The Advanced Aging of Our Children

This is the very reason we are seeing heart attacks happening at an earlier and earlier age.

Obesity is aging our children before their time.

The Association Press reported that studies presented last week at an American Heart Association conference found about a third of American children are overweight, and one-fifth are obese.

In a sense, that’s old news.

But what made one study depressingly newsworthy was the conclusion by researchers at Children’s Hospital in Kansas City that obese children as young as 10 had the arteries of 45-year-olds.Want more depressing news?

Another study by researchers at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia tied childhood obesity to abnormal enlargement of the left atrium, one of the chambers of the heart. The AP reported enlargement is a known risk factor for heart disease, stroke and heart rhythm problems. One researcher said he saw a clear link between rising weight and size of the left atrium.

Still not convinced about the danger of obesity?

A study by the Australian National University in Canberra found impairment in the heart’s ability to relax between beats in children who were overweight or obese.

Earlier research found more rigid arteries in such children — a possible sign of plaque deposits starting to form.

This isn’t just a matter of personal health. It’s a public health issue, too. Overweight adults are more prone to Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. The cost to society to treat these conditions is staggering, and it’s only going to grow as the number of obese Americans increases.Some people can’t help it. They have weight problems and other health issues because of their genes. They are not what they eat; they are what they’ve had passed down to them from their ancestors.

However, many children are overweight and obese because, like far too many adults, they are eating too much — and too much of the wrong kind of food — and exercising too little.

It’s not a matter of growing out of baby fat. When it comes to obesity, child is father to the man. The news service reported research increasingly shows that fat children become fat adults, and with that come higher risks for many health problems.

For these children, it’s about eating the right kind of food and exercising. And it wouldn’t hurt if their parents joined the regimen, either.

Overweight and obese children and adults must take this condition seriously. For them, it really is a matter of life and death.

Source: TimesOnline.com

Red Wine Weight Loss Results....in a Pill?

Here's an interesting story I found at the daily mail that talks about the benefits of red wine, in a pill. They fed the ingredient to mice and found that fatty food did not cause weight gain. I don't know what kind of health side effects it had, but the weight gain didn't occur.

For dedicated couch potatoes, it sounds almost too good to be true. A drug inspired by red wine could allow them to eat as much junk food as they like without putting on a pound.

It could also provide the benefits of exercise without moving a muscle. And if that were not enough, the pill - which mimics the action of resveratrol, the 'wonder ingredient' in red wine - may also prevent diabetes.

The man-made drug, which is known only as SRT1720, fools the body into thinking food is scarce and it has to burn off fat to survive. The brainchild of scientists at US firm Sirtris, the drug exploits the healthy qualities of resveratrol, a chemical found in grape skins. Previous studies have endowed resveratrol with the ability to ward off a host of ills, from old age to heart disease, cancer, obesity and Alzheimer's disease.

Sirtris has already developed a concentrated form of resveratrol in a pill. However, the new drug could be even more powerful and have fewer side-effects.

David Sinclair, co-founder of Sirtris, which is now owned by Glaxo-SmithKline, said recently: 'The excitement here is that we are not talking about red wine any more. We are talking about real drugs.' In experiments, mice given SRT1720 didn't gain an ounce, despite being fed fatty foods. Blood tests suggested they were also protected
against diabetes. The treated animals also had more stamina and were able to run twice as far. However, they had to be forced to exercise.

Left to their own devices, they would move around less than normal, the journal Cell Metabolism reports. The drug is made up of chemicals that affect the body in a similar way to resveratrol. Both resveratrol and the new drug trigger a protein called SIRT1 that plays a key role in regulating the body's supply of energy. The result is that the body burns off its fat stores, even when food is plentiful. Researcher Professor Johan Auwerx, of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in
Switzerland, said: 'These results show that new synthetic SIRT1 activators can
reproduce the positive metabolic effects that were previously demonstrated using resveratrol.

'But unlike resveratrol, these new chemical entities target only the SIRT1 pathway, making them more selective and potent for achieving these metabolic benefits.'
He added that the drug, which is around seven years from the market, is likely to be used to treat obesity and diabetes. Prof Ian Broom, an obesity expert from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said any drug that burnt off fat while protecting against diabetes would be welcomed. But he cautioned that much more research - including studies into side-effects - would be needed before SRT1720 became accepted as a treatment for obesity.

Your Brain and Body Start Slowing Down at 40

Everything goes downhill at 40!

Now the good news: The article states that we lose some of the insulation around the brain's wiring system and this causes our body and brain to start slowing down. However, if you keep active, and treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, this helps with brain health. The more physically and mentally active you are, the more likely your brain health will last for a longer period of time.

Read More Here

I found something I found to be pretty interesing online. With everyone always talking about the price of gas, it's interesting to see how our bodies compare to our cars. If you would like to see how many miles per gallon your body gets, click on the link below. If you would like, post your score in the comments section of this post.

42 miles per gallon

Created by The Car Connection

5 Daily Steps to Sanity

Researchers have come up with a list of 5 things that should be done every day that will help you stay happy and sane. They include:

Steps to happiness

1. Connect - Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support.
2. Be active - Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness.
3. Be Curious - Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you.
4. Learn - Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence.
5. Give - Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding.

Read More.....

Workout Videos for your home

If you like a lot of variety and you would like to workout at home, I found a great website that will help you do just that. My Pypeline is a great website for accessing and downloading videos that you can use anytime you want. It is probably cheaper than joining a gym and you can repeat or select a new workout whenever you want. The great thing is that it is on your schedule. Use it whenever you want.

iStik

This is an interesting device that helps you stick your ipod to your clothing. You can find out more information on http://www.goistik.com/ or you can visit their blog at http://planetistik.blogspot.com/

It looks like a great device to keep your ipod in place no matter what you are doing. The problem I have with most ipod cases is that you can only put the ipod in one place depending on the case you have. This is interesting because you can move it whereever you need to.

Sleep Tracker

Here is an interesting device. It monitors your sleep and tells you when to wake up. Personally, I think my alarm would normally go off before the device will tell me that it's time to wake up, but I guess that's why it's important to use something like this. Here is some information from the Sleeptracker's website:

How does SLEEPTRACKER® work?

SLEEPTRACKER® continuously monitors signals from your body that indicate whether you are asleep or awake. Because you wear SLEEPTRACKER® on your wrist like a watch, its internal sensors can detect even the most subtle physical signals from your body. SLEEPTRACKER® finds your best waking moments, so that waking up has never been easier.

When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4-5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages, as illustrated by this chart.

No two people have the same sleep cycles, and nobody has the same cycle twice. Many factors can influence sleep cycles, including diet, exercise, medications, drugs or alcohol, stress, sleep disorders, and sleep deprivation. Age and gender can play a role, too: women tend to sleep more soundly than men, and as we age, we sleep more restlessly.

A typical sleep cycle has five stages and takes 90-110 minutes. During Stage 1 of your sleep cycle, you sleep lightly. At Stage 2, your sleep gets progressively deeper. At Stages 3 and 4, also known as "Delta Sleep," you sleep most heavily; this is when your body rebuilds itself.

Stage 5 of sleep, also known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, rapid eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep.

In the first third of the night, Delta sleep stages last longer than REM stages. As the night progresses, Delta sleep diminishes in length. By the last third of the night, Delta sleep usually ceases, while REM stages lengthen.

SLEEPTRACKER® may find multiple almost-awake moments within the sleep cycle. Almost-awake moments may also vary in frequency throughout the night.

By monitoring your sleep cycles for optimal waking moments during the preset ALARM WINDOW, SLEEPTRACKER® finds those almost awake-moments and gently wakes you when you're most alert. The result? You wake up refreshed instead of groggy. Waking up has never been easier.



They have 2 styles. One for $179 and one for $149. If you are interested, visit http://www.sleeptracker.com/

The Mental Aspects of Weight Loss

6 Misleading Food Labels

Here are 6 potentially misleading food labels:

1.) Free-Range or Free-Roaming:
You probably most often see this term stamped on eggs, but it's also used on chicken and other meat to suggest that the animal has spent a good portion of its life outdoors. Consumer Reports says, though, that the standards for these terms are weak, and the rule for the label is only that outdoor access be made available for "an undetermined period each day." So those free range eggs could mean that the chicken who laid them lived in a coop where the door was open for five minutes a day. Roaming free? We don't think so.

2.)Natural or All Natural:
People often assume this label means organic or healthy. But no standard definition for natural exists. Consumer Reports says the term only has meaning when it's applied to meat and poultry products and means that the items contain no artificial flavoring, colors, chemical preservatives, or synthetic ingredients. But the producer or manufacturer decides whether or not to use it, without having the claims verified.

3.) No Additives:
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher or Consumer Reports, says that a no additives label is often used to imply that a product has not been enhanced with the addition of natural or artificial ingredients. But there is no official definition for the term and it isn't verified when used.

4.) No Animal By-Products:
You might see this label on everything from condiments and meat (to indicate the animals were not fed any animal by-products), to cleaning and personal care products. This term is used to suggest that no ingredients are by-products from slaughtered animals. This might be helpful when it's not obvious; natural flavor could come from vegetables or animals, for example. But Consumers Union says the label is tricky because there isn't a standard, precise definition of "animal ingredients" and the label isn't used consistently. It also isn't verified by an outside body.

5.) 100% Vegan:
Vegans generally avoid animal products for food and clothing, and often want to avoid products that were tested on animals. But this label does not have a standard or consistent definition and isn't verified. Alternatively, a Certified Vegan label is a registered trademark signifying that products are vegan--meaning they contain no animal ingredients or by-products, use no animal ingredients or by-products in the manufacturing process, and are not tested on animals by any company or independent contractor. The logo is administered by the Vegan Awareness Foundation, also known as Vegan Action.

6.) Raised Without Antibiotics:
Consumers Union says this term implies that no antibiotics were used in the production of a food product. The USDA has defined it to mean that meat and poultry products came from animals who were raised without the use of low-level or therapeutic doses of antibiotics. But a recent case of this label being used inaccurately by a major poultry producer illustrates some of the problems: there is no formal definition and while the USDA can hold a manufacturer accountable for the claim, no other organization is behind or verifies the claim.

Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/misleading-food-labels-44101608

Are you "blocked" from losing weight?

Dallas Morning News published an article that showed that those who had the hardest time losing weight had more "mental roadblocks".

"Overall, the overweight and obese women told of more perceived obstacles than their slimmer counterparts. They were more likely to feel self-conscious about how they looked while exercising, felt they lacked self-discipline, hated to fail so didn't try, had minor aches and pains and felt too overweight to exercise."

The Key to Long Term Weight Loss

The USA Today did a story on what the differences are between those who lose weight permanently and those who never seem to reach their goals. The key habits among successful dieters:

• Are physically active for about an hour a day, burning about 2,600 calories a week with exercise.
• Do high-intensity activity, such as jogging, aerobics, biking, for about 70 minutes a week.
• Are highly restrained eaters who are always aware of calories.
• Are less likely to binge or overeat for emotional or environmental reasons than obese people.
• Have fewer TVs than heavier people.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Interval Training - Cardio

KatyFitness.com

I need to let everyone know that right now KatyFitness.com is being redesigned. I've added a new template that I will be customizing and then I want to complete change the content in a way that will be beneficial for everyone who lives in Katy. Stay Tuned....

Stop Smoking

It's so important to quit smoking if at all possible. The biggest problem I face with smokers is that their healing process is slowed down after an injury. Let's talk about what happens to a smoker's body after they quit smoking.

Your Body's Healing Process
Within an hour of the last cigarette you smoke, your body will start to get healthier and will continue to heal over time.
As your body begins this healing process, however, you may actually feel worse for a while! This will pass. Remember that withdrawal symptoms are actually signs that your body is recovering.
Within 20 minutes of your last cigarette...
Your blood pressure begins to drop, your pulse rate returns to normal, and your hands and feet warm up to normal body temperature.
8 hours
The oxygen level in your blood increases and the carbon monoxide level drops.
24 hours
Your chance of heart attack may be reduced.
48 hours
Your senses of smell and taste are enhanced.
72 hours
Your lung capacity increases.
2 weeks to 3 months
Your circulation improves and your lung function may increase up to 20 percent.
1 month to 9 months
Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath may decrease noticeably as your overall energy level increases. Your lungs begin to work more efficiently.
5 years
The average (one pack a day) smoker’s chances of contracting lung cancer decrease.
10 years
Your chances of contracting other tobacco-related cancers (mouth, bladder, esophagus, pancreas) decrease.
(These are general measures that will vary according to the individual and her smoking habits)
©1996 American Lung Association® of Washington

The Key to Losing Weight and Keep it Off

Exercise Holds Key to Keeping Weight Off

Ramp Up Your Workouts to Shed Pounds, Keep Them Off, Study Shows

By Kelley ColihanWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Article Highlights:
1. The Key to Long Term Weight Loss is working out 55 minutes a day, 5 days a week
2. Women who did this kept 10% of their weight off or more
3. Women who made their leisure activity, more active, kept the weight off more

July 28, 2008 -- How much do you have to work out in order to lose weight and keep it off? The answer is hotly debated among people who study weight loss.
A new study says that obese and overweight women need to cut calories and exercise 275 minutes a week more than their baseline physical activity -- or at least 55 minutes a day, five days a week to lose weight and keep it off.
The research was led by John M. Jakicic, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues.
They tracked 201 overweight and obese women over a two-year period; 170 women completed the study.
At the start, all of the participants were sedentary. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups based on how much and how intensely they exercised and how many calories they burned.
The participants were told to eat or drink no more than 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. Researchers tracked them by talking to them on the phone and having face-to-face talks.
Participants were encouraged to spread the exercise out over five days during a week, done in at least 10-minute chunks. The women were given treadmills to use at home and taught to monitor their own heart rates.
At the end of the two-year study, women who had lost 10% or more of their initial body weight reported that they had done more physical activity compared with those who did not lose as much weight.
After six months, women in all four groups had lost an average of 8% to 10% of their initial body weight. But the hard part was keeping that weight off. Most of them regained the weight.
Biggest Losers
Nearly 25% of the participants managed to keep 10% or more of their original body weight off over the two years.
Those women exercised about 275 minutes a week more over their baseline activity levels.
They also got the most support, completing the most telephone calls from researchers, and said they participated in more eating behaviors recommended for weight control than those who gained the weight back.
Those who lost and kept off the weight also increased their leisure time physical activity, doing things like taking the stairs and moving about more at home and work.
A couple of limitations the study authors note are that diet alone was not included as one of the options and that the participants themselves reported what physical activity they did and how well they did it.
The study authors conclude that a relatively high level of physical activity is needed to lose weight and keep it off.
These results are likely to add fuel to the debate over how much is needed to lose pounds and keep them from creeping back.
General recommendations are for 30 minutes a day, or 150 minutes a week, of moderately intense activity most days of the week. But the debate rages on over a magic formula for sustaining weight loss.
The findings are published in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20080728/exercise-holds-key-to-keeping-weight-off

My thoughts.....if you seek to do the minimum, expect minimum results. If you truly desire to make a lifestyle change and see long lasting results, you will change your life's style. Desire to achieve more. Find a personal trainer or nutrition coach that will help you. If that doesn't work, find an accountability partner that is more disciplined and better shape than you are in that can hold you accountable. If you find someone who is struggling with the same things you are, it will be hard to hold each other accountable. Make up your mind to change your life and don't look back. If you want it bad enough, you will achieve it.

Krill Oil

The benefits of Krill Oil are tremendous. They are an excellent source of healthy Omega 3 nutrients and can actually help you fight chronic inflammation and pain.

Krill Oil and actually has 48 times the potency of fish oil.

To Order

Learn More

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Can High Fructose Corn Syrup make you gain weight? You find a lot of processed foods contain high fructose corn syrup. And there are definitely some things about high fructose corn syrup that will cause more weight gain than other types of sugar. Can we blame this one ingredient on the rise of obesity in the United States, and more specifically in Katy, TX? No. If you go to any restaurant in Katy, you will find the portion sizes of meals are way too big for us.

Learn more about High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Fat Loss Secrets - Revealed - Newsletter from June 15th

Those of you who know me real well, know that I don't sit still very long. I've been working hard, and I have some things I really want to share with you. I've been really struggling for a while with the fact that people can be active and just not lose weight very easily. On March 14th of last year I wrote on my blog that I was determined to find what it will take for more people to lose weight. Well, I've been researching, and I've stumbled upon something that I never expected. Many of things that we talk about in the fitness industry is wrong. At least that's the way it appears right now. I really don't know how to say it any other way. There is research that completely contradicts some of the beliefs we hold dear to. Let me give you some examples:

• Low Carbohydrate vs. Low Fat diets. Which one really works the best?
• Aerobic Exercise. If you do aerobic cardio 5 days a week for 6 months, how many pounds can you really expect to lose?
• Calories in, Calories out. If 2 people consume the same number of calories and burn off the same number of calories, could they expect to see the same results?
• Either lose fat or gain muscle. Can you lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?
• Spot Reducing. Is it possible to lost bodyfat in just one part of the body?
• Fishy Results. Can eating more fish show a significant change in your waistline?
• Supplements. Are they a big waste of time, or do certain supplements really give you better results?
• "Fat Burning" Zone. This one will probably get me in trouble, so let me present it with the research to back it up.
• Strength Training vs. Aerobics. Which one will help you lose weight the fastest?
• EPOC. Don't know what it is? It could have a major role in your results.
  

I realize that some of the things I am going to say in the upcoming e-mails may contradict things that I have told people in the past. However, I am willing to open my eyes to new research results as long as they are credible studies. That's why each e-mail will only cover one topic, explained in full, and have sources to back up everything I am saying. So I apologize that I'm not giving you the answers to all of the topics above, but I have to do this the right way.
In the meantime, have a great week, and watch for my next e-mail.

If you are not a member of my newsletter yet, sign up at the top, right hand corner of my blog. I will never sell or give away your e-mail address and you will only receive tips from my newsletter 1-4 times a month.

I mentioned in the last e-mail that I burn rather easily when I get out in the sun. I guess I am sun-tan challenged if I had to make up a politically correct word for it. The last time I had a tan was in 2000. That was a big moment for me, so of course I still remember it. In fact I would lie out in the sun just about every day. I was never really tan before that, and unfortunately I haven’t been tan since. In fact every year at this time I talk about getting a tan before the end of the summer. And every August I wonder what happened and why I’m still the same pale color I was during the winter.
I was a little excited about visiting the Sunshine State during our honeymoon. I just knew it was my chance to get an early start on a suntan. We rented a house for our honeymoon instead of staying in a hotel. They have them on VRBO.com and make wonderful getaways. I was really excited because this house had a private pool. It was going to be great. I could lay out by the pool, relax, and work on my tan. It doesn’t get any better than that. It was a great idea. I think we used the swimming pool 2 or 3 times and I started to see a little sun tan developing. I was quite proud.
Here’s the thing about getting a tan. It takes persistence. You have to slowly work up to having a tan so you won’t burn when you go outside. You can’t take a rapid approach to getting a tan. It’s just not that easy. If I sold you a pill that promised rapid suntan results in a week, you would look at me like I was crazy. (Some of you would still try it though.) But we all know that it just doesn’t work that way. Last time I mentioned about the infomercials, weight loss pills, and the magazines that promise rapid results. Why do we fall for those types of things? I guess we always hope it’s true, but we know better.
Here’s the thing. We know that getting a tan takes time and persistence and the same is true for your fitness level and health. I want you to realize the same thing about your results.
Jessica and I are newlyweds. We have so much to learn about marriage and each other. We vowed that we would never stop the honeymoon. Our plan is to continue to learn and grow every year. We’ve gone through 3 or 4 books already during our engagement, honeymoon, and wedding phase. We plan to read 2 books a year together in order to keep growing and learning as a couple. We plan to make our bond stronger over time with persistence and hard work. Personally, I think it will work.
What are you doing for your health though? Are you reading things that are written just to sell you a magazine or are you really reading and researching about your health? I know it’s confusing out there, but I know if you try, you will find some quality information on your health.
Next time I want to tell you about something I brought with me on my trip that made everything easier. I will also share with you some books that I think will make your trip to health easier as well.

