Editor’s note: This post contains what some might consider offensive language or a serious assault on manhood (yours or others). If you find any of the aforementioned potentially offensive, do not read this post. Remaining in denial or being uninformed is better than being exposed (and if it keeps you from getting in trouble with the wife, all the better). Instead, go here, here or here. If those don’t work for you, try this for comfort. It’s likely part of your current problem.

If you’re a man and have bigger boobs than your wife or wear pants with a waist size bigger than the length, you suck. No exceptions. 

It’s the only conclusion that can be drawn – the introduction of the “sucking man” has led to a decrease in stature, an increase in estrogen and a softness you cannot deny. Prehistoric men were not soft or fat . . . → Read More: You SUCK as a Man]]> And it’s embarrassing.

Editor’s note: This post contains what some might consider offensive language or a serious assault on manhood (yours or others). If you find any of the aforementioned potentially offensive, do not read this post. Remaining in denial or being uninformed is better than being exposed (and if it keeps you from getting in trouble with the wife, all the better). Instead, go here, here or here. If those don’t work for you, try this for comfort. It’s likely part of your current problem.

If you’re a man and have bigger boobs than your wife or wear pants with a waist size bigger than the length, you suck. No exceptions. 

It’s the only conclusion that can be drawn – the introduction of the “sucking man” has led to a decrease in stature, an increase in estrogen and a softness you cannot deny. Prehistoric men were not soft or fat (neither was your grandpa). No, their boobs weren’t bigger than their wife’s (like yours).  No, they didn’t wear 44×32 inch pants (seriously?). No, they weren’t vegetarians. No, and most assuredly, they didn’t jump on an elliptical four or five days a week.

And without question, while most of your body is big – the man-boobs mean your “manhood” is shrinking – it also means your brain is small and getting smaller. 

Sorry, but…

You suck for many reasons, stature, dietary, lifestyle. Regardless, in nature’s view, you’re expendable. That soft, cushy body, those man-boobs and low testosterone mean you can’t and shouldn’t reproduce. It means you’re turning into a woman. When this happens in nature, you no longer matter. You’re here to reproduce and be a man. The good news is you don’t have to wait in line at the vasectomy clinic.

Why you suck.

Tendon insertions reveal prehistoric man (and probably your grandpa) as having serious muscle. They were lean, mean fighting machines – able to kill and eat. And avoid danger. In today’s times, you don’t have to kill or avoid danger. All you HAVE to do is eat. The elliptical part is voluntary, not to mention a waste of time. And nothing in your life counts as danger, unless you’re afraid of your wife because she’s more of a man than you, which just makes my point stronger.  

Back to that tendon insertion thing. The bones of men “who do not suck” are thicker and stronger at KEY skeletal muscle insertions, like in the thighs and hamstrings, chest and back, which means they had serious muscle mass. Where are your bones thicker? In the hips and low back, which means you’ve got serious baggage yanking on them all day. It also means…

You suck because your life (and everything else about you) is soft. You get up early; tired because your sleep habits are horrible. Stumble through a shower, brushing your teeth and the bagel (if you eat breakfast) and coffee. Don’t forget statins, metformin and Lisinopril. You fight traffic or take public transport to your job where you sit behind a desk for hours, pretending to work. Lunch is a  sandwich and a bag of chips. Don’t forget the diet coke and cookie for dessert. 

However you make your way home, you either stop off at the gym to abuse an elliptical, run your kids all over the place or go home for a “lite” dinner, chicken and pasta, maybe a glass of wine, and ice cream for dessert. Then you make your way to the chair, where you doze and nod until 10:30 or 11 before going to bed for more crappy sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

Is it any wonder you suck?

A bunch of You cants…

You can’t stop sucking when anything more vigorous than abusing an elliptical causes serious injury. Like a sprint or squat jump. The likelihood either of these rips a hamstring or pops a tendon is high. Too high.

You can’t stop sucking when the only way you could do 10 pushups is by finishing the last 8 in the modified position, like a girl – remember, you’re turning into a woman. Should I elaborate?

You can’t stop sucking when you eat low-fat, no protein, and whole grains (any grains, really), like pasta, wheat bread and Cheerios. Or snack wells. Or M&M’s. Those food groups jack with your manliness, bind up testosterone, increase body fat and reduce muscle tissue (not to mention a bunch of other things). The elliptical doesn’t help here, either. Can you say Cortisol? 

