Monday, May 14, 2012
42
I just heard this number last night and it did not surprise me. According to a report that I just heard on MSNBC, by 2030, 42 percent of Americans will be overweight and by that time an additional 11 percent of Americans will be over 100 pounds or more over weight. They say that the number of Americans now over weight is 33.9 percent and they see no time in the future where that number is going to slow down. The question I want to tackle is why, why that number is ever increasing and rapidly picking up steam.
Some people believe that this epidemic is due to our over eating and sedentary lifestyles we live now and they are right. I was talking to a person just the other day and we talked about the jobs our fathers had when we were growing up and how they were so labor intense. They would get up every morning and walk to the train or bus station, stand on a crowded train or bus and get to a job where they would use their hands for 8 to 9 hours then walk back to the station only to stand on the way back home. Now every American has a car and drives to work only to sit at a computer for 8 to 9 hours and only take a break when they get bored and then they eat at their desk for the most part.
Back only 50 years ago, our mothers never has to tell us to go outside. It was more the other way around; they would tell us to stay inside. We hated rainy days because that meant we would be stuck inside and who really wanted to be inside when there were so many things we could do outside. Stick-ball, basketball, hide–and-go-seek, so many games we played. Now with the internet surge kids still see their friends but now on line. They sit in front of a computer screen killing each other and talking on the web. You would think that my kids would not be prone to this but quite the opposite. Just the other day I went into the basement to find one child on the computer skyping and the other playing on the Xbox while talking to his friends on his head set. I shook my head in disbelief. This is were America is going.
Did you know that the FDA had stated that our children will not have the same quality of life we now have because of the problem of obesity? By 2030 most of us will be in our 70’s and 80’s and they will be ruling the roost. This really scares me, especially when the trends of getting fat are going up instead of down.
I was just in a fashion show and the producer of the show did not think I was 49 years old. His tells me that I don’t look like a 49 or 50 year old man. Well what does one look like? They are overweight with a huge belly, graying beards and fat legs and well out of shape. They are at least 50 pounds overweight and most suffer from back issues of some sort. Exercising for this population of males is only on occasions when they “have the time”, but other than that nothing of great substance. The average waist size for this population of males is about 42” and growing. Their girth (their bellies AKA core) average about 48 inches and growing every year. Their sleep patterns are poor at best and, well family relations, oh boy. Let me just say that what they were able to accomplish physically only 20 years prior they can no longer accomplish nor can they even get close. I don’t have these issues.
Just a few weeks ago I went to get a new belt. I looked for the longest time in the men’s department only to get frustrated and end up purchasing a belt in the young men’s department. Now I wasn’t frustrated at the selection of belts they had, I was frustrated because in could not find a belt in my size in the men’s department. You see I have a 29 inch waist and I don’t have a stomach and in the men’s department they started at waist size 34. REALLY! I did notice one other thing while I was looking frantically, if I were a size 42, I would have had my pick of the litter with no problem. THIS IS BAD, REALLY BAD.
The question we need to ask ourselves is what we need to do to stop this trend. The answer is quite easy and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to explain. We need to get active again. We need to stop sitting and get walking. Did you know that the process of us gaining significant permanent weight starts right after we graduate from high school? The reason I can only give is our ability to drive instead of walk to where ever we want to go and our ability to consume alcoholic products as well as eating really bad food when we go off to college or work. Our activity, unless involved in college sports, diminishes quickly and we begin to switch from an active lifestyle to one where we find ourselves sitting at a computer screen or in a library for hours at a time. Unless this trend changes, I can’t see it getting better anytime soon. I knew that when I was in college, we had something called the freshmen 10 which is now the freshmen 20. What is that? They said back in my day that by the end of your first year of college you would have gained 10 extra pounds now that number is 20. Bad food, bad sleep patterns, over consumption of alcohol, and lack of activity are all the reason for this trend and when we get out of college it only gets worse.
In this society today our medical expenses have tripled over the last few years and growing out of control. Medications are quickly become part of our everyday existence. We are becoming more reliant on medications than ever before. We spend over $550 billion dollars a year to medicate ourselves so that we can keep ourselves alive. REALLY! Medications are allowing us to feel as though we are ok when quite the opposite is true.
Tomorrow I will discuss this in more detail and what we need to do as a nation to stop this trend and take back our health and stop this obesity epidemic.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Satruday's Challenge
Yes every year I do this challenge and yes every year we have surprise winners. This year however, instead of everyone having the same height, as far as boxes are concerned, I raised or lowered the height according to the person’s ability. This year Sarah won at 33:26 minutes followed closely behind by Jackie at 33:20 minutes. Everyone how ever did well and now has new bench marks to pursue.
Then we all talked about something that I feel is real important, their heritage. At first when I had my initial conversation with them everyone of them told me that they just wanted live to see their grandchildren, with the exception of Sarah who told me something much different. Everyone of them are in pursue of a better more active life. Everyone of them wants to get out of their imprisonment and feel free to do everything and anything. The question here is how can the accomplish that and how long it will take.
Well the answer to both questions is…a lifetime. The pursuit of a quality fitness life is a process that takes forever but during the journey many mild markers are achieved and dreams are made. Here is the best part though, our next generation, our kids, benefit more than we do. We are becoming the fattest nation in the world and this trend has got to stop. But how can it stop if we don’t give our kids the ability to know that they can win this battle of obesity. Our kids are a mirror image of ourselves and who we are…someday they WILL be.
So with that mentioned to them I began the process of individually talking to each one of them and allowing them to dream and picture themselves finally getting out of their prison and beginning a trend that will last for generations. There was not a dry eye in the place but an excitement that transcended even the most down-trotted person.
