Worth your weight?

If health reasons won't motivate you to lose weight how about financial reasons. Obese people spend approximately

$485 more on clothing, $828 on extra plane seats, and $36 more on gas each year than their thinner counterparts.

An overweight driver burns about 18 additional gallons of gas a year

Carrying extra weight?

Part of my training routine is using a weighed vest and weighed shoes. It is always a tough training session as I just added about 20 lbs to my normal weight. But like swinging with 2 bats, it only makes me stronger, better, faster.

It always amazes me when I take off all this extra weight. I feel so light from one second to the next that it almost seems like I could fly. My step is much lighter and walking becomes easier.

Even though my workout is more difficult than without the extra gear, I still do not truly realize how heavy the whole get up was until I remove it. My body/ mind got used to it. But it made my heart pump harder, my legs and back work much more and my lungs scream for air.

Most of us have gained weight at one point or another. And it always creeps up on us. One pound here, one pound there… pretty soon we carried 10-20 lbs too much. We get used to it gradually. We do not realize how much harder we have to work to carry this extra weight. We do not realize how much harder it is on our hearts and lungs. One extra pound requires one extra mile of blood vessels. That’s a lot more pumping action for your heart.

Try walking around for an hour with weighted gear (a backpack filled with rocks will work). When you take it off you will see firsthand what taking off weight means to your body. What are you getting used to that you should not?

Be smart, stay healthy

Unwanted bed fellows

Dust mites are microscopic animals related to other mites, and ticks,

They occur where human beings live, and where the humidity is optimal for their life cycle.

House dust mites feed and grow almost exclusively on the dead, shed skin cells that we humans shed daily by the hundreds of thousands.

While your bed is the chief place the majority of house dust mites reside, the mites can also survive in pillows, overstuffed furniture, even rugs and carpeting. The place where your pet sleeps is also a hot spot. Fido and Fluffy shed skin cells (dander), too.

Dust mites are known for causing allergies in millions of Americans

Good news is, they’re harmless unless you have allergies or asthma.

To keep their count down, wash your sheets in hot water regularly, and fluff your pillow in the dryer on its hottest setting. Wash your pillows regularly and replace them annually. Vacuum and turn your mattress at least every 6 months.

The most recent information on dust mites suggests using a combination of physical measures - including pillow and mattress covers, washing bedding in hot water and carpet removal - rather than chemical treatments.

Be careful who you share your bed and pillow with.

Be smart, stay healthy

Healthy dips

Summer time... picnics... finger food.... easy dishes
We can still keep it healthy.
Here are some delicious healthy dips. Use vegetables instead of chip and you have a winning combinations:

Sweet-and-Spicy Yogurt
Protein-packed Greek yogurt makes this curry dip satisfyingly thick, while fresh peaches add a rich sweetness.

1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp diced ripe peach
1 tsp lemon juice
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 ring red pepper, chopped, for garnish
1 tsp chopped green onion, for garnish

In a bowl, stir together all ingredients except garnish. Chill up to 2 hours to allow flavors to develop. Top with red pepper and green onion before serving.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS. Per serving: 42 cal, 1 g fat (<1 g sat), 3 g carbs, 165 mg sodium, <1 g fiber, 5 g protein

Cheesy Tomato Dip
Naturally lower in fat than other cheeses, feta makes an ideal base for this Mediterranean-inspired dip. It also subs nicely for mayo to kick up a turkey sandwich.

1 tomato, quartered, seeds removed
6 oz feta, crumbled
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp chopped kalamata olives
1 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil, drained)

In a food processor, chop tomato. Add feta in small batches, blending to combine. Pour in lemon juice and oregano; blend again. In a bowl, fold olives into cheese-tomato mixture. Top with sun-dried tomatoes.
MAKES 4 SERVINGS. Per serving: 122 cal, 9 g fat (6 g sat), 3 g carbs, 495 mg sodium, <1 g fiber, 6 g protein

Cool Cucumber-Herb Dip
Try this as a refreshing alternative to onion dip. It'll spare your breath and your waistline.

1 Tbsp diced shallot
1/2 cup chopped cucumber, seeds removed
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 tsp white-wine vinegar
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, combine shallot and cucumber; discard extra liquid. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream with shallot-cucumber mixture. Stir in vinegar, herbs, and salt, then add freshly ground pepper to taste. Refrigerate up to 2 hours to allow flavors to develop.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS. Per serving: 82 cal, 6 g fat (4 g sat), 5 g carbs, 186 mg sodium, <1 g fiber, 2 g protein

Lastest research on eating habits

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans...