You can’t be a man and eat like a gorilla – either quality (vegetarian) or quantity. Relatively speaking, herbivores have small brains and large digestive tracks. Carnivores have large brains and smaller digestive tracks. Why? It can get technical, what with the Expensive Tissue Hypothesis and all, but suffice to say, you and a gorilla have more in common than you care to admit (*ahem*). Your brain is shrinking and your gut is expanding – it needs more room to digest all the crap you’re shoving down there.

You can’t stop sucking by going to a restaurant and ordering from the “lite” menu. That’s code for low-fat, which means two ounces of chicken breast and three pounds of pasta. No thank you.

You can’t stop sucking when victory in your suburban life is beating some guy off the line at a 4-way stop. This is like the pushup thing, no explanation needed.  

You can’t stop sucking when you’re a douchebag. There is no way to justify your doucheyness. And no matter what you change in the “How to” list below, if the douchebag remains, you still suck.

You can’t stop sucking when you drink “lite beer” because it has fewer calories. Beer is made with wheat. And wheat sucks.

You can’t stop sucking when you’re 5’ 5” and have little man’s disease. This just sucks. Really. You’re more like a gnat than anything else. NEXT!

You can’t …

There isn’t enough space on the interwebs to hold all the reasons. As a man, you suck and it’s embarrassing.

How to stop sucking in 4 easy steps.

Can you ever stop sucking? Maybe. For your sake, I hope it’s not a lost cause.

Here is my very own “How to stop sucking” list. Even if you don’t completely stop sucking, you’ll embarrass me and others who don’t suck a little less, which is bigger than winning a race at the 4-way stop sign.

1. Things you can’t change.
You can’t change your height. Being shorter than average doesn’t mean you’ll completely suck forever. Just partially, unless you can’t shake that “little man’s disease” syndrome. You can’t change your age either, but age has little to do with you sucking. Seriously. Just consider it a confounding variable. See Exhibit A, your grandpa. Who at 80 could wipe the floor with you.

2. Crank up the intensity
Ditch the elliptical. It just sucks. Besides, no self-respecting male that doesn’t suck would be caught dead on one. One or two days per week, crank up the intensity. Do something hard and intense. Get out of your comfort zone. Run some sprints. Do some jump squats or burpees. Go to the park, put out markers and do agility drills. Do real pushups. Go until you can’t go anymore and then do a few more next time.

Go for a nice, leisure, SLOW walk 2 or 3 days per week (more if you’d like). This is more about keeping the sensitivity of your metabolic hormones than caloric expenditure. Remember, back in the day, a walk, at the very least, was a requirement before any food or drink could be consumed. Note: stumbling to the shower or kitchen does not count.

3. Ditch the fake foods
Eat some meat – real meat, like steak, pork, chicken or seafood. Grass-fed, pasture-raised is always preferable. But starting with these at the grocery store is better than what you’ve been doing. And please, ditch the pasta, bagels, chips, breads, most fruits and 99.9% of foods that come in plastic bags or cardboard boxes. They’re inflammatory, they ruin your digestive system and they’re full of hormone disrupters.

They are not good for you, I don’t care what your wife, the food guide pyramid, the guy from CSPI, Dr. Oz, Kelly Brownell, some know it all down the street, “weight loss” programs sending food to your home or counting points say. Even when you don’t suck, they aren’t good for you.  

Take all that fake food and throw it away. Don’t eat it. Instead, put the meat on your plate and replace the stuff you’ve thrown out with vegetables – preferably the above ground variety.

And quit drinking beer. Drink some wine or liquor, like scotch on the rocks.

No more gorilla like tendencies for you.

4. Get some discipline
I’m talking about discipline in your diet and exercise program, and a couple of other areas, which have contributed to your current condition. 

Follow the three steps above for food and exercise.

The other part, sleep. Go to bed earlier. Turn off the lights, TV, computer and cell phone. It can wait until tomorrow. Sports Center is not that important. 

Make sure your room is completely dark and a little cool. Shoot for eight hours. Soon, you won’t be stumbling to the shower or kitchen.

What’s next?

So there you have it. My simple, 4-step process to being a less sucky man. How will you know when you’ve made it? A couple of things to look for…are your man-boobs disappearing? Is the waist of your pants getting smaller than the length of your legs? Can you do more than 10 regular push-ups? Have you stopped abusing the elliptical? Do you have less in common with a gorilla than when you started? You know the drill.

