Obama, Health Care and Common Sense

Is it ok for me to say the health care debate is making me SICK?

I know it's a VERY touchy subject. I know people have VERY strong opinions about it.

But what nobody really wants to talk about is the fact we could simplify the heck out of this by doing one thing:

Take better care of ourselves.

We have this incredible love affair with making things so complicated. It's absurd really.

Small, simple changes to the way we live our lives and the entire country would be SOOO much healthier.

Let me give an extreme example:

I heard of a story of someone eating TWO Big Macs every day for lunch. Yes, two of them.

And yes, EVERY day. At least that is what I was told.

Now, this person started at around 300 pounds when they made one simple change to their life that caused them to drop 50 of those pounds very quickly.

Can you guess what it is?

This person started eating ONE Big Mac for lunch every day instead of two.

Is that ideal? Of course not.

Is it a start? Sure is.

Now, I'm afraid I do not know what happened to this person. I hope they used this as a starting point and went on to make similar changes and shed a whole lot more weight.

But the moral of the story is simple: We're making things a whole lot harder than they need to be.

Small changes add up to BIG results. They always have and they always will.

Does it solve all our problems? No.

But does it solve a lot? Yeah, it really does.

So what do you do now? I suggest you read this awesome special report on Six of the Most Powerful Antioxidants to help you better understand the role nutrition plays in the anti-aging process.

Click here to read the article --> anti-aging

Yours in health,

George Louris

To Tax Fat or NOT To Tax Fat?

If You Live in Norway, These Twinkies Might Cost You More in the Future

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about how other countries are waaay ahead of us when it comes to overall health and well being. You'd think a country as great as the old U.S. of A would at least be in the top 5 in some major categories, but nope. Overall, we're pretty much a nation of fatties.

The way they're doing things over in Norway continues to intrigue me. Politicians and doctors are obsessed with averting becoming a nation of out of shape people (the U.S. being the prime example of how they DON'T want to become).

The Norwegians are trying very hard to avoid being like the U.S. - we spent 10% of our health care expenditures, $174 billion, on diabetes-related illnesses.

This has the Norwegian government considering a "fat tax" on sugar and junk food (they already tax soft drinks). Of course, what they're trying to do is raise the cost of junk food to discourage public consumption.

As you could imagine, this "fat tax" has raised some debate. The question is whether this tax is appropriate or is it going to turn the Norwegian government into babysitters assuming that its citizens can't make their own decisions in regards to their own overall health and fitness.

Although I'm generally against government intervention in most cases and lean towards smaller government and less government involvement, this idea does intrigue me. I'm not sure there is anything wrong with trying to influence behavior by raising prices, but I'm also not sure that it would make any significant difference.

Should one's government work towards keeping it's population healthy or should everyone be left to make their own decisions without any nudges or influential actions from the government?

Post below and let me know what you think.

The Blame Game

Who Do YOU Blame for Eating the Kids Cheetos?

Today I want to talk to you a little bit about what I like to call the "blame game".

When we fail to reach our goals, fat loss or otherwise, the easiest thing to do is to blame everyone but ourselves. The wife, the baby, the kids, not having enough time, stress, the tv, the list goes on and on. If you're a regular reader here, you've definitely heard me go on and on about accountability and how it's a key factor when it comes to fat loss.

The truth is that no one is the innocent victim of a "drive by" feeding. We're all responsible for how flabby (or firm) our belly's are, like it or not.

However, there are many factors that sneakily sabotage even our best laid fat loss plans.

How do we fight these saboteurs? Easy. Identify them then figure out how to fix them.

Here are the "biggies" for me:

The Wife

The facts: Researchers studied 6,949 people and found those who got hitched were more than twice as likely to become obese than those who just kept dating, according to a study published in the journal Obesity.

Researchers have also found that men and women usually gain 6 to 8 pounds in the first two years of marriage. This is probably because once you're married you probably:

• Go to the gym less often
• The need to impress is gone
• Go to parties more frequently
• Sit on the couch and snack with your spouse more often

The cure: Try the following to counteract that post-marriage belly:

• Ask your spouse (or you yourself) to stop bringing junk food into the house
• Next time you're about to prepare a snack, ask yourself "Why am I eating this? Am I bored? Is it a habit?" Unless you're truly hungry, skip it. Have two cold glasses of water instead.
• Impress him/her. Imagine you were about to meet someone you really admire or want to meet or maybe that really cute guy or gal at work. Ask yourself what they would think of your gut if you met that person with your shirt off.
• Skip the typical post-dinner ritual of sitting on the couch and watching tv. Go for a walk instead, or even better, take the action to the bedroom.

Furthermore, University of Connecticut researchers claim that dieters can subconsciously influence their spouses to lose weight. They found that when one partner was involved with a weight-loss program, the other was more likely to eat fewer calories, too. So since you're the one reading this, start setting a good example today.

The Baby

The facts: In the first year of a baby's life, new dad's gain almost 5 pounds. Mom's of course have to deal with all the weight they gained during their pregnancy. And of course, with every additional child, the cycle repeats.

The cure:

• Both mom's AND dad's to be would do well to pick up and read pregnancy books. There are often some very good nutritional tips in there when it comes to maintaining the proper weight during pregnancy and what to do afterwards.
• If you're a soon to be mom, don't use your pregnancy to eat whatever you want, whenever you want ( of course, while pregnant, there will always be exceptions). That's a recipe for disaster and will make it MUCH harder to lose the weight afterwards not only because you've gained so much, but also because you've developed 9 months of unhealthy eating habits.
• If you're a soon to be dad, you need to adopt a very simple policy "She can have it, but I shouldn't".
• Make sure that whether you're a soon to be a mom or dad, that you continue to workout regularly, your routine might change (length and intensity of workouts, time of workouts), but make sure you don't stop (and if you're a soon to be mom, make sure you consult with your doctor first).

