Friday, July 04, 2008
Obesity on the Map
Obesity on the Map
And I mean literally. I found this little gem today: a map of the United States showing the distribution of obesity by state. The clear winner who could stand to be the "biggest loser" is Mississippi. The winner? Colorado. The catch? Obesity maps are based on Body Mass Index (BMI), which doesn't take into account how muscular you are. I wonder how California would place if they charted it based on body fat and lean mass instead? Click here to view the map.
Food Gets Fatter
While the debate rages for how and why we have an "obesity epidemic" one thing most people agree on is that portion sizes have steadily climbed the past few decades. Take a look at this food photo gallery and see how things like the bagel and cheeseburger have grown in size. The bagel is 210 calories heavier, which means if you have one of these every day for breakfast you are consuming enough calories to put on an extra pound of fat every other week.
Free Calorie Tracking Done Right
There are two issues I've always had with online nutrition tracking programs: the first is that you seem to either get "here is your meal plan generated for you" or "here is where you track your meals" as opposed to "this is a recommendation, but tell us what you really ate." The second is that it's tough to enter foods, and when I do take the time to enter all that information from my nutrition facts label, it would be nice if other people using the system could benefit as well.
The other stay I found a page that does all of this — and the best part? It does it for free. So check out The Daily Plate for a solution that I think is done right. You can enter your own foods, people can rate and vote on them, you can receive a suggested calorie recommendation, key in your exercises, and network with others. I keep talking about building my own software but if I keep finding gems like this one I might never have to ... it's a great site and while I'm not tracking calories in my current program, I keyed in a few days to see how it worked and the user interface is fantastic.
Good job, "Daily Plate!"
Muscle Mags May Backfire
I recently read that a study says muscle magazines may backfire. They mentioned giving false hope. Women reading magazines while training apparently become more depressed and anxious. The key takeaway is that many of the pictures are either not real or may have involved the use of illegal substances. While I'm a fan of photos for inspiration (you can see my inspirational pictures on the wall behind me in many of my gallery pictures, I do agree that most muscle magazines are not the way to build a better physique. I will give you two reasons:
1. If it were true that their "latest breakthrough program can put 2 inches on your arms in just two weeks!" then it would only take me a year to have biceps bigger around than my thighs. Sorry, it's not going to happen. Many are completely clueness when it comes to how much muscle you can TRULY gain (it's not much ... moreso when you start training, but natural bodybuilders who have been training for decades are excited to put on ONE POUND of lean mass in an ENTIRE YEAR).
2. You only have to thumb through a few advertisements to see who is funding the magazine. Here's a hint: the cover price and subscription fees have nothing to do with it. If there are dozens of ads for protein powder, guess what? You're likely to find articles that say the only way to gain mass is to eat a lot of protein. Lots of fat burner advertisements? You'll probably see a review of the "latest fat burning supplements that work" and surprisingly, several in the top ten may "coincidentally" have ads in the same magazine. Buyer beware!
Have a pleasant and safe 4th of July!
And I mean literally. I found this little gem today: a map of the United States showing the distribution of obesity by state. The clear winner who could stand to be the "biggest loser" is Mississippi. The winner? Colorado. The catch? Obesity maps are based on Body Mass Index (BMI), which doesn't take into account how muscular you are. I wonder how California would place if they charted it based on body fat and lean mass instead? Click here to view the map.
Food Gets Fatter
While the debate rages for how and why we have an "obesity epidemic" one thing most people agree on is that portion sizes have steadily climbed the past few decades. Take a look at this food photo gallery and see how things like the bagel and cheeseburger have grown in size. The bagel is 210 calories heavier, which means if you have one of these every day for breakfast you are consuming enough calories to put on an extra pound of fat every other week.
Free Calorie Tracking Done Right
There are two issues I've always had with online nutrition tracking programs: the first is that you seem to either get "here is your meal plan generated for you" or "here is where you track your meals" as opposed to "this is a recommendation, but tell us what you really ate." The second is that it's tough to enter foods, and when I do take the time to enter all that information from my nutrition facts label, it would be nice if other people using the system could benefit as well.
The other stay I found a page that does all of this — and the best part? It does it for free. So check out The Daily Plate for a solution that I think is done right. You can enter your own foods, people can rate and vote on them, you can receive a suggested calorie recommendation, key in your exercises, and network with others. I keep talking about building my own software but if I keep finding gems like this one I might never have to ... it's a great site and while I'm not tracking calories in my current program, I keyed in a few days to see how it worked and the user interface is fantastic.
Good job, "Daily Plate!"
Muscle Mags May Backfire
I recently read that a study says muscle magazines may backfire. They mentioned giving false hope. Women reading magazines while training apparently become more depressed and anxious. The key takeaway is that many of the pictures are either not real or may have involved the use of illegal substances. While I'm a fan of photos for inspiration (you can see my inspirational pictures on the wall behind me in many of my gallery pictures, I do agree that most muscle magazines are not the way to build a better physique. I will give you two reasons:
1. If it were true that their "latest breakthrough program can put 2 inches on your arms in just two weeks!" then it would only take me a year to have biceps bigger around than my thighs. Sorry, it's not going to happen. Many are completely clueness when it comes to how much muscle you can TRULY gain (it's not much ... moreso when you start training, but natural bodybuilders who have been training for decades are excited to put on ONE POUND of lean mass in an ENTIRE YEAR).
2. You only have to thumb through a few advertisements to see who is funding the magazine. Here's a hint: the cover price and subscription fees have nothing to do with it. If there are dozens of ads for protein powder, guess what? You're likely to find articles that say the only way to gain mass is to eat a lot of protein. Lots of fat burner advertisements? You'll probably see a review of the "latest fat burning supplements that work" and surprisingly, several in the top ten may "coincidentally" have ads in the same magazine. Buyer beware!
