Articles

Fast Food Almost Killed Me

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Vernon

It’s true. #FastFoodNightmare

Last Friday my day’s schedule went haywire. I’d not prepared a lunch as I was planing a lunchtime workout, followed by a meal at the gym.

A last minute client appointment was added to my workout so I had to scratch the workout and was left without any lunch.

What to do? Now, anyone who knows me will know that I get cranky when I don’t eat. That’s why I like to plan my meals and usually have fruit or snacks with me if my schedule gets thrown out.

Anyway, I was passing a corporate fast food joint and decided to pop in for a chicken burger. OK, I resisted the fries, coke and other sweet stuff, choosing to stick to a basic chicken burger in a bun.

As I ordered a glass light fitting fell from the ceiling hit the counter and smashed into pieces on the floor a few inches away from me. Apart from picking pieces of glass out of my shoes and pockets, I was fine. Luckily the 3 small kids next to me in line were shielded form the spread of the glass.

I saw the funny side of it, although the manager could have offered me a free meal to make up for the shock. I couldn’t help thinking that this was either divine intervention or my wife setting of a booby trap to stop me eating fast food.

This got me thinking what was the nutritional value of my food choice, so I spoke to my better half, Noreen, who is the font of wisdom for all things nutrition.

So, the typical recommended macro-nutrient breakdown is 15% Protein, 60% Carbohydrates and 30% Fat. Now, without getting into the science of the different types of carbs and fats, we’ll keep this simple.

Let’s assume my calorie intake for the day is 2500 this would mean that this chicken burger at 550 cals would account for approx 22% of my total calorie intake. Hmm, maybe I could have had fries after all – oh wait, I forgot about the macro-nutrient ratio.

The following is a extract from the fast food outlet’s nutrition calculator.

Source : http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/content/ukhome/meal_builder.html

So what did I learn from this episode?

1. Someone is watching over me – saving my bacon and just maybe checking out what I eat.

2. Always plan ahead for your meals and carry healthy snacks or fruit in case you can’t get a scheduled meal.

3. My food choice wasn’t too bad compared with the quarter pounder burger which topped out at 1300 cals – almost half my daily intake !

Have you got any funny or nightmare fast food related stories? #FastFoodNightmare

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Which #retro fitness – trends do you remember?

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Vernon

Nice Speedos Mate !

We laugh at some fitness trends – remember the Bullworker, or Slendertone.

Nice Speedos mate !

Which retro fitness trends can you remember?

We may laugh, but some of the theory behind them is still relevant today.

What about that Bullworker ! Believe it or not – it’s still a great selling product today – not that I’m here to promote it, but some of the theory is still relevant such as Isometric and Isotonic exercises, although we may rename them and refine them – static contraction or dynamic concentric exercises.

Anyway, what brought on to this subject was last night. We were watching a program on the Sixties – my daughter is doing a 60s fashon project at school, so it was interesting to see the hair styles, clothes, music etc. During the drama one of the actors picked up a milk bottle from a doorstep and started drinking it. My daughter asked ‘what’s that he’s drinking from?’

What was that again? She’s never seen a milk bottle !. OMG, stuff we take for granted some kids today have never seen or experienced. This made me chuckle, I also started thinking about other retro stuff, not just clothes and music.

I remembered being a skinny teenager and buying a Bullworker to ‘get fit’

Ok, so I was never a skinny teenager – I was a fat kid and I hated it – but that’s another story.

The point is, I was trying to do something to improve my body – I think it had something to do with discovering girls – but I was ignorant about ‘getting fit’.

Over the next few years I tried everything available, except Slendertone – hmmm … Power plates anyone!.

I guess I fell for the hype and marketing, rather than educating myself about fitness and nutirition. Now there’s a new word for a pre-school leaver teenager living in the 1980 consumer heaven of TV ready meals, fizzy drinks and takeaway food.

So time moves on, I officially left school having spent most of my last year skipping school and working cash jobs, still living life as a fat kid. I got a job as a builders labourer and started a fitness routine to get fit to join the army.

Forget the hype, the bullworker was resigned to the closet, along with the ab bench and all the other junk I’d bought (we didn’t have ebay then – I think my mum still has them in her loft ). this was a ‘proper workout’ involving cardio and resistance training. The weight dropped off, I ‘got fit’, I was no longer that fat kid that everyone ignored – I even started dating some of the girls I’d been to school with, who couldn’t believe the change in me.

