Sunday, August 24, 2008 Cut the fat-guessing POST A COMMENT 'Headed back into the gym last week, so I'm also back to sorting threw the latest fitness-trends. Every expert just about agrees that not all of us have the same body type... In terms of diets, I been kinda hugging the border of the Mediterranean Sea, or what's called the Mediterranean Diet -- (those folks near the Mediterranean sea have a low incident of heart disease, chronic diseases, and cancer, and the highest adult life-expectancy rate, which works for me). Here's the basic things about fat, the Mediterranean diet does contains 40% of total daily calories from fat. But, there is such a good thing as 'good fats. Olive oil, a staple of a Mediterranean diet, is a monosaturated fatty acid and counteracts animal fats. This type of fat does not raise blood cholesterol levels and is an excellent source of antioxidants. Monounsaturated fats are, in fact, required for the body in order to function effectively. Another staples in that diet is fish, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, something that most people do not get enough of. I also eat lean pork and chicken breast, and rarely do I eat red meat... 'Speaking of fat, I read today about potentially -- pill popping your fat-away (for those really lazy people): 'Scientists discovered a protein that can promote the burning of body fat. "Mice injected with a protein called BMP7 increased their production of "good" brown fat cells, while keeping their levels of the normal white fat cells constant. Fat is a crucial part of the body's regulation of metabolism and body temperature. There are two types of fat cell with different functions: the well-known white fat cells, which store energy and contribute to obesity, and lesser-known brown fat cells that burn calories to generate body heat." "As we learn more about the controls of brown fat development, medical interventions to increase energy expenditure by brown fat inducing agents, such as BMP7, may provide hope to these individuals in losing weight and preventing the metabolic disorders associated with obesity," offers the head researcher. I haven't reached that level of lazyness...yet...but... 'Sounds sorta like the perks of the Mediterranean diet; which instead of counting calories, focuses on food selections. In general, Mediterranean style means eating food slowly and savoring the taste of the food. MEDITERRANEAN DIET-101 *High consumption of olive oil. *High consumption of fruit, legumes, and vegetables. *High consumption of grains, pasta, rice, bulgar, couscous, beans, nuts and seeds. *High consumption of garlic. Garlic lowers your cholesterol level and protects you against cancer. *Moderate consumption of grilled and steamed fish. *Low consumption of lean red meat and lean pork. *Low consumption of eggs and dairy products. *Low consumption of red wine. *Regular exercise is an important part of the Mediterranean lifestyle. - GUIDELINES FOR EATING THE MEDITERRANEAN WAY Plan your meals a week ahead. Try to include a wide variety of foods in your menu plan. *Replace butter and other fat with extra virgin olive oil in cooking and baking. Season your olive oil with garlic and/or herbs and spices. *Instead of dessert, eat a plateful of fresh fruit. *Eat lots of whole grains and beans. *Replace white potatoes with sweet potatoes. *Eat meals full of color! Add a variety of vegetables by eating salads and soups. *Limit processed foods. *Add fish to your diet twice a week and cut down on red meat. *Drink lots of water, never sugar-sweetened sodas. Source: Guardian U.K. Labels: drugs, Exercise, Healthy Foods, HungryForChange.com, News Trends, Obesity, Well-Balanced Life, Whole Foods posted by Henry Cruz at 2:48 PM Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Diaries: Hungry For Change! POST A COMMENT Big news -- from nutritionists -- keeping a food diary when you're managing your weight -- actually works. This latest findings are "part of a weight-loss maintenance trial...'after analyzing the data on weight loss to see which factors made a difference, researchers concluded that the more days a person kept a careful record, the more weight he or she lost." -- in some cases up to twice as much as others who didn't keep a daily record. My web-partner and I launched an online commnunity to motivate users on Food -- that has a daily-diary: HungryForChange.com, 'which is one option to keep track of what's going in...ultimately, there's no easy fix to dieting...but, all roads lead to making "life-style" changes that include better quality foods going in...and not so much of it. Source: U.S. News & World Report Labels: Exercise, Health, HungryForChange.com, Obesity, protein, Well-Balanced Life posted by Henry Cruz at 7:56 PM Sunday, April 20, 2008 Put down that X-box...? POST A COMMENT That which hurts us, well...um, 'will just make you hungrier. No, really. That X-box -- (or the X-box gen of kids) -- is actually changing the amount of accidents happening in the "outdoors" -- I'm talking about that article that points out: Most "Children are now more likely to be hurt falling out of bed than from a tree." According to the daily mail. Geez, Kinda gives new meaning to that Avril song with the line: "you're so delicious..." So, let's sing it out: Hey, hey...you, you...you know it's not a secret, eating and eating and more eating ...'will give you a fat ass... -- (okay, I'm no Avril) -- but, it got me thinking... the million dollar idea: Since the X-box has already captured the imagination of kids (it's like crack without the crack pipe), how 'bout a hybrid - x box ...the creative folks that can come up with a video game that actually makes it fun to shake your ass (that's a freebee folks)...discuss. Labels: Exercise, News Trends, Obesity, videogame posted by Henry Cruz at 5:06 AM Tuesday, October 09, 2007 Exercise those hunger pains POST A COMMENT Another new study on Dieting and Exercise -- (Source NY TIMES) -- Suggests that "Moderate exercise" and "even intense exercise is no guarantee of weight loss..." Wait a second, don't jump off that treadmill just yet..."Most volunteers fell somewhere in the middle, losing only a few pounds despite the regimen.Unsurprisingly, the data did suggest that the people who failed to lose much weight had slightly increased their calorie intake by the end of the study." Basically, "The body does everything it can to steal back the calories you are so desperately trying to work off, studies have found, and different bodies do it at different rates...appetite may increase as the body strives to maintain its weight." The bottom line is exercise alone is good and gets the ball rolling in the right direction...but, that effort only works if you control what you put into your body...the key is "mind and body" working together! Here's my new breakfeast: Labels: Exercise, Health posted by Henry Cruz at 5:40 AM Tuesday, October 02, 2007 Shocker: more fat people are going to get sick! POST A COMMENT 'reading that "twice as many U.S. adults are obese" compared to those skinny bitches in Europe, (Source Journal Health Affairs) -- In that study it says Americans will "suffer more often from cancer, diabetes and other chronic ailments." -- Yeek, belly check ya'll...I'll be doing a diet soon...and offering some cool stuff I find right here! -- here are five simple tips to help out: 1. Eat smaller meals throughout the day. Five or six small meals is ideal, helping your body digest more easily while storing less fat that causes cellulite. 2. Drink water. Drinking water after every meal also helps your body digest while hydrating you. Be careful though, too much water can be a bad thing. 3. Do exercises that gets your heart pumping. You can vary the intensity and duration of the exercises throughout the week. You can do high intensity/short duration like aerobics and low intensity/long duration like walking several times a week. 4. Incorporate strength training into your workout. Building the muscles around the problem areas can greatly reduce the appearance of cellulite. 5. Get plenty of rest. 7-8 hours of sleep will help out a lot. Also, when starting out, give your body about 48 hours of rest after strength training so you do not over-exert yourself. Ah, it all sounds so simple! Labels: Exercise, Health, Obesity, Tips posted by Henry Cruz at 5:46 PM     ARCHIVES October 2005 . November 2005 . December 2005 . August 2007 . September 2007 . October 2007 . November 2007 . December 2007 . March 2008 . April 2008 . May 2008 . June 2008 . July 2008 . August 2008 . September 2008 .