It's Easy To Slide

You know, it's funny... healthy eating makes you want to continue to eat healthy, and eating junk makes you want to eat more junk.

It's summertime, and in the heat I've found myself eating a bit more frozen stuff to cool me down and drinking lemonade and such instead of as much water as I should. Unfortunately I also have an injury which is keeping me from working out right now (I've got to get to the doctor ONE of these days).

What I've found is that the more of this stuff I eat, the more I crave. I've written about this before and now I have a reminder that it's true. The point is that you need to be very self-aware when it comes to what you eat. A few days in a row of indulging yourself can lead to a pattern of unhealthy eating VERY easily.

Just something to keep in mind to help you stay on the straight and narrow.

One-Time 25% Discount On Kettlebells!

If you read my blog, you know I'm a big believer in and user of kettlebells.

Well, until midnight Pacific Daylight Time on April 26th you can purchase kettlebells for 25% of the regular price.

This is the FIRST time I have ever seen kettlebells on sale at Dragondoor.com. Ever.

Click on the banner below to order your kettlebells before this sale is over. The discount will be shown in your shopping cart.

Sorry for the late notice, but I didn't know about it myself until a little while ago.

Diet AND Exercise: It Takes Both

Just a little reminder that if you really want to make progress in regards to losing fat, you MUST take the two-pronged approach:

Diet + Exercise

Doing just one or the other is a surefire way to get discouraged and go back to your old ways.

I've been working out consistently for a number of weeks with a friend of mine. I've made great progress, knocking 2 inches off my waistline and seeing a huge difference in the mirror as far as abs, arms and shoulders. Meanwhile my friend, although he HAS gotten stronger, doesn't really look all that much different in the area he wants to affect the most: His gut.

Why is that? Because (by his own admission) he's not getting a handle on what he eats. Although he's made some improvements to his diet, he still has brownies, cookies and the like on a regular basis and eats fast food more often than he should ("should" being "never").

Keep in mind, he's working out 5 days a week, 3 days weights and 2 days aerobics.

Fortunately, my pounding things into his skull is finally starting to get through and he's now making a concerted effort to get a grip on his diet. I told him that he could conceivably get rid of that gut in time for summer if he started getting serious NOW and stayed consistent.

So you see, you can work out like crazy and still be fat. You wanna look great? Pay attention to what you're sticking in your mouth.

Great Way To Start Training With Kettlebells

Kettlebell Training has a great post talking about a great way to get started with kettlebells. It's a description/review of a kit you can buy which includes a kettlebell, book, and DVD or video. Having trained with kettlebells I can tell you that the kit is exactly what you need to get started. Both the book and video are important if you want to learn proper technique and not hurt yourself in the process.

Here's a direct link to the post: Kettlebell Quick-Start Kit

There is also a ton of great info on kettlebells there, ranging from beginner to advanced.

Soft Drink Industry = Tobacco Industry?

More and more I'm starting to think that manufacturers of soda and other soft drinks have a heck of a lot in common with the makers of cigarettes.

Recently I saw an ad in a magazine, paid for by the Coca Cola Bottling Company, that was so similar to a Philip Morris ad that it was eerie. The ad stated that recent studies indicate that in regards to hydration, liquid is liquid, so coffee, tea and soft drinks can be substituted for water.

Now I have to admit that I have read this in the past, but I would say you're probably not doing too bad if you're drinking (real) fruit juice in moderate quantities along with either coffee or tea. But lumping soft drinks into the mix is an incredibly BAD idea.

They went on to state that of course water is better for you, but hey, it's OK if you drink something else (preferably one of their products, of course). In my mind this is so close to the Philip Morris "Cigarettes are really bad for you and we don't want you to smoke... but we won't stop selling them." hypocritical ad campaign that it gave me pause.

Misleading Labeling, Ignorance And Obesity

I was in line at the grocery store today and there was a mom ahead of me in the checkout line. Among the short list of items she was purchasing were about 10 bottles of that "Sobe" sugar-bomb crap drink in various flavors.

I couldn't help myself... I had to say something.

Me: "Wow, I wonder how much sugar is in one of those things?"

Mom: "Yeah, I have no idea."

Clerk: (Picking up and reading label) "32 grams."

Me: "Uh, yeah. How many servings are in that bottle?"

Clerk: (Eyes widening) "Two and a half servings."

Mom: "Well, my kids like 'em so I buy them."

Sigh.

Hey, give me some credit at least for not saying the next logical thing: "So, are your kids overweight? How about hyperactive?"