I still research and buy and test out fitness products today. I have a wonderful library on nutrition, anatomy, psyiology and health sciences, plus some fantastic exercise programs that help to ‘keep me fit’.

I’m also married to a gorgeous personal trainer and bootcamp instructor, Noreen, whose knowledge on nutrition is amazing – Pity, because I really love chocolate and she always hides it or lovingly reminds me I shouldn’t be eating it.

What’s the alternative? I’m planning a trip to my mum’s loft to find that Bullworker.

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The Beauty and Burden of Technology

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Vernon

What a little balance will do for your high-tech needs.

If you’re fully absorbed into the information age, you may wonder how people made it before cell phones, video games, or the Internet. Electronic devices are such a large part of our lives we can’t imagine what it would be like without them. How did people have time to hand write letters? How did they perform research for school projects or find their way around an unfamiliar city?

These days, all the information we think we need is at the touch of a button. But are all these technological advances truly improvements?

Do you realize if it weren’t for Edison we’d be watching TV by candlelight?
- Al Boliska

Pros

Technology has surely made many tasks more efficient and convenient. People can get things done much faster than before, saving valuable time and energy. You no longer have to wait days for a letter to arrive in the mail. Now, even the longest of letters takes only a few seconds to make it across the globe.

With the Internet, you also have 24-hour access to practically any information available, nearly doing away with the need to adhere to library hours.

Technology has also increased your access to constant entertainment, which limits boredom. Remember how long and painful those long rides used to be? Thanks to the DVD player in your family van, hitting the road for 8 or 12 hours is almost painless.

Cons

Unfortunately, there is a negative side to all this new technology. It seems some people are developing attention deficit traits. Because technology always offers more information at the point of a mouse, these gadgets have caused people to be easily distracted, impatient, and unable to focus on the task at hand.

When you’re so accustomed to getting information in a matter of seconds, it’s difficult to be patient when things are moving at the speed of life.

The constant flow of information has even become like a drug for some. The excitement and pleasure of communication has led to addictions to texts, social media sites, and email. If you know enough people, you certainly know a few who have an irresistible urge to constantly check their phone or inbox for some sort of information. If you’re one of these people, you realize the great reduction in productivity you suffer because of Facebook and YouTube.

One of the claims of technology is that it improves communication. In many ways it does – but in others, it doesn’t. It may help you keep in better touch with the friends you’re not able to see physically, but what about your family sitting in the same room? It is easy to tune others out and to socially withdraw from those around you if you’re glued to your video game or fancy cell phone.

Kids are especially influenced by technology. Too much of it can limit a child’s imagination, free play, time spent reading and exercising, as well as their ability to communicate face to face with another live human being.

Lastly, electronic gadgets present possible physical harm. The time spent at a computer can lead to neck strain, aches in the forearms and wrists, or carpal tunnel syndrome. Not to mention the dangers of using cell phones or other devices while driving.

Find a Balance

Technology is here to stay whether you like it or not. And its presence is only going to grow. So get used to it! Embrace the positives and stay on your guard against the negatives. Remember – electronic devices can and should make life more productive and convenient. You just have to use it the right way. Here is how.

Set limits. If you have trouble staying focused on your task, download a free program that blocks your ability to visit certain sites for a set amount of time.

While you’re working, remove the pop-up alert for new emails. Check your email, phone, or Facebook at set times, like at the top of the hour, instead of every few minutes. Reply only to important messages that require a reply. Each evening, turn off your gadgets an hour or two before bed. This will give you some down, undistracted family time, and will help you sleep better as well.

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The Air You Breathe

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Vernon

A key component of a healthy lifestyle is regular aerobic exercise.

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But when exercise is combined with air pollution, it can actually be doing more harm than good to your body. Over time, exposure to air pollutants from car and factory emissions can cause a variety of health problems. As a result, athletes are increasingly concerned about over-exposure to the increasing amounts of smog in their communities.

And for good reason.

The Basics

Exercise and exertion in bad air increases your exposure to the harmful airborne particles spewed out by trucks, buses, cars, and local factories. During aerobic activity, you breathe deeper to fill your lungs and inhale more air than normal breathing. As a result, it is estimated that athletes breathe in 10 to 20 times the amount of air with each breath as sedentary people do.

In addition, you often breathe through your mouth instead of your nose when exercising. Unfortunately for mouth-breathing exercises, the nose is responsible for filtering harmful pollution particles in the air. When you bypass the nose’s filters, these particles enter the lungs, where they settle and cause irritation and inflammation. Other particles are so tiny they can even enter the bloodstream – something that is never good.

Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value.
- R. Buckminster Fuller

A Bad Combination

Ugly as air pollution may be in the air around you, it is also associated with a long list of potential health problems, including the following:

damage to lung airways
lungs having to work harder and suffering inflammation
increased risk of developing asthma
worsening of current asthma
increased risk of lung cancer
increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and heart attack

More studies are needed to determine how much air pollution exposure is dangerous and how much exposure is necessary to be dangerous for exercisers and non-exercisers.

Limit the Effects

Before heading outdoors to exercise, check the air quality of your community. Then time your outdoor workouts accordingly. You can often find out about the air quality in your community by checking local newspapers, the Internet, or local television stations. In the event the air quality is especially poor, a government agency such as the Environmental Protection Agency often sends out alerts.

Air quality is categorized into four types. “Good” or “Moderate” is when the air is clearest and cleanest. These days are great to work out outside. Next is “USG,” which stands for unhealthy for sensitive groups. On these days, it is safe to exercise outdoors if you’re healthy, but if you have asthma or pulmonary disease, it’s best to stay inside. The third category is “Unhealthy.” If you must exercise outdoors, do so in the morning while smog levels are lowest. If the air quality has stayed in the red for a few days, keep your exercise routine indoors.

The fourth category of air quality is “Very Unhealthy or Hazardous.” Any time the air hits this level, do not exercise outside – even if you’ve spent the last few days dreaming of an outdoor run.

You should also avoid high-pollution areas and times. At rush hour and within 50 feet of roads, smog levels are at their highest. In addition, urban areas and outdoor smoking sections contain high levels of air pollution.

And remember that just because the air is bad doesn’t mean you can’t exercise (unless the doctor has told you otherwise). Taking a day off here and there won’t hurt, but don’t make it a habit. On days with poor air quality, vary your exercise routine by working out indoors. After you finish lifting weights in the gym, hop on the treadmill and leave the trail running for another day.

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Dietary Cleanse – Do Detox Diets Work?

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Vernon

The clear truth on dietary cleanses

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Each day you consume all sorts of unwanted things, from pesticides in your foods to toxins in the air. So obviously, it sounds like a good idea to purge your body of the toxins and harmful chemicals you are exposed to each day. In steps detox.

Detoxification diets, or detox diets for short, are advertised as a way to do rid your body of impurities while losing weight at the same time. But do detox diets really work, and do the possible health benefits of these diets outweigh the likely risks?

How Detox Diets Work

Detox diets have recently gained in popularity, and many celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon, revealing their own personal detox plans that give them rapid weight loss before a big event. Detox regimes are based on the idea that once your body is free of poisonous, unwanted toxins, it will function more efficiently. In the process, your metabolism will increase, which enables you to shed pounds quickly.

The majority of cleansing diets require consumption of very few calories, small portions of raw vegetables and/or fruits, fruit juices or water to drink, and a variety of supplements. Some detox diets promote the use of pills, herbs, potions, or fasting to purge the body of impurities. Often, enemas or other methods of emptying and cleansing the intestines are used. And yes, that part is just as unpleasant as it sounds.

Are Detox Diets Proven?

Even though detox diets are popular, experts claim these diets aren’t proven, nor are they necessary for health or weight loss. In fact, there is no documented evidence that the core purpose of detox diets – cleansing your body of toxins – occurs through the diet. Instead, the benefits of detox diets are based solely on testimonials.

Thankfully, the immune system, liver, kidneys, and colon can effectively filter and remove the majority of toxins your body ingests or is exposed to. So if you’re detoxing to get rid of chemicals, you’re free to cease and desist.

The Good and the Bad

Though there is no proof that detox diets actually detox your body, they do promote weight loss. How does it do that? By drastically cutting the amount of calories you consume. Any time you do this, you’ll lose weight – even if only temporarily. Unfortunately, as these diets rarely recommend a well-balanced diet, detox diets aren’t recommended by most registered dieticians. Since your initial weight loss is primarily water weight, you’ll likely regain your lost pounds as soon as you return to your normal diet.