There was one other thing I did on Saturday. Jackie has been a member of Parkers Place for a few years now and she has been fighting weight issues and physical injury for years now. Besides a nagging leg injury that has been with her forever she also has a shoulder injury that really needs looking into. Most people would have quit and given up and by rights she could do that and many would consider her excuses valid. But she doesn’t see that. All she sees is just obstacles that need over coming and she has overcome them in a big way.
The other day she calls me and tells me that she was trying on some cloths the other day and she found the first pair of jeans she wore to see my a year ago. She said that they were a size 21 and now she wears a size 9. My response to her was, “So what does this mean?” I’m sorry, I’m a guy. She hangs up the phone and about 10 minutes later she comes walking in with these jeans and shows me. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! WOW! She has entered herself into many running challenges and has reduced her mile time from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. Best yet though, two of her friends have followed her for such a long time during this journey that they too have decided to join and joined the Weight Loss Challenge and lost almost 30 pounds in less than 6 weeks.
Because of her efforts and how she has shown just not me but here friends how dedicated she is to her fitness, I have put her name on my FITNESS board for everyone to see. This board was designed for those who have really struggled and overcome many obstacles and now have achieve levels of fitness that surpass anything they ever thought they were going to achieve.
How about you? Are you making a difference in your children’s lives? Can they say that you have shown them that your health is the most important thing to you? Do you show it to them or do you just talk a good game? Remember, who you are…one day your kids will be.
Then we all talked about something that I feel is real important, their heritage. At first when I had my initial conversation with them everyone of them told me that they just wanted live to see their grandchildren, with the exception of Sarah who told me something much different. Everyone of them are in pursue of a better more active life. Everyone of them wants to get out of their imprisonment and feel free to do everything and anything. The question here is how can the accomplish that and how long it will take.
Well the answer to both questions is…a lifetime. The pursuit of a quality fitness life is a process that takes forever but during the journey many mild markers are achieved and dreams are made. Here is the best part though, our next generation, our kids, benefit more than we do. We are becoming the fattest nation in the world and this trend has got to stop. But how can it stop if we don’t give our kids the ability to know that they can win this battle of obesity. Our kids are a mirror image of ourselves and who we are…someday they WILL be.
So with that mentioned to them I began the process of individually talking to each one of them and allowing them to dream and picture themselves finally getting out of their prison and beginning a trend that will last for generations. There was not a dry eye in the place but an excitement that transcended even the most down-trotted person.
There was one other thing I did on Saturday. Jackie has been a member of Parkers Place for a few years now and she has been fighting weight issues and physical injury for years now. Besides a nagging leg injury that has been with her forever she also has a shoulder injury that really needs looking into. Most people would have quit and given up and by rights she could do that and many would consider her excuses valid. But she doesn’t see that. All she sees is just obstacles that need over coming and she has overcome them in a big way.
The other day she calls me and tells me that she was trying on some cloths the other day and she found the first pair of jeans she wore to see my a year ago. She said that they were a size 21 and now she wears a size 9. My response to her was, “So what does this mean?” I’m sorry, I’m a guy. She hangs up the phone and about 10 minutes later she comes walking in with these jeans and shows me. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! WOW! She has entered herself into many running challenges and has reduced her mile time from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. Best yet though, two of her friends have followed her for such a long time during this journey that they too have decided to join and joined the Weight Loss Challenge and lost almost 30 pounds in less than 6 weeks.
Because of her efforts and how she has shown just not me but here friends how dedicated she is to her fitness, I have put her name on my FITNESS board for everyone to see. This board was designed for those who have really struggled and overcome many obstacles and now have achieve levels of fitness that surpass anything they ever thought they were going to achieve.
How about you? Are you making a difference in your children’s lives? Can they say that you have shown them that your health is the most important thing to you? Do you show it to them or do you just talk a good game? Remember, who you are…one day your kids will be.
Friday, January 13, 2012
total confusion
I was talking to a member just yesterday and we were discussing her goals and what it would take for her to achieve them. Her biggest goal was to LOSE WEIGHT and after listening to her for several minutes I chimed in and said that losing weight was not a goal and her eyes lit up like she had seen a ghost. After several minutes of trying to tell her why I said that, she folder her arms and stated that she did not believe me and then gave me her argument. It was the following:
1) She had a lot of weight to lose and once she lost the weight she would feel better
2) Her weight is what is keeping her from doing anything
3) Her weight has given her diabetes
4) Her weight has given her low self esteem
Now it in of themselves these are valid points, but only points. After listening to her I asked her about what she did in high school and college and she told me that she was an athlete and a good one at that. She showed me pictures of herself just 10 years earlier and I have to say… what a difference a few years have made. I then asked her what she thought had changed and she told me that when she was really active she ate like a horse and now that she is not as active she still eats like a horse. I then told her that she was right with that statement. Our bodies get accustom to the fuel we give it to support the activity we are presently in and when we slow that activity down unfortunate we don’t slow our eating paterns down.
Then I asked her a big question… “Say you achieve this goal of losing the 50 pounds you want. What next? How will you keep it off?” She looked at me as if I were speaking a different language, thought about it and said, “I don’t know I guess I will not be able to eat certain things any more, which I am not looking forward to doing. But I guess I will no longer be able to eat like I do now and become very cautious at what I put in my mouth.”
Now that statement she made is a true one but I said something to her that made her take notice and caused her to think… “All food is good and God gave us food for our consumption. Without it we won’t live. There is nothing wrong with having a hamburger or two with fries.” She was shocked to hear that come from me but then I went on. “The problem is not the food; it is you and your inactivity. By focusing on your weight, you make food the enemy and it is not. By focusing on your weight, now you say to yourself… I can’t do this or I can’t have that and in the end research shows that you put a lot of stress and tension on yourself and eventually give in and do what you said you weren’t going to do. You restrict yourself of the food when in essence you don’t have to and shouldn’t. Your correct response when faced with a dilemma should be that you choose not to indulge in that food because of a specific reason outside of our weight issue.”
The problem we are facing as a society in inactivity and wrong focus. The media wants us to believe that it is about our weight so that we will buy their products. It is not about our weight and if we just began to get active and plot activity based goals, we would feel much freer and much more in control of our ultimate outcome… better fitness. Your goals should be activity based and not weight based. Weight is the end result of you achieving an activity based goal. As an example, take the person who can run a mile in 12 minutes and after a few months can now run a mile in 8 minutes, do you think they lost some weight? Now if they want to stay at that level of activity, 8 minute miles, do you think they will maintain that new weight? Or take the swimmer or walker or biker, whatever, plot your goals in an activity then and only then will you finally LOSE THE WEIGHT you were looking for and keep it off. There is the real answer to the dilemma on how to lose the weight you want and keep it off.
1) She had a lot of weight to lose and once she lost the weight she would feel better
2) Her weight is what is keeping her from doing anything
3) Her weight has given her diabetes
4) Her weight has given her low self esteem
Now it in of themselves these are valid points, but only points. After listening to her I asked her about what she did in high school and college and she told me that she was an athlete and a good one at that. She showed me pictures of herself just 10 years earlier and I have to say… what a difference a few years have made. I then asked her what she thought had changed and she told me that when she was really active she ate like a horse and now that she is not as active she still eats like a horse. I then told her that she was right with that statement. Our bodies get accustom to the fuel we give it to support the activity we are presently in and when we slow that activity down unfortunate we don’t slow our eating paterns down.
Then I asked her a big question… “Say you achieve this goal of losing the 50 pounds you want. What next? How will you keep it off?” She looked at me as if I were speaking a different language, thought about it and said, “I don’t know I guess I will not be able to eat certain things any more, which I am not looking forward to doing. But I guess I will no longer be able to eat like I do now and become very cautious at what I put in my mouth.”
Now that statement she made is a true one but I said something to her that made her take notice and caused her to think… “All food is good and God gave us food for our consumption. Without it we won’t live. There is nothing wrong with having a hamburger or two with fries.” She was shocked to hear that come from me but then I went on. “The problem is not the food; it is you and your inactivity. By focusing on your weight, you make food the enemy and it is not. By focusing on your weight, now you say to yourself… I can’t do this or I can’t have that and in the end research shows that you put a lot of stress and tension on yourself and eventually give in and do what you said you weren’t going to do. You restrict yourself of the food when in essence you don’t have to and shouldn’t. Your correct response when faced with a dilemma should be that you choose not to indulge in that food because of a specific reason outside of our weight issue.”
The problem we are facing as a society in inactivity and wrong focus. The media wants us to believe that it is about our weight so that we will buy their products. It is not about our weight and if we just began to get active and plot activity based goals, we would feel much freer and much more in control of our ultimate outcome… better fitness. Your goals should be activity based and not weight based. Weight is the end result of you achieving an activity based goal. As an example, take the person who can run a mile in 12 minutes and after a few months can now run a mile in 8 minutes, do you think they lost some weight? Now if they want to stay at that level of activity, 8 minute miles, do you think they will maintain that new weight? Or take the swimmer or walker or biker, whatever, plot your goals in an activity then and only then will you finally LOSE THE WEIGHT you were looking for and keep it off. There is the real answer to the dilemma on how to lose the weight you want and keep it off.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Supplements
I know that you have heard that there are certain supplements that are really suppose to be good for you. I have had many people over the last several months ask me about what I do in the nutritional area and I have told them that I take glucosamine and omega 3 everyday and it has done wonders for me. However the purpose of this blog is not to tell you what I take but it is to give you some information on how much is truly enough and what I would recommend to you for your individual issues.
Here is the problem as I see it, many of you feel as though when it comes to supplements, if a little is good for you then even more is better and that is so far from the truth. The bottom line is that our bodies can only take but so much before it has no effect on your system. There is a reason why they put the percentages of daily allowances on the bottles. More is not better and you are wasting your money if you think so.
Now I will not tell you what supplements you should be considering depending on your situation of course.
For those that are having weight problems. You are trying just not to lose weight but keep it off, there is a product called Bios Life Slim that is on the market that can help you with that. This product does the following: Reduces your appetite, Absorbs and Removes Fat, Promotes Fat burning ability, Decreases Leptin resistance, Lowers your Triglycerides, Improves your Cholesterol levels by decreasing your LDL and increasing your HDL. This product comes in packets or canister and is dissolvable in water. I have many people on this product and everyone has told me about the results they have gotten from it. From increased energy to weight loss, everyone has told me that they should have gotten it months ago. I have many people that have lost more than 20 pounds in two months on this product.
For those that have knee and joint issues: You have tried everything and now you are seriously considering surgery or a cortisone shot, there is a product called BM&C Plus. This regenerative herbal formula helps reduce tissue inflammation, nourish ligament and tendons, and strengthen the body against infections. There is also a product called Osteo Essential. This propriety blend of glucosamine, calcium, manganese, and other nutrients helps support and rebuild cartilage and bone.
For those that need daily Nutrition: You have been telling yourself that you need to begin to take some sort of multi-vitamin but you just don’t know which one. Well the first problem with a lot of the vitamins on the shelf is that the body ends up excreting them out no more than a few hours after taking them. So in essence you are wasting your money on something that the body won’t use 90% of. However there is a product called CoreHealth Basics which replenishes low mineral, vitamin, and electrolyte levels with Core Health Basics to keep your body in optimal condition. The body absorbs 100% of this product and uses 100% of it, I know I take it.
There is also another product on the market called PowerMeal. This natural super food features the best and most nutritious organic ingredients- harvested and prepared in order to allow the natural enzymes, vitamins, proteins and amino acids to remain intact and easily absorbed by the body.
For my athletic friends that are looking to enhance their athletic abilities there is a product called MYoCap. This is a post workout recovery blend containing an exclusive blend of nutrients that promote recovery after training and exercise and help support the recuperative process. Designed to be taken after exercise, this special formula provides the nutrients release energy for cellular regeneration and provides antioxidants to fight against the free radicals that result from workouts. There is also Power Generation. This product has an effective herbal blend to boost your athletic performance while promoting optimal physical energy and mental focus.
For those that have heart and cardiovascular issues: There is a product called Vascular Complete that I recommend. This unique product has been specifically formulated with nutrients known to optimize the health of blood vessels by promoting blood vessel elasticity, strength and efficiency. Vascular Complete provides nutrients and cell repair factors to optimize the function of blood vessels and the entire cardiovascular system.
I recommend any of these and they work. I know this because they are all in the Physicians Directory especially the Bios Life Slim. That is huge because most supplements are not.
Now the question still remains… how much should a person take? I would recommend taking only as much as the product tells you. Don’t double to dosage or triple the amount just thinking that you will be really giving your body extra. The body will only take what is needs and can absorb and nothing more. I really recommend these supplements and I know they work.
Now the one thing I don’t want you to do is just go and buy them blindly just because “I recommended them”, however try them for one month and see if you feel or see a difference. If so you may have just found what you have been looking for. Please go to my website myunicity.net/ParkersPlace and once there go to where it says “shipping” and learn more about the products I told you about, then order one month… just one month and see what happens.
The New Year is quickly coming upon us… let’s start it right. Our bodies will thank us for it in so many ways.
Here is the problem as I see it, many of you feel as though when it comes to supplements, if a little is good for you then even more is better and that is so far from the truth. The bottom line is that our bodies can only take but so much before it has no effect on your system. There is a reason why they put the percentages of daily allowances on the bottles. More is not better and you are wasting your money if you think so.
Now I will not tell you what supplements you should be considering depending on your situation of course.
For those that are having weight problems. You are trying just not to lose weight but keep it off, there is a product called Bios Life Slim that is on the market that can help you with that. This product does the following: Reduces your appetite, Absorbs and Removes Fat, Promotes Fat burning ability, Decreases Leptin resistance, Lowers your Triglycerides, Improves your Cholesterol levels by decreasing your LDL and increasing your HDL. This product comes in packets or canister and is dissolvable in water. I have many people on this product and everyone has told me about the results they have gotten from it. From increased energy to weight loss, everyone has told me that they should have gotten it months ago. I have many people that have lost more than 20 pounds in two months on this product.
For those that have knee and joint issues: You have tried everything and now you are seriously considering surgery or a cortisone shot, there is a product called BM&C Plus. This regenerative herbal formula helps reduce tissue inflammation, nourish ligament and tendons, and strengthen the body against infections. There is also a product called Osteo Essential. This propriety blend of glucosamine, calcium, manganese, and other nutrients helps support and rebuild cartilage and bone.
For those that need daily Nutrition: You have been telling yourself that you need to begin to take some sort of multi-vitamin but you just don’t know which one. Well the first problem with a lot of the vitamins on the shelf is that the body ends up excreting them out no more than a few hours after taking them. So in essence you are wasting your money on something that the body won’t use 90% of. However there is a product called CoreHealth Basics which replenishes low mineral, vitamin, and electrolyte levels with Core Health Basics to keep your body in optimal condition. The body absorbs 100% of this product and uses 100% of it, I know I take it.
There is also another product on the market called PowerMeal. This natural super food features the best and most nutritious organic ingredients- harvested and prepared in order to allow the natural enzymes, vitamins, proteins and amino acids to remain intact and easily absorbed by the body.
For my athletic friends that are looking to enhance their athletic abilities there is a product called MYoCap. This is a post workout recovery blend containing an exclusive blend of nutrients that promote recovery after training and exercise and help support the recuperative process. Designed to be taken after exercise, this special formula provides the nutrients release energy for cellular regeneration and provides antioxidants to fight against the free radicals that result from workouts. There is also Power Generation. This product has an effective herbal blend to boost your athletic performance while promoting optimal physical energy and mental focus.
For those that have heart and cardiovascular issues: There is a product called Vascular Complete that I recommend. This unique product has been specifically formulated with nutrients known to optimize the health of blood vessels by promoting blood vessel elasticity, strength and efficiency. Vascular Complete provides nutrients and cell repair factors to optimize the function of blood vessels and the entire cardiovascular system.
I recommend any of these and they work. I know this because they are all in the Physicians Directory especially the Bios Life Slim. That is huge because most supplements are not.
Now the question still remains… how much should a person take? I would recommend taking only as much as the product tells you. Don’t double to dosage or triple the amount just thinking that you will be really giving your body extra. The body will only take what is needs and can absorb and nothing more. I really recommend these supplements and I know they work.
Now the one thing I don’t want you to do is just go and buy them blindly just because “I recommended them”, however try them for one month and see if you feel or see a difference. If so you may have just found what you have been looking for. Please go to my website myunicity.net/ParkersPlace and once there go to where it says “shipping” and learn more about the products I told you about, then order one month… just one month and see what happens.
The New Year is quickly coming upon us… let’s start it right. Our bodies will thank us for it in so many ways.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Preparing for the holidays
Well Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming upon us very quickly and with those holidays, comes the four F’s and they are, family fun and festivities and one other things…lots of food. Now don’t get me wrong, eating with your family and your loved ones is a great thing and I am not trying to keep you from enjoying your time with them however, here are a few things that I want to share with you.
1) Statistics show that the average person after high school graduation gains about 1 pound per year and most of that weight is put on around the holidays. If you don’t believe me count the number of years from the time you were 18 until now. Now step on a scale. Read it and weep! Now this does not go for every person but for the average person it works.
2) Statistics show that more heart attacks and strokes occur during the holiday times
3) The average person consumes enough food so that if they were to try and work it off they would have to burn 5000 calories and that is only thanksgiving dinner
4) There are more turkeys killed at Thanksgiving than at any other time in the year (poor turkeys what did they do to us)
5) The average retailer looks for this time of the year because 40% of their revenue is made in just this next two months (amazing the deals you can get. Just goes to show you that during the year everything is marked up big time)
6) The average consumer does the majority of their purchases in retail stores in these next two months
7) The average man, if they are like me, spend less than 10 minutes doing their Christmas shopping (probably not true, but I know I do)
8) As we become lazier internet sales increase exponentially and every year.
9) Fast food restaurants located in malls do 60% of their business in just these next two months
10) The Green Bay Packers will repeat as Super bowl Champions next year 2012 (Just had to throw that in, sorry my New York friends, still love ya though)
Getting serious again, here are some helpful tips to keep those unwanted extra pounds off during the holidays.
1) When you go to do your shopping, walk and at a faster pace than normal. Get your heart rate up a little and why not kill two birds with one stone. Get your exercise in and shop at the same time. This will add new meaning to the term “shop till you drop”.
2) Be very mindful of what you are consuming daily and try this. Before eating or after eating instead of sitting around, immediately get some exercise
3) Remember you want to burn off at least what you have eaten
4) Stay away from the excess alcohol. I did not say do not drink. I said stay away from too much drinking
5) After your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals go for a fast pace walk and take your family and friends with you and enjoy each other’s company as you sweat those unwanted extra pounds away
6) If you find yourself at a mall park further away than you would normally. This will force you to at least walk a few extra steps before you walk into that fast food restaurant and order those cheeseburgers.
7) Watch your soda consumption. Soda is not filling and it was designed that way purposely. You need to be very mindful of this.
8) When you are watching television during the holidays at every commercial drop to the floor and do some sit-ups and or push-ups. You only need to do 10 reps each commercial and no you don’t need to drink a gallon of water after each set.
Here is a true story, one that just happened to me a few weeks ago. I had a person join membership at my gym. Now this person is grossly overweight and it is very noticeable. Every Tuesday they would get weighed in at Weight Watchers and she noticed that her weight was beginning to go up even more and just walking up the stairs was impossible. Well I started her on a low intense workout that even after 10 minutes on the treadmill she was done and she kept this workout up for the whole week. The next week she goes back to weight watchers and I just knew she was going to like the results. Well she comes back to me and tells me that she gains 2 pounds. TWO POUNDS! I thought to myself, “How can that be. She must be doing something and not telling me”.
Well for the next few weeks as I intensified her workout and she kept coming back to me and telling me that she was gaining weight. After a month of this I asked her to come into my office and have a little chat with me. As soon as she sat down, she started to cry and she told me that she has been working so hard and she asks me why she can’t lose any weight. I knew in my heart of hearts that she had to be doing something because she was so heavy that just walking in a circle should help her lose a few 20 pounds. I was getting as frustrated as she was until one day as we were talking she noticed that I was drinking some tea. She asked me how many cups of tea I drank a day and I told her that the tea I make in the morning lasts me all day and that is about 16oz. I followed up with my question to her, “So how much tea do you drink?” She them tells me that she drinks at least a gallon of coffee in the morning and a second gallon in the afternoon.
I looked at her and I think steam began to come out of me ears. I then asked her when she drinks this coffee and she tells me about an hour before she goes to weight watchers but after she works out. If my gym were on the third floor of a building I would have jumped out the window! There was the problem. She was sabotaging her own efforts. I told her this and now two weeks later she is down 30 pounds. Hello! How could she not know that? Well it doesn’t matter case solved.
Anyway back to the thought at hand…this year let’s be very mindful of our eating habits and let’s keep exercise at the forefront of our minds. Remember this… exercise makes the body and mind happy.
1) Statistics show that the average person after high school graduation gains about 1 pound per year and most of that weight is put on around the holidays. If you don’t believe me count the number of years from the time you were 18 until now. Now step on a scale. Read it and weep! Now this does not go for every person but for the average person it works.
2) Statistics show that more heart attacks and strokes occur during the holiday times
3) The average person consumes enough food so that if they were to try and work it off they would have to burn 5000 calories and that is only thanksgiving dinner
4) There are more turkeys killed at Thanksgiving than at any other time in the year (poor turkeys what did they do to us)
5) The average retailer looks for this time of the year because 40% of their revenue is made in just this next two months (amazing the deals you can get. Just goes to show you that during the year everything is marked up big time)
6) The average consumer does the majority of their purchases in retail stores in these next two months
7) The average man, if they are like me, spend less than 10 minutes doing their Christmas shopping (probably not true, but I know I do)
8) As we become lazier internet sales increase exponentially and every year.
9) Fast food restaurants located in malls do 60% of their business in just these next two months
10) The Green Bay Packers will repeat as Super bowl Champions next year 2012 (Just had to throw that in, sorry my New York friends, still love ya though)
Getting serious again, here are some helpful tips to keep those unwanted extra pounds off during the holidays.
1) When you go to do your shopping, walk and at a faster pace than normal. Get your heart rate up a little and why not kill two birds with one stone. Get your exercise in and shop at the same time. This will add new meaning to the term “shop till you drop”.
2) Be very mindful of what you are consuming daily and try this. Before eating or after eating instead of sitting around, immediately get some exercise
3) Remember you want to burn off at least what you have eaten
4) Stay away from the excess alcohol. I did not say do not drink. I said stay away from too much drinking
5) After your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals go for a fast pace walk and take your family and friends with you and enjoy each other’s company as you sweat those unwanted extra pounds away
6) If you find yourself at a mall park further away than you would normally. This will force you to at least walk a few extra steps before you walk into that fast food restaurant and order those cheeseburgers.