Report back here in 30 days. We all want to see your results.

Sorry if it hurt. Someone needed to say it.

References

Cohen PG. Obesity in men: the hypogonadal-estrogen receptor relationship and its effect on glucose homeostasis.
Cordain L. Cereal Grains: Humanity’s Double Edged Sword. 
Cordain L., et al. Fatty Acid Composition and Energy Density of Foods Available to African Hominids.
Diaz-Arjonilla M., et al. Obesity, low testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction.
Live Science (accessed 10/04/2010). Obesity Linked to low testosterone in men.
Lunenfeld B., Testosterone deficiency and the metabolic syndrome.
Yassin AA, et al. Metabolic syndrome, testosterone deficiency and erectile dysfunction never come alone.

Gladwell, on the other hand, was excellent. I furiously took notes on my Blackberry and emailed them to myself – see image below.

As you can see, I gave the email an appropriate subject line: “Gladwell Lessons.” As anyone can attest, typing on a Blackberry can be challenging, but done so like this is typos galore. This is without mentioning my Blackberry seems to have a mind of its own, or at least some of the keys do. The 1, 2 and A seem to only work when they want.

I’ve had many questions about his lecture and wanting to implement some of his ideas, I . . . → Read More: Learning from Malcolm Gladwell]]> While in San Diego last week, the biggest highlight for me (other than my talk, of course) was the keynote, Malcolm Gladwell. Chris Berman of espn also gave a keynote, which I did not attend. But by all accounts, underwhelming would be a compliment.

Gladwell, on the other hand, was excellent. I furiously took notes on my Blackberry and emailed them to myself – see image below.

As you can see, I gave the email an appropriate subject line: “Gladwell Lessons.” As anyone can attest, typing on a Blackberry can be challenging, but done so like this is typos galore. This is without mentioning my Blackberry seems to have a mind of its own, or at least some of the keys do. The 1, 2 and A seem to only work when they want.

I’ve had many questions about his lecture and wanting to implement some of his ideas, I set about deciphering. So, here goes.

His talk was a combination of Blink and Tipping Point. In other words, if you want to have something spread throughout your world in a Blink, you need to identify the Tipping Point. Gladwell calls this a revolution.

To accomplish this, three things are needed. You need to:

1. Leverage your skill,
2. Frame your message and
3. Employ social power.

He made this point through an example with David Sarnoff and RCA broadcasting the first ever, live boxing match between Jack Dempsy and Georges Carpentier in 1921.

First, Sarnoff knew radio. He was working for RCA. He knew how to get the fight broadcast (even if he had to have help). It helped him leverage his skill.

Second, he framed his message. “See what else you can do with a radio?” “It’s not just for news.” “It’s for entertainment.”

Third, he used social power from every store selling RCA radios. He contacted each one of them and had every radio tuned to the station broadcasting the fight. He wanted as many people as possible hearing the fight.

Some estimates were as many as 300,000 people heard the live broadcast. Amazing, 300,000 people in 1921. Within six months, RCA radios were flying off the shelves.

So, if you are in the health/fitness industry, how are you going to create a revolution? One of the things mentioned over and over again (at the meeting and from others), is that we do a good job with those who seek our services. What about the other 60% of the population?

How can we connect with them? How can we draw them in?

How can you leverage your skill to help those that need it most? How can you frame your message so they hear it? That was one of the main points in my presentation. It’s not that the energy balance equation is wrong. It’s the pervasive mis-application of it. For those needing our help the most, we don’t see the problem.

They (patients, clients, customers, etc…) fail because we blame them. It’s all their fault. So we shift. Our focus now is the behavioral aspects of weight loss. They’re not motivated enough. They didn’t write their goals down correctly. They’re eating too many/ not enough meals per day. The list goes on…

It’s why someone like Dr. Phil, who doesn’t know ATP from ketchup can write a best-seller weight loss book.

It’s also why nearly 100% of weight loss books say the same thing, eat less and exercise more, while differing in their approach to behavioral strategies. If it weren’t so ridiculous, it would be funny. All the while, all of this has underhandedly laid the failure of weight loss at the feet of those trying to lose weight.

Finally, how will you employ social power to spread your message? Twitter? Facebook? Email? Local meetings? Local experts? I’ll tell you this, however you do it, you need to have a better understanding of why people fail at weight loss attempts before you use your social power. Otherwise, it will be more of the same.