But it’s not all bad! Besides rapid weight loss, other reported benefits of a detox diet include increased energy and improved mental focus. These benefits are likely the result of avoiding processed foods, added sugar, and solid fats.

Dangers of Detox

Before attempting a detox diet, get approval from your physician. There are possible negative side effects that may need to be monitored. To start with, any diet that requires fasting or severely restricts protein will result in fatigue. Fasting for a long period of time can also lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, headaches, low blood sugar, nausea, feelings of lightheadedness, dehydration, low energy, muscle loss, and a reduced rate of calorie burning.

If colon cleansing is a part of the detox process, bloating, cramping, vomiting, and nausea may occur. In addition, colon cleanses may change your body’s natural fluid and electrolyte balance.

While detox diets may sound like a scientific approach to cleanse your body and lose weight, these diets lack essential components necessary for long-term health and weight loss.

Keep Your Goal.

If your goal is to cleanse your body of harmful substances, stay healthy, and lose weight, that’s wonderful! Just do it wisely: strive to eat more natural, less processed foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein.

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Does organic food turn people into jerks?

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Vernon

Interesting article from Diane Mapes at Today Health

I’ve only ever experienced this in reverse ! Not a feeling of superiority over others about my whole food non processed choices, but market stall holders not wanting me to touch their produce. I was living in East london and went to the local market and started to pick out a selection of fresh oranges. The guy who ran the stall immediately came over and said in his best cockney accent (sorry Vern – reminds me of you x) “If you wanna pick your own, better go to sainsburys love”

Not sure if it was the quality of his produce or a health and safety issue. Anywasy – I went to the supermarket and he lost my business.

On to the article – enjoy. Noreen.

Renate Raymond has encountered her fair share of organic food snobs, but a recent trip to a Seattle market left her feeling like she’d stumbled onto the set of “Portlandia.“

“I stopped at a market to get a fruit platter for a movie night with friends but I couldn’t find one so I asked the produce guy,” says the 40-year-old arts administrator from Seattle. “And he was like, ‘If you want fruit platters, go to Safeway. We’re organic.’ I finally bought a small cake and some strawberries and then at the check stand, the guy was like ‘You didn’t bring your own bag? I need to charge you if you didn’t bring your own bag.’ It was like a ‘Portlandia skit.’ They were so snotty and arrogant.”

As it turns out, new research has determined that a judgmental attitude may just go hand in hand with exposure to organic foods. In fact, a new study published this week in the journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science, has found that organic food may just make people act a bit like jerks.

“There’s a line of research showing that when people can pat themselves on the back for their moral behavior, they can become self-righteous,” says author Kendall Eskine, assistant professor of the department of psychological sciences at Loyola University in New Orleans. “I’ve noticed a lot of organic foods are marketed with moral terminology, like Honest Tea, and wondered if you exposed people to organic food, if it would make them pat themselves on the back for their moral and environmental choices. I wondered if they would be more altruistic or not.”

To find out, Eskine and his team divided 60 people into three groups. One group was shown pictures of clearly labeled organic food, like apples and spinach. Another group was shown comfort foods such as brownies and cookies. And a third group — the controls — were shown non-organic, non-comfort foods like rice, mustard and oatmeal. After viewing the pictures, each person was then asked to read a series of vignettes describing moral transgressions.

“One vignette was about second cousins having sex,” says Eskine. “Another was about a lawyer on the prowl in an ER trying to get people to sue for their injuries. Then the groups made moral judgments on a scale from one to seven.”

In another phase of the study, the three groups were asked to volunteer for a (fictitious) study, with each person writing down the amount of time — from zero to 30 minutes — that they would be willing to volunteer.

The results did not bode well for the organic folks.

“We found that the organic people judged much harder compared to the control or comfort food groups,” says Eskine. “On a scale of 1 to 7, the organic people were like 5.5 while the controls were about a 5 and the comfort food people were like a 4.89.”

When it came to helping out a needy stranger, the organic people also proved to be more selfish, volunteering only 13 minutes as compared to 19 minutes (for controls) and 24 minutes (for comfort food folks).

“There’s something about being exposed to organic food that made them feel better about themselves,” says Eskine. “And that made them kind of jerks a little bit, I guess.”

