LOVE the title of this article in “Women’s Health” magazine.

There are 5 behaviors that lead to gaining weight when in a relationship:

1. Eating out. The average entree at a sit-down restaurant contains 867 calories.

2. Spending time in bed, or the sofa. Couples who live together for 2+ years are less active and women are more likely to be obese.

3. Eating bite for bite. Women, you CAN’T do that unless you are dating someone the size of Tom Cruise.

4. You snack together. Women adopt their partner’s snacking habits and that’s a killer for most women calorically.

5. You’re happy. If you can believe it, negative people are better at weight loss according to research.

In yesterday’s “Wall Street Journal” there is a story about how you can now customize your own Frappuccino.

In it, they say that my ordering one (which, by the way, accounts for 10% of all revenues at Starbucks) you lower the calorie count to 120 calories.

What? Lowering to JUST 120 calories makes no sense.

I have said this before and have to say it again, you should NOT be drinking your calories. Just one 120 calorie drink a day for a year will add 12.5 pounds to your body. That’s going the WRONG way.

Jim

I know I am getting into the argument a little late, but recently Howard Stern attacked Gabourey Sidibe about her career and her weight. He said there was NO WAY that she would ever work again.

Now, she may have a challenge, but if she is determined, I’m sure she will continue to work.

BUT!

Her weight is going to be a huge issue for her when it comes to health. I would say she is at least 150+ pounds overweight, and as a young women of 26, I’m sure her body’s “real age” is much, much older than that.

I wouldn’t be surprised is she suffered from high cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar and was having some joint aches and pains from carrying around all that extra baggage.

I would hope, in order to have a very long and happy career AND life, that she would be working hard on dropping some of the unnecessary weight. I’m not saying she needs to be a size 8, 6, whatever, I’m just saying that this is life threatening at this point.

And it would take VERY little work as she has to power eat to stay at that weight. Even in the movie, she eats an entire bucket of chicken. That’s thousands upon thousands of calories and is full of all the wrong fat.

Jim

There is an interesting article in today’s “New York Times” about accepting age with or without feeling the need for cosmetic surgery.

I can tell you how to age gracefully – stay lean.

NOTHING keeps you looking young better than living lean.

When you are lean, your face keeps its angles. That makes you look young.

When you are lean as a result of strength training, your posture stays upright. That makes you look young.

When you are lean and strong, you move like someone many years younger. That makes you look and feel young.

I could go on and on….

Look, I just hit 49. Part of me can’t believe I am that age as I don’t look OR feel one year from 50. When I was a little boy, people who were 50+ were old.

I strongly feel it’s how your treat your mind and your body that will keep you young.

And lots of sleep doesn’t hurt either.

Jim

Check out this article from the New York Times

http://s.nyt.com/u/25q

In it, the author discusses the stigma that many obese people face in our society.

I actually have to disagree. Since two-thirds of the population is now overweight or obese, those at a more appropriate weight are in the minority.

I call it “fat acceptance. Research even shows that the more overweight friends and family members you have, the more your risk of being overweight increases. Why? Because the added weight is then more accepted.

If it was up to me, we would go on a “One Pound At A Time” program, and work, as a school, company, city or state, to lose one pound at a time. This, of course, is just for people who truly need to lose the weight.

If you emphasize one pound at a time, then almost everyone wins, since we can all lose one pound. After one, go for two and before you know it, watch obesity disappear, for the most part, from the environment.

Being overweight IS a major issue. I don’t like the headlines that you can be “Fat But Fit.” It’s really not true. Too much weight on the body is a stress, and a big one at that.

So read the article and let me know your thoughts.

Jim

I was watching GMA this morning and they were at the huge trade show in Chicago talking about new gadgets.

One of them in a cup cake maker that makes them in 8 minutes.

In this time of extreme obesity in this country, the last thing we need is to make baking easier.

But, if we, as consumers, continue to buy these products, they will continue to manufacture them.

PLEASE stop buying soda, sports drinks, juice, hugely caloric products and easier ways of making hugely calorie problems and one day, we will wake up to a grocery store that helps us live longer, healthier, more productive lives.

It’s really in our hands.

Jim

Melody Hobson is on Good Morning America is talking about credit cards and how we SHOULD give them cards at the age of 16, with a VERY clear limit, so that they learn how to manage their money. It’s called “modeling.”

The same applies to our eating habits. We, as parents and adults, need to teach our children the right way to eat. We need to show them that we exercise regularly, sleep appropriately, eat breakfast, etc.

I have blogged about Michelle Obama’s initiative for reducing the weight of our children. BUT, I feel it is terribly flawed. WE need to change our behavior and show our children what is right.

I love the expression “Monkey see, monkey do.”

It works.

Jim

This is from Steve Maxwell:

1. Oxidative Stress – Which causes a breakdown of tissues. It also predisposes one to cancer and heart attack.

2. Elevated cortisol production – Which causes a breakdown of muscle tissue and increases fat storage or depot fat. People do aerobics to alleviate stress yet end up creating more stress.

3. Lowered testosterone and HGH levels For men, aerobics are a form of chemical castration. Low T-levels are associated with lowered libido, depression, anxiety, increased body fat and decreased muscle tissue. This contributes to muscle-wasting and lowers the basal metabolic rate.

4. Increased appetite and a tendency toward binge eating patterns Aerobic exercise makes people hungry!

5. Burns a relatively small amount of calories vs. the time spent One large meal completely offsets the pitiful amount of calories burned in an hour aerobics session. This is exacerbated by over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.

6. Adrenal burnout A consequence of the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters which also stimulate the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the fight or flight hormone. Excessive adrenaline creates an addictive response and people going routinely for the so called ‘high’ of running end up with adrenal burnout, e.g., chronic fatigue and depression.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father of aerobic exercise (and the person who coined the term) completely recanted his assertions regarding aerobic exercise. After observing a disproportionate number of his aerobic-enthusiast friends die of cancer and heart disease, he reversed his ideas on the benefits of excessive aerobic exercise. He now claims anything in excess of 20 minutes has greatly diminishing returns. In fact, he’s now an advocate of scientific weight training.

On Saturday, I did a weird workout. Here is what I did:

1. I did 5 sets of stepping lunges
2. I did 5 sets of slow squats with weights
3. I did 5 sets of the plank
4. I did a wall sit for as long as I could

I am SO sore. Both yesterday and today is even worse.

I’m not saying that is the best workout possible. I’m just giving you options with very little need for weights.

Jim

Funny, but I’m watching a lot of the shows today that are talking about the Awards. Many are commenting on the size of the actresses.

I know for a FACT that many of them exercise, and perform a lot of strength training.

Take a look at Demi Moore. She is around 47, and her body is simply amazing. That’s the result of smart eating coupled with smart exercise.

I also thought the women looked healthy. Only one woman, who is not an actress but was there with a nominee, looked terribly thin, as in unhealthy. The rest truly did look good.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Jim