The last things I want to point out are mavens and connectors. According to Gladwell, mavens are information deciphering machines. They take it all in and make sense of it. Connectors help mavens put it in the right place.

Are you a maven or a connector?

How are you going to start a revolution?

So back to the forum. There were four speakers (including me), each presenting on a topic related to nutrition and wellness. I think the forum was well-received. I listened to all presentations and only one other excited me. Amy Blansit works with obese people in Missouri and she gets it. Her presentation was excellent and she’s doing a bang-up job. The other talks seemed . . . → Read More: San Diego Presentation]]> On March 10, 2010, the Medical Wellness Association sponsored a Medical Wellness and Nutrition forum as part of the IHRSA convention in San Diego. As an aside, Sunny San Diego? Are you kidding me? It was sunny, but, man, was it cold! The wind was blowing. Hard. Felt it to my bones. Probably not cold to someone from Minnesota, but to a Texas boy it was. And can you do something about the homeless people? The only place I’ve been where it was worse was downtown Baltimore.

So back to the forum. There were four speakers (including me), each presenting on a topic related to nutrition and wellness. I think the forum was well-received. I listened to all presentations and only one other excited me. Amy Blansit works with obese people in Missouri and she gets it. Her presentation was excellent and she’s doing a bang-up job. The other talks seemed rather fluffy.

In order to gain more attention, I badly titled my talk: “How to increase revenue with weight loss programs.” IHRSA is not the most scientifically rigorous organization. A more appropriate, but boring, title would have been: “Misapplication of the energy balance equation.” That was the focus of my talk, but no one would have attended. I spent nearly half of the two hours building this up and why weight loss programs fail (or, the misapplication idea).

For more on this, check out Dr. Eades’ blog, Protein Power, more specifically, this recent post. You can also read this post by Robert McLeod on energy balance, it’s at the bottom of the post.

The gist of the talk centered on the pervasive notion of eat less, exercise more. For overweight and obese, hyperinsulinemia equals metabolic domination, efficiency at fat storage and feeble efforts in fat mobilization. Simply eating less does not fix this and leads to failure.

Oh, and before you chime in with ASP, leptin and all the others, don’t bother. ASP is a toothpick to the bat of insulin. While the research on leptin and leptin resistance is fascinating, I have yet to work with someone where it was a problem. I know it’s there, somewhere, and I know it exists. Just haven’t run across it in my day-to-day business.

You can also view the presentation at slideshare.net.  Don’t know why, but the embed code has jacked up the first slide. It’s normal at slideshare. Below the presentation are links to a reference list and white paper.

Click here to download the references.

Click here to download the white paper. Note: I can’t find my white paper. It’s somewhere on my laptop. I’ll hunt it down and post the link in the next day or so. 

Jeff Garlin, co-star and executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has written a memoir about his lifelong struggles with weight. In an interview for ABC news, Garlin talks about his addiction to food and his new diet. You can read the interview and watch a video here.

This is sad. Really sad. He said he’d eat and eat and eat and never feel full. Stand-bys included gourmet sandwiches, pop-tarts and Cap-n-Crunch cereal. In the video, he talks about donuts and milkshakes. Also, knowing that a single donut or any sugar-filled food would send him over the top, meant these foods were forbidden and that moderation was not possible.

He alluded to his lifelong struggle with weight. Although not prominent, I’m sure there were never-ending attempts to lose weight. Well-wishers like Larry David, his wife and others, I’m sure, encouraged him to lose weight. I’ve never met a person that was overweight . . . → Read More: Jeff Garlin: finding success but still struggling]]>

Jeff Garlin, co-star and executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has written a memoir about his lifelong struggles with weight. In an interview for ABC news, Garlin talks about his addiction to food and his new diet. You can read the interview and watch a video here.

This is sad. Really sad. He said he’d eat and eat and eat and never feel full. Stand-bys included gourmet sandwiches, pop-tarts and Cap-n-Crunch cereal. In the video, he talks about donuts and milkshakes. Also, knowing that a single donut or any sugar-filled food would send him over the top, meant these foods were forbidden and that moderation was not possible.

He alluded to his lifelong struggle with weight. Although not prominent, I’m sure there were never-ending attempts to lose weight. Well-wishers like Larry David, his wife and others, I’m sure, encouraged him to lose weight. I’ve never met a person that was overweight who didn’t want to lose weight. Really, I’ve never known an overweight person that hasn’t tried every diet under the sun.

