Yanks in the Windy City Department!!

 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

 


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!!

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

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

 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)

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!!!

  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!!

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!!

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

"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!!

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!!

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!!

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

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!!

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!!

 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?

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.

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?

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.

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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!!

Betting on Weight Loss - Is it a Gamble?

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

Filed Under: Diet and Weight Loss

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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.