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A Cost Benefit Analysis of your Health & Physical Fitness

March 19th, 2010

This post is for all of those people who:

Want to live a long life, and
Want that long life to be full of health, vitality and general awesome-ness

Because seriously, who wants to live until 100 if you have to spend the final 20-30 years of your life hooked up to machines and/or driving around in one of those motorized scooters because of your poor lifestyle choices

Luckily for you, I am here to help.

The True Cost of Health & Fitness Spending

Sadly, in our modern world, the biggest threat to living a long, healthy, vital and generally awesome life is our lifestyle.

Too little physical activity
Too much sitting
Too much of the wrong foods
Too little of the right foods
Chronic low level stress

Not good.

But, maybe that’s just the way things have to be. Maybe it’s a yin-yang kind of thing.

For all of the benefits of our modern society, there have to be some drawbacks.

Maybe the cost of our technological evolution is a slow, physical de-evolution into WALL-E blobbiness.

Maybe, there is nothing we can we do about it?

personal trainer toronto

wrong.

personal trainer toronto

Here are your options for getting super-fit.

1. Wait for a Technological Solution

Whether it’s a new drug or surgery or medical implant or obesity hygiene device, some people are going to sit and wait for someone else to save them from…themselves.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Benefits

No exercise
More free time to watch tv and play video games
Eat whatever you want, whenever you want it

Costs

You may die before a “cure” is found
And you may have to spend big bucks on a Comfort Wipe

Conclusion

For me, the costs outweigh the benefits.

I have to give this plan a thumbs down.

2. Become a Caveman

Our caveman ancestors might not have had an iPad, but they certainly were leaner, stronger & fitter. And, if it wasn’t for their higher infant death rate and the general lack of emergency room doctors, our caveman ancestors would probably have retained a high level of physical fitness well into the senior years.

So, solution #2….

Walk away from all of your modern conveniences, leave your home, walk into the nearest forest and adopt the lifestyle that our paleolithic ancestors thrived upon.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Benefits

Eating real food (wild game, fruit, berries, nuts, vegetables, roots, water… will make a huge difference on your overall health as well as help you drop a few lbs.
Increased physical activity will drastically improve your overall physical fitness
Less tv, less computer, less video games, less time in the car will improve posture, pain and portliness.
Low level stress will melt away as you ditch your daily commute, your boss, your suit & tie and your need to conform

Costs

No income
Property laws mean that you will likely be arrested for vagrancy or trespassing on private property
Herds of wild buffalo are pretty scarce nowadays, so you might have a problem finding enough food.
Replace low level chronic stress with higher level acute stress – starvation, arrests for vagrancy, etc…

Conclusion

The costs associated with returning to our ancient way of life far outweigh the benefits.

Ergo, another thumbs down.

3. Become a Modern Caveman

A modern caveman continues to work at his/her job, live in his/her nice warm home but chooses to eliminate or at least minimize those aspects of modern life that are causing us so much trouble

too much screen time – tv, computer, iphone, etc…
too much sitting
not enough physical activity
too many calories
not enough nutrition

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Benefits

Eating real food (wild game, fruit, berries, nuts, vegetables, roots, water… will make a huge difference on your overall health as well as help you drop a few lbs.
Increased physical activity will drastically improve your overall physical fitness
Less tv, less computer, less video games, less time in the car will improve posture, pain and portliness.
Taking a proactive approach to stress reduction will help improve the quality & quantity of your life.

Costs

Individuality – If you like to blend in, being a modern caveman isn’t for you
Grocery Bills – Real food often costs more than the typical processed Standard American Diet. Or at least it requires more imagination and effort to keep costs down.
Cost of physical activity – whether it’s time or money or a combination of the two, exercise is going to hit you in the wallet. Because you aren’t spending your entire day being active, you’re going to need to “exercise”. Whether you choose to run on your own or hire an in-home personal trainer, there is going to a cost – time, money, combination.

Conclusion

Millions of fit, healthy & attractive people are implementing some version of this plan each & every day.

Next week, i will go into some of the options and break them down…benefits, costs, etc…

Stay tuned.

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An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

January 20th, 2010

Mainstream Medicine may finally be catching on.

In a major shift of emphasis in the battle against cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association is urging people to embrace prevention rather than just try to avoid risks long associated with the world’s leading killer.

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The Dallas-based organization unveiled a list of seven steps people can take to help prevent heart attacks and strokes and live healthy lives well into old age. The recommendations, which include staying smoke-free, eating healthy foods and getting regular exercise, are all familiar.

