Wednesday, February 25, 2009

WOW!

Now this is newsworthy:

The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.

Rev it UP

If you are anything like me, the sound of your alarm buzzing you awake in the morning is next to torture.

So, to make the AM a tad easier, here are a few tips on how to get past that morning ache and get REVED UP for your busy day ahead:

For A.M. Energy


Stand a few inches in front of your bedroom doorway and lift arms so that elbows are at shoulder height. Place palms on the edges of the door jamb, framing both sides of the doorway. Anchor hands as you lean forward and exhale. "Hold for a few breaths, allowing shoulder blades to move together and the chest to open," says Edward Vilga, a yoga instructor at Laughing Lotus in New York City and author of Yoga for Suits. Then, inhaling, return to starting position.

HAWT DAMN!


WOW - Elaine never looked so good. It so inspiring that at 48, a Mom of 2 can still be smkoin' hot.

I certainly hope that I can have abs like that after popping out a few kiddlets.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Nothing But the Fact's Ma'am

TRANS FATS: They are evil, they have been banned in various cities & states and no matter what anyone says, they will kill you.

But what are they:

Trans fat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid(s). Trans fats may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.

Unsaturated fat is a fat molecule containing one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms. Since the carbons are double-bonded to each other, there are fewer bonds available for hydrogen, so there are fewer hydrogen atoms, hence "unsaturated". Cis and trans are terms that refer to the arrangement of chains of carbon atoms across the double bond. In the cis arrangement, the chains are on the same side of the double bond, resulting in a kinked geometry. In the trans arrangement, the chains are on opposite sides of the double bond, and the chain is straight overall.

The process of hydrogenation is intended to add hydrogen atoms to cis-unsaturated fats, eliminating a double bond and making them more saturated. These saturated fats have a higher melting point, which makes them attractive for baking and extends their shelf-life. However, the process frequently has a side effect that turns some cis-isomers into trans-unsaturated fats instead of hydrogenating them completely.

There is another class of trans fats, vaccenic acid, which occurs naturally in trace amounts in meat and dairy products from ruminants.

Unlike other dietary fats, trans fats are not essential, and they do not promote good health. The consumption of trans fats increases one's risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and lowering levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. Health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils are more harmful than naturally occurring oils.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat

Trans fats: The move away from bad fats

What You Need to Know about Fat and Trans Fat

Time to MultiTask

I HATE exercising first thing in the morning.

GASP! Yes, its true, what can I say?

But let me be clear, it's not that I HATE to work out when I first get up, because I do rather enjoy it. Gets the blood pumping and makes me feel good about scarfing down my post-workout breakfast.

But what I dislike rather, is the the idea of having to get up early specifically for a workout. I dispose having to already get up early 3 days a week to attend my industry meetings at the office, so hitting the treadmill is not going motivate me anymore than that to out from under the covers. Sleep is and always will be more important to me and those who are around me.

This is why I always work out in the evening. Plus it is a GIANT stress reliever for me and when I wake up I am just not stressed out ... after work, well, that's a whole other kettle of fish

But maybe, in my lazy AM ways there is a possibility of me getting in a few reps before the office grind:

I've always wanted soccer-player calves--without having to play soccer everyday! So, for a few years now I've been doing a little calf workout while I dry my hair in the morning. It takes me 10 minutes to blow out this mop of mine, so that's 10 minutes I can use to do some leg lifts.

They're so simple that I don't even need to explain, but I will. Basically, just shift the weight of your body up onto the balls of your feet (like you're standing on your "tip toes"), and repeat--lifting yourself up and down again. Do these in sets of 15-20, giving yourself a little break between. You'll feel a burn in your calf muscles, and that's good!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

My Date with Tommy Europe

Well, ok it wasn't a date, it was a Bishop's University Alumni event on Friday night that I was attending as a guest.

My GF Andrea has asked if I wanted to come with, being that Tommy was booked to be the Guest Speaker and she is more than aware of my obsession with both his shows: The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides.

