Well I also finally got the bike out and have being getting some exercise in on a more regular basis since the weather has turned a bit nicer and more spring like. On another note you may have heard people say, “Its like riding a bike you never forget” Apparently I forgot as the first week I had a nasty fall which cut up my knee and elbow pretty good. I have a older mountain bike which I have had for many years but the one thing I have found is it does not handle very well on city streets with its off road type tires.

In this case I was just turning up a driveway and caught  a small lip where the driveway and road meet. Lucky for my safety and embarrassment there were no cars or people around to see. I guess its was also good that I had my helmet on, though every time I have a fall on my bike it seems to be my arms and legs that get hurt.

New research funded by the National Cancer Institute shows a link to the amount of red meat consumed and cancer. The study spanned 10 years and looked at participants who ranged in age from 50-71 years. The conclusion was that about 11% to 16% of deaths were linked to excess red meat consumption.

Red meat and processed meats have long been considered unhealthy by some. Meat excessively grilled or pan fried has also been linked to cancer due to the chemicals produced when meats are cooked. Much of the problem is also often blamed on portion sizes of meats like beef, pork and ham.  Instead of becoming a portion of a balanced meal they become the meal. The main problem with processed meats like cold cuts is that they are sometimes high in nitrates, which is unfortunate because the main consumers are often children who eat them in their lunches.

If you are able to lower your portion size or cut back on the amount of meat you consume the next thing you should try to do is improve the quality. If we look at some countries in Europe that consume as much meat but have lower risks of cancer and heart disease much of the credit often goes to the time spent shopping for quality.

You may not be able to become a vegetarian but everyone should be able to cut back on portion size and take a bigger interest in where their meat is coming from and how it is cooked. Unfortunately the local butcher shop has become a endangered species, replaced by large supermarkets and big box stores.

1. Time: Its not easy to eat healthy, measuring, weighing foods and counting calories takes a great deal  of time and effort. You also have to consider all the time spent preparing and shopping for meals. Its a lot easier to pick up  fast food on the way home than to do the right thing. One thing you can do to over come this problem if you have the money is to use a service that will prepare and deliver meals to you.

2. Snacking: The common enemy of all good diet plans. You are hungry, you look around and see some chips and think oh just one won’t hurt and then just two won’t hurt. The next thing you have eaten half the bag and figure you’re screwed and may as well eat the rest. Others take one or two nibbles of something at a time but all those little nibbles add up. Its best not to buy these types of things that you have a weakness for. A lot of snacking is caused by boredom as well so keep busy.

3.  Motivation: Its hard at times to keep motivated and working towards your weight loss goals. If you miss a target it may seem like you are doing everything for nothing. A support group can help you with motivation. Much of the success of many commercial diet plans lies not in their plan but their weekly or monthly meetings.

4. Holidays: Like it or not most holidays are not diet friendly. Being in a room full of people feasting on a holiday meal when you are dieting can be like a smoker trying to quit being in a room filled with people smoking. The best policy might be a bend but don’t break approach and sample things in small quantity.

5. Poor Nutritional Education: Eating the wrong things you believe are good for your diet can be a major pitfall. Some consumers are easily swayed by products that are labeled light, diet and heart healthy when they may not be. You have to read the ingredients and dig deeper to see what your really eating in terms of fat and calories!

6. Fad Diets: You have seen them advertised and maybe even searched for them online, those lose 20 pounds in three weeks fad diet plans. These type of fad diets often go viral on the Internet as most people love the idea of a quick fix. They only time a fad diet might work is if you just want to drop 10-15 pounds. What you really need to be successful is not just a diet plan but a overall lifestyle plan if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

7. Money: You would think that eating less would cost less but this is not always the case. Fruits and vegetables which are the staple of any good diet plan can be very expensive when they are not in season locally and you may also be taking supplements which are costly. There are commercial diet plans like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig which have a proven track record but many can not afford them. Best thing you can do is learn all you can for free either online or borrow a book from your local library on Atkins or the Dean Ornish diet. A good diet book will have the knowledge you need and you can look for support from a online forum or chat if you can’t find anything local.

8. Not Eating Enough: Yes it may seem ironic but not eating enough is a problem for many dieters. Not only is eating important for metabolic reasons but not eating leaves one miserable, tired and eventually sick. There is no way to stay on a diet once you become sick. The trick to dieting is to reduce calories while still getting your daily nutritional needs meant. You may want to take supplements to make sure you are notmissing out.

