Tuesday Tidbits!!

2008-02-05T18:52:00.000-05:00

Here is the skinny on what the local peer (Beer) group thinks as this is being written only minutes before the Georgia Polls close...

1. For the most part we thought Obama is having his "Moment in the Sun" but that he would be crushed by the Clinton political machine on Super Tuesday. Obama made a nice late move over the weekend leading to some doubt about our theory, but we know how polls have worked in the recent past.

2. Giuliani let McCain back in the game by having a moronic campaign strategy. McCain now seems like a runaway freight train. The problem is that most republicans, including part my own political posse, don't consider McCain a real "Republican"! Earlier today, Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh came out and made statements against him. The plot thickens, but I think McCain wins in a walk since he isn't a "Traditional" republican candidate. On that same note, Obama isn't doing badly with same label.

3. Sounds like California will decide the contest for both parties. Should be entertaining viewing as the Primaries go into overtime.

Seeing how my Super Bowl prediction was a total bust, I will refrain from making any personal predictions other than my McCain blowout forecast!

THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!

2008-02-03T22:10:00.000-05:00

OK!! It's the football Giants, not the baseball Giants!

Eli Manning not Bobby Thompson!!

This has to be one the biggest shockers since "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" back in 1951!!

The hero of the day has to be the New York Giants. No one has been able to come up with a defense to stop the Patriots.....Until Today!

Probably the first time I seen Brady under pressure this whole year.

The Giants blitzes had Brady rushing his passes!!

Great games were had by Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck (Notre Dame Alum!!)

Coughlin will be a "Party Animal" tonight!!!

So much for my "Fearless Prediction"!!!

Fearless Super Bowl 2008 Prediction!!

2008-02-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

After consulting with the local sports critics, I have come to the conclusion that New England will blow out the Giants!

My reasoning for this bold statement is that the Pats not only want to go undefeated, but they will also want to make the Super Bowl a "Statement Game". Winning a close game to go undefeated won't be good enough for Brady and Company. Also, too many people are jumping on the Giants bandwagon since they blew away the spread in all of the playoff games.

If you are betting man, I wouldn't put your paycheck on my advice, however, since you can take a look below and see how I thought Notre Dame was going to have a big year!!

Back to The Bogosphere!! The Return of the Kevinator

2008-02-03T12:32:00.001-05:00

Super Bowl Sunday is the perfect time for Comeback!!

Lots of neat stuff going on with a Presidential Election looming and Notre Dame trying to mount a big time comeback year!! Stay Tuned here if you would like get an idea of what the average Midwestern paycheck to paycheck dude thinks about things that happen around him!

My personal fortunes have taken a turn for the better as I have found "Gainful" employment in my role as a Recruiter of Emergency Department Physicians. This seems to go against the grain of current trends since quite a few of my younger contemporaries are worried about cutbacks at their companies!! I am still broke, however, since I blew a disk in my back while I was still waiting for my Healthcare Bennies to kick in!! I am counting the hours until my income tax refund show up so I can pay Chiropractor, MRI people, etc!!

Feel free to hang out as I put forth a journal of my rise to mediocrity and espouse my totally biased opinions!!

Notre Dame - The Corwin Brown Factor

2007-07-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

This is a very conflicted time of year!!

Summer is finally here but we have had any college football for over five months! We don't want to rush summer, but we can see our favorite teams teeing it up in the distant horizon!

Nothing but gloom and doom is forecast for the supposedly hapless Irish, but the critics are underestimating the "Corwin Brown Effect"!

It's beautiful morning here in Klingerville, and I am listening to the local sports talk show on the way back from purchasing my artery clogging cappuccino, when I hear that Corwin Brown's Jets secondary went 13 straight quarters without giving up a Pass Interference penalty!

Little facts like these seem come to my attention every day.....added to the fact that Coach Brown has done wonders as a recruiter, bagging blue chip verbal commitments from talent such as Omar Hunter, Robert Blanton, Jamoris Slaughter, and Ethan Johnson.