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But leaders hope a more pro-active message comprising the entire package of steps will help blunt the impact of the obesity epidemic and build on four decades of progress against the ravages of cardiovascular disease.

“We’ve always looked at this from the risk side of the equation,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, head of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago. “It’s important to push the agenda of promoting health, not just avoiding disease.”

Dr. Lloyd-Jones is lead author of a scientific statement being published in the AHA journal Circulation describing the science behind the strategy. The paper doesn’t break any new ground on heart-disease risk. Indeed, in addition to the steps on smoking, diet and exercise, the report urges people to control cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and a measure of healthy weight called body mass index.

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Each of the recommendations has long been at the foundation of heart-disease prevention, but Dr. Lloyd-Jones says their impact taken as a whole hasn’t previously been appreciated.

By attaining goals in all seven steps, Dr. Lloyd-Jones said, people would achieve “ideal” cardiovascular health with a likelihood of living healthy lives well into old age.

Together, they amount to “a fountain of youth for the heart.”

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So, here’s my question….

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How do we get from telling to doing?

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There is a big difference between knowing that you should do something and actually doing it.

And, while education about disease prevention / health promotion is important, it still doesn’t get many big ole butts up off the sofa.

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Related Posts

Your body-fat wants to kill you

Health Promotion v.s Disease Prevention

Disease Prevention with an Exercise Prescription

America’s “Official” Obesity Solution

Wellness and Workouts in the Canadian Workplace

America’s Obesity Epidemic costs $147 billion

Having trouble sticking to your diet?

Future Trends in Global Obesity

How the Free Market makes you FAT and why “Big Food” likes it that way

Obesity Drugs v.s Health Habits

Nutritional Information on Restaurant Menus – Does it make any difference?

The Future of Fast Food

The status-quo is broken…We need a new model for burning fat and getting fit

Reference

Wall Street Journal

American Heart Association – main site

American Heart Association – My Life Check

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Posted in Diet/Nutrition, Exercise, I Wanna Be Healthy, I Wanna Look Great, Research, fat loss, health, healthcare, nutrition, obesity, politics, weight loss

Tags: american heart association cardiovascular diet fitness health heart heart disease high blood pressure nutrition obesity omega 3

Did You Take Your Vitamin D This Morning?

November 19th, 2009

vitamin-D

Winter is on the way people.

And along with the frigid temperatures and slushy sidewalks, winter means less sunshine.

And less sunshine means less Vitamin D.

And, according to this study, less Vitamin D means you have an increased risk of stroke, heart disease and death.

The Study

For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center research team followed 27,686 patients who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease. The participants had their blood Vitamin D levels tested during routine clinical care. The patients were divided into three groups based on their Vitamin D levels – normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml), or very low (less than 15 ng/ml). The patients were then followed to see if they developed some form of heart disease.

Researchers found that patients with very low levels of Vitamin D were 77 percent more likely to die, 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease, and 78 percent were more likely to have a stroke than patients with normal levels. Patients with very low levels of Vitamin D were also twice as likely to develop heart failure than those with normal Vitamin D levels.

The researchers concluded “that among patients 50 years of age or older, even a moderate deficiency of Vitamin D levels was associated with developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and death,” she says. “This is important because Vitamin D deficiency is easily treated.

If increasing levels of Vitamin D can decrease some risk associated with these cardiovascular diseases, it could have a significant public health impact. When you consider that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America, you understand how this research can help improve the length and quality of people’s lives.”

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So, did you take your Vitamin D today?

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We (almost) have the technology to make you leaner, stronger, fitter…

November 18th, 2009

Back in the 70s, Colonel Steve Austin was the Six Million Dollar Man…a NASA astronaut nearly killed during a test flight.

But, luckily for him, NASA had the technology to rebuild him…better than he was before..better..stronger..faster

And luckily for all of us, we are pretty close to having the technology to help make us leaner..stronger..fitter…and healthier.

Thanks to researchers at St. Louis University, we may soon have access to smartphone applications that will help us transform our bodies from fat to fit.

And I am not talking about first generation apps that tell you the number of calories in a Big Mac or produce a generic computer generated workout.

CADA interface

I am talking about software that is being used currently on a group of elderly Chinese diabetic patients (not necessarily the most tech-savvy group on the planet).

This new technology uses interactive smartphone games and various logging features to help the elderly diabetics manage their health and learn more about their condition.

Initial studies of the interactive diabetes self-management system, called the Chinese Aged Diabetic Assistant (CADA), are promising, researchers found. The system enables diabetics to track their blood glucose, weight, diet, exercise, mood and blood pressure – valuable information that will assist their doctors in providing the best care possible.

