The Scientific 7-Minute Workout

Here you go.  A Scientific 7-minute Workout - so you have no excuse.  I think we all can find 7 minutes out of 1,440 in a day, right?

"The exercises should be performed in rapid succession, allowing 30 seconds for each, while, throughout, the intensity hovers at about an 8 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10... Those seven minutes should be, in a word, unpleasant. The upside is, after seven minutes, you’re done. "

Courtesy of The New York Times, an article in the May-June issue of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal does just that. In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfills the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science. 

“There’s very good evidence” that high-intensity interval training provides “many of the fitness benefits of prolonged endurance training but in much less time,” says Chris Jordan, the director of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla., and co-author of the new article.

Do Your Squats - It Will Show

Just in case you didn't know.  Doing squats on a daily basis, every other day, or once a week will strengthen your body in more ways than one.  

Look at all the major muscle groups your body is working when you do squats.

Image courtesy of Houston Trainers

Rethink Your Drink

From school projects to city-wide campaigns, "Rethink Your Drink" has been around for a few years now.  If you want proof this helps, I'm living it.  I stopped drinking soft drinks and cut down sugar consumption dramatically.  And it's made a difference in my life.  Now, I don't agree with certain politicians who think we should force people to stop drinking what they want, these are choices we should make on our own.  But knowing what we know today, we can prevent our children from developing horrible diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

A school project showing the amount of sugar in each drink.

"When it comes to weight loss, there's no lack of diets promising fast results. There are low-carb diets, high-carb diets, low-fat diets, grapefruit diets, cabbage soup diets, and blood type diets, to name a few. But no matter what diet you may try, to lose weight, you must take in fewer calories than your body uses. Most people try to reduce their calorie intake by focusing on food, but another way to cut calories may be to think about what you drink." - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food You'll Eat At The Office: A Breakdown

I can't recall how many times I dove into the donut basket at work.  It was quite a bit, but that was over a year ago.  I don't even drink Diet Coke anymore; I may have one a month, maybe.  And whenever we had parties or potlucks - the amount of junk food was endless.  Sure, they provided salad, but who wanted salad when there was pizza, chicken fettuccine, brisket, hot dogs, burgers, etc. etc.?

The following chart breaks down the different foods you'd eat while at the office.  And I'd have to say it's pretty spot-on.  From the upcoming book, To My Assistant: Things I'll Never Do to You, But Many Other Crazy Bosses Will.

I'm happy to say that I am now one of the 3%.  

When You Lose Fat...

Yesterday, Facebook friend, Tim Arquette posted a photo on his wall that honestly, made me really sad to look at.  Probably because it's a disheartening reality and I can attest to it -- I've lived it.

A majority of Americans today are obese, and the statistics are not getting any better.  While fast food restaurants are now offering healthier choices, it's not always about what you eat, but how much.  If you order a healthy salad with ranch dressing and cheese sprinkled on it, you might as well order a Big Mac.  Please be attentive to your choices.

I look at this picture and I see myself over a year ago.  Seriously.  I wasn't depressed, but I definitely had Degenerative Joint Disease, Hypertension, Hypercholesterolemia, Pre-diabetes, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, and my Quality of Life wasn't too great.  When I go see my doctor in May, he's in for a surprise.  My knees are healthy as ever, I no longer have sleep apnea, pre-diabetes, and my quality of life has never been better!  I'm hoping when he checks my blood pressure and cholesterol this will also be resolved.

So please share this image or blog post, because it truly is important and it could help save a life.

Each Picture Is Just Like The Other, 200 Calories Each

Here's a beautiful picture of 200 calories.  Yep each of these is just like the other; they each represent 200 calories.  Being that I've lost 57 pounds over the last 7-8 months, I never followed the recommended 2000-2500 daily caloric intake.  Are you kidding me? I probably would have never lost weight, but others seem to have a different opinion on that. 

Click on the picture to see an even bigger picture.

Some foods have significantly more Calories than others but what does the difference actually look like. Each of the photographs below represents 200 Calories of the particular type of food; the images are sorted from low to high calorie density. When you consider that an entire plate of broccoli contains the same number of Calories as a small spoonful of peanut butter, you might think twice the next time you decide what to eat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average adult needs to consume about 2000 - 2500 Calories to maintain their weight. In other words, you have a fixed amount of Calories to "spend" each day; based on the following pictures, which would you eat? - wiseGeek

Eating Eggs vs. Smoking? Tomato-Tomato

So my partner, Ryan works out 5 days a week.  He's at the gym early in the morning and exercises frequently.  Only problem is, he eats 3 boiled eggs a day and 2 cans of tuna a day.  He does this for protein intake, and it's been doing great.  But according to a news article I read last week, eating an egg yolk a day "regularly increases plaque buildup about two-thirds as much as smoking does".