According to sources in the Irish blogosphere "Corwin Brown, almost single-handedly, is becoming one of the best recruiters in college football and is close to signing a class that will give the Irish national-championship caliber talent on defense for the first time in at least 10 years."

We must also remember that the Irish defensive secondary returns Tom Zibikowski, Ambrose Wooden, Terrel Lambert, and Darrin Walls ... not mention adding the speed of Munir Prince!

If Corwin Brown and his 3-4 Defense overachieves, that would give ND's offense some wiggle room to work out it's wrinkles and find it's new identity.

The real beauty of it all is that everyone has pretty much written off the Irish for 2007.

I think Corwin Brown thinks otherwise........

Howard Dean Meets The Obama Girl!

2007-06-20T12:37:00.001-05:00

Only in the blogosphere will you find Howard Dean and the Obama Girl in the same Headline!

Leah Kaufman, who wrote "Obama Girl", has unwittingly unleashed a political tsunami in cyberspace. Once again, a political candidate has gotten a major bounce from an internet happening. It went from You Tube to the blogosphere and to the Television Networks faster than it takes to reboot the typical PC!

Barack Obama (D-Illinois) never seemed a serious presidential candidate until last September when Oprah gave him a ringing endorsement on Larry King. From that point it seemed like Obama has been really getting the buzz. If fact, he is giving Hillary Clinton a run for the money to be runner up in the Iowa Primary behind John Edwards.

We all remember how Howard Dean got all that buzz in cyberspace before the last election but ran out of steam with "The Scream" in Iowa. The question for the upcoming presidential election is......

Will the Internet/Blogosphere ever have the Power to be a major influence on who becomes the next President?

It's not hard to imagine legions of Democrats or Republicans showing up at the opposition rallies waiting for a "Mucaca Moment" that they can film on their cell phone cameras and have on You Tube within the same hour!

My somewhat ignorant conclusion is that the Presidential Race could be won by the most internet savvy campaign! Whether that's good or bad is for the future to tell!

As for the "Obama Girl", a big pat on the back for showing us the impact of cyberspace.

I hope we never see an "Osama Girl"!!

Notre Dame Football - ESPN Take!

2007-06-16T12:51:00.000-05:00

I was just listening to ESPN Radio Gameday with John Stashower and Mel Kiper while I was returning from doing my Jared Fogle imitation at the local Subway shop.

They had a guest on in regards to Notre Dame Football, but I didn't catch his name....they were of the opinion that Evan Sharpley would most likely get the starting nod with Jimmy Clausen coming in later in the season. They also mentioned that Coach Weis would run a very conservative, boring offense relying solely on the running game.

As I mentioned in former posts, I do believe the emphasis will be on the running game, but I differ with them in terms of the QB and the Offense. If Weis wants to start out with the focus on running, I would think he would go with Demetrius Jones, since he has got the wheels to be a running threat on his own. I also think the offense could be exciting if Notre Dame really does get a good running game going, since it would take the pressure off an inexperienced QB when he does put the ball in the air!!

They also failed to mention anything about Corwin Brown improving the Defense, which I think will be a big factor in the tough part of the Irish schedule at the beginning of the season.

One thing on ESPN Gameday that there can be no doubt about.......

The Irish will be facing one mean, aggressive defense when they open with Georgia Tech!

Notre Dame - Big Surprise or Rebuilding Year?

2007-06-14T22:26:00.000-05:00

Nobody knows what to expect from the Irish this year!

Inexperienced QB? Questionable offensive line? Same old Lame Defense?

I'm going to go (way) out on a limb and say "Big Surprise"!

As far as the defense is concerned, I think Corwyn Brown is quietly making big strides. He changed the defensive scheme and has Zibkowski, Wooden, and Terrel Lambert returning. Munir Prince will also lend considerable speed to the defensive equation. There's even a rumor that a real pass rush might be imminent!

