The Vlog

I used to not be a fan of cardio training. I used to think that weight training ruled and cardio was for weaklings. This is BS however. What I realized is that both weight training and cardiovascular training can be great for your body. What made me change my mind? First of all, cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer in America and cardiovascular exercise is a great way to prevent this disease. Besides that, it boosts your immune system which helps to fight off infections and colds. Another reason I like it is because it will improve your overall well being and just plain make you feel better. Don’t sleep very well? Try cardio training. The last thing I want to mention is that cardio training has been proven to results in weight loss if you don’t generously “reward” yourself afterwards with extra calories.

Von

When dieting, you must insure that you are hitting your target calorie or meal marker everyday. If you’re every other day or whenever, you will surely fail. There are a couple of ways to make sure this happens, but here are the strategies I’ve found which work. The first is to exercise more. I know, I know, the recent time magazine article stated that exercise can make you fat, but this is only true when you reward yourself with crap. If you don’t, you will absolutely lose weight and the research conclusively proves that. Another strategy is if you cheat, you can compensate by not eating as much (or at all) for the rest of the day. Let say your meal was 800 calories and you we’re supposed to only eat a 400 calorie meal. Well, don’t eat your next meal. This makes up for it. Heck, if you ate a really big meal, you could combine both strategies and exercise (while having a possible protein shake in the middle), and not eating afterwards.

Von

There was a new time magazine article (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html) which included the statement “”You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain.” Despite the uproar and virtual riots going on in cyberspace from fitness professionals proclaiming “this is not right, we won’t stand for it,” the statement definitely holds some truth. What the article said and what has been found to be true in the research is that overweight individuals who perform steady-state cardio tend to “balance out” their expenditure with more food intake. In the real world, this means they probably stop off at Starbucks to get a latte and a muffin. Have you ever noticed those people in the gym who have been exercising for years and looked like they’ve practically gained weight? Yup, those people need a diet overhaul and if they worked as hard on their exercise as they did no their diets, they would have a completely transformed physique. This is why I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “there are no rewards in fat loss.” You should not eat back the calories you just expended. You should stick to the diet plan and if you don’t have a diet plan and wonder why the pounds aren’t dropping, now you know – you need a diet plan and it does require compliance.

Von

I’ve opened my mind to experimenting. I recently began to attempt to do a one-arm push-up. It took me approximately two weeks to attain one. At first, I could hardly hold myself up with one arm. I began there and just practiced holding myself up 10 seconds. I did this for a couple of days until it was easy. Next, I began to only lower myself slowly on my knees (like for 4 seconds). I practiced this for a couple of days until I got good at it. This progressed into lowering myself off of my knees and in a coupe of days, I was able to get up to 5 seconds lowering myself. Once this got a little easier, I attempted the infamed one-arm push-ups and got it! It really wasn’t a surprise to myself since I felt confident I could do it. Now my goal is 15 one-arm push-ups.

Von

I was in line two days ago at the local co-op and I noticed a very interesting product. First, the top of the box said “Organic.” I thought “good.” Next, the middle part said “Toasted Pastry.” I thought “hmm, that’s interesting, it probably has a lot of fiber since you hardly ever see the words “organic” and “toasted pastry” on the same box.” I looked at the fiber content and it stated “1 gram.” I laughed and then took a picture. But since I knew I would be slamming this product, I didn’t want to get a defemation suit. Trust me, just because something says organic doesn’t mean it holds a dime to non-organic fruits, vegetables, or whole grains because it doesn’t. Organic sugar, toasted pastries, white bread, and such are truly crap, so please save your money.

Von

I’ve sort changed my stance on whole grains. I used to think they wouldn’t be worth it because I believed hardly anyone got in proper amounts of fruits and veggetables (or 5-9 servings a day). However, I do believe that if you can get in any plant-based food, this is a good thing including whole grains. Whole grains do include phytonutrients, but you must be sure to actually get the whole grain. To be sure of this, you have to make sure that “whole grains” are included in the ingredients list because many times it’s not real whole grains, it’s colored to make it look like whole grains. The refining process actually removes the phyto-nutrients and other vitamins and minerals from the bread leaving you with essentially sugar candy. Don’t buy it and don’t believe the food companies that pass this crap off. But don’t justify eating only whole grains if you don’t get in enough fruits and vegetables, you must get this stuff in to.

Von

Perhaps the last fronteir in dieting is the mind. Once the mind breaks, nothing can be done. You will eat crap and a lot of it. We don’t have the luxury of chaining ourselves up and starving ourselves while having our personal chef only feed us food we should be eating. What can we do? Eat the foods you like to eat. If you don’t do that, you will be mentally depriving yourself and getting closer to a breaking point. There a couple of options that you could use. One option is a so called “cheat meal” where you can have any meal you want during the week. The other option is to eat when you psychologically need to, but keeping it under control by having a set amount and sticking to it. I think these two options are not only healthy for your body and mind, but they are great for the diet long-term because it means you are more likely to stick with it.

Von

Let’s face it if your a parent and not preparing your child’s lunches, you’re not doing a very good job. Of coure if their in high school, then that’s a little weird (but I guess that’s okay.) School lunches are notorious for serving up America’s two greatest fake vegetables, corn and potatos. And why not, they’re cheap, right? The problem is, more kids are getting fat and they’re serving them more carbs! If you’re kid is overweight, you need to start preparing their lunchces (and without the dessert, and better yet, how about some fruit.)

Von

For those of you who have had foot, knee, or hip problems, the problems may start or be contributed by your footwear. If you wear high heels, your feet are constantly flexed and this has been a culprit associated with achy feet and plantarfasciitis. If you have flat feet, you have a higher risk for knee problems and feet problems. If your feet are supinated, you may have a higher incidence of ankle sprains, knee pain, or back pain. How can you insure that you get the right footwear? If you go to a reputable shoe store like Marathon Shoes and Famous Footwear in the Minneapolis area, they will hook you up. Otherwise, if your insurance covers it, you can go to a podiatrist.

Von

It is popular now to drink a protein/carb shake after working out. After all, the research is pretty clear. If you do consume a post-workout shake, you’ll likely end up with slightly more muscle mass and less fat. While many companies exploit this fact while advertising a fast digesting protein and carbohydrate, I question whether fruit is both cheaper and just as effective as the highly processed sugars these companies advertise. In one study, raisins and a high-glycemic sports gel were compared side-by-side to see to see if any one enhanced performance more. As it turned out, they were the same! But if you think about it, the raisins were cheaper and provided way more nutritients than the sports gel. Plus, if you aren’t getting in your recommended amount of fruits and vegetables a day, then I highly recommend raisins, dates, or bananas before or after exercise.

Von