Have a pleasant and safe 4th of July!
Labels: counting calories, diet, muscle, nutrition software, obesity map, portion sizes
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Mayo Clinic Says "Hold the Mayo"
Today I've got news about a "weight loss resolution,", why our children need help, the Mayo Clinic's "hold the mayo" campaign, how to be an organic insider, and more on the cholesterol scam.
I'm actually getting ready to pour myself a cup of coffee before I head out for a morning run. It's a beautiful day here and I can sneak out before it gets too hot. It's been a phenomenal week. With my focused nutrition and training, I've shed 12 pounds the past 4 weeks and lost over an inch from my waist. My running has been improving steadily so I look forward to getting back into some races and targeting another marathon.
What's new?
Weight Loss Resolution for the Conference of Mayors?
WHEREAS, there's a lot of overweight people out there, WHEREAS, bicycling is a physical activity that may help promote fat loss, BE IT RESOLVED, that there is an interesting resolution you can read right here.
Our Children Need Help
A Happy Meal isn't so friendly anymore ... did you know that because of poor diet and lack of exercise, "diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes." That's disturbing because for the most part some smart decisions can create this from happening. This is a summary of the report from the CDC.
Mayo Clinic Says Hold the Mayo
One of the world's most respected health organizations now has their own diet: The Mayo Clinic Diet. This might sound familiar if you've read Lose Fat, Not Faith: "Mayo Clinic's approach to weight loss is not a diet. It's a lifestyle that can help you maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime." (I wonder why they call it a diet and then tell us it's not a diet?). Their pyramid is one of the best I've seen (notice that there are fruits and vegetables at the base, then it goes up from there). I'm excited to see others not only simplifying the message and focusing on healthy, natural balance, but also integrating concepts such as goals and mindset.
Be an Organic Insider
Organic can be confusing, especially when it comes to "organic" vs. "cage-free" vs. "free range." Use this article to help decipher what those labels really mean.
The Cholesterol Scare: Millions of Victims Strong
This weekend we had a terrific class at the local recreational center. I gave some nutrition advice and my wife and daughter taught how to make healthy meals in 10 minutes or less. We had "tunalini" which is tuna mixed with canneloni (a type of bean) and some olive oil and red wine vinegar, we marinated berries in balsamic vinegar, and made some high protein, high fiber pasta with vegetables. As part of my talk, I discussed cholesterol and what a deceptive scam it truly is. When a student asked about more details, I asked a simple question: "When you were put on your cholesterol-lowering medication, how much time did your doctor spend discussing the lifestyle changes you could make in order to have a natural, positive impact on your condition?" Of course the answer was that there was no real discussion — only when the patient indicated they were opposed to the medication and wanted to know if they could get off it, the reply was "most people don't make the choices they need to and therefore must stay on it." But what's amazing is that those choices were never discussed!
I've written about this before but wanted to share this article that goes into more detail about the $6 billion dollar cholesterol scam.
I'm actually getting ready to pour myself a cup of coffee before I head out for a morning run. It's a beautiful day here and I can sneak out before it gets too hot. It's been a phenomenal week. With my focused nutrition and training, I've shed 12 pounds the past 4 weeks and lost over an inch from my waist. My running has been improving steadily so I look forward to getting back into some races and targeting another marathon.
What's new?
Weight Loss Resolution for the Conference of Mayors?
WHEREAS, there's a lot of overweight people out there, WHEREAS, bicycling is a physical activity that may help promote fat loss, BE IT RESOLVED, that there is an interesting resolution you can read right here.
Our Children Need Help
A Happy Meal isn't so friendly anymore ... did you know that because of poor diet and lack of exercise, "diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes." That's disturbing because for the most part some smart decisions can create this from happening. This is a summary of the report from the CDC.
Mayo Clinic Says Hold the Mayo
One of the world's most respected health organizations now has their own diet: The Mayo Clinic Diet. This might sound familiar if you've read Lose Fat, Not Faith: "Mayo Clinic's approach to weight loss is not a diet. It's a lifestyle that can help you maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime." (I wonder why they call it a diet and then tell us it's not a diet?). Their pyramid is one of the best I've seen (notice that there are fruits and vegetables at the base, then it goes up from there). I'm excited to see others not only simplifying the message and focusing on healthy, natural balance, but also integrating concepts such as goals and mindset.
Be an Organic Insider
Organic can be confusing, especially when it comes to "organic" vs. "cage-free" vs. "free range." Use this article to help decipher what those labels really mean.
The Cholesterol Scare: Millions of Victims Strong
This weekend we had a terrific class at the local recreational center. I gave some nutrition advice and my wife and daughter taught how to make healthy meals in 10 minutes or less. We had "tunalini" which is tuna mixed with canneloni (a type of bean) and some olive oil and red wine vinegar, we marinated berries in balsamic vinegar, and made some high protein, high fiber pasta with vegetables. As part of my talk, I discussed cholesterol and what a deceptive scam it truly is. When a student asked about more details, I asked a simple question: "When you were put on your cholesterol-lowering medication, how much time did your doctor spend discussing the lifestyle changes you could make in order to have a natural, positive impact on your condition?" Of course the answer was that there was no real discussion — only when the patient indicated they were opposed to the medication and wanted to know if they could get off it, the reply was "most people don't make the choices they need to and therefore must stay on it." But what's amazing is that those choices were never discussed!
I've written about this before but wanted to share this article that goes into more detail about the $6 billion dollar cholesterol scam.
Labels: adolescent diabetes, cholesterol, diabetes, diet, mayo clinic, organic, weight loss
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