The big issue, of course, is the offense. Sources in the blogosphere seem to be suggesting that Coach Weis is dialed in on the running game. Big Time! Which brings us to what I consider to be Notre Dame's strong spot - Running Backs. They have punishing power backs in James Aldridge, Junior Jabbie, and Asaph Schwapp and, oh..yeah.....
Robert Hughes coming in as a Freshman. Added to that, we have the ever dependable Travis Thomas and speedburner Armando Allen!!

If Weis can harness all that running talent, it will take a lot of pressure off Clausen, Sharpley, or Demetrious Jones. If it turns out the speedy Jones takes the snap, it will add another running dimension for opposing defenses to worry about.

The kicking game is what scares me the most. I haven't read anything positive about that yet. Ryan Burkhardt has a good leg, but he couldn't even beat out last year's kicker in a head to head competition!

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the home opener against Georgia Tech. The first thing I will be looking for is crisp execution. We had it big time the first year of Weis's tenure. Second year.....Not so much! There was a lot of distraction leading up to last year, however, with things like boxing matches and minor league baseball going on in the pre-season. Zibkowski even showed up a mohawk!

I think the focus will be back this year.

We will know when we see the first drive!

Rescue Me Is Back!!

2007-06-13T16:28:00.000-05:00

Finally!!!

Something to watch this summer besides Baseball!!

Rescue Me returns tonight on FX! One of my favorite shows of all time.....Right up there with Hill Street Blues, MASH, Homicide, Miami Vice and the ultimate 60's thriller, "The Fugitive"!

Things I have in common with Tommy Gavin (Lead Character)
1. I like Jameson's Whiskey
2. I like wearing stupid Irish Shirts
3. I played Hockey (Rugby later in Life)
4. I worked in a Uniform once (Navy instead of Fire Department)
5. I have Commitment Issues
6. I like to use Bad Words

Things I don't have in common with Tommy Gavin
1. Getting in Fights on a Daily Basis
2. Having a Hot Blonde Wife
3. Having an Exciting Job
4. Having Affairs with Hot Widows
5. Giving up Alcohol
6. Constant Hallucinations
7. I live in Toledo and not New York

Veteran's Healthcare - A Great Way to Say Thanks!

2007-06-12T20:20:00.000-05:00

A great way to say 'Thank you for your service" would be to make sure the Presidential nominee you vote for supports mandatory funding for Veteran's health care!

I plan on making it a personal quest to find out where nominees for both parties stand! We have lots of younger Veterans coming out of the military who will need to know that their benefits will always be there!

Its real simple.

If they don't support mandatory funding for Veterans, they don't get your vote!

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

USS Enterprise - Praying Mantis Sequel?

2007-06-12T12:16:00.000-05:00

It is rumored my old home, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), is back out to sea and heading for duty off the shores of Iran!

They will become the 3rd Carrier Group in that area of operations! I had the good fortune to be on board when "The Big E" pilots (And our battle group) tangled with Iranian frigates and gunboats during Operation Praying Mantis in April, 1988.

Now that the "Hormuz Highway Patrol" will be coming around the bend, I hope memories of their first encounter with the Big E will bring about productive "Big Stick" diplomacy!!

Notre Dame - Will the Green Jerseys Work This Time?

2007-06-11T13:23:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago, Coach Weis announced that Irish will be wearing 1977 style green jerseys and gold pants to honor the 1977 National Championship Team! This will happen on October 20th, when the Irish take on the heathens from USC!

The following is an excerpt from a Chicago Sports.com Article regarding our "Green Jersey" history.....

"The green jerseys have been met with mixed results. The Irish wore green in victories over USC in 1983 and 1985 -- although in 1985 they wore blue in the first half then switched to green for the second half.

Lou Holtz had the Irish wear green twice: in a 39-28 win over Florida in the 1992 Sugar Bowl and a 41-24 loss to Colorado in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl. The Irish also wore green in a 35-28 loss to Georgia Tech in the 1999 Gator Bowl and in a 14-7 loss to Boston College in 2002 after the Irish started the season 8-0.

