Valentine's Day just another day

We have 365 days in the year and OVER 365 holidays and events that we use to excuse overweight and obesity issues.  Love your partner and yourself on Valentine's Day by staying true to eating healthfully and getting some type of exercise!

Check out the progress of the two guys from LA Times Health blog - very clever (and funny)! 

RT @LATimesHealth initial weight loss progress! Two Guys Lose Weight: Resisting the urge to be bad is so good http://t.co/QSSYG5T

Stop thinking "Cheating"

Try to eliminate the word "cheating" when managing your weight.  If you enjoy something yummy - enjoy it - then make the appropriate adjustments (extra time exercising and/or replacing a few meals with a low calorie, liquid protein shake) so that those extra calories don't end up in your Fat Bucket making your jeans too tight and your attitude grouchy.  You wouldn't "cheat" on your taxes, or on your spouse!  You teach your children to never "cheat" on tests or sports! So why do you give yourself permission to "cheat" when it comes to the most important health decision you will ever make - managing your weight?  Use good judgement and caution when enjoying yummy foods and think "moderation and adjustment" rather than "cheating"....a much healthier and less defeating thought process.

Dr. Joe's article great read!

I follow  http://twitter.com/#!/drjoesDIYhealth on Twitter (highly recommend) and he often has great articles relating to weight loss, overweight and obesity.  I highly recommend reading his latest post which supports "behavior change" rather than "gastric surgery".  I posted my comments on this page (hopefully it worked) supporting his stand - with my twist on encouraging people to forget gastric surgery and put all that energy on changing behavior and thought process. 

In case your were wondering :)  My book  WiTHIN You Now!™    will be out soon!  Stay tuned!

Click on this link for Dr. Joes' article and my comments:

Obesity – A Behavioural Not Surgical Problem http://nblo.gs/bGOKw

Great Success Story - NO SURGERY!

Great article in USA Today (Thurs. Feb 3, 2011) Life Section page 10D.  A 49 year old man lost 181 pounds in 18 months to get ready for a golf trip to Scotland.  He now "walks and carries", feels great and had a wonderful golf trip to Scotland!  He went to Weight Watchers (great organization).  The most interesting statement he made was the following:  "I have to think and concentrate on my food and exercise choices every day"!! 

Stay on top of what's going on with nutritional guidelines!  Check out the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture's 2010 update on Dietary Guidelines at:

www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines very interesting!  Notice on the food Pyramid the guidelines for "fats".....very, very small portion of the diet should consists of fats and oils.  Also, the guidelines for anything containing sugar (baked goods, sugary soda, etc.) are interesting!

Bottom line, according to the HHS and USDA statements, only 10% of Americans follow a healthy diet - we are a nation of overweight and obese (2/3rds of our population is either overweight or obese).  It's time to lose weight and get more exercise!

Get informed, get in shape -  Today is the best day to start!!  Check out the guidelines and let me know what you think of them and how you are doing on your weight management plan!

A nice success story!

Great article in USA Today (Thurs. Feb 3, 2011) Life Section page 10D.  A 49 year old man lost 181 pounds in 18 months to get ready for a golf trip to Scotland.  He now "walks and carries", feels great and had a wonderful golf trip to Scotland!  He went to Weight Watchers (great organization).  The most interesting statement he made was the following:  "I have to think and concentrate on my food and exercise choices every day"!! 

Stay on top of what's going on with nutritional guidelines!  Check out the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture's 2010 update on Dietary Guidelines at:

www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines very interesting!  Notice on the food Pyramid the guidelines for "fats".....very, very small portion of the diet should consists of fats and oils.  Also, the guidelines for anything containing sugar (baked goods, sugary soda, etc.) are interesting!

Bottom line, according to the HHS and USDA statements, only 10% of Americans follow a healthy diet - we are a nation of overweight and obese (2/3rds of our population is either overweight or obese).  It's time to lose weight and get more exercise!

Get informed, get in shape -  Today is the best day to start!!  Check out the guidelines and let me know what you think of them and how you are doing on your weight management plan!

Specific Recommendations - Carbs and Grains

YEAH!!  Someone left a great comment on my blog posting regarding my recent comments on daily intake of Carbs and daily intake of Grains.  Thank you for your comments and thank you for being interested and informed regarding the importance of a healthy diet.  Diet recommendations (particularly the low carb high fat diets) are still controversial, and much research is being conducted to determine the best route to a healthy lifestyle.  My reader referred to an article http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/20/health/la-he-carbs-20101220/2 which referenced a study wherein a group of people with metablic syndrome were put on either a low carb, high fat diet or a low fat high carb diet (each group was allowed 1,500 daily calories).  The results demonstrated the lower carb, high fat group showed lower trigs and higher HDLs (these are good things) at the end of the study. I looked further into the study and it showed the HFLC diet ratio of 59F/28P/12C vs the LFHC diet ratio of 24F/20P/56C. This study may prove that this type of restricted diet may be suited for people who don't metabolize or tolerate carbs well (such as the cohort involved in the study who had metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance).  I agree that most people DO eat too many carbs and not enough of the "right" type of carbs (should stick to complex carbs)! Even so, many dieters may find living with extremely small amounts of carbs and large amounts of fat and protein (as suggested in the popular diet plans marketed), impossible to keep up for the long term. Americans as a group do suffer from carb, calorie overload and lack of exercise, which can have an impact on the development of "metabolic syndrome". Too many carbs and calories and not enough exercise are a nationwide problem. My reader also indicated that the recommendations of 6 servings of grains daily was a bit much.  The 6 servings of grains daily is probably difficult to maintain, yes. The new US Dietary Guidelines just released and US.Gov Food Pyramid recommends for daily intake of whole grains:  "3 oz equivalents for adults" with "one ounce" equaling in general 1 slice of ww bread, 1 cup of ready to eat cereal, or 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, cooked whole wheat pasta, or cooked ww cereal.  (Some refined grains such as white rice, white pasta are tasty and can be good for us because they may be fortified with folic acid and other essential nutrients, but need to be limited). If we can encourage people to eat at least 3 servings daily of whole grains along with some fruits and veggies and a diet that is satisfying, healthy and easy with which to comply, and plenty of exercise, we may be able to make some headway in fighting the battle of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes that is plaguing our country.    Thank you again for your comments and insight!

LA Times Health

I've been following a blog about two crazy guys who are "into" the LA scene and trying to lose weight on a 6 week challenge @LATimesHealth (I'm following LATimesHealth on Twitter).  Lots of fun to actually witness (blog style witness) people realizing that weight loss and weight management is not an "event" or "episode", rather it is a lifestyle and forever.  I love these guys.

Watched "The Hills" yesterday just for fun.  WOW, those girls have their own dialect...amazing (and I don't use that word often).  Somehow they speak from the back of their throat, words run together with no emphasis on either vowels or consonants - basically unintelligible.  It is a "version" of Valley Girl speak of the 80's.  AND -  they drink like Sailors.  They must have rich parents, because like June Cleavor, I never see them work!?!?!?

Bottom line and "in line" with this blog....they are very thin - don't ever see them eat either.  Not a lifestyle that meets my parameters for healthy living and would not consider them "role models".  My suggestion - let's stop watching that dumb show.