7) Watch your soda consumption. Soda is not filling and it was designed that way purposely. You need to be very mindful of this.
8) When you are watching television during the holidays at every commercial drop to the floor and do some sit-ups and or push-ups. You only need to do 10 reps each commercial and no you don’t need to drink a gallon of water after each set.
Here is a true story, one that just happened to me a few weeks ago. I had a person join membership at my gym. Now this person is grossly overweight and it is very noticeable. Every Tuesday they would get weighed in at Weight Watchers and she noticed that her weight was beginning to go up even more and just walking up the stairs was impossible. Well I started her on a low intense workout that even after 10 minutes on the treadmill she was done and she kept this workout up for the whole week. The next week she goes back to weight watchers and I just knew she was going to like the results. Well she comes back to me and tells me that she gains 2 pounds. TWO POUNDS! I thought to myself, “How can that be. She must be doing something and not telling me”.
Well for the next few weeks as I intensified her workout and she kept coming back to me and telling me that she was gaining weight. After a month of this I asked her to come into my office and have a little chat with me. As soon as she sat down, she started to cry and she told me that she has been working so hard and she asks me why she can’t lose any weight. I knew in my heart of hearts that she had to be doing something because she was so heavy that just walking in a circle should help her lose a few 20 pounds. I was getting as frustrated as she was until one day as we were talking she noticed that I was drinking some tea. She asked me how many cups of tea I drank a day and I told her that the tea I make in the morning lasts me all day and that is about 16oz. I followed up with my question to her, “So how much tea do you drink?” She them tells me that she drinks at least a gallon of coffee in the morning and a second gallon in the afternoon.
I looked at her and I think steam began to come out of me ears. I then asked her when she drinks this coffee and she tells me about an hour before she goes to weight watchers but after she works out. If my gym were on the third floor of a building I would have jumped out the window! There was the problem. She was sabotaging her own efforts. I told her this and now two weeks later she is down 30 pounds. Hello! How could she not know that? Well it doesn’t matter case solved.
Anyway back to the thought at hand…this year let’s be very mindful of our eating habits and let’s keep exercise at the forefront of our minds. Remember this… exercise makes the body and mind happy.
Monday, October 24, 2011
How fast and how far can you walk?
I find this very interesting. The researchers asked how far you could walk and not run. At first I thought about why they would ask such a question and the answer came pretty quickly, because most people don’t like running and everyone walks (with the exception of the disabled). Walking and at a quick pace over a length or period of time can give a person the same results than if they ran that same distance.
Now to test this theory, I walked two miles at a very hard brisk pace. The question I wanted to answer was if I would feel the same fatigue as if I had ran that same distance and the answer was a resounding yes. Now don’t get me wrong it was a much slower time but the end result was pretty much the same, leg fatigue. The hardest thing to do during that walk was keep the same pace going. On so many occasions my body wanted to naturally slow down that I found myself really concentrating on my foot cadence to keep the same pace up. At the end of the walk I evaluated myself to figure out if my cardio conditioning for the first two mile walk and this gave me a bench mark or base line. The next day a ran that same two mile course at a moderate pace, 7 minutes per mile and remarkably at the end of my run, whereas I was breathing a little heavier, when I went to take my pulse rate, it was lower than when I walked the day before.
Here is my thought, I am a believer that running isn’t for everyone and in the end, for the general public, whether you run or walk at a fast pace, doesn’t really matter. You can achieve the same ultimate goal using either method. Now I know some of you are shaking your heads and saying that you are walkers and not runners, but have you ever done a study comparing to two and which one really gets you in the best shape? Or are you just saying that because you “feel” that running is too hard and difficult and it is too uncomfortable? Is your statement “feeling” of logic based?
Did you know that there is a big difference between running and walking fast pace? With running you are using your mid foot and rolling to your toes (with the exception of sprinters that are always on the balls of their feet) and with walking your are rolling from your heal to your toe. With walking you are using much more of your Tibialis anterior and much more of your Illiopsoas muscle than you do when running. Your legs are more engaged while fast paced walking compared to running. One foot is always on the ground with fast pace walking and with running you spend more of your time in the air than on the ground. I can honestly tell you that fast walking was much harder than it first appeared and much more taxing on my legs.
Now try this as an exercise. For two weeks find yourself a one mile or two mile course and time yourself. Then over the next two weeks try and better that time. Every time you finish I want you then to take your pulse and keep record of it. Then compare when you first started to your 14th day. Then I want you to run (at your own pace) that two miles and do the same thing, take your pulse when you finish. See if after your walking there was a noticeable difference and after you’re running there was a noticeable difference. After you first walk that will give you a baseline as to the amount of beats per minute your heart rate was at. Chart it and look at the progression for the 14 days. Then do the same with the running. Now once you finish both exercises then compare them both and see which discipline gave you the best overall results. Numbers don’t lie nor are they emotional.
Now how you base your final results is on looking at your first initial pulse rate and then charting your progress throughout the 14 days. As an example let’s assume you started your first day after walking with BPM of 118 and after 14 days of walking that same course at that same time, it went down to 108 beats per minute. Then you started the running and after your initial run your BPM was 118 again but this time after 14 days your BPM was 112, then the best way for you to get into good general condition would be by fast pace walking. Why? Well when you started the walking your BPM was 118 and you lost 10 BPM compared to running where you only lost 6 BPM over that same amount of days.
Well from that you can begin to plan out how you will get yourself into better cardio condition. Hey a one other thing, remember this, the better condition you are in the lower your resting heart rate… the longer you will live. Now go do it!