I had tried to get on to L10LBS last year, but I just didn't have a crazy enough story .... at least that's what Tommy said when I asked him about. Next time I will come up with something over the top - lol

ANYWAYS ... the event actually ended up being a rather small, with just 25 of us in attendance, so the feel was very informal and more of a one on one Q & A than a lecture set up.

Tom was very nice and well spoken. He answered all the questions thrown at him with full honesty and even gave me a few tip on pushing past my current plateau to reach my goals.

It was a great night, I got to meet someone who I admire and who inspires me and even met a few new peeps.

More on Tommy Europe

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Technical Glitches

As you can see, my lovely layout is no more - Arg to you Blogger.

All links and side bar details will be restored as soon as they can work out their kinks ;)

Friday, February 20, 2009

Baby Got Back

Who dosen't want a firm, perky butt? I sure as heck do. Watch out J.Lo and Mz. Kardashian ... here comes Mizz T!

You've spent the last six months working your butt off at the office -- juggling meetings, e-mails and the paper tsunami otherwise known as your in-box. And while your boss is satisfied and your paychecks are getting fatter, all those hours spent sitting behind a desk have taken their toll. Instead of sporting a lifted rear end, you feel like you have cubicle butt.

Before you resign yourself to wearing a coverup all summer, try these exclusive moves from the "Quick Fix Buns" video (Peter Pan Industries), designed to zero in on your butt muscles, so you can get a rounder, more lifted look in time for beach season.

According to certified trainer Nancy Popp, who stars in the "Buns" video, one secret to the "Quick Fix" is targeting your butt from different angles. All of the exercises shown on these pages are done while you're standing, but small changes in position -- such as turning out your toes or rotating your knee out from your hip -- let you hit your buttocks from a variety of important directions.

Keep Reading: Bikini Butt

Hmmm ... Maybe Its Time to Change?

This weeks numbers have forced me to review and reevaluate my fitness routine. I seem to have hot aplteau and even though I am still very much "on the wagon" diet and exercise wise, I dont seem to be shedding any more weight or inches.

Then I read this:

Your time is valuable, and for each precious moment you put into your workouts, you want to ensure you get the best possible return on your investment. So, are you getting the results you want? If your body isn't as lean or toned as you'd like, it may be that you're committing some key training mistakes, which can sabotage the efforts of even veteran exercisers.

Of course, you probably know the more obvious mistakes to avoid. For instance, skipping your warm-up may cause you to fatigue early, preventing you from realizing your potential. Furthermore, leaning on the stair climber or elliptical trainer may allow you to stay on longer, but it drastically reduces the challenge to your lower body as well as the number of calories you burn. But what about the less obvious errors you may be making? Here, we'll discuss some of the more subtle -- yet no less serious -- faux pas of fitness and the strength-training exercises most frequently flubbed, and show you how they can be fixed with nearly effortless corrections.

Sabotaging Your Self

Damnit! Just when I think I am getting ahead I read this:

You may spend 20 minutes working your abs every other day, but you sit at a desk for hours upon upon hours a week. If you slouch at that desk, you are quite possibly undoing all your hard at the gym strengthening your abs and back. When you slouch, all your hard work slouches with you.
Keep reading: Slouching: The Saboteur of Flat Abs

Time to do some ab work while I type ....

What the World Needs Now is .......Honesty

That really is what we need more of when it comes to making the right food choices.

Most of the info that we are fed regarding healthy living and eating comes sources that have sold out to the giant food companies and is strongly influenced by food lobbyists, offering up lousy nutritional advice that's well behind the nutritional principles we now know to be true.

So that's wehy I suggest you check out the Honest Food Guide, provided by the always insighful Mike Adams, The Health Ranger of NaturalNew.com

It's an easy-to-use nutritional reference chart that can help you make the right choices for every meal. The "Honest FoodGuide" is based on real nutrition, not politics or special interestgroups, and it illustrates the nutritional principles that will keepyou healthy for life.

So check it out!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Week 8 - Is my weight loss goal realistic?

I ask myself this all the time.