At age 37, he suffered a stroke. At his heaviest, he weighed 320 pounds. Through various changes he’s down to the upper 260’s. I’ll talk about those changes in a second. 

So what’s going on? What’s the problem? Why can’t Jeff Garlin, et al just buckle down and lose weight? The answer lies in the ubiquitous message of energy balance. Accordingly, you can eat what you want, just eat less and the weight will disappear. Not in Jeff Garlin’s case.

Despite the fact he’d eat a half-dozen donuts and a milkshake, he was never full. He talks about stopping at In-N-Out Burger on the way home from work to get two double cheeseburgers because dinner at home would not be enough. He also mentions the ability to eat an entire pizza and wash it down with five boxes of instant pudding, topped off with graham cracker crust. I wouldn’t be surprised if that didn’t fill him up, either. 

The problem with the energy balance equation is that it assumes we can simply restrict calories and lose weight. Completely ignoring the real issue, insulin, of which Mr. Garlin could not be a more perfect example

As Gary Taubes eloquently pointed out in Good Calories, Bad Calories, hyperinsulinemia  drives fat storage and dictates cellular starvation, regardless of food intake. This is spelled out specifically in Chapter 22, The Carbohydrate Hypothesis. More specifically, on page 399 (paperback), he discusses the role of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fat storage. As insulin levels rise, triglycerides are preferentially stored in adipose tissue.

During caloric restriction (as I’m sure Mr. Garlin tried, you know, eat less, exercise more?), weight loss becomes more difficult and even problematic. Fewer calories lead to decreased muscle mass and smaller organs (brain and kidneys, for example), in the face of hyperinsulinemia. It’s a feedback loop, driven by insulin, that works to maintain body fat levels, even in the face of decreased organ systems.

So Jeff Garlin likely went on a typical diet of eat less, without changing the types of food he ate. Since his insulin levels were still high, it only made him hungry. Probably hungry as hell. And he could only hold on for so long.

One thing those foods will do is elevate insulin. All that glucose has to go somewhere. I’m sure he Jeff wasn’t exercising. Even if he was, there’s no way in Hades he was depleting his glycogen stores, so that glucose went somewhere. It got converted to fat and stored.

All of this brings me back to his new approach. I wish him well, but I have my reservations. Here’s what he’s doing. He meditates daily, 5:30am. He cut out sugar, fast-food and binge-eating. He doesn’t eat salt, chicken, turkey, red meat or ham, although he does still eat fish. He eats fruit, vegetables and whole grains. “It’s all very boring,” he says. Giving up sugar was, “really, really hard.”

He’s done pretty well. Lost about 50 pounds. Gave up sugar, salt and most forms of protein and he meditates. I think he’s been successful so far because of sugar elimination. I have no idea how much sugar he was eating, but with milkshakes, pizza, cereal and donuts, it had to be a boatload. I’m guessing 400-500 grams, minimum.

The problem I see, however, is the whole grains and fruit. His insulin is down, which helps the cravings. For the long run, however, it’s not down enough. He’ll find caloric balance soon and will get stuck, probably several pounds away from his goal weight. Then what? Probably try to eat less, again.

What will be the culprit then?

*Photo courtesy of abcnews.com.

Given this, I assumed their laundry list was similar to that of the general public. So I went looking for the top 10 prescription drugs of 2008 to see if my thoughts would be confirmed.

Finding the Data. I scoured the FDA website and could find nothing (for some reason, I thought the organization in charge of controlling this industry might track this stuff – go figure). I decided to contact them by phone and the person I spoke with (after about 3 minutes of menu clicks – seriously), directed me to drugtopics.com . . . → Read More: Top Prescription Drugs in 2008]]> Most people I work with are significantly overweight – average weight > 300 pounds. As you might expect, all have a cluster of metabolic disorders. Coincident with their condition,  they take a laundry list of prescription medications. In general the lists are nearly identical and include prescriptions for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and digestive disorders.

Given this, I assumed their laundry list was similar to that of the general public. So I went looking for the top 10 prescription drugs of 2008 to see if my thoughts would be confirmed.