9. Boredom-Depression: I have lumped these two together as they kind of go together. If you are bored or depressed you generally eat more. This is especially true of snacking. Everyone has experienced going to the kitchen again and again kind of mindlessly just because you are bored. Many diet problems are from bad habits. No easy solution to boredom but best thing is not to stay home alone with a fridge full of ice cream. Join a group for support

10. Diet Pills: We all know or have read about some prescription diet pills that have been withdrawn from the market but over the counter and herbal diet pills have also recently come under fire from the FDA. Most of these miracle pills will not help you lose any real fat. If you do find you have lost weight most likely it will just be water. Pills are not going to change things for you long term, stop looking for that miracle and go back to the old fashion tried and true methods for losing weight.

to be continued (this will be a ongoing thread, feel free to comment and add your own)

I did cheat a few times and had some sun chips. I am sure they are better than regular chips but do not think they have any place in a diet plan. I cut red meat out for the week and I had pasta a couple times. When I had pasta it was about half of what I normally have and I loaded my plate up with salad. I am still lacking a good exercise program. I  should be doing 90 minutes a week of brisk exercise at a minimum.

One big diet problem I have is when I have to go to a family event or holiday gathering, will power gets tested to the max. Even if you manage to avoid a big meal its hard to say, “no birthday cake for me I am on a diet”, Feel like I am almost being rude not having a piece. I usually cave and say just a small piece and of course the person cutting it ends up cutting you the biggest piece of all.

Regardless of the diet each individual had to cut 750 calories from their diet. In addition participants had to commit to 90 minutes of brisk exercise per week and keep a diet journal. The participants also took part in group meeting to help and support each other.

After two years none of the groups really outperformed and the results led researchers to believe that there was not any special mix of carbs, fats and proteins that was responsible for the loss but instead it was a restriction in caloric intake  that led to weight loss. Support groups and diet journals also helped participants from straying off their diets. Of course those who stayed on their diets and went to support regularly did the best. Average weight loss after 2 years was about 9 pounds. The average trend was to take weight off more rapidly in the first year of the study and slowly put it back on as the study went on.

Results seem to indicate that support groups and diet journals could be more important than any diet you may decide to follow. If you can’t find a support group near you it might be worth while to search for a diet forum or chat room online where you can meet people with similar goals as you.

Traditional Diet Journal

The traditional way of keeping a diet journal by pen and paper involves recording your  daily days diet and future meal plans as well as exercise. The problem is this can sometimes become tedious with a lot of measuring, weighing and calculating of calories. Often the effort involved in  keeping a  diet journal will cause one to give up after a few weeks. Fortunately there is a alternative for people who want to keep diet journals but want a faster and easier way.

Diet Software

There are many software programs available online that you can use as a diet journal. Most of the programs have a large database of foods to save you time. The software programs go a step beyond pen and paper journals and offer many more features. They will generate meal plans for you and analyze the nutritional value of meals you enter. Software makes it very easy to track and graph things like your body fat content. You do not need to be a computer expert to use them as most are very user friendly. So before you resort to pen and paper do a google search for software. One that is excellent is NutriBase.

Most of these diet products are just a cardboard cut out of the real things and taste like it to me. Some diet products I will eat are the ones that do not depart from the original recipes but instead cut calories by trimming the portion sizes. The debate over sweeteners continues between those against them and the companies who make them. Below is a interesting article that appeared on Sunday about sweeteners.

Sweetener Debate

The main problems are from herbal diuretics and low calorie diets which can be dangerous. Though some of these diuretics might result in short term weight loss it will only be from water. This is also a good time to point out that you should consult your doctor before going on a diet. Some  diets can be dangerous to certain individuals. Your age and any medical conditions must be carefully considered in any diet plan you choose to try.

The best diet approach are ones that balance both diet and exercise. So instead of buying a magical pill you may want to put that money into some new exercise equipment. If your going to spend money on a diet program go with a proven winner with a good long term track record for weight loss. Two excellent but very different approaches are the Atkins Diet Plan and the Dean Ornish Diet.

I’m not one who is obsessed about weighing myself on the scale but one thing I notice when I do weigh myself as I am generally a few pounds surprised on the upside unfortunately. You should always weigh yourself in the morning and stripped down like a boxer weighing in for a title fight. Also of course make sure the scale you use is calibrated and use the same scale. I don’t think you should weigh yourself everyday as the day to day fluctuations could disappoint, once a week is plenty.

So when I finally stepped on the scale I was 195 pounds, so I am looking at about 20 pounds. It would be a lot easier if this snow would go away and I could get exercising outside. Working out on stationary machines just seems so tedious and boring to me. Hopefully I can keep things right, got off to a good start with healthy low fat meals today.

Get Ready For Spring Tune Up

Well the good news is spring and warm weather is just a few weeks away.There are a few things you can do to get ready so that you do not have to delay your outdoor activities once the warm weather gets here. One thing I am doing this weekend is getting my bicycle ready and tuned up. I know if I do not do this it will just be another excuse not to use it and it may sit idle till August LOL. Its hard enough to start you do not need any extra excuses.

Another thing you might want to do is reward yourself with some new workout clothes or a new pair of running-walking shoes to get you motivated and out there walking, running or jogging. Get your Ipod ready with your favorite tunes. Its important not to start off to fast as you probably will not keep it up. Slow and gradual is the way, far to many start off like a rocket and fizzle after a few weeks.