I have set my weight loss goals based on the BMI rating system and a projected weight loss of 1-2 lbs per week.

However, after reading this I am starting to second guess my goal date:

Question:
I am a 48 year old male, 6’0” and 208 lbs. My BMI is 28.2 which indicates that I am extremely overweight. (A BMI of 30 is obese!!!) What the heck?! I thought I was not that bad, but these stats and charts have me thinking I am a giant pig! It automatically calculated that I should be 165.2 lbs by October 28, 2009!!! This seems extremely skinny to me. I think I weighed that when I was a 10th grader and I was skinny. Should a 48 year old man be that skinny? What I really want is to weigh 180 lbs by April 15, 2009. I hope that is realistic.

Answer
You are not alone in misclassifying your weight. In the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 15,593 adults were asked, “Do you consider yourself to be overweight, underweight, or about the right weight?” One third of overweight men thought they were “about the right weight” or “underweight.” Because 65% of Americans are overweight or obese, our perception of “normal” is distorted. While 165 lb (BMI 23.7) might be a low weight for you, 180 lbs (BMI 24.4) is a reasonable weight goal. To lose 28 lbs in 14 weeks, you, personally, need to eat 1700 calories a day while exercising for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week

Source: Ask Mary

I am currently working out 3 days a week: 30 minutes of cardio, followed by 30 minutes of core strengthening and upper body free weights.

I am not tracking my food intake. I am on a healthy eating plan, following the GI Diet rules, and feel that this is an apprpriate lifestyle and therefor do not need to overly worry about my actual caloric intake numbers. I have never been and will never be a calorie counter.

Sure, I have gotten off track a few times, but nothing that I think would set me too far back, and when I have gotten off track I have been honest with myself about it and owned up to my mistakes and worked to make it right.

But now that I have started to see my results slow down, maybe I do need to rethink things.

This week’s weigh in numbers are below.

I did notice that my water % numbers were up this week and so I am hoping that has some bearing on the lack of overall weight loss for this week.

All in all, I am still very happy with the current results and am more than motivated to keep reaching for my goals. Maybe I just need to tweek those goals a little?

Weight: 130 lbs
Bust: 35
Waist: 29
Hips: 39

Week 8 Overall Weight & Inches Loss:

Weight: - 8 lbs
Bust: - 3
Waist: -4
Hips: - 3
Total Inches: -10

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I Love You Kelly Clarkson

For so many reasons:

  • Great tunes
  • Awesome sense of style
  • And a great dose of honesty & reality

Kelly Clarkson reminds us that "No girl is perfect." The seasoned 26-year-old told a group of 20 preteens at a Dove-sponsored self-esteem workshop, "Just to let you know everyone in the magazines is Photoshopped! Beyoncé is one of the most beautiful girls in the world but she gets Photoshopped too. We're all human!" She also told the girls that "They Photoshopped the crap out of me!" on the cover of her sexy All I Ever Wanted album.

Keep Reading: Reality Check: Kelly Clarkson Says All Celebs Have Cellulite

Always Asking Why ...

I really don't know WHY we still ask these questions, but we do. We know how it all works:

Eat Crap = FAT

No Exercise = FAT

Its not rocket science ... or is it??

So why is obesity happening? The obvious, clichéd-but-true answer is that we eat too much high-calorie food and don't burn it off with enough exercise. If only we had more willpower, the problem would go away. But it isn't that easy.

When warned about the dangers of overeating, we get briefly spooked and try to do better. Then we're offered a plateful of pancakes smothered in maple syrup, our appetite overpowers our reason, and before we know it, we're at it again. Just why is appetite such a powerful driver of behavior, and, more important, how can we tame it?
Keep Reading: Why We're Fat

Monday, February 16, 2009

Beware!

Beware ... For the path you will take will lead you to certain destruction!

Ok no, not really, I just wantd to throw down a Labyrinth quote ;) (Geek attack!!)

ANYWHOOOO .... I always love these types of write ups and this is one of my faves:

There may be no place on the planet more daunting than the American supermarket. From the produce section to the frozen-food aisle, the modern day market is loaded with 50,000 food choices, all vying for your hard-earned money.