Why does eating better make us act worse? Eskine says it probably has to do with what he calls “moral licensing.”

“People may feel like they’ve done their good deed,” he says. “That they have permission, or license, to act unethically later on. It’s like when you go to the gym and run a few miles and you feel good about yourself, so you eat a candy bar.”

Eskine says he was surprised by the findings (“You’d think eating organic would make you feel elevated and want to pay it forward,” he says) and hopes to do additional studies that look at conditions that might prompt people to act differently.

Until then, organic eaters may want to rein in those self-righteous stink-eyes.

“At my local grocery, I sometimes catch organic eyes gazing into my grocery cart and scowling,” says Sue Frause, a 61-year-old freelance writer/photographer from Whidbey Island. “So I’ll often toss in really bad foods just to get them even more riled up.”

Original Article Here at Today Health

Related:

To speed weight loss, try this yummy protein breakfast

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The Atkins Diet

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Vernon

It’s still around. Should it be part of your life?

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Want to lose weight? Can’t seem to get rid of that belly, hips, or thighs? How do eggs and bacon sound for breakfast? How about a cream-based soup for lunch and a steak for dinner? If this sounds like your kind of diet, maybe you should try the Atkins diet.

How It Works

This popular diet is based on the idea that many people are overweight because they eat too many carbohydrates. For energy, your body burns carbs and fat. But your burns up the carbs first. When you eat carbs, your body converts them to sugar. To maintain your blood sugar level, you body makes insulin and stores the extra sugar in the muscles or liver. When the stores are filled, the extra sugar is converted to body fat. The idea behind the Atkins diet is that if the body constantly has to make so much insulin to handle the excess sugar, the body may become less sensitive to insulin and develop diabetes.

Drastically lower the amount of carbs you normally eat – including grains, fruits, and starchy vegetables – and replace them with protein and fat, and Atkins says your body will burn stored body fat faster and you’ll lose weight quicker without being constantly hungry. Love carbs, fruits, and veggies? This diet will be tough to swallow.

I was gaining weight very rapidly and read about the idea of restricting carbohydrates as an alternative to going hungry. I had a big appetite, so that was the only thing I would even consider. -
Dr. Robert Atkins

What to Eat

The Atkins diet lets you eat about as much as you want, but does restrict what you can eat. No milk, white rice, refined sugar, or white flour is allowed. But you can eat all you want of meat, poultry, bacon, cheese, eggs, butter, olive oil, and even mayonnaise. During this phase of the diet, it is important to take vitamin and mineral supplements to ensure your body gets everything it needs to maintain good health.

After the first two weeks of this strict diet, you can slowly add in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. As you lose weight and begin to focus on weight management, you can slowly add more carbs.

Good For You?

Yes, you will lose pounds on the Atkins diet, but is it healthy? The long-term safety of this diet is controversial. You may wonder how a diet with so much fat could be good for your heart. And with good reason. The fat is likely to raise your cholesterol levels. But advocates of Atkins say the cholesterol increase only lasts until the weight loss begins. At this point, cholesterol and triglyceride levels are said to lower and even out again.

Additionally, there is valid concern over potential bone loss and liver and kidney problems from the high levels of protein. In addition, the brain uses glucose to function. As glucose is made more easily from carbohydrates than protein and fat, reducing your body’s access to glucose potentially puts it in harm’s way. Besides, limiting your consumption of grains, fruits, and vegetables deprives your body of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

But wait – there’s more! A sudden drastic reduction in the amount of carbs you eat can cause these temporary side effects. These include dizziness, weakness, headache, fatigue, constipation, nausea, and bad breath. On top of these issues, research has shown an increase in certain types of cancer and heart disease for those who consume high amounts of animal fats and protein.

Now that you’ve heard the pros and cons of the Atkins diet, you can decide for yourself if it’s a diet you’d like to try. Most likely, it will not cause damage to your body as long as you don’t make it a long-term solution. Use it to jumpstart a healthier life and it may pay dividends. Just make sure that healthier life includes plenty of Atkins-unfriendly fruits and vegetables.

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When Bugs Bite

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Vernon

Protect your skin this summer.

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With the warm weather of summer comes the allure of getting out and about. Along with the warm weather come bugs – lots and lots of bugs.