The Irish wore green against USC in 2005, when Matt Leinart led the top-ranked Trojans to a 34-31 victory with a touchdown in the closing seconds. The Irish also wore green in a 41-9 victory over Army this past November.

John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director, said this was the first time in recent memory where the Irish announced in advance they would wear green for a game."

In spite of the mixed results, I still love the Green Jersey ploy! I'll take every psychological advantage we can get against the hated Trojans! If someone could figure out how paint the fabled Trojan Horse green, I would really be impressed!

Soprano's Not So Finale!

2007-06-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Soprano's bid us fond adieu last night!

I didn't actually see the final episode since I have been renting the DVD's and am still a season behind, but I have been hearing a lot about how the "Final" episode wasn't really that final!!

The morning talk shows were full of critics complaining about an ending that resembled a power outage more than an exciting conclusion!

Sounds to me like we will be seeing Tony and Carm on the big screen soon!

Walking - Simple and Effective!

2007-06-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

It seems as though we concentrate on weight loss so much that we lose the big picture of making ourselves more healthy. Walking is one of the simplest and healthiest things we can do....although the weight loss merits are heavily debated.

Here is an interesting paragraph from a Wendy Baumgartner article of About.com!

"A moderate level of physical activity, such as walking 30 minutes a day, lengthened life by 1.3 years and added 1.1 more years without cardiovascular disease, compared with those with low activity levels. Those who chose a high physical activity level gained 3.7 years of life and added 3.3 more years without cardiovascular disease."

I can personally testify that walking works like magic regarding my blood pressure, cholesterol, etc........and it also seems to help me maintain a weight loss!

Ocean's 13 - Movie Review!!

2007-06-09T23:29:00.000-05:00

Danny Ocean is back!

Ever since Frank Sinatra played the original in the 1960 version of Ocean's 11, I have been a fan of Danny and the gang! In both the early and the later version of the movie, Danny had the honor of being surrounded with some serious talent. The first generation of Con Men featured the whole Rat Pack while the newer group has George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Elliot Gould, and Bernie Mac! Al Pacino made an awesome villian with Ellen Barkin (Whom I loved in "Diner") as his sultry sidekick!

It's best to see this movie fully alert as things move really fast and it can be hard to pick up a lot of the details. I will have to view this flick several times in order to digest all of the intricacies of the plot, but thats the fun part for me. My advice is to not get overly worried about the details in the first viewing and just enjoy the watching the story as it unfolds!

I especially enjoyed the panoramic shots of Las Vegas and also the high tech gadgetry used throughout the Flick!!

Ocean's 13 also received a unanimous "Thumbs Up" from the panel of critics I brought with me!!

Riot At The Local Speedway!

2007-06-09T11:20:00.000-05:00

Gorgeous day here in Toledoville!

I decided to start my day with a super caffeinated liquid fat bomb (Coffee) from my local Speedway! On the way in I noticed a damsel (Yes, she was an aesthetically pleasing female) in distress as she apparently ran out of gas and was trying to push a big urban assault vehicle (SUV) to the pump. All of the hours on the elliptical paid off as we whipped it right up to the pump! As I was waiting in line to get the coffee and cash in my rewards points on a gift card, I noticed one of the two girls working there was having problems with her computer/register and was besieged by impatient customers. When I finally got to the front of the line at the working register, the gal that was waiting on me freaked out because her terminal froze in the middle of my transaction.

This meant that there were no working cash registers!!!!!

She had to break out one of those old credit card slide things and run my card through it....compounding the situation was the fact that she was so young she never saw a Credit Card Slider thingy and was clueless how to operate one!! It took not only my expertise , but also 2 former retail persons from the 80's to show her how to complete the transaction!

By this time, the crowd behind me had grown exponentially and was getting uglier by the minute.....I did the manly thing and got the hell out of there!

After refilling my coffee, of course!!

Office Phone Mania!!

2007-06-08T22:12:00.000-05:00

Who was the jerk that started the "Make sure you tell someone you love them, because it might be the last time you see them" rule???