Finding the Data.
I scoured the FDA website and could find nothing (for some reason, I thought the organization in charge of controlling this industry might track this stuff – go figure). I decided to contact them by phone and the person I spoke with (after about 3 minutes of menu clicks – seriously), directed me to drugtopics.com – here is their about page.

Table 1 shows information for 2008 (1), including the top 10 prescriptions, the number of prescriptions (millions) and retail sales (in billions) (2). Note: the list is for non-generic drugs only. Additionally, drugtopics.com separates their publications by top prescriptions and top selling. Table 1 is a combination of the two. The Sales column includes rank information.

 Table 1. Top 10 Prescribed Drugs in 2008.

Confirmation and Surprise.

So what was the confirmation? Cholesterol, hypertensive and digestive (GERD) disorder medications occupy spots #1, 2, 7 and 10 (italicized in table). They represent 110.2 million prescriptions and $15.3 billion in retail sales. It’s 40% of the top 10, 45% of all prescriptions and 49% of total retail sales. Lipitor by itself is 20% of all prescriptions and 19% of all retail sales for those in the top 10!

What surprised me? For starters, no diabetes drug in the top 10. Actos was the highest rated and it was 18th, with 12.5 million prescriptions. The $2.4 billion in sales would have been good enough for 10th on the sales list. This piqued my curiosity and led to another visit to drugtopics.com.

Thankfully they track prescriptions and sales of generic drugs too. Guess what was in the top 10? I’ll give you a hint. It starts with “M” and ends with “M.” This list too is dominated similarly and I’m working on a follow-up post.

My thoughts…

Insulin resistance is big business in this country, playing a small or large role in nearly all of these on the list. And the Standard American Diet (SAD) is being pushed down our throats by so many factions, I don’t even know which way is up sometimes.

With all the healthcare debate going on, it’s amazing to me those in charge can’t see what’s right under their noses. I’m blaming cognitive dissonance and the powerful sugar, corn and wheat lobbies.

My advice, trash the food guide pyramid. Ignore nearly all advice from registered dieticians and your doctor – they’re part of the cognitive dissonance crowd. Eat quality protein and healthy fats (including naturally saturated ones) at every meal, along with vegetables and exercise vigorously 2-3 days per week. That and keeping your stress levels down will go a long way to keep you from being on this list.

This post is part of the Kathleen Show, Prevention not Rx.

References (both are pdf documents).

1. 2008 Top 200 branded drugs by total prescriptions.

2. 2008 Top 200 branded drugs by retail dollars.

Should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I get pissed off? There hasn’t been much sleep this week, pissed off is leading down the stretch. 

CSPI does not have the public interest at heart (watch the first video).  They think you can’t make a decision on your own. You’re too dumb to decide, so they should decide for you.

This whole idea that I, you or anyone else will suddenly change our mind on what to order at the counter when presented with caloric content is silly. And to blame restaurants and fast food on obesity is further destruction of personal responsibility.

And I’m not so sure McDonald’s is responsible. Sure, there’s Spurlock and Supersize Me. But there are major issues with Spurlock, which I won’t completely detail here but he . . . → Read More: CSPI: not so public interest]]> CSPI has released their 2009 Xtreme eating awards. The press release is here and their website announcement is here. 

Should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I get pissed off? There hasn’t been much sleep this week, pissed off is leading down the stretch. 

CSPI does not have the public interest at heart (watch the first video).  They think you can’t make a decision on your own. You’re too dumb to decide, so they should decide for you.

This whole idea that I, you or anyone else will suddenly change our mind on what to order at the counter when presented with caloric content is silly. And to blame restaurants and fast food on obesity is further destruction of personal responsibility.

And I’m not so sure McDonald’s is responsible. Sure, there’s Spurlock and Supersize Me. But there are major issues with Spurlock, which I won’t completely detail here but he has refused to show his food logs – raising questions on the 5,000 daily caloric intake.

Next, he gained 10 pounds in one week. If the obesity argument is all about calories in versus calories out, how do you explain that? That’s an extra 35,000 calories in one week. That’s an extra 5,000 calories per day, with emphasis on extra! So if we take him at his word, that he was eating 5,000 calories per day, where does this extra fit in?

Which brings me back to CSPI and their Xtreme awards. If they really stood by their name – Center for Science in the Public Interest, they would promote what we’ve learned from science and not personal dogma. Science has taught us a significant reduction, if not complete elimination of bad carbohydrates from the body leads to a multitude of positive health benefits.