There’s no better way to start slimming down in 2009 than by eliminating the most egregious offenders in the supermarket from your shopping cart. Some are conspicuous calorie bombs, others are junk food masquerading as healthy food, but all twenty of these foods have one thing in common: they will undermine your efforts to lose weight and feel great in the New Year. So study up on the list of the Worst Supermarket Foods (and while you’re at it, don’t forget the 20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America while you’re at it), and resolve to master your market in 2009.

My Opinion:

#18 & #14 - These are the most suprising on the list, however, not overly shocking
#13 - What a total joke!
#12 - LOL!
#11 - Oh those tricky "Natural" foods ... don't believe everything you read

Keep Reading: The 20 Worst Supermarket Foods in America

Damn that Workplace

This is such a simple, yet effective tip and I cant agree with it more:

Your workplace can actually encourage overeating. Vending machines, snack rooms, and cakes to celebrate the boss' birthday can all contribute to temptation to overeat. If these pressures are sabotaging your diet, you may have to get political. Tell your supervisor about your difficulties and advocate for what you want to change.

When I started on my 2009 Journey, I told EVERYONE at the office (well, everyone that cared - lol) about my plan. At first it was a bit intimidating, but now that they know, the support is unreal.

Keep Reading: Stay Slim This Year

Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Stress ... its gets us all the time.

Maybe its work related, maybe its financially related, maybe its health related. Whatever it is, we all suffer from it time to time.

However, I never really thought that stress would = weight issues. Of course the "stress eating" never helps the waistline, but are there other ways that stress can pack on the pounds?

Forget Häagen-Dazs therapy. Research has uncovered new information about the link between stress and snacking that can help you break the cycle--no therapist required. And once you find out how to fight the biological odds stacked against you, not only will you be more relaxed, but the waistband on your jeans will be too.

How Much Is Your Diet Costing You?

I know that this is something that not only I, but loads of others have thought about when embarking on a new way of life.

Tossing out all the food in your pantry and fridges, only to restock it with healthy alternatives can be hard on the pocket book, let alone the psyche.

There are fewer things more dreaded than the New Year's resolution.

For millions of Americans each year, that means deciding to drop a few--or tens --of pounds. It also means picking a diet from a number of confusing programs: low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, pre-made, points-counting, and so on. The options can be exhausting and once committed, it is hard to start over if the diet is less than compatible with your habits--and your bank account.

That's why we evaluated the first-week costs of seven popular weight-loss programs. After all, the initial week often requires the greatest personal and financial investment.

"We can't eat freely"

Well, that really should be no surprise to anyone ... should it?

According to Dr. Larry Tucker, a professor of exercise science in the College of Health and Human Performance at Brigham Young University, it is:

Dr. Larry Tucker, a professor of exercise science in the College of Health and Human Performance at Brigham Young University, authored a study on restrained eating that appeared in the Jan./Feb. 2009 edition of The American Journal of Health Promotion. Tucker spent three years studying the eating habits of 192 middle-aged women.

Some participants practiced what's known as restrained eating, or the conscious effort to avoid unhealthy foods and substitute them with healthier ones. Previous short-term studies have demonstrated a link between restrained eating and binging, leading researchers to believe that limiting choices often results in overcompensation later.

Tucker's study draws the opposite conclusion. The women who did not practice restrained eating were almost two-and-a-half times more likely to gain weight over the three-year time period than those who were more selective. While the phenomenon of restrained eating and binging has puzzled researchers for years, Tucker believes the length of his study demonstrates a strong causality between eating selectively and weight maintenance. This conclusion has been supported by other long-term studies.

While it's a harsh truth, Tucker says people can adapt to it by making various changes to their habits. Weigh yourself several times per week and keep a food diary, he advises. Added calories, and pounds will show up quickly on the page and scale.

The lesson, he says, is simple and one that dieters often fear: "We can't eat freely."


Keep Reading: Is your diet passé?