Whoever started this couldn't have known what a trend they started! If you work in a typical office cubicle where you can hear everyone else's phone conversations, most of you guys out there knows what I'm talking about! The female of our species now has to say "I love you" at least 500 times during the typical phone conversation with their family members! Here are two examples of what you might hear"

"If I ever see that girl naked in my house again...I'll have your Head!! .... I love you....

"You forgot to make the Mortgage Payment last Month"......I love you....

To keep your membership to the Loving Mothers Union, you have to say "I Love You" at 5 times at the end of every conversation. The worst part is that it is contagious. Once one female type starts saying that....the rest have to do the same or turn in their Mom cards.

Last time I checked, my brothers and I grew up and turned out just fine without my mother having to say that every five minutes!! In fact, I think the greatest gift she gave us was not professing her love for us every 5 minutes. Working her ass off to help feed us worked just fine!!

A Great Way to Eliminate Polizaration Between Liberals and Conservatives!

2006-12-31T12:07:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays I discovered how to bring two different political ideologies together! The answer is simple......Gambling! Fantasy Leagues, Pick 'em Pools, Scratch Offs at the Bar, Casino's, Las Vegas, Poker (Mariah), NCAA Hoops Brackets, etc.

Last Night, as we gathered at the local drinkery to usher in the New Year.... Conservatives, Liberals, and Moderates alike put our money together and spent the night betting on scratch off games and making plans in regards to losing our money in Vegas. It made for a fun evening devoid of political squabbling, which had a very cathartic effect considering we were able to work as a team with the goal of stimulating the economy with our gaming losses!!

My humble opinion is that we are all a lot more moderate then we would like to admit.
All we have to do is have the Senate and Congress start a Fantasy League and distribute some Scratch Off cards. Having John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton hitting the slots would most certainly ensure more efficient leadership!!

Saddam Swings From The Gallows! Remember the USS Stark!

2006-12-30T11:47:00.000-05:00

Stark listing following 2 hits by Iraqi Exocet missiles

Finally, justice is done for the Sailors of the Stark!

I may be a paranoid, conspiracy theorist but I always thought Saddam took a cheap shot at our fleet in the Gulf back when he was supposed to be our ally!! I was not in the Gulf when this went down, I believe we (USS Enterprise) were working up for our 88 Gulf tour at the time...........

Here is a description of the incident from Wikipedia!

"Stark was deployed to the Middle East Force in 1984 and 1987. The ship was struck on May 17, 1987, by two Exocet antiship missiles fired from an Iraqi Mirage F1 fighter during the Iran-Iraq War. The fighter had taken off from Shaibah at 20:00 and had flown south into the Persian Gulf. Shortly after being routinely challenged by the frigate around 22:10, the fighter fired two Exocet missiles. The frigate did not detect the missiles, and both struck without warning. The first penetrated the port-side hull; it failed to detonate, but spewed flaming rocket fuel in its path. The second entered at almost the same point, and left a 3-by-4-meter gash—then exploded in crew quarters. Thirty-seven sailors were killed and twenty-one were injured.
Stark listing following 2 hits by Exocet missiles

Afire and listing, the frigate was brought under control by its crew during the night. The ship made its way to Bahrain where, after temporary repairs by the tender USS Acadia (AD-42) to make her seaworthy, she returned to her home port of Mayport, Florida, under her own power. The ship was eventually repaired at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi for $142 million.

This has been called the U.S. Navy's deadliest peacetime disaster before the gun turret explosion onboard the battleship Iowa.

Because the U.S. and Iraq were not at war at the time, the attack was likely not authorized. According to Iraqi officials, the pilot who attacked the Stark was not punished. Though American officials believed he had been executed, journalist Robert Fisk, in his book The Great War For Civilisation, quotes an ex-Iraqi Air Force commander who says the pilot is still alive.

Back To The Blogosphere!!!

2006-12-27T18:56:00.000-05:00

I'm Baaaack!!