Now that I got that off my chest, it was a photo finish and feeling better won by a nose.

Brian

Here are ten tips she offered in a CNN story that you can use to help you on your journey.

I like all of these tips. I use variations of nearly all of these in my weight loss program. One that I haven’t used but will incorporate immediately, Tip #8, keep an item of your “big” clothes as motivation. That’s a great idea!

Congratulations Heather!

Finally, the best Boot Camps are fun, challenging, rewarding and most importantly, get results. Exactly what . . . → Read More: How Powerful is a Boot Camp?]]> First, you need to get into my boot camp. Today is the last day of the first week, but you can still register – right up until next Friday!
Second, If you’re skeptical of the results you can get from a Boot Camp, read this article.here.

Finally, the best Boot Camps are fun, challenging, rewarding and most importantly, get results. Exactly what you get.

From a recent article posted in the San Jose Mercury News by Melinda Sacks…

I took the liberty of highlighting important benefits in each of the points. The benefits of weight training are numerous and this article does a good job of highlighting some of the more important ones.

Even though this article is geared toward women, the same benefits listed apply to men. So you guys don’t get off that easy.

Researchers say that most women who exercise still spend the majority of their time doing cardio, often ignoring the benefits of weight lifting. But unless a doctor advises otherwise, weight lifting can provide enormous advantages for most women, according to studies from such institutions as the Mayo Clinic, Harvard and Stanford universities. As with any new physical activity, check with your doctor if you have any health issues.

Here are the top 10 reasons sports medicine doctors and fitness . . . → Read More: Why Women Should Lift Weights]]> January 07, 2008.

From a recent article posted in the San Jose Mercury News by Melinda Sacks…

I took the liberty of highlighting important benefits in each of the points. The benefits of weight training are numerous and this article does a good job of highlighting some of the more
important ones.

Even though this article is geared toward women, the same benefits listed apply to men. So you guys don’t get off that easy.

Researchers say that most women who exercise still spend the majority of their time doing cardio, often ignoring the benefits of weight lifting. But unless a doctor advises otherwise, weight lifting can provide enormous advantages for most women, according to studies from such institutions as the Mayo Clinic, Harvard and Stanford universities. As with any new physical activity, check with your doctor if you have any health issues.

Here are the top 10 reasons sports medicine doctors and fitness experts agree weight lifting is good for you:

1. By becoming physically stronger, you will make routine tasks easier and safer to perform, from carrying heavy groceries from the car to picking up the kids.
2. Weight lifting will help you lose body fat and gain lean muscle. As this happens, your body mass decreases, your resting metabolism increases, and your clothes will fit looser. For every additional pound of muscle you gain, you will burn 30 to 50 more calories a day. Weight lifting is often touted as a proven way to keep weight off as women age.
3. Women don’t need to worry about bulking up as they get stronger. Unlike men, women do not have enough testosterone to build bulky muscles. Men have 10 to 30 times more of the hormone than women.
4. The risk of osteoporosis goes down as you gain muscle strength. Weight training can increase spinal bone density significantly in just six months.
5. Risk of injury decreases when you are stronger. You will be less prone to everything from back pain to arthritis to depression.
6. It’s good for your heart. Lower blood pressure, improved cardiovascular health and higher levels of “good cholesterol” have been found to be the side benefits of regular strength training, according to numerous studies.
7. The risk for diabetes declines because weight training has been found to improve the way the body processes sugar.
8. You can start weight training at any age. Research has shown that even women in their 80s can still build muscle strength.
9. Weight lifting can improve mood and fight off anxiety and depression. One Harvard study found that after weight training for 10 weeks, those suffering from clinical symptoms of depression felt better than those who received only counseling.
10. For women in middle age, strength training can help prevent the predictable metabolic sluggishness that often occurs. Many say it is not dieting, but weight lifting that is the true secret to keeping off middle-age pounds.

 

I will comment on one thing. In the opening paragraph, the author suggests that a majority of women spend their time doing cardio. I believe this is true. In my humble opinion, walking on a treadmill for 30- to 60-minutes is like Chinese water torture. You’re better off cranking up the intensity and going for a shorter period of time.

And don’t get me started on the benefits of slow-cardio and fat burning.

It simply isn’t a good use of time in a world where we’re all busy.