The Kids

The facts: Kids in the house means that they're is a MUCH greater chance that there is junk food in your home. With more junk food laying around, the more likely it is that it will end up in your mouth. I admit that every so often I give in and start looking around the house for some of the kids snack foods...not good!

The cure: The next time you begin to cave, think about this: That same snack that's going to sit as a fat deposit in your gut is easily burned off in about an hour by an active child. It's also important to lead by example and explain to your kids that junk food should not be a daily thing, but something of a treat. Limit your consumption and theirs to once or twice a week.

The "Boob Tube"

The facts: Staying up late watching TV and leaving the TV on while you sleep are both big no-no's. Sleep is extremely important to achieving your fat loss goals and your overall health. Not getting enough deep sleep inhibits the production of growth hormone. This in turn can:

• Lead to abdominal obesity
• Reduce muscle mass
• Reduce strength
• Diminish exercise capacity

The cure: Try these tips to get to help you sleep and get some sound sleep:

• Workout in the morning or afternoon instead of the evening
• Turn off the computer and the tv 30 minutes before bed time
• Read 30 minutes before bed time
• If you can't make yourself turn off the tv, turn it down really low and set the timer to shut off in 30 minutes

"No Time"

The facts: The number one reason people give for not exercising it that they don't have enough time. Hogwash. In 99% of cases (based on my completely unscientific non-study), that's bs.

The cure: You don't need to spend hours a week at the gym or hours a day on the treadmill. Stick to high intensity full body resistance workouts 3 times a week. Throw in 2 or 3 15-20 minute high intensity cardio sessions and you'll literally melt the fat away.

So stop blaming others and your surroundings and take some proactive steps to get rid of that extra weight around your mid-section.

I'd love to hear who you end up blaming, post below and let me know! Unless of course you don't blame anyone, then good for you! :p

Exercise and Breast Cancer

Just a quick post today to share with you a study you might find insightful.

Statistics and studies relating to breast cancer always interest me because I have a vested interest in learning as much as I can. Mainly because:

• I have a wife.
• I have a mom.
• I have two little girls.
• I have a sister.
• Most of my readers/clients are female.
• I live on Long Island, where the breast cancer rates are very high.

The most recent study I’ve come across, the Nurses Health Study, was published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).

The study tracked nearly 3000 women for up to 14 years after being diagnosed with breast cancer and found that exercise reduced the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence and increased the odds of living longer.

One of the reasons I find this study to be credible is the sample size and longevity of the study. 14 years is a long time and I think the findings are very promising and should not be taken lightly.

The author of the study said that “recurrence rates and deaths from breast cancer decreased up to 40% among those who exercised most, compared with those who were sedentary. Brisk walking for 3-5 hours per week - about 30 minutes a day - netted the biggest benefits.”

So if you didn’t have a good enough reason to exercise regularly before, I hope this helps you get started!

If walking is not your cup of tea or if you want to take it “to the next level” and focus on losing fat while you’re exercising (walking might be good, but it’s not going to help you really accelerate fat loss), try a full body workout. Click on the videos link above for some sample full body workouts geared towards fat loss.

Fat Loss Machine or Sex Device?

I’m sorry. Really. But I couldn’t resist. I had to share this.

This thing is called the “i-JoyRide”.

It’s supposed to help you workout.

Really. I swear.

This makes those crappy ab machines actually look and sound like useful machines.

Check it out for yourself, draw your own conclusions and please post below and let me know what you think.

Are Supplement Companies Evil?

As you probably already know, the supplement industry is filled with phonies.

They use shady manufacturing processes. They use cheap ingredients. Heck, sometimes they don’t even use the ingredients they claim on the label!

And for awhile now I’ve been telling you about Prograde Nutrition.

It’s the only supplement company I use and the only one I’ve recommended to my clients for the last 2+ years.

They are the real deal.

In fact, they’ve created a behind-the-scenes video that SHOWS you how they make their products.

What other company does that?

Seriously, this is REALLY cool.

You even get to see how they do micro-biological testing on the ingredients before they are even used. And if they don’t pass their tests then they do NOT make it into the bottle.

See for yourself here: Prograde Nutrition Video

Once you’re done watching the video, check out the SmartShip option on the right. It’s a great deal.

The Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners

I’ve always been against the use of artificial sweeteners. For one thing, they’ve always tasted funny to me. For another, there has been research and evidence pointing to anything from the negative affects on the central nervous system to male infertility and a lot of other things that you just don’t want happening to your body.

Even if you choose to ignore the research or believe the evidence is inconclusive, that’s ok. But think about this:

These are all things that have been created in a lab.

Artificial sweeteners are not found in nature.

They’ve been created by man.

Of course, a great many of the “foods” available to us have been concocted in a lab, but so what? Are they any healthier? Are these “Frankenfoods” really food anyway? Is a Dorito really food?

When was the last time someone hunted for Dorito’s in the wild or picke a Dorito off of a tree?

But back to the point. If you’re someone who drinks tons of diet drinks or “low fat” or “sugar free” foods to avoid the extra sugar, you’re probably doing your body as much harm, if not more, by consuming these foods with these artificial sweeteners.

Check out this video and let me know what you think by posting below: