The Chiropractor didn’t do any good for me for a longer term, more than a couple days. So I encourage all to evaluate any treatments and ask are they really worthwhile? Since then I’ve found that proper training will help your back and improper training hurts your back.

As you can see, I’m not a freqent blogger. I want to let you know I’m back and over the next few posts, I will try to catch up on what’s happened since my last post.

Over the last year or more, I’ve been on one of those plateaus where I can’t loose any more weight and its been frustrating. I recognize that I have to do something more with my diet to go to the next level. I know that I have to do better to achieve my goal weight.

My metabolism is working well because of my weightlifting, so my calorie intake must be too high to loose weight.

Its time to get back to work after a long holiday season. Yes, I slacked off like most of y’all, so now its time to work off those extra pounds. I faired pretty well, I gained my usual 4 or 5 pounds during the slack period. While I was enjoying the treats of the season, I also kept in mind the cost of it. So I didn’t get too carried away, although I was very tempted at times. I hope y’all didn’t do too much damage but it can be repaired if you did and don’t feel bad about it either. Let’s make it our resolution to loose the extra pounds in a reasonable time. The preferred standard is a pound a week. I think that’s within our abilities, don’t you?

The good news for me is the gym has added a spin class on Thursday so I will take advantage of it. During the last part of November, I over worked the weight training and strained my back, so I’ve been having a bit of pain in my lower back since T’day.

I decided to try a chiropractor and it is great but lasts a very short time so repeated sessions are the norm and they get to be expensive. Since Christmas, I stopped and now basically treat myself from what I learned.

Best wishes to everyone for a great 2007!

An excerpt from All Miavita Tip of the Day:

Many studies have shown that saturated fat is a much greater factor in heart disease than dietary cholesterol. Eggs are high in dietary cholesterol, but relatively low in saturated fat. Eaten in moderation as part of a low-fat diet, they’re unlikely to raise heart disease risk. On a daily diet of 2,000 calories, you’d want to limit yourself to no more than 140 calories of saturated fat. One egg contributes 14 calories of saturated fat. It also has only 70 calories, and is a good source of protein, vitamin B-12, riboflavin, iron and zinc. To keep fat content and calories low, substitute egg whites for some of the whole eggs used in omelets, or try egg substitutes.

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I support this statement because all my life I’ve heard of the many benefits of eating eggs for building muscle mass and we all need more to loose weight. See earlier post.

Go to this web page to read the article. Essentially, the best way to burn fat is to gain muscle mass. The pills don’t really do the job and I agree.

http://www.musclebomb.com/personal_trainer_nyc_blog/2006/10/best-fatburner.html

In today’s world we hardly get enough fiber in our diets, unless we make a huge effort.

Daily Recommended Fiber Intake

Women
25 grams per day, for women younger than 50
21 grams per day, for women older than 50

Men
38 grams per day, for men younger than 50
30 grams per day, for men older than 50

As you can see that’s alot of fiber. When you increase your fiber intake be sure to also increase your water consumption because the fiber will absorbe water and could cause some constipation.

Increase Your Fiber Intake Gradually

If your diet is currently low in dietary fiber, don’t raise your fiber intake too quickly, as this may trigger flatulence, bloating and other side effects. Instead, start including one or two high fiber foods daily. Then, every three or four days, add another high fiber food, and so on.

Table 1. Best Sources of Dietary Fiber

Food (Serving Size)

Total Fiber (Soluble) grams

Haricot Beans, dry (25g) Kidney Beans, dry (25g) Soy Beans, dry (25g) All Bran (30g) Shredded Wheat (2) Bread, High-Bran (1 slice) Bread, wholemeal (1 slice) Oatmeal (1/3 cup) Oatbran (1/3 cup) Pasta, dry, wholewheat (50g) Broccoli (1/2 cup) Brussels Sprouts (60g) Peas, frozen (60g) Parsnips (60g) Spinach (1/2 cup) Apple (1 medium) Apricots, dried (30g) Blackcurrants (100g) Figs, dried (30g) Mango (1 medium) Orange (1 medium) Pear (1 medium) Prunes (6 medium) Almonds, oil-roasted (50g) Peanuts, dry roasted (50g)

4.3g (2.0) 4.0g (1. 4.0g (1.7) 3.7g (1.2) 4.5g (1.0) 2.8g (0.6) 2.0g (0. 2.8g (1.3) 4.4g (2.0) 4.2g (1.0) 2.6g (1.1) 2.5g (1.3) 3.0g (1.0) 3.0g (1.7) 2.1g (0.5) 3.6g (1.2) 2.5g (1.5) 3.5g (1.6) 2.5g (1.3) 4.9g (3.0) 2.9g (1. 3.5g (1.2) 8.0g (3.0) 5.5g (n/a) 4.0g (n/a)

Reading recommendation:

http://health.yahoo.com/topic/digestive/getstarted/article/ehealthmd/Digestive_YMS_FIB_benefits

I also recommend Kashi cereal & snack products. They are really good without extra sugar or trans fat. Here’s the web site to learn more:

http://www.kashi.com/

I want to stress that sugar in the diet is probably the primary culprit in adding to the waistline or extra lbs. I noticed earlier that after restricting sugar intake for a period I can immediately notice in the AM if I indulged the day before. Also the scale tells the truth about that too. My weight will fluctuate + or - 4 lbs over a 5 day period, depending on my sugar intake, that’s a big swing.

I have stopped buying products in the store that have any form of sugar in the top 5 ingredients. You will be amazed at how many have sugar at # 2 or 3. Not to mention the trans fat issue. but that’s for another post. Read those nutrition labels and understand what you are eating, remember the meals you eat in a restaurant are most likely made of the cheapest ingredients, trans fat & sugar! They offer no nutrition lists for many of their menu items.

I want to share an easy recipe for Beef Soup.

Take a Chuck roast and trim all the fat off of it. Then brown it in a pan with an onion that’s quartered. Place the roast in a dutch oven with the onion, sprinkle some salt & pepper on it and add a can of Campbell’s Beef stock. Bake at 325 for 3 hours.

Remove the roast from the oven and chop the meat on a board, it should pretty much fall apart. Place it in a pot with 3 cans of low salt beef broth, 1/4 cup of barley, 3 potatoes diced, some diced carrot, peas and green beans. Please proportion the ingredients, I don’t use measurement when I cook. Cook at a slow boil until the potatoes  and barley are done.

Enjoy with some friends or family.

Hello, I’m back again. Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation for a few days and I was out of town on business this past week. I’ll tell you vacation is nice and its tough to eat right, but hey its vacation. Working on the road isn’t any better, because restaurants really know how to kill diets. They serve up everything you shouldn’t eat plus fat! It kills me every time I go into a restaurant, I’m not talking about fast food eateries either. Like nice sit down restaurants, I look through the menus and usually I can’t find anything healthy to order. I usually end up modifying the menu item in some way like hold the 1/2 cup of mayo or hold the greasy fried onions or hold the smothering gravy, dressing on the side please, I don’t want to die on my way out thank-you very much!
Every once in a while you may run accross a place that has some worthy menu items and if you do its time to praise their management.

While on vacation, I got to see our daughter and her husband and grandson Jeffry. Also my wife’s sister and her husband. It was a fun and relaxing time and I enjoyed all of it. So part of staying healthy is to relax every so often, to recharge your batteries.

To update you on my sugar finding: Since my last post, I’ve taken my advice and cut out all extra sugar intake and I’ve lost 6 pounds and broke through my plateau level of 191. I’m now at 188 and going lower.

Indoor cycling is a form of exercise that involves using a stationary exercise bicycle in a classroom setting. The concept was created in the 1980s by ultra-endurance athlete Jonathan Goldberg (”Johnny G.”). Participants set goals based on their heart rate, which can be measured by hand or using a heart rate monitor. You will burn 500 calories or more in one 45 minute session!
A typical class involves a single instructor at the front of the class who leads the participants in a number of different types of cycling. The routines are designed to simulate terrain and situations encountered in actual bicycle rides, including hill climbs, sprints and interval training. Coasting downhill, however, is not simulated. The instructor uses music and enthusiastic coaching to motivate the students to work harder.

Each person in the class can choose his/her own goals for the session. Some participants choose to maintain a moderate, aerobic intensity level, while others drive their heart rates higher in intervals of anaerobic activity.

Here’s the official spinning website: http://www.spinning.com/

Since joining Gold’s gym, I’ve been going to the spin class and it is the best cardio workout I’ve ever done. I was a little scared at first, thinking “can I make it through the class without embarrassment?” So it took some determination for me to finally walk into the class the first time and I’m glad I did. Fortunately for me the instructor, Coreen put me at ease when she started the class. She always looks for new people and helps them setup, learns their name and adjust the bike properly. It’s important to have the seat and the handlebars adjusted to the correct height. Once I was ready to start, she starts the class by announcing this class is for you, you decide how much you want to get out of the class by adjusting the tension knob higher for a stronger workout or lower if you want a lighter workout. If you start huffing and puffing you are working too hard. That’s what I appreciate most about this class. You get to decide what level of intensity to use. Its best to try to match the instructor’s requests that way you will maximize the workout in your favor. Also the class routinely employs background music and low lighting so you get a rhythmic cadence going in sync with the beat of the music.

I strongly suggest you locate a spin class near you and start going. Its fun, healthy and once you start you will never be out of breath the next time you exert yourself.

Another fact, since I started spinning I’ve noticed an enhanced mental state and I just found an article that explains why. Here it is: According to an article by medical journalist Susan Aldridge, Ph.D., reporting from the American Psychological Association meeting of August 11th, 2006, scientists at the University of Illinois have found that regular exercise reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and other degenerative mental diseases, even in those with a genetic predisposition toward these ailments. One study examining 62-70 year olds showed that those who exercised as little as 15-30 minutes per day just three times a week, or remained otherwise physically active following retirement, exhibited increased blood flow to the brain and improved cognitive functioning.