After an absence of over a year, I have returned to the Blogosphere!! I went off the radar for the following reasons.....

1. I quit my job of 10 years to take a new position and then got laid off after 6 months!
2. My creativity disappeared after realizing I had no health coverage.
3. I got a new computer and forgot to save the address for my blog.
4. I had temporarily lost my memory after being hit in the head by an irate senior while waiting in line at Bob Evans.
5. My Irish got whipped by both USC and Michigan.
6. I got carried away counting all the loan shark companies on every street corner.

I'm not sure what this blog is supposed to accomplish. If nothing else, I will be a lot safer keeping my meanderings in cyberspace, rather than at my place of employment, which I just begged my way back into.

Who was the first to "Hunker Down" ?

2005-09-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

With Katrina and Rita hitting the Gulf Coast with extreme prejudice, I think it would be a great idea if some Jillionaire donated a hundred bucks for each time someone on TV says the phrase "Hunker Down" ! A buddy of mine even said it during a Las Vegas sandstorm, suggesting that since the weather was so miserable, we ought to "Hunker Down" for the night at the Orleans Hotel....somehow it doesn't seem right that "Hunker Down" should be in the same sentence with a Casino!

Here is the most official explanation of the phrase I could find....

It sounds like the most typically American of phrases, but it seems originally to have been Scots, first recorded in the eighteenth century.

Nobody seems to know exactly what its origin is, though it has been suggested it’s linked to the Old Norse huka, to squat; that would make it a close cousin of old Dutch huiken and modern German hocken, meaning to squat or crouch, which makes sense. That’s certainly what’s meant by the word in American English, in phrases like hunker down or on your hunkers.

The Oxford English Dictionary has a fine description of how to hunker: “squat, with the haunches, knees, and ankles acutely bent, so as to bring the hams near the heels, and throw the whole weight upon the fore part of the feet”. The advantage of this position is that you’re not only crouched close to the ground, so presenting a small target for whatever the universe chooses to throw at you, but you’re also ready to move at a moment’s notice.

Hunker down has also taken on the sense of to hide, hide out, or take shelter, whatever position you choose to do it in. This was a south-western US dialect form that was popularised by President Johnson in the mid 1960s. Despite its Scots ancestry, hunker is rare in standard British English.

I have to admit...the LBJ explanation makes the most sense!!!

Trying to Reason with the Football Season!

2005-09-19T19:54:00.000-05:00

It's Monday night and I'm just now able to speak about Notre Dame's overtime loss to Michigan State. They played like a top 5 team and I was real impressed with the Irish and their big comback that just fell short. The clock ran out with MSU pinned on their goal line which eventually spelled doom for domers since we suck when it comes to overtime. If MSU goes out and lays an egg next weekend, it will really piss me off since their Quarterback looked like the second coming of Fran Tarkenton! To add insult to injury, MSU made a big deal of planting their flag on Irish turf right in front of the cameras. I bet Coach Weis makes good use of that next year when we visit Lansing!!

I also took a sound thrashing in fantasy football, my pick em league and all my side bets. Everything I backed went to hell in a hand basket.

"Where's that Sharp Knife...."

A Generational View of the Name Game!!

2005-09-17T11:43:00.000-05:00

SPITTIN BILL DOAK

Just killing some time before ND plays Michigan State later this afternoon! Started noticing the difference in nicknames comparing my parents generation to present day. It would seem that people were much more humble back in the era of "The Greatest Generation". When you were stamped with a nickname back then, it was usually something cute that wasn't very flattering. My mom was called "Jimmy" and my father had many mysterious names like "Oral" and "Hank". My dad apparently had a brother they called "Oval" and I even had an "Aunt Nonie"!

Another window into past nomenclatures would be baseball nicknames! Names like Dummy Hoy, Wahoo Sam Crawford, Turkey Strearns, High Pockets Kelly, Leo "The Lip" Durocher, Peanuts Lowry and Spittin Bill Doak! Compare that to names of present day players like Crime Dog McGriff, Neon Deon Sanders, The Big Unit, Scrap Iron Garner, Mr. October etc.