I do know some people who don't every think twice about what they put in the mouths and bodies and who are forever starting on another crash or drastic diet to lose weight, that they could have avoided gaining in the fist place.

In my opinion, its breaks down to this: Lifestyle and Accountability.

Lifestyle:
We all know that being active is a healthy way to live. It's not rocket science. It’s common sense and it’s easy to get in a even just a few minutes of exercise everyday.

• Take the stairs to work
• Get off the bus or train a few stops early
• Walk to the grocery store and lug those sacks of feed back home, you'll have earned your grub!

Not only will even just a small dose of activity or exercise help keep the muffin top at bay, it can do wonders for your overall health. Your heart, your lungs and even your brain will thank you for it.

Accountability:
You have to be honest with yourself in what you eat and how active you are.

If you cheat or slip up from your healthy way of life (and we all do), admit it and move on. Don’t do your self the disservice of rationalizing your Whopper or Ben & Jerry's binge. It’s going to get you nowhere.

"If you're going to eat cookies, accept that you're deviating from your plan, and then revert to your diet afterward,". Kidding yourself will only get you into trouble.

Read More: Think like a Biochemist
No one is ever force feeding you MacDonald’s or Ice Cream. It is always your decision and though sometime it may be a hard one, what will be harder is on-going battling the bulge that will come with it.

This may sound harsh, and maybe it is, but the truth can sometimes hurt.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Week 7 - Back to Reality

Hey all.

I'm home from my birthday extravaganza in Sin City and what a time it was.

A total binge of food, booze and a massive lack of sleep. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

Sadly, my exercise was way more lacking than I had anticipated, as the weather as not favourable for all the swimming I had hoped to do and the chronic hangover did nothing to motivate me to crunch and lunge the beers away.

But that's fine. I had made peace with my week away from home and being off the routine before I even hit the airport, so when I stepped on the scale this morning I was very pleasantly surprised:

Weight: 131 lbs
Bust: 35
Waist: 29
Hips: 39

Week 7 Overall Weight & Inches Loss:

Weight: - 7 lbs
Bust: - 3
Waist: -4
Hips: - 3
Total Inches: -10

Still holding strong on the inches and a single pound gain over the week is more than acceptable to me. I can't lie and say I didn't earn that pound. Just ask all the bartenders and waitresses.

But that's behind me now. Tomorrow its back to the gym and back to cranking it out to reach my goal.

I've got 7 weeks - Its GO time!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Week 6: Viva Las Vegas

Hello Party People! I write this as I sit at the lovely Vancouver International Airport waiting for my boarding call, as this is the week I am off to Sin City to revel in the changing of the decade. That’s right, it’s my Dirrty Thirrty and what better place to celebrate than Vegas?

Now, even though I will be away, enjoying the fun & the sun and will more than likely not be adhering to my scheduled workouts, I do have a plan. A few of my travel mates and I have decided that we will be doing some circuit training while on vacay and our logic is that this: working out = Eat, drink and enjoy our selves without out the guilt. A perfect plan, if I do say so myself.

And having access to a pool is very exciting. I am more than stoked to incorporate some swimming into my usual routine. I love the water and as mental as it may sound, the idea of getting in a few laps each day is really quite exciting.

So here’s to a week of fun and fitness to keep the lbs at bay.

And on that note, here are my Week 6 numbers:

Weight: 130 lbs
Bust: 35
Waist: 29
Hips: 39

Week 6 Overall Weight & Inches Loss:

Weight: - 8 lbs
Bust: - 3
Waist: -4
Hips: - 3
Total Inches: -10

I am so stoked with these numbers, regardless of the odd overall weight. How did I regain those 2 lbs?

I have added free weights to my workout and have noticed a bit more overall strength so maybe it’s a bit of muscle gain? Whatever it is, it’s not gonna get me down. It’s the other numbers that get my blood pumping. I am beyond excited and motivated by the overall loss of inches. My jeans are fitting better than they have in ages with almost NO muffin top! And for me that is a great success.