Mosquitoes, fleas, ants, bees, spiders, and ticks are all notorious for biting and stinging people. Most of the time, these bites and stings are harmless, only causing minor discomfort and itching. But other times, bites and stings can cause a severe allergic reaction, major discomfort, or serious diseases.

What can you do this summer to prevent getting bit or stung by those pesky bugs? What is the best way to treat a bite or sting? You’re about to find out.

“Mosquitoes remind us that we are not as high up on the food chain as we think” – Tom Wilson

Keep the Bugs at Bay

Don’t let bugs keep you from enjoying the outdoors during nice weather. Here are some practical ways to protect you and your family from those annoying pests.

If you can, keep a barrier such as screens or nets between you and the bugs.
Stay away from where most of the bugs live: woods and grassy areas.
Don’t leave food and drinks sitting out as this will attract pests.
Mosquitoes breed in water, so make sure there is no standing water in your yard. This includes flowerpots, kiddie pools, and pet dishes.
If necessary, treat your clothes, shoes, and outdoor gear with permethrin. This chemical repels and kills mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects.
Avoid wearing perfumes and scented lotions or soaps when you plan to be outdoors.
Don’t dress like a flower: bright colors attract bees.
Weather permitting, wear long sleeves and pants to protect your skin. Then don’t worry what you look like and tuck your pants into your socks or shoes.
If these methods don’t do the trick, use insect repellant spray. Remember not to use insect repellant on babies or pets. Older children should make sure they use a repellant with less than 10-percent DEET.

Home Treatment

If you suffer itching and pain from a bite or sting, help is available – typically in the comfort of your own home. For itching that won’t stop, try taking an oral antihistamine or use a topical anti-itch cream. For pain, ibuprofen or acetaminophen may bring relief, or you may require a skin cream labeled as “analgesic” or that contains lidocaine, hydrocortisone, or pramoxine. Additionally, keeping children’s fingernails short will help keep them from scratching bites, which make the bites worse and can lead to infection.

If you’ve been stung by a bee and the stinger is left in the skin, take a straight-edged object and scrape the stinger off. A credit card will work fine, but tweezers may squeeze more venom into the skin. After the stinger is removed, wash the area and apply ice to reduce swelling.

Be sure to check for ticks after being outdoors. If one is found, take tweezers and pinch the tick as close to the skin as you can and pull straight up. Put it in a sealed plastic bag and then in the trash. Cleanse the skin with rubbing alcohol or with soap and water.

Medical Treatment

Rarely, insect bites and stings need medical attention. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction occur within minutes and include hives, wheezing, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, chest tightness, breathing difficulty, swelling, or itching on any area of the face. If you or someone you’re with experiences any of these symptoms seek medical care immediately.

An infected tick can transmit Lyme disease though a bite. This causes fever, fatigue, headache, and a rash that looks like a bull’s-eye. It is important to treat Lyme disease with antibiotics early before it spreads to the heart, joints, and nervous system.

Another illness spread by ticks is the Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Symptoms begin as fever, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, headache, and lack of appetite. About a week later, a rash appears in most cases. Antibiotics are used to treat this illness.

The West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes. Symptoms are flu-like and include fever, aches, rash, and headache. Most infections are mild and recovery is swift, but in other cases, the infection can be serious and even deadly. There’s no treatment to cure this virus.

Lastly, if a bite or sting shows signs of infection and the normal redness and minor swelling has worsened or a fever develops, see your doctor.

This article is posted in full on our Fitness Magazine Sign up now for your complimentary access and regular health and weight loss newsletter

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FDA approve another new diet pill for doctors to prescribe to obese patients

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Vernon

I practically choked on my coffee when I saw this…‏

The good ‘ol FDA in all it’s brilliance has done it
again.

I’ll tell you what they did in a second…

The unfortunate part of this whole things is that
I literally spit out my beloved coffee once I read the article released by the AP.

Just yesterday the FDA approved another new
diet pill for doctors to prescribe to obese patients.

Here’s the news article…

The new drug is called Belvig.

The FDA had denied approval for this drug in
2010 when scientist showed concerns that the
drug may actually cause tumors in people.

Tumors!

But just yesterday the FDA approved this drug
after “new information” was produced by the
manufacture.

WOW

Here’s the part that really annoys me…

The studies show that this drug has helped obese
people lose as much as 5% of their body weight
within a year.