I am also planning on going on a diet to help work off a few pounds. I’m going to cut as much fat as I can out of my diet and reduce the amount of meat I am eating, specially red meat. Cutting my portion sizes of meat and increasing the amount of veggies I eat everyday. Many diet problems are caused by portion sizes of specific foods. I think pasta is okay but if you look on most peoples plates you will see pasta and a tiny speck of veggies on their plate, it probably should be the other way around. I believe pasta portions should be no bigger than the size of a small fist at best. I’ll update in a few weeks how my progress is going. Currently I’m at 190 pounds and see my perfect weight as between 175-180

For those of you who live on Mars and have not watched the P90X infomercial, P90X bills itself as a total fitness program for those who want to get ripped and targets both men and women. Like most of the programs it sells for +$100 and then there are extra optional pieces of equipment you can buy. The P90X system is suppose to get you ripped in 90 days and consists of 12 DVD’s each with a unique workout. The plan also comes with three guides, including one with a nutritional program for you to follow.

All and all it looks like a decent comprehensive system, I wouldn’t mind hearing from a few people who have really tried it. Trouble is when you search the net you do not know if your getting a honest review or just someone trying to sell you something.

P90X Testimonials

David Akers of the Philadelphia Eagles claims to have used it saying,

“I liked it because it really worked a lot with the explosion of the legs,”

“Jumping, cardio aerobic, push-ups, pull-ups, jumping back and forth, it’s crazy. Yoga, stretch, Kenpo . . . it’s all kind of mixed into one.”

Although I think it comes with a 30 day guarantee the bottom line is you still have to be committed to working hard or you may as well keep your $100 in your wallet. If you have ordered P90X feel free to leave a comment, its cheaper than its infomercial competitor BowFlex at least.

P90X Required Equipment

• place to do pull ups
• few free weights

P90X Optional Equipment or Accessories

• Chin-Up Bar
• Push-Up Stands
• Push-Up Bars
• Body Fat Tester
• Resistance Bands
• 50lb Resistance Band
• Resistance Bands Upgrade Kit
• Resistance Band Handles
• Yoga Blocks
• Manduka Plyo / Yoga Mat
• Yoga Monster Mat
• Heart Rate Monitor/Strap
• Heart Rate Monitor

On a recent doctors trip I found out my cholesterol was very high. Even though I thought my diet was good now that I think about it I had let a couple things slip. There were two things that I believe were responsible for my high cholesterol levels. The first was my snacking choice, I had been eating a lot more popcorn, the microwave style and it became a habit while watching TV. I was eating maybe 3 bags a week, while I knew it was not healthy part of me was saying hey its popcorn and healthier than chips. The second thing is I had increased my intake slightly of deep fried foods which is never good.

Now I am not one to believe you should never eat this or that but I had fallen into the trap of making it a habit of eating these foods. Now I will be taking the steps to correct this of course the best thing would be to go on the Dean Ornish Diet but thats a little to strict for me. Instead I will be  eating less foods with bad cholesterol and more with good cholesterol. The above just shows that even though your weight might be good it doesn’t mean your diet is healthy.

This question surprised me a little.

Which drink contains the least calories?

a) Coca-Cola (591 millilitres)

b) Fruitopia (591 millilitres)

c) Starbucks’ Peppermint Mocha Twist Frappuccino (Grande/473 millilitres)

While I was not surprised that a Frappuccino contained the most I was surprised that Coca-Cola contained the least. I knew fruit type drinks contain a lot of sugar and calories but I just thought regular Coke would contain more.

The FDA said the diet pill Phyto Shape contains the drug Zimulti, which it did not approve because of possible links over mental health concerns. Zimulti has been pulled off the European market in the fall over similar concerns.

The FDA’s investigation of diet pills raised many flags, overall they found some diet pills contained controlled substances. Also startling was the amount of drugs found in some diet pills. In some cases these drugs were found to far exceed the daily limits recommended, raising the risk of side effects. Drugs found included some that seemed unrelated to weight loss like the anti-seizure drug Dilantin.

This release by the FDA is another good reason to stay natural when supplements are concerned. Even when staying natural you should still ask your doctor for  medical advice before taking any supplement either herbal or synthetic.

A new study by the Journal of The American Medical Association has found that following a diet rich in foods that are low on the glycemic index can not only help control blood sugar levels but may help increase the levels of good cholesterol(HDL)

The study done at Toronto’s St Michaels Hospital and the University of Toronto had participants follow either a low glycemic index based diet or a high cereal fibre diet. The results showed that those who followed the low GI diet not only had improved blood sugar levels but also raised there HDL cholesterol levels, HDL carries cholesterol from the arteries.

Dr Agatston’s South Beach Diet Plan follows the principals of the glycemic index as a key to not only losing weight but for better overall health.

Some Foods That are Low on The Glycemic Index

• Apples
• Legumes
• Oats
• Prunes
• Banana
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Egg Noodles
• Chicken
• Dark Chocolate