Unlock Your Potential

And no, I don't mean Al Gore's environment...

So it turns out Americans are fat.  Americans are even too fat to fight.  As much as we try to eat healthy, we're getting fatter.  According to the Center for Disease Control, there were 21 states with at most 14% of its population considered obese in 1985.  In 2009, all states but one had at least 20% of its population considered obese.  The most staggering statistic: 9 states considered at least 30% of its population as obese.  So why is it that with all the information we have at our fingertips about eat healthy and exercising are Americans getting fatter?  Its the environment, stupid!  What do I mean by the environment?

We all know that the first step to dealing with an addiction is admitting you have a problem.  Then comes rehab.  Rehab programs are great.  They whisk you away to these luxurious facilities where you're taken care of hand a foot.  Once your time is up, you're thrust back into society where you hope the detox program sticks and you're able to fend for yourself.  And more times than not, it fails and you're back in rehab.  Sound familiar?  Do you know why?  People are thrust back into the same environment/social setting that allowed them to become addicts in the first place.  The same applies to food.  

Food can be, and should be considered a drug in some certain instances.  Without it, we become cranky and short-tempered.  Once we engorge ourselves (usually with empty carbohydrates), our bodies are satiated for a moment, then quickly ask for more.  The next thing you know, we're 30lbs overweight and we don't know how we got there.  

Part of the reason for this vicious cycle is because eating healthy is expensive.  Between 1990 and 2007, the price of a Big Mac fell 5.44%, while the price of fruit increased 17% from 1993 to 1997.  What fueled this drop in price?  Very few people realize that both corn and soybean (used to feed cattle) are subsidized by the government while fruit/vegetable farmers don't receive any help.  

Aside from a seismic shift in agricultural policy, here are a few tips to help you shed the weight and/or keep it off:

*Drink water before a meal.  This helps with appetite/portion control.

*Be wary of drinking your calories.

*If you're using whole milk, switch to low-fat milk (2% is good enough).  However, make this transition slowly.

*Switch to whole grain sources and increase your servings of fruits/vegetables for your sources of carbohydrates.

I was reading the NY Times today and, of course, I focused more on the Health section than any of the others.  I came across an article describing the physical status of our military.  Sadly, its not too much different than us civilians.  Here are a few stats from a report compiled by retired generals and admirals titled Too Fat to Fight:

*the number of recruits that failed the physical fitness test between 1995 and 2008 rose 70% (20% at one testing center alone in 2006, up from 4% in 2000)

*in 2002, 3 recruits broke their pubic bone.  the same injury occurred 39 times in 2009 (why?  too much sugar and not enough calcium and iron)

I think this quote says it all.  Asked about the new fitness regiment for today's armed forces, a West Point fitness instructor said this:

“It’s back to the future,” Mr. Palkoska says before starting into a lament about the Xbox generation. “Technology is great, but it’s killing us.”

Want to know if you would pass?  Check out the standards here.  You can read the entire NY Times article here.

As I was sitting at Starbucks yesterday, I couldn't help but people-watch as I tried to get some work done.  Some people were there to mooch off the free wi-fi (yours truly) or have a business meeting.  Others were there for their afternoon caffeine fix.  But for the most part, most of the people coming in were parents with their kids or the herds of teens with no adult.  A good amount of the time, the kids were getting a frappaccino with some sort of "snack" that consisted of a scone, cake or donut.  Among a host of other issues that came up, two things stuck out:

1) Were these parents setting their kids up for Type 2 Diabetes or a multitude of other ailments?  (I'll focus on this at a different time)

2) What percentage of their calories come from empty calories or liquids in general?

As these questions were bouncing around in my head, I receive an email from a friend about article who's title is Beverage Consumption is a Bigger Factor in Weight.  I love it when great minds think alike!!

According to this study, 37% of all liquid calories come from these empty-calorie drinks (regular soft drinks, fruit drinks, fruit punch, high-calorie beverages sweetened with sugar, diet soda and other “diet” drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners).  In addition, because of the increase in the consumption of sweetened drinks, by 2015, 75% of US adults will be considered obese....75%!!!!  That's only 5 years away!!

C'mon people...whatever happened to water and milk!?

I just had this article sent to me by a friend.  At first glance, the title gave me the impression of a lead-laden batch of VitaminWater sent from China made it to US soil.  But its much worse...

Coca-Cola, the producers of VitaminWater, is being sued by a non-profit public interest group on the grounds that VitaminWater makes "unwarranted health claims".  Coca-Cola's defense?  Consumers would essentially be stupid to actually believe the hype that VitaminWater is healthy...what!?!?

Enjoy the article!  In protest, I'm going to go drink a "light" Mocha Frappaccino.  Wait...light doesn't mean healthy!?

Have you ever wondered how many calories you burned during your workout?!  Or, in my case, what can I eat after my workout that wouldn't ruin the effect of the workout!?  There's a site for that!!

In order to keep your simple diet plan in check, click here and this calculator will give you a pretty good estimate as to how many calories you burned during a typical workout.  Now remember, this is just an ESTIMATE.  The best, most feasible way is to strap on a heart-rate monitor.  Most receivers will now calculate calories burned.

And in a follow-up to this story, I have decided to join the Race to the Beach: a 200-mile relay race over 24 hours.  As sick as this sounds, I'm so looking forward to this!!!