You might also notice that very few kids these days are named John, Bill, Bob, etc.

Are we a little full of ourselves compared to earlier generations?

Big Party in Klingerville!!!

2005-09-16T09:41:00.000-05:00

MUDHENS TAKE THE TITLE!!!!!!

Quote of the Week!!

2005-09-14T21:18:00.000-05:00

I would like to thank my old college bud "The Senator" for this one...it's a classic!!

"Government is the Entertainment Division
of the military-industrial complex."
        -- Frank Zappa
      (1940-1993), Musician

Lose the Urban Assault Vehicles!!

2005-09-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

It's about time we get serious about fuel conservation and dump those Gas Hog Urban Assault Vehicles we've been driving....will the VW Bug make a comeback!! I wish Toledo had a Bay Area Rapid Transit or even an Elevated like Chicago!!!

The Dreaded Healthcare Hunt!

2005-09-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

First, lets start with this little tidbit from the Miami Herald..

Workers to bear more health care costs

ANNE D'INNOCENIZO

Associated Press

NEW YORK - The nation's employers are struggling with close to double-digit increases in health care costs in 2006, and consequently will be shifting more of that burden to their employees, according to a new survey of more than 1,800 firms.

The preliminary survey, released Tuesday by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, found that employers anticipate an almost 10 percent increase in health care costs next year, about three times the rate of general inflation, if they leave benefits unchanged.

I am starting a new job in less than two weeks and am on the hunt for individual healthcare bennies. So far, there is absolutlely nothing that matches my present group plan. I will probably have to face a high deductible with an 80/20 plan. For a guy with no bucks in the bank, that basically means avoiding the doc at all costs.

I can take comfort in the thought that if I get run over by an out of control Hummer, I will only owe thousands instead of millions. At least I have some comfort in knowing that with my new job...the more successful I am, the more money I make. I will need it since my "Wild Child" days are catching up with me as I pass from the "Dirty Old Man " stage to the "Geezer" stage!

At least I'm not watching "Lawrence Welk " reruns, yet!!

Sleepy LeBeef at the Black Swamp Fest!!

2005-09-13T16:02:00.000-05:00

Made it down to the Black Swamp Fest to check out Sleepy LeBeef!! Hooked up with Sudsy (And Family) and Spence who are alumni from the record store days. Sleepy did a great job once again with "Polk Salad Annie". I was a little disappointed since he didn't do "Suzie Q" like he did at the Magic Bag in Detroit. Other than that, Sleepy Rocked!!

Gorgeous night in BG and everyone was talking about the next days football matchups, when all of a sudden a hush fell out over the group and I felt a female type hugging me from behind! My delusions of grandeur were completely assuaged when I found it was my neice, who was there with her pilot hubby, Tad, being good Bowling Green Alumni!

Got home just in time to see OU put a whoopin on Pitt!!

Explaining EastToledoVille

2005-09-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

Actually, I no longer reside in East Toledo. The guy that lived upstairs starting selling stale cigarettes to the kids out front of the house which was really emabarrasing when I brought the girls from the office home for lunch. I now reside in the suburbs. I still think of myself as an East Sider because "You can take the boy of the East Side, but you can't take East Side out of the boy"!!

Welcome to EastToledoVille!

2005-09-13T11:52:00.000-05:00

I just stumbled across this really cheap and easy way to have my own blog!! I'm not really sure where I'm going with this but I guess this will be about the meanderings of the typical midwest paycheck to paycheck type dude trying to make sense of it all.

Just had an emotionally mixed bag weekend. I was all pumped up Saturday morning when The Irish won the big game in the Big House but was bummed out later when the Buckeyes went down to the stupid Longhorns.

The local primaries are going on in the Glass City. We have a person named Opal Covey running for Mayor. I think she should be elected mainly because of her entertainment value. I don't think she has a good record with animal advocacy groups, however!!