So for those who eat eggs every single day, you may want to re-think your diet. Then again, if you believe in the "Western Diet vs. Low-Carb Diet", "Sitting on The Job 10 Years or More Means You Have a 94% Chance of Developing a Tumor", or believe "Watching TV Will Kill You" - you're gonna die anyway.

Aside from that, I still think Eggs have too much saturated fat, at least in the egg yolk.  So this week, I boiled 15 eggs and removed the yolks, since most of the protein is in the whites anyway.  

Now I feel a little more comfortable knowing I have given my nutritional advice for the day. :-)  You can check out the article here, it's pretty damning... this new study has really compared eggs to smoking.

Next... Tuna. LOL.

WTF Has Obama Done? - Issue No. 024 - Health & Wellness

Hey guys, I'm sorry that these posts have been far and in-between, but they are very time consuming.  Just this one particular blog takes me an hour from start to finish.  So I'm posting them weekly for the time being.

When it comes to our health and well-being, regardless of your political affiliation, you should be proud of this president.  I don't care what the REDs are telling you, President Obama does care, and no he is not giving away free healthcare.  One very important thing you have to keep in mind, that the same people who are voting against the President when it comes to their Health and Well-being, are the same people who claim they want "less government", yet they need and use all these programs.  More REDs use the Nutrition Assistance Program than Democrats, and when they vote to have less government intervention, they're voting against their own interests.  Think about it... look at all those RED states, do you really think all those poor people in those RED states are Democrats?  More than likely not, they are poor REDs using everything government has to offer.  Not because they want to, but because they have to.

The President has established an independent health institute to provide accurate and objective information, established the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council, ended the Bush-era policy of cutting FDA and circumventing FDA rules, and has also implemented an HIV/AIDS Strategy.  And it doesn't end there, the President has provided five areas for funding, and over 15 targeted actions including First Lady Michelle Obama's anti-obesity effort.

Today, we will be covering one broad policy, one funding initiative, and a targeted action in reference to Health & Wellness.  I will add more in a later issue, as the President has accomplished so many over the last 3 years.

WTF-70

Established HealthCare.gov, a web portal for determining and comparing all consumer health insurance and health care options.

Though the health-care bill doesn't really kick in until 2014, it mandated that the Department of Health and Human Services build out the Web site for comparison shopping by July 1, 2010. That seemed a bit odd to me, as the shopping it could promote wasn't shopping through the exchanges, but in any case, HealthCare.gov is live now, and it's a slick, easy-to-use site, which may be the best thing out there for seeing both the public and private health-coverage options for people in your situation in your area. And the obvious advantage of starting the site this early is that there's a lot of time for the tech team to play with it, improve it, and get comfortable with it before 2014, when it really needs to be working. [Read More-1]

Important new information about the quality of care available in America’s outpatient and emergency departments, including how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks and protect outpatients from surgical infections was added to the new HHS website HealthCare.gov. The information can be found as part of the Compare Care Quality link on the front page of the new site, http://www.healthcare.gov/compare/index.html.  It can also be found on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Hospital Compare website, www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

“The more information consumers and patients have, the better the options and choices are for them when it comes to their health care. HealthCare.gov is designed to put the power of information at the fingertips of Americans and our quality compare tools are a critical part of this new website,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  "This new update to CMS’ Hospital Compare feature will help patients and their families better compare quality at America’s hospitals. And thanks to this new update this year,  for the first time, Medicare patients can see how efficiently facilities use certain types of imaging equipment and keep them safe from exposure to potentially harmful radiation that may not be necessary.” [Read More-2]

WTF-71

Provided $20 billion increase for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Effective April 1, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) increased monthly benefits for participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by an average of 15 percent. The increase not only boosted the purchasing power of recipients for nutritious foods but also helped stimulate the economy.

SNAP was originally slated to receive $20 billion over 5 years from ARRA—an important stimulus to the economy. For example, most eligible four-person households have been receiving since April 2009 an $80 increase in their monthly SNAP allotment to spend on groceries (see chart below). ARRA also provided nearly $300 million to States for SNAP administrative expenses in FY 2009 and 2010.

ARRA included several provisions that affect SNAP benefit levels and operations - you can read about those here. [Read More-1, Read More-2]

WTF-72

Established a New Patient’s Bill of Rights.