Off the soapbox…

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On Friday I mentioned a new service debuting today. You can find more info on that and other services we offer guaranteed to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

• Looking for a trainer? You found one here. But what if you don’t live in or near Sugar Land. What if you are really serious about achieving your goals this year but are hesitant to just hire any old trainer? I don’t blame you! What if you’re nervous about joining a gym and just want to workout at home?
  The answer to all of those questions and more is my newest service, BSFC Remote. When you sign-up, I’ll design a workout program specific to you. It will be based on your current abilities and the goals you want to achieve. It will include a daily schedule for weight training, cardio and stretching. Every activity I give you will have illustrations showing you the exact beginning and ending position. Additionally, each activity will have a text description “talking” you through performing it. These two things ensure you will perform the exercises safely and properly – leading you right down the path of success. It’s a step-by-step guide to reaching your goals. As if that weren’t enough, you’ll have unlimited email support throughout your program. Have a question? No problem, shoot me an email and I’ll get back to you. I know it sounds good and you’re ready to go. That’s great, but you better sign-up today. I’m having a serious special on this program. A limited number of spots are available and when they are full, I’m raising the rates. So get yours today for an amazingly low price!

   

If you’re like most Americans, you want to get in shape this year. I can’t think of a better option than BSFC Remote (unless you want to train with me in person).

• Don’t forget, the day after tomorrow (Wednesday) is the free webinar on living, looking and feeling younger. I’ll be covering all the keys you need to unlock a more youthful body. But, you can’t get those keys without registering. Click here to learn how to live, look and feel younger.
  
• Don’t forget #2. Next Monday (January 14, 2008) is the first day of class for my 6-week Boot Camp. Imagine reaching all of your weight loss goals by the middle of February! You can do it with this Boot Camp. In six weeks you will do more for your health and body than you ever thought possible. You’ll burn fat, get stronger and leaner, get rid of those aches and
  pains, have more energy, and more. Like I said last week, if you live within 10 minutes of the SW Freeway and Beltway 8, you are making a mistake by not signing up. There is an AM session and a PM session, so I’ve got your morning and afternoon workout covered. We start January 14 and spots are limited (and filling up fast) so if you’re ready to change the way you feel and the way your body looks, sign-up today!

 

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That’s all for today. Make it a great day. I’ll see you soon. Until then, break a sweat today. It will do your body good. Brian

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Links for you:
Live, Look and Feel Younger
6-week Boot Camp
BSFC Remote

How do you feel right now? tired? soft and mushy? sluggish? bloated? unable to focus? no drive?

Why do you feel this way? Is it just the natural aging process? Should you live through your 50′s, 60′s, 70′s and beyond feeling tired, taking prescription medication and feeling this way?

Is it acceptable to forget where you put your keys? Is it acceptable that as you age, you get soft in the middle and gain weight? Is it acceptable that as you age you wake up for 2-3 hours every night, exhausted but unable to fall back asleep? Is it acceptable that you take prescription medication to feel better? To stay more focused? To increase your sexual desires and appetite?

These things aren’t acceptable to me. But how many people do you know live this way now? What about you? Do you live this way now? Is everyday . . . → Read More: How to Look, Live and Feel Younger]]> 11 Steps guaranteed to get you there!

How do you feel right now?

• tired?
• soft and mushy?
• sluggish?
• bloated?
• unable to focus?
• no drive?
  

Why do you feel this way? Is it just the natural aging process? Should you live through your 50′s, 60′s, 70′s and beyond feeling tired, taking prescription medication and feeling this way?

Is it acceptable to forget where you put your keys? Is it acceptable that as you age, you get soft in the middle and gain weight? Is it acceptable that as you age you wake up for 2-3 hours every night, exhausted but unable to fall back asleep? Is it acceptable that you take prescription medication to feel better? To stay more focused? To increase your sexual desires and appetite?

These things aren’t acceptable to me. But how many people do you know live this way now? What about you? Do you live this way now? Is everyday like this? Is it acceptable to you?

I know it’s not acceptable to you and that’s why you are here!

You can learn all the secrets to maintaining youth and vitality in a FREE web-based seminar I’m holding on January 9, 2007, at noon CST. Yes, I said absolutely FREE. You’ll also get great stuff just for sigining up.

How do you sign up?

Simple. Just go to this website and enter your first and last name and email address. I’ll take care of the rest.

See you there.

Don’t Forget: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 at noon, CST.

Sign-up here: http://www.briansekula.com/antiaginghouston.htm.