So not only was this a prime example of people's ignorance of what they're feeding themselves and their kids, but also an example of the #%#$$%% misleading nutritional information on junk food like this. Even if someone gives a cursory look at the nutrition label, they most likely assume that they're looking at the numbers for what a normal person considers ONE serving: ONE bottle.

I've seen this before and it drives me absolutely insane! So here the clerk (if she had been buying it) might have thought that there were 32 grams of sugar in that drink, when in fact it contained 80 grams of sugar.

And what else stinks about nutritional labeling? How about the fact that although the U.S. does not use the metric system in any way, it's used in giving quantities on these labels. How much is 32 grams of sugar? 80? Grams are small right?

Why instead of 32 grams per serving doesn't the label say 19 teaspoons, or 6.5 tablespoons of sugar?

Because if people actually took the time to read labels they might think twice about buying it, that's why.

See the problem is that people assume that no one would actually sell stuff as food that is bad for you. The problem is that in general people seem to be too bloody dense to make what would seem to be the obvious connection between what you stick in your mouth and what ends up appearing around their beltline or on their hips.

Diet Misconceptions

Sometimes I'll hear something on a radio talk show that makes me want to reach for my cell phone and dial. Today was one of those times.

I was channel surfing and stopped briefly to listen to a show that is not on my daily listening list. I live in Utah and the host is a Mormon, and he was discussing the fact recent report stating that members of the LDS church are on average five pounds heavier than members of other religions. Having lived in Utah for close to two years, I would venture to say that it's more than five pounds, but I digress.

Anyway, he had some women callers on the show, one mentioning that the fact that Mormons tend to have so many children means they have to economize and that they end up eating foods that are less expensive, but more filling (and fattening). As an example she mentioned casseroles. Another woman called in saying that she was not raised LDS and that when she grew up there were lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in the house and not much meat, but that when she first visited her husband's (at the time, boyfriend) Mormon family, there were tons of mashed potatoes, gravy, casseroles and other not-slimming foods.

The talk show host came back saying that although he was not a nutritionist (no kidding) as far as he was concerned casseroles were good, healthy, stick-to-your-ribs food.

AAAaaarggGHH! I absolutely HATE to hear misinformation like this being spread.

I've been to get-togethers where folks are mainly from the midwest. They are not what I would call "fit". Actually to not put too fine a point on it, they are obese to morbidly obese. Now what sorts of foods do you think appear on the dinner table at these gatherings?

Mashed potatoes, tons of gravy and casseroles.

Find A Workout Buddy

One of the best things you can do to stick with a workout regime or exercise plan is to find someone you can team up with. Not only can you feed (no pun) off of each other's energy but it'll give you a sense of commitment in regards to going to the gym, for a jog or whatever it is you plan to do as part of your routine.

If you don't happen to be feeling quite up to working out the other person can give you a kick in the pants and motivate you to show up. It can be a friend or a spouse, doesn't matter. If it's someone who is not doing the same exact workout as you (a class vs. free weights on your own) at the very least it will get your butt to the gym!

If it's a partner who IS doing the same workout, it just makes the whole thing more fun and enjoyable. The only downside is that it might take a little longer if you spend too much time chit-chatting.

So find someone to team up with, and get to it!

Workout Change of Pace

Although kettlebells are awesome for strength building and fat burning, after a while it's my nature to get bored with things (except for my wife, of course). So today I broke down and signed up with Gold's Gym. It's been a looooong time since I did any kind of standard bodybuilding type workout, so it'll be interesting to see how I do.

My wife has gone there with a friend on a guest pass a few times and really likes their "Body Pump" classes, so for our anniversary I thought I'd go ahead and get us a couple of memberships. Yeah, yeah I know... I'm a romantic.

She doesn't ask for a lot of stuff (as opposed to me, always sniffing around for the latest DVD or electronic gear), so I thought it was the least I could do.

I absolutely DESPISE their misleading marketing tactics, but they don't have a 24 Hour Fitness any closer than about 30 miles away, and I really need to get out of the house more, so I went ahead and signed up.

Decreasing Stigma Towards Overweight In The U.S.

According to a survey by the NDP group (a marketing firm), fewer people in the U.S. are finding overweight people less attractive. Over a 20 year period, the percentage of folks who find fat people less attractive has dropped from 55% to 24%. One could ascribe this to "resignation" or "acceptance" of the fact that so many folks are overweight these days, I suppose.

Or you could look at the fact that 20 years ago 46% of the population was considered obese and today 65% are obese. For the sake of argument, let's say that it's those nasty, mean old non-obese people that for the most part answered the survey who found overweight people less attractive, so let's do a little math.