A major goal of the Affordable Care Act – the health insurance reform legislation President Obama signed into law on March 23 – is to put American consumers back in charge of their health coverage and care. Insurance companies often leave patients without coverage when they need it the most, causing them to put off needed care, compromising their health and driving up the cost of care when they get it. Too often, insurance companies put insurance company bureaucrats between you and your doctor. The Affordable Care Act cracks down on the some of the most egregious practices of the insurance industry while providing the stability and the flexibility that families and businesses need to make the choices that work best for them.

Today, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued regulations to implement a new Patient’s Bill of Rights under the Affordable Care Act – which will help children (and eventually all Americans) with pre-existing conditions gain coverage and keep it, protect all Americans’ choice of doctors and end lifetime limits on the care consumers may receive. These new protections apply to nearly all health insurance plans.

How These New Rules Will Help You

• Stop insurance companies from limiting the care you need. For most plans starting on or after September 23, these rules stop insurance companies from imposing pre-existing condition exclusions on your children; prohibit insurers from rescinding or taking away your coverage based on an unintentional mistake on an application; ban insurers from setting lifetime limits on your coverage; and restrict their use of annual limits on coverage. 
• Remove insurance company barriers between you and your doctor. For plans starting on or after September 23, these rules ensure that you can choose the primary care doctor or pediatrician you want from your plan’s provider network, and that you can see an OB-GYN without needing a referral. Insurance companies will not be able to require you to get prior approval before seeking emergency care at a hospital outside your plan’s network. These protections apply to health plans that are not grandfathered. [Read More]

I would like to list everything under each category, but there comes a time when even a blog gets too large. LOL. But make sure to click on the "Read More" links to read more on each WTF.

I promise to come back to this topic in another issue, until then, please feel free to read my previous issues by clicking on my logo here.  

 Make sure to read the next issue
Issue No. 025 - Infrastructure
WTF Has Obama Done is an ongoing series posted daily or weekly on BLADE 7184 until Election Day, 2012!

Urine Color Chart

Check out this handy little chart courtesy of the Boy Scouts of America.  Regardless if it's not intended for clinical use, if you're urine looks like the color at the bottom, you should definitely seek medical aid.  The chart is accurate to say the least.

Wow - A Real 70 Day Transformation

In the fall of 2009 Chris Krueger suffered a back injury, which in turn led to months and months of eating unhealthy food. He literally got fat!  In the following video he tells you that he, "really don't understand how anyone could eat like this" while feasting away at what looks like an Ihop or Denny's.

Furthermore Chris goes on to say, that during his 70 day transformation he used no pills, powders, protein bars, vitamins, supplements, workout DVDs or extreme workout programs like P90X.  Just proper training and real nutrition.

What Chris looks like at Day 69...

Check out Chris 6 months and 269 days later after the jump...

2012 Fitness Plan

Yep, this pretty much sums it up for me. LOL.

Watching TV Will Kill You!

So let's take a look at this for a moment...

We can't sit at work for too long, because our lives will shorten drastically.  We can't eat a high-carb diet, because we have a chance of developing a tumor in a few years, and today we find out that our Television is slowly killing us.  Geez, I think our lives are too short to worry about that kind of crap, don't you agree?  When can I start smoking again?

A team of researchers from Australia are predicting that Ryan and I will die within a few years.  No, really.  As long as our asses are sitting on the couch watching Glee, America's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, True Blood, Master Chef, Dexter, and Hell's Kitchen, we will not be around much longer.  It's true!  If your ass is watching TV for more than 2 hours at a time, you're life expectancy decreases by 1.8 years and for women, it decreases by 1.5.

I guess Ryan and I better sleep less than 5 hours a day to increase our life expectancies, otherwise we're fucking screwed!

Collect Them All!

Yay, get them while you can!  Collect all 9 cigarette labels being released by the FDA next month!  

Yep, you read this correctly; all you smokers will be seeing these 9 horrific images on your packages of cigarettes starting next month. So if you don't have a cigarette case, you better run out and get one.

 

Seriously folks, if these images don't make you quit, I don't know what will.  Geezus, these are simply disgusting!  But oh, so very true.  I have to commend the FDA on this new campaign, but I also have to disagree with them.  

Everyone in this country knows that smoking can kill you - even second-hand smoke can kill you, but isn't it every American's right to choose how they want to die?

Then again, is it okay that smokers are killing people around them with their second-hand smoke?

What You Really Need Is...

If you crave Chocolate, then you should have nuts, seeds and fruits. Hmmm???