That means that a 300 lbs obese woman can lose
as much as 15 pounds in a year.

What the … ?

Give me a 300 Lbs woman and I’ll help her lose 15
pounds in 2-3 weeks by two simple tweaks…

1. adding 15-20 minutes of walking to her lifestyle
2. and removing some starches from her diet

My point is this…

You and I know that what you do and how you do it
is the ultimate fat loss solution becuase you teach
a lifestyle change, exercise, and good nutrition.

BUT the general public doesn’t care.

All they’re going to see is the ten o’clock news
when the talking heads tell them that the FDA has
approved a new weight loss pill.

Then they’re going to see the TV ads from this
drug company touting the new weight loss drug
and encouraging them to “ask your doctor about it”.

The public is going to see hope in this drug.

But as a Fitness Professional I have an ethical obligation to educate and
enlighten my clients, friends and community on
this new drug and how like all other drugs that were
once approved and are now banned, this may
end up the same way.

And that ultimately the hope of losing 5% of your
body weight within a year shouldn’t out weigh (pun intended)
the risk of side effects like potential TUMORS.

Here’s your chance to email your list, Facebook and Tweet
about this new drug and tell your own community the truth before
they hear the news and actually start considering Belvig
as a viable option.

Again, here’s the article for you to read up and reference.

From a link provided by my friend and mentor Bedros Keuilian

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Surviving Lunch Meetings

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Vernon

A how-to guide for getting out of business lunches without putting on extra pounds.

A new client is coming to town, and it’s up to you to make him or her feel at home. That means a break from your daily routine that includes a lunch out at a local restaurant. Exciting as it may sound, you know the temptations that surround you whenever you eat out. Because there in the wide world of restaurants, you’ll encounter all sorts of tasty-looking foods that are as fattening as they are delicious. And when sitting across from your client, it’s hard to say no to a server.

How do you walk away from a lunch meeting with your good health in hand? By following these steps.

Step #1: You Choose

If it’s your responsibility to take a client to lunch, you should have the opportunity to choose where to eat. Instead of picking the closest or most expensive place around, go with a local eatery that has healthy options that are truly healthy. Even better, go with a restaurant that doesn’t offer many unhealthy options. This way, you don’t have to worry about being tempted with fatty foods, as there aren’t many available on the menu.

Step #2: Feel No Guilt

Don’t get to pick the restaurant? You should still be able to choose what food you want and how it will be cooked. Instead of getting your meat fried, ask for it to be grilled or baked. Have an option of French fries or a baked potato? Go with the potato. And don’t ever worry about inconveniencing the restaurant staff when you ask about an alternate cooking method. It’s what they get paid to do.

Step #3: Eat First

If you know about your lunch date well in advance, you can plan. Eat a healthy breakfast to start the day, and an hour or so before going out with your client, grab a sandwich, a salad, or another healthy and small pre-lunch snack. This will keep you from going to your client lunch feeling so hungry you can’t control your choices. It’ll also help you get a smaller lunch and a smaller ticket for your lunch.

Step #4: Talk, Talk, Talk

With your food sitting front and center, it can be easy to forget why you’re there in the first place: to get to know your client a little bit better. Spend your time wisely and avoid eating too much by using your lunch to talk more with your client. When he or she is talking, listen well and chew quietly. These small steps will keep you so engaged that you won’t have time to gorge yourself. Instead, you’ll wind up eating just enough to give your body what it needs to go strong for the rest of the day.

Step #5: Avoid Alcohol

You may think you can have a drink here or there and maintain your composure, but drinking with a client could open you up to all sorts of issues. Granted, if your client orders a glass of wine, there is nothing wrong with doing the same. Just be sure to stick to one glass of wine, and drink more water than you do wine to dilute its effects. After all, you don’t want your first business luncheon with a new client to be the last one, and you definitely don’t want to down a bunch of extra calories from your drinks.

The Outdoor Factor

If you’re participating in a business luncheon to celebrate a coworker’s birthday or raise, look for a restaurant that offers outdoor dining. This gives you ample opportunity to soak up some vitamin D, get some much needed fresh air, do some people watching, and relax before going back to your indoor office.

For a more exciting option, cook all the food needed for the special lunch and bring it to an outdoor area for a lunchtime picnic!

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