Friday, March 28th Newsletter

Persistence

March 28, 2008

Upcoming Guest Writer
Many of you know from my last e-mail that I will be getting married very soon, April 5th to be exact. Since I'm late on this e-mail, and I don't anticipate being able to send another e-mail out again next week, I convinced a very good friend of mine, Mirna Betancourt, to write the next newsletter while I am gone. She is a cardiovascular specialist, and will be writing about how to get the most out of your cardiovascular training. Look for that e-mail to be sometime around April 7th. You are in for a real treat.

The Art of Persistence

Persistence is what separates those who make it to their results in life and those who don't. Anything you have ever accomplished in life, was accomplished due to you not giving up no matter what. Looking back at the highlights in your life, you will probably find that the things that mean the most to you, were probable those things that you had to face the most obstacles. Walter Elliot once said, "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." When you begin your journey to a goal, I can guarantee that you will always have the same experience. I was once a youth pastor at a Korean church, and I recall one of the students telling me that he no longer watched Kung Fu movies because they were always the same. He said that the student's Father/Brother/Master was killed in a fight by the bad guy, the student goes off into the mountains and trains hard for a period of time, and then comes back and kills the bad guy in the end of the movie. I thought that was interesting insight from a 16 year old, so I'm going to see if I can give you some insight into what happens when you decide to accomplish a goal in the gym.

The Goal - You finally decide that you have had enough and you are going to get serious about working out this time. You have battled this goal in the past, but this time you are going to make changes and see this thing through. You may try to do some of the things you tried before because they seemed to work in the past. The only problem last time was something major happened in life that threw you off. It may have been an injury, a family problem, moving to a new location, etc.... But it was more than likely very significant. But that was in the past and you decide that this time will be different. You get a routine down, you focus on your goal, and you are on your way to success.

The Bump in the Road - Just like in the past, something comes up again. Now, I want to state that I am not making light of those things that happen to people and causes them to be thrown off. This e-mail is not to judge anyone or what goes on in their life, but merely to give you a different perspective so that you can think about it. So you have something that comes up. Maybe you miss one of your days of working out, you have company, or you get sick for a day or two. But you don't let it stop you. The next week you are back at it and everything is going great. You are proud of what you have accomplished by not being thrown off of your routine, and you should be proud of that accomplishment.

Potholes ahead - As you continue to go along you may see that the results start to slow down. You find yourself getting tired of making sacrifices and not seeing the results you were hoping for. Even the infomercials don't look as interesting, but bring about frustration instead. Then something else happens in life that throws you off. It could be one of the same things as last time or it may be something new. But this time you aren't as anxious to get back in the gym. You could sacrifice and make it back, but for some reason the motivation isn't quite the same. Before you know it you have missed a week or two weeks at the gym, and maybe you are finding that it's nice to take a break from driving all the way up to the gym, wasting an hour walking on a treadmill, and then having to clean up again just to so you can do the things you really need to get done later on that day. It's not as happy of an ending as the Kung Fu movie, but often times, it's what happens.

The Alternative Ending - Let's say that the potholes in the road don't throw you off. Let's say that you found a way to make the activity you chose to do is something that you would do for the rest of your life. Be honest with yourself for one moment. If the activities that you chose to do, are not things you can imagine doing for the rest of your life, do you really think it was a good choice to begin with? Those that make it find activities that really enjoy doing. They find things that they can be persistant in,even when the road gets rough. Without that desire to get back to an activity that you will enjoy doing even if you don't see results every single week, it will be hard to keep it up. Do you know anyone who you have watched change every single week for 52 straight weeks? I have a few clients that see results almost every week as long as there are not interruptions in their life, but even they are going to hit snags at times. They may have to travel for a few days, get sick for a week, or they may just have an off week. You have to realize that you can't expect results every single week that you are working towards your goal. The key is persistence though, and not giving up when you hit that time that doesn't go as planned.