If you crave chewing ice, what you really need is iron. So instead of chewing ice, you should really eat meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens, and black cherries.

Personally, I'll stick to chewing ice.

click to enlarge

What Keeps a Gay Man in Shape?

FEAR!

Yep, and "this is brought about because gay men are afraid that they will be alone for the rest of their lives. If a gay man is not "serving body" while competing to find a trick or boyfriend in one of the more muscle-bound climates of gay culture, he will be sorely shut out. That is why gay men don't get fat, because if they don't have pecs, guns, and glutes, they're going home alone." - Brian Moylan on Simon Doonan's new book, "Gay Men Don't Get Fat".

Moylan goes on to say there are three things a gay man wants; to get buff, married, and stay buff.  And the reason?  Threesomes!  

He says "there are countless committed gay couples out there who like to either play on the side or invite guest stars into their beds. And you're not going to get any A-list guest stars if you're giving D-list torso with a four-star gut. Yes, gay men go to the gym to stay competitive, but since the man-eating marathon doesn't end after marriage, they just keep on competing and competing until death do they part."

While this is not the case for many gay couples, Moylan did write some very interesting points in his Gawker article.  The Instinct article left out a majority of what Brian had to say, but that sure didn't keep Instinct commenters from posting harsh comments about him.

Western Diet vs. Low-Carb Diet

But how do the mice really feel?  According to a recent study, the mice fed with a high carbohydrate diet were predisposed to breast cancer compared to those who were on a low-carb diet.  

Seriously?  

I'm tired of all these damn studies that are going to cause me to die in a few years.  Geezus if I were to combine all the studies run in the past 3 months, I'd be dead within a matter of days.  Hell, with the addition of sitting in an office for 10 years and drinking tea at home, I'd be dead even sooner!

Show Me Your Teeth

It's a sad fact, but millions of people in this country have no dental insurance, and those who do, don't use it.  I'm the perfect example.  I've had dental insurance for as long as I can remember, but I haven't seen a dentist in the same amount of time.  I may have only gone once, but that was years ago.  I brush my teeth everyday, but I don't floss, and brush regularly as I should.  Visiting a dentist is something both Ryan and I will have to do once we get out of debt, which isn't too far away.

click to enlarge

Powdered Supplements & Cardio Myths

And you thought cardio would give you the body you wanted.  Hell to the N-to-the-O!  You are wrong, that was just a myth, and if you don't believe me, hear it from the one, and only, Mike Chang.  Who, by the way, is an extremely savvy guy.  

9 years ago, Chang was extremely overweight.  He made a lifestyle change that helped him, and hundreds of people around the world.  He has an awesome website, and the following video below is just a "piece of the cake" when it comes to being an awesome motivator, and mentor.  If you have never heard of him, or always had questions about your health and fitness, this guy can give it to you.

From his YouTube page: 

Six years ago, I was overweight and out of shape. Finally, one day I made the decision that I was going to learn how to get a ripped body and abs - - no matter what.

When I first started, I made every mistake in the book. But with the help of a few fitness mentors, I finally learned the exercise and nutrition strategies that get you into great shape.

Once I learned this stuff, I got into shape surprisingly fast. It made a huge difference in my life - - it became much easier for me to attract women, and I got much more respect from my male friends. And I just felt way better about myself every time I looked in the mirror.

If anything, at least let him share with you his experience with cardio, supplements, and powdered drinks - these don't do you any good.  

You'll be surprised - he's a really smart guy.

Sitting on The Job 10 Years or More Means You Have a 94% Chance of Developing a Tumor

According to The Telegraph, a new research study from the University of Western Australia states a team of researchers found that if you work 10 years or more in a sedentary job you have a 94% chance of developing a tumor, and a 44% chance of developing rectum cancer. 

In simpler terms, if you're sitting on your ass all day in a cubicle or desk - you don't have much longer to live.  And it doesn't matter if you exercise or workout when you get out of work or on weekends, you are developing a tumor whether you like it or not!  

‘Even a high level of vigorous recreational physical activity did not modify the effect of sedentary work.’ And they warned: ‘The findings have occupational health implications, given that advances in technology have led to increasing amounts of sedentary behaviour at work.’

And in other developing news....  sitting down for lengthy periods of time also increases blood sugar levels - so you're going to develop diabetes which will also lead to colon cancer!

Boy, am I screwed!

Mind-Boggling News: The Rate of Our Nation's Obesity

As Mind-boggling as it is, I had to post this chart.  I can't believe what's happening before our very eyes.

click to enlarge