Now to test this theory, I walked two miles at a very hard brisk pace. The question I wanted to answer was if I would feel the same fatigue as if I had ran that same distance and the answer was a resounding yes. Now don’t get me wrong it was a much slower time but the end result was pretty much the same, leg fatigue. The hardest thing to do during that walk was keep the same pace going. On so many occasions my body wanted to naturally slow down that I found myself really concentrating on my foot cadence to keep the same pace up. At the end of the walk I evaluated myself to figure out if my cardio conditioning for the first two mile walk and this gave me a bench mark or base line. The next day a ran that same two mile course at a moderate pace, 7 minutes per mile and remarkably at the end of my run, whereas I was breathing a little heavier, when I went to take my pulse rate, it was lower than when I walked the day before.
Here is my thought, I am a believer that running isn’t for everyone and in the end, for the general public, whether you run or walk at a fast pace, doesn’t really matter. You can achieve the same ultimate goal using either method. Now I know some of you are shaking your heads and saying that you are walkers and not runners, but have you ever done a study comparing to two and which one really gets you in the best shape? Or are you just saying that because you “feel” that running is too hard and difficult and it is too uncomfortable? Is your statement “feeling” of logic based?
Did you know that there is a big difference between running and walking fast pace? With running you are using your mid foot and rolling to your toes (with the exception of sprinters that are always on the balls of their feet) and with walking your are rolling from your heal to your toe. With walking you are using much more of your Tibialis anterior and much more of your Illiopsoas muscle than you do when running. Your legs are more engaged while fast paced walking compared to running. One foot is always on the ground with fast pace walking and with running you spend more of your time in the air than on the ground. I can honestly tell you that fast walking was much harder than it first appeared and much more taxing on my legs.
Now try this as an exercise. For two weeks find yourself a one mile or two mile course and time yourself. Then over the next two weeks try and better that time. Every time you finish I want you then to take your pulse and keep record of it. Then compare when you first started to your 14th day. Then I want you to run (at your own pace) that two miles and do the same thing, take your pulse when you finish. See if after your walking there was a noticeable difference and after you’re running there was a noticeable difference. After you first walk that will give you a baseline as to the amount of beats per minute your heart rate was at. Chart it and look at the progression for the 14 days. Then do the same with the running. Now once you finish both exercises then compare them both and see which discipline gave you the best overall results. Numbers don’t lie nor are they emotional.
Now how you base your final results is on looking at your first initial pulse rate and then charting your progress throughout the 14 days. As an example let’s assume you started your first day after walking with BPM of 118 and after 14 days of walking that same course at that same time, it went down to 108 beats per minute. Then you started the running and after your initial run your BPM was 118 again but this time after 14 days your BPM was 112, then the best way for you to get into good general condition would be by fast pace walking. Why? Well when you started the walking your BPM was 118 and you lost 10 BPM compared to running where you only lost 6 BPM over that same amount of days.
Well from that you can begin to plan out how you will get yourself into better cardio condition. Hey a one other thing, remember this, the better condition you are in the lower your resting heart rate… the longer you will live. Now go do it!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Shoes, Shoes, everywhere
So many people have asked me over the past few years about running shoes and I have told everyone of them that it really doesn’t matter what type of running shoe you get, but what matters is that they invest in a good pair of orthotics. I have told so many of them that all they need to do is go to the local bargain store and buy a reasonably cost effective pair of shoes but invest in a good pair of orthotics.
However, every person that I have told that to has never taken my advice seriously. In the end they would go to some specialty store and spend hundreds of dollars on shoes thinking that they have the “right” pair for them. I remember when Air Jordan’s came out and every basketball kid in America just knew that if they got those shoes they would play like him. Since that time every good basketball player has their brand name shoe and we spend hundreds of dollars just to be like “Mike”.
Over the past several years I have seen shoe commercials come out talking about their latest and greatest find and how much research has come out to support their newest findings. Recently a shoe that looks like a rocker has come out and a friend told me that every time she goes walking this shoe helps strengthen her legs because of the design of the sole of the shoe. It could never have anything to do with the fact that she is walking now when she wasn’t before? But I could be wrong. Just for giggles I found myself in one of those specialty stores just to find out what was the latest and greatest thing on the market. I was met at the door and greeted like I was a king and as an ex-sales person, for you to be able to make any inroads with anyone you need to treat them like royalty. Moments later they had me up on a treadmill and they were looking at my running style. They told me that by looking at that, they could get me the right shoe for my foot.
Well they had me running at 5.0 with no incline and they took film of my running ability. No one asked me if I was a long distance runner or a sprinter. I personally don’t think they cared. I think they just wanted to sell shoes and the more “information” they could get from me would make them seem smarter and I would just rely on them and buy whatever they suggested. Before I knew it they were having me try on these $200 shoes telling me that this is what I had to wear to correct my foot issues. I let them go thru their sales pitch as they told me that I would probably lose about 2 minutes off my 5k mile time which I thought was really funny being that they never asked me how fast I’ve run it in and I am a sprinter not a distance runner what do I care about running 3.1 miles. Give me 100 meters any day. But I listened not asking any questions until the end. My only question was if they thought that I should get orthotics and their response was that I could but did not need it with those $200 shoes.
I took the shoes off my feet and looked inside them and felt around to see if there was any arch support in them… there was none. When I asked about that they said that the arch support was on the side of the shoe and the shoe would be good for about 300 miles of running. I graciously thanked them for the information, handed them back the shoe and left. Then I went to the local bargain store and bought the same shoe for much much less and invested in a good pair of orthotics. Instead of me spending $200 I ended up spending $40 plus the orthotics of $35 my total was $75. Now since that time (6 months ago) I have bought one other pair of shoes but I still have the same orthotics. I will spend no more than $40 for any pair of sneakers and I truly believe no one has to spend any more than that… but that is my opinion and I could be wrong.