Until next week … CHEERS!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

DO NOT Eat After 8

I'll admit it, I used to think this concept was total garbage.

I always rationalized my late night binging with my schedule and that it was totally fine for me to chow down at 11:00 pm since I had only been up since ... well, let's be honest here, 7:00 am (usually) and had more than likely over the course of the regular day ingested WELL over my daily caloric intake.

And even as the jeans got tighter and the muffin top larger, I never saw any reason to stop this habit. I figured I could just amend my daily caloric intake and that would be fine. I would then further rationalize that I had left over room for the midnight munching by cutting down on what I ate for lunch or dinner. That makes sense right?

NOT!

It's not that I hadn't been told and warned and read all the articles on the subject, I just seemed to think that it didn't apply to me.

Well, I was wrong.

As of January 1, 2009 I have stopped eating after 8:00 pm and as you know, I have happily and without hunger lost 10 lbs!

It was hard at first, don't get my wrong. It felt as if I had lost something. It was a feeling very similar to what I had experienced when I quit smoking. Something was missing, I was bored. Watching TV in the evenings just didn't seem as fun without a bag or bowl of something at my finger tips.

But slowly, it started to get easier. I started drinking loads of water with a few drops of lemon juice to "spice it up" so to speak.

It was the start of the total eating overhaul I needed to make to see the results I wanted to see.

In addition to breaking up my meals throught the day (3 meals) and adding in healthy snacks (3 snacks), I also started to eat my dinners later, but still at a reasonable time (between 6:30 - 7:00 pm) and make the effort to eat them slowly, savouring each bite and taking my time to let my gut tell my brain I was getting full.

And what can I tell you, its working!

More Reads:

If you often consume 35 percent or more of your calories after dinner, you might.

Don't eat late at night, says nutritionist Fiona Hunter

Fat DOES NOT Make You Fat

Its time to bust the myth. Its not fat that is making your jeans snug and giving you that oh so lovely muffin top, its sugar . Just ask Jackie Warner (my new hero), an elite trainer and owner of Sky Sport and Spa in Beverly Hills, California.

Most of us have had this concept backwards for a long, long time and have spent all our energy avoiding fats like the plague, yet never really looking at our sugar consumption.

And I hate to break it to you, but its everywhere. It's sneaky and hides in all sorts of places and if you don't start to read packaging and labels carefully, it will sneak into your diet at every turn.

Take salsa for example. It would be normal to think that this is a relatively healthy condiment. However, hiding near the top of most salsa ingredient lists is the dastardly sugar.

Of course, naturally occurring sugars in fruits and veggies are acceptable forms of this normally evil granule, just be sure that you're not over doing it, and keep away from watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew's (as yummy as they may be) as they are LOADED with sugars and will counteract all your hard diet efforts. If you must have them, sneak them back into your diet in limited quantities only when you are on to maintenance mode.

Here is some great further reading:

Fat Does Not Make You Fat

Quiz Time: Where is the Sugar?

Some of the things you think you know that just aint so

Refined carbohydrates are to blame for skyrocketing chronic disease, not just obesity


Fructose Will Make You Fat

Monday, February 2, 2009

Pizza Pizza

I love Za.

I love its gooey cheesey-ness, its pasta saucy-ness & its endless possibilities of toppings.

What I don't love is its usually fatty and high carby-ness.

So I came up with my own version of the comfort food:
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/3 cup pasta sauce
1 cup shredded soy mozzarella
1 slice back bacon, chopped
1/2 small tomatoe, chopped and seeded (removing the seeds reduces moisture to keep the tortilla from getting mushy)
2 stalks asparagus, chopped
1/4 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup broccoli florets, chopped
3-5 hot banana peppers

Preheat oven to 450° C

Place tortilla on a baking sheet and spread pasta sauce over evenly
Sprinkle soy cheese over pasta sauce evenly

Arrange toppings

Bake on middle rack for 8 - 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbling

Remove pizza from baking sheet and place back in the oven for 2-5 minute or until edges are crisp

Let rest 2 minutes

Slice and enjoy!