Archive for April, 2010

Strechy stretchy!! Do you stretch??

on April 30th, 2010 by Rob

Great article in the C-L a couple of days ago… well, it was an AP article- don’t want to give them TOO much credit. The article was about the virtues of stretching before working out.

Apparently there is some discussion among the experts… which by the way I am not one of… about stretching. It seems that some experts say that it might promote injury if done just prior to working out or running- if you run like I do, then that is working out—-.

A bunch of really smart guys at the University of London compaired stretching just prior to working out to stretching out a rubber band to its maximum. These guys say that your body might “think” that it is at risk of being overstretched and ultimately contract.

The rub of the whole matter is this: they say that not only may all this stretching before working out be more likely to injure you, but it does not really help you preform any better. Many studies show that stretching before playing a sport make athletes slower and weaker. They also say that warming up with a light jog or sport specific exercise works better. It will get the blood flowing and get the body temperature to rise. According to the article, the experts advise stretching, but NOT before working out.

Paul Lacoste started me with stretching every morning before our workout. I am not sure that I could do it without stretching. I know that it would be hard to run without stretching beforehand. How do you feel about this? Can you start your workouts cold?

more

Change!!

on April 28th, 2010 by Rob

more

Loose it!!!

on April 27th, 2010 by Rob

more

Do you think that Dr. Oz is right??

on April 26th, 2010 by Rob

more

Portion Distortion

on April 21st, 2010 by Rob

O.K.- I don’t even know where to start with this. Well, this is the best thing I can think of:

If you go to Netflix and rent SuperSize Me, you can get a pretty good idea of what I am getting ready to talk about… portion sizes.

I can remember being a little kid and going to McDonald’s with my Mom and ordering a cheeseburger and fries and one of those glue ball apple pies (those things rock!!) and this was plenty… not just for a little kid, but also for my Mom and Dad. The biggest Coke that they had in the joint was like 32oz.- pretty tame by today’s standards. (now you can get a “dock your jet-ski size” just by paying another 0.49)—– This problem has been well documented, not only by the movie, but in various other places.

But what I am about to tell you is truly ASTOUNDING!!! A recent study went back and looked at the 1936 edition of The Joy of Cooking and compared it with the 2006 version. In 1936 the brownie recipe was to be divided in the pan into 30 squares. 2006- 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Same recipe……. bigger brownies in 2006. WHAT?????

In the 1970s only 14% of the U.S. population was obese….. now it is almost 66%. This is NOT a good trend. I think that we can blame this on fast food joints in the same way we can blame them for hot coffee. Sure, maybe they have been ratcheting up the servings, but I think that we, the folks—- (sorry, I am watching Bill O’Reilly) have a bit of culpability in this scenario.

So- how do we change this?? Funny you should ask- the answer is right in the palm of your hand. Keep the following “rules of thumb” in mind when you are about to eat.

1. One cup is about the size of your fist (cup of cereal, milk, yogurt)

2. Three ounces- about the size of your palm (this is about how big a steak you should be eating)—- o.k. Maybe a little more!!

3. One tablespoon (dressing on your salad)- about the size of your thumb from the knuckle to the end

4. One teaspoon (butter)- about the size of your index finger from the knuckle to the end

Keep these guidelines in mind and you can keep it under control. And remember, as I have said before, if you look on a bag and it says that 4 make a serving…. and there are 78 in the bag…. this is most likely a food you want to avoid (except on special occasions).

Originally posted 02-21-2010

more

Feel the fear and do it anyway!!

on April 18th, 2010 by Rob

When I started the weighdownsouth blog/web-site a year or so ago… I wanted to accomplish something… I wanted to provide information that is straight ahead and simple. I did not necessarily want to address EVERYTHING. I wanted to talk about what has worked for me and what I think will work for MOST people.

I came across a blog today that I think is good in some ways, and not so good in others:

http://shrinkingjeans.net/

It is good in that I think it gives accurate info. I mean, they are not trying to scam people and they are not trying to sell magic berries or special software that will just melt the pounds off while you sit on the couch.

However, I just think it is too busy… it is too much information. Maybe I am just slow, but I can’t determine what to click on next. Maybe it is just not for beginners… maybe it is for people that want to keep the weight off and they are old pros at this.

Well, I guess that is what I am trying to do here… I want to tell you who this site is for. This site is for folks, like me, that have never been in the gym before. Well, that is not exactly accurate, before the People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge, I had been in a gym before, but I just didn’t know what to do, I was insecure about it and I thought that everyone would laugh at me. I am a 42 year old man and I was afraid everyone would laugh at me (O.K.- now I am 42 and I still am a little scared that everyone is going to laugh at me)…

The point of weighdownsouth is that I remember how I felt, how I feel about the gym and eating and my life and my weight… I remember all of those things so well, because to a large extent, I STILL feel them.

I want to provide information and hopefully guide others to “feel the fear and do it anyway”!

more

WDS TV- Make good choices- During baseball!

on April 14th, 2010 by Rob

more

SHE NAILED IT!!!

on April 13th, 2010 by Rob

Y’all have to read this post:

http://secretselkie.blogspot.com/2010/04/kit-kat-coma.html

This is the best thing that I have read in 6 months!! Maybe the best thing that I have read since I have been blogging.

It says so much about how I feel. How do you resist this or that when it really comes down to it? Of course, if you do eat it… you move on and forget about it. But if we just keep eating… have we really CHANGED?

What do you think?

more

Fatso gene in teens!!! So what!!!

on April 12th, 2010 by Rob

Article in the local paper a few days ago about a FATSO gene… Couldn’t they come up with something better to call it…. I mean, I don’t care what it is called.

Apparently, one gene that is involved with obesity is the FTO gene… so, someone (that is NOT overweight) decided to start calling it this.

According to a article in the April edition of The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and the a study conducted by The Karolinska Institute in Sweden, genes and lifestyle contribute to obesity. As it turns out, and hour of exercise per day can help alleviate the effects of this FTO gene. Also, according to the same study, people that have this  gene are on average 7 pounds heavier than those that do not have the gene.

Well, as far as I am concerned, file this one under “So what”. I mean, this is not new information. I think that this is an excellent example of something that is maybe nice to know…. (hey!!! Its not all my fault)…. but it is not really a game changer. I have known HOW to do this for quite a while, it was just a matter of execution.

I wish someone in Sweden would put some thought (or how about some money) toward a study that explains how we can stay motivated to live healthier!!

more

Gettin’ it right!!!

on April 9th, 2010 by Rob

more
categories

archives

Newk's Express Cafe