The gyms in the area are seeing a surge from people who want to get in shape before the summer gets here. They are going to pick up from where they left off from February, and try again before they have to put on the swimsuit. I hope I have prepared you a little better than the rest of the population though. Here's some quick tips to keep in mind:

1. Find the goal you are trying to achieve.
2. Write down a schedule for working out in a worst case scenario. If you want to workout 5 days a week, but you know you are only guaranteed 3 days, make your workout schedule for 3 days and make the other 2 days as bonus days.
3. Have someone hold you accountable.
4. Your plan should include a nutrition plan/goal, cardiovascular plan/goal, and a strength training plan/goal. Studies have shown that those who include all 3 components have a higher rate of success than those that only include 1 or 2 of the components. (If you aren't sure what your plan should look like, please contact me.)
5. Be patient and don't give up. Persistence is the key.

I hope this has helped you retrace your steps if you have ever had trouble accomplishing your results in the past. If you found this article helpful, feel free to forward it to a friend (the link is at the bottom of the newsletter). If someone forwarded this to you, you can subscribe to my newsletter at www.JasonHodge.org

Out of the Office
I will not be available from Friday, April 4th to Sunday, April 13th because of my wedding and honeymoon. Like I mentioned at the beginning though, you should expect to see a wonderful article on Cardiovascular training from Mirna Betancourt while I'm away. I know you will enjoy it. In my next e-mail I hope to share some exciting news about the future of fitness in the Katy area.

The Top 9 Fitness Myths

Take a look at the Top 9 Fitness Myths according to WebMD. They make some great points that are good to know.

This is Stupidity at it's Finest!

Health Economist, Eric Finkelstein, published a book this month, "The Fattening of America", in which he states that obesity is not a "lifestyle choice". He states that it's expected that an advancing nation would cause more people to become overweight. He goes so far as to state that, "the side effects of obesity aren't as nasty as they use to be."

Wait one second.

Children today have a lower life expectancy than their parents. More people are having health complications than ever before due to obesity. Diabetics are losing limbs, younger people are having heart attacks, and more and more people die every day of diseases that are preventable if they will just lose their weight.

Based on what I just stated, I have no idea how he could think that obesity is not a "nasty" thing. He goes on to say that people don't chose to be obese. That if they had the choice, they would chose to be thinner.

"But you can't say if you quit going to the drive-through, exercise more and eat more vegetables, you'll lose weight. There are so many more factors involved."

Let me just say that if I had a choice to be in shape without having to exercise, eat all of my fruits and vegetables, and avoiding the drive-through restaurants, I would. However, every day I make a conscious effort to work hard to stay in the shape I want to be in.

"If you knew that you could be what society considers normal, why would you not choose to do that?" English told AFP.

I guess he doesn't realize that "normal" today means watching tv, playing on the computer, not exercising, eating out often, and gaining weight on a consistent basis.

I'm done talking about the article. It makes my blood boil just thinking about it.

What has happened to us? Have we really gotten this lazy? Well, it only cost us our life. It's amazing how we have so much money to spend, and we waste it on things that eventually kill us.

Take a look at this graph so you can see what I mean.

As a nation, we have so much money. And we think that all of this money will buy us better medicine and technology, and allow us to live longer. After looking at the chart, do you have any second thoughts?

Good news for Women in Menopause

A new article suggest that exercise eases some menopause symptoms. If you have an interests in reading the article, I've provided the link. I think it just goes to show that exercise is a great thing for you. Don't keep waiting around, start today!

The High Price of Pharmaceuticals

We all know the high price of pharmaceuticals. They are very expensive in the US, and in my opinion, way over prescribed. Why do so many people need so many medications? And how many people are on medications because of a different medication they are taking? Something doesn't seem right about that. Well, one reason that pharmaceuticals are expensive in the US has to be because they are allowed to advertise the drugs. And advertising works. I remember when they were first allowed to start advertising, and since that time, there are more people on more drugs. Again, advertising works. But how much are pharmaceutical companies spending on advertising? We have always been told that it's expensive to develop new drugs, but has advertising cut into their budget?

A recent article shows that pharmaceutical companies spend more on advertising than research. In fact, according to the article, they spend almost twice as much on adverstising as they do on research. And I have no idea what percent of their budget they spend lobbying......

Do You Smoke?

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