This morning I was watching television and there was a report on Reebok and their “Easytone” sneakers. I am not making this up, these shoes are suppose to reshape your glutes and strengthen your legs and how they do it is by these bubbles they have on the bottom of the shoes. From the beginning many people have been skeptical about this new shoe so there were two independent studies done and one of those places that did a study on the shoe was University of Wisconsin Lacrosse and what they found out is that there was no difference from wearing those shoes or not wearing them. It has been found according to this report that Reeboks advertising was misleading and deceptive. No really! It couldn’t be because they are using 20 something year old models who have never been pregnant and probably work out their whole life. Or that 20 something year old guy how just finished playing some sport at some university? Hey, let’s use that 40 something women who had 3 kids or that average man who is in his 40’s. No, that wouldn’t sell! Now it has been found that there has been deception going on. Hello!
In a nut shell, there is not one shoe out there now on the market that has good arch support nor are really good for your feet. You won’t find it. They have taken the arch supports out to save money. Whether it maximizes profits or not I don’t know, all I just know is that they have taken them out. (Remember Sam Goody and their shoes? Oh now that was a good pair of sturdy, foot pleasing shoes.) However, I am going to try and help you all who read this blog out… If you want good pair of running or walking shoes and your feet are hurting, don’t go out and spend $100 dollars on a pair of sneakers. Don’t do it! Invest in a good pair of orthotics to support your arches then go out and buy a pair of sneakers within your budget. They problem are the arches for most people and orthotics will definitely take care of that.
Now I could get really scientific and explain to you why your arch is so important and how with a weak arch you will displace your right foot strike and compromise your walking and running gate, but I won’t just know go out and buy so flexible orthotics and enjoy walking again.
However, every person that I have told that to has never taken my advice seriously. In the end they would go to some specialty store and spend hundreds of dollars on shoes thinking that they have the “right” pair for them. I remember when Air Jordan’s came out and every basketball kid in America just knew that if they got those shoes they would play like him. Since that time every good basketball player has their brand name shoe and we spend hundreds of dollars just to be like “Mike”.
Over the past several years I have seen shoe commercials come out talking about their latest and greatest find and how much research has come out to support their newest findings. Recently a shoe that looks like a rocker has come out and a friend told me that every time she goes walking this shoe helps strengthen her legs because of the design of the sole of the shoe. It could never have anything to do with the fact that she is walking now when she wasn’t before? But I could be wrong. Just for giggles I found myself in one of those specialty stores just to find out what was the latest and greatest thing on the market. I was met at the door and greeted like I was a king and as an ex-sales person, for you to be able to make any inroads with anyone you need to treat them like royalty. Moments later they had me up on a treadmill and they were looking at my running style. They told me that by looking at that, they could get me the right shoe for my foot.
Well they had me running at 5.0 with no incline and they took film of my running ability. No one asked me if I was a long distance runner or a sprinter. I personally don’t think they cared. I think they just wanted to sell shoes and the more “information” they could get from me would make them seem smarter and I would just rely on them and buy whatever they suggested. Before I knew it they were having me try on these $200 shoes telling me that this is what I had to wear to correct my foot issues. I let them go thru their sales pitch as they told me that I would probably lose about 2 minutes off my 5k mile time which I thought was really funny being that they never asked me how fast I’ve run it in and I am a sprinter not a distance runner what do I care about running 3.1 miles. Give me 100 meters any day. But I listened not asking any questions until the end. My only question was if they thought that I should get orthotics and their response was that I could but did not need it with those $200 shoes.
I took the shoes off my feet and looked inside them and felt around to see if there was any arch support in them… there was none. When I asked about that they said that the arch support was on the side of the shoe and the shoe would be good for about 300 miles of running. I graciously thanked them for the information, handed them back the shoe and left. Then I went to the local bargain store and bought the same shoe for much much less and invested in a good pair of orthotics. Instead of me spending $200 I ended up spending $40 plus the orthotics of $35 my total was $75. Now since that time (6 months ago) I have bought one other pair of shoes but I still have the same orthotics. I will spend no more than $40 for any pair of sneakers and I truly believe no one has to spend any more than that… but that is my opinion and I could be wrong.
This morning I was watching television and there was a report on Reebok and their “Easytone” sneakers. I am not making this up, these shoes are suppose to reshape your glutes and strengthen your legs and how they do it is by these bubbles they have on the bottom of the shoes. From the beginning many people have been skeptical about this new shoe so there were two independent studies done and one of those places that did a study on the shoe was University of Wisconsin Lacrosse and what they found out is that there was no difference from wearing those shoes or not wearing them. It has been found according to this report that Reeboks advertising was misleading and deceptive. No really! It couldn’t be because they are using 20 something year old models who have never been pregnant and probably work out their whole life. Or that 20 something year old guy how just finished playing some sport at some university? Hey, let’s use that 40 something women who had 3 kids or that average man who is in his 40’s. No, that wouldn’t sell! Now it has been found that there has been deception going on. Hello!
In a nut shell, there is not one shoe out there now on the market that has good arch support nor are really good for your feet. You won’t find it. They have taken the arch supports out to save money. Whether it maximizes profits or not I don’t know, all I just know is that they have taken them out. (Remember Sam Goody and their shoes? Oh now that was a good pair of sturdy, foot pleasing shoes.) However, I am going to try and help you all who read this blog out… If you want good pair of running or walking shoes and your feet are hurting, don’t go out and spend $100 dollars on a pair of sneakers. Don’t do it! Invest in a good pair of orthotics to support your arches then go out and buy a pair of sneakers within your budget. They problem are the arches for most people and orthotics will definitely take care of that.
Now I could get really scientific and explain to you why your arch is so important and how with a weak arch you will displace your right foot strike and compromise your walking and running gate, but I won’t just know go out and buy so flexible orthotics and enjoy walking again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)