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.


CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

WHY EXERCISE?

Age old question… should I or shouldn’t I exercise? And why?

The majority of people do it as a mean to reduce weight.

But in a recent study, researchers took a group of sedentary, overweight men and women over an 18 months period, and trained them to run a marathon. The men lost just a few pounds, and the women in the study, averaged no change to their weight. One reason may be that people tend to increase their caloric intake as they increase their exercise. Proper diet and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to weight loss. Do not think that because you just ran 5 miles, you can sit on the couch, eat an entire deep dish pizza and wash it down with a large milkshake. This will not promote weight loss.

But exercise by itself has tremendous benefits, much more than just weight loss.

Here are a few:

· It increases your energy levels: the more energy you use, the more you have.

· It improves the quality of your sleep: exercise helps you get to sleep more quickly and to achieve a more restful sleep.

· It helps combat chronic disease: exercise helps improve your circulation, your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and has been linked with delayed onset of dementia.

· It improves your mood: it reduces the tension associated with anxiety and promotes relaxation. It also produces endorphins which allow you to feel a sense of power and control over yourselves that allows you to persist with activity for an extended time. Endorphins have been shown to control feelings of stress and frustration, and to reduce symptoms associated with eating disorders. Endorphins basically give you a natural high.

· Exercise leads to the release of certain neurotransmitters in the brain that alleviate pain, both physical and mental.

· It is a Powerful Anti-Cancer Strategy. More than 200 population-based studies have linked exercise to your risk for cancer. More recently, a 2009 study showed that men with stronger muscles from regular weight training are up to 40 percent less likely to die from cancer. These findings suggest that muscle strength is just as important as staying slim and eating healthy when it comes to offering protection against deadly tumors. One of the primary reasons exercise works to lower your cancer risk is because it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risk. It's also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) is triggered by exercise, causing cancer cells to die.

· It helps to slow down the effects of aging. Exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older. Aerobic exercise also keeps your mind sharp. At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week seems to reduce cognitive decline in older adults

· Exercise is an important way to manage diabetes. Not only can exercise help you achieve beneficial weight loss, but every time you exercise, it helps to lower your blood sugar and helps your cells accept insulin more efficiently.

· Numerous studies have shown that regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise can help prevent or delay the onset of osteoporosis by increasing your bone density.

If none of this motivates you to take the first step toward implementing a regular fitness regimen, I don't know what.

If you don’t know where to start you can seek professional advice. But quit procrastinating. Get off that couch and get moving… it’s a great way to start. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at the time!

Be smart, stay healthy!!!

GRASS FED BEEF

GRASS FED BEEF

Most people think that beef is just beef. It isn’t always so. A cows diet can have a profound influence on the nutrient content of its products, be it milk or meat.

· Grassfed products tend to be much lower in total fat than grainfed products. For example, a sirloin steak from a grassfed steer has about one half to one third the amount of fat as a similar cut from a grainfed steer. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grassfed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year—without requiring any willpower or change in eating habits. If everything else in your diet remains constant, you'll lose about five to six pounds a year.

· Although grassfed meat is low in "bad" fat (including saturated fat), it gives you from two to six times more of a type of "good" fat called "omega-3 fatty acids." The health benefit of Omega are numerous and worthy of an entire blog itself. Stay tuned.

· The meat and milk from grassfed ruminants are the richest known source of another type of good fat called "conjugated linoleic acid" or CLA. When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture alone, their milk and meat contain as much as five times more CLA than products from animals fed conventional diets.

Health benefits of CLA:

· Promoting fat loss

· Fighting cancer

· Increasing your metabolic rate

· Promoting normal thyroid function

· Delaying onset of diabetes, and improving management of adult-onset diabetes

· Helping maintain normal cholesterol levels

· Helping maintain healthful triglyceride levels

· Enhancing your immune system

· The meat from the pastured grassfed cattle is four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle and, interestingly, almost twice as high as the meat from the feedlot cattle given vitamin E supplements.

In humans, vitamin E is linked with a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also have anti-aging properties. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin E.

Enjoy your beef but choose wisely.

Be smart , stay healthy