“This project did not start out as a gaming project, but we did a lot of groundwork – from looking at the health care infrastructure in China to conducting focus groups with older diabetics and interviewing various providers – and found that gaming was a persuasive way to engage patients in managing their personal health.”

The games vary in purpose. For example, researchers created a “food pyramid” type game, which encourages gamers to eat a balanced diet, limit high-sugar foods and watch their daily intake of fat and salt.

Applications including a trivia game and a tile matching game, in which gamers connect the necessary components for a healthy lifestyle, were popular educational choices among the test group.

While games engage and motivate the patients, smartphones makes the technology convenient.

First, smartphones are mobile, meaning patients can use them at any time or any place. They can be used as small, inexpensive computers even if no network infrastructure is in place. If connections are in place, smartphones make it easy for patients to share health information with their providers, care givers and others within personal network. Also, because many users are already mobile phone owners, including some smartphone users, adapting the technology is feasible for patients, providers and hospitals.

Smartphone technology may even offer a solution to better managing health care costs for chronic conditions, says Mark Gaynor, Ph.D., associate professor of public health at the School of Public Health.

“The only way to cut the cost of caring for people with chronic conditions is to enable the patients to self manage their health. In order to do that, though, self-management must be reasonable and easy to do. Smart phone technology makes it easy for patients to track important health information.”

So what about us non-diabetics?

There are almost endless opportunities for using smartphone technology in health care, researchers say.”Imagine walking into a McDonalds and having your cell phone recognize your location and make healthy menu recommendations – all this and more is possible with smartphone technology.” (why do they always use McDonalds as the restaurant example?)

Researchers say smartphones can make tracking one’s health easier and more convenient. In the future, CADA users will be able to share information with their providers and receive important health reminders. They are also working on Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a scale that communicates with the phone to record and track daily measurements and a blood sugar monitor that automatically records daily readings on the phone.

And while it’s true that this technology doesn’t have the pizzazz of a pair of bionic legs, I think that its potential to integrate healthier behaviors into our day to day lives is powerful stuff.

True, it took an explosion in global obesity levels to get peoples attention, but finally, there is growing public awareness that we can and should take better care of our bodies.

And, if tools like the CADA smartphone make it easier to get fit, then maybe, just maybe, we aren’t doomed to a future where we evolve into this…

wall-e-captain-fat

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The Failure of the Health/Fitness/Obesity Industry

October 20th, 2009

Aaaaarrrgggghhhhh……I am so frustrated.

Yesterday, I met with new client for the first time.

Over the past 30+ years, this woman has tried and failed to lose 20 pounds and get into “shape”

She has consulted with doctors and trainers and nutritionists and naturopaths.
She has bought books and magazines and dvds and subliminal audio programs.
She has starved herself of calories and fat and carbs.
She has run and jumped and stretched and lifted and sweated…a lot.
She has taken thousands of pills and potions.
She has rubbed on various creams and lotions.

In short, she has done just about everything that every popular health/fitness/weight-loss expert has told her to do.

And yet, she has never really come close to achieving her health & fitness goals.

And she blames herself.

And so do the experts.

They told her that their program was guaranteed to work…but only if she followed their instructions with perfect compliance.

So, when the program failed, it was because she broke the rules. It was her fault.

What a load of B.S.

They are supposed to be the experts.
They promise a solution.
She pays them large amounts of money for that solution.
And yet they take no responsibility for their part in the process

The nutritionist/dietitian gave her a meal plan, but never told her how to cope with the cravings and hunger pangs that came along with it.

The trainer billed her $120 per session but never taught her the hows and whys of an effective training program.

The weight loss doctor gave her a diet and some B12 injections and then yelled at her when she broke her 1000 calorie / no-carb diet.

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So, why is it that after 30+ years of listening to the experts and spending thousands and thousands of dollars, this woman is still fatter and weaker and less healthy than she wants to be?

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Is it all her fault?

Is it the fault of the experts?

A bit of both?

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And, is there a better way?

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Vinegar is a Fat-Burning, Waist Shrinking, Cholesterol Lowering Superfood

October 15th, 2009

In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to a study which showed that plain ole’ vinegar is effective in suppressing body fat accumulation.

More specifically, the researchers found that laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed significantly less body fat (up to 10 percent less) than other mice.

I was so excited by this low-tech, inexpensive weight loss trick that I contacted the author of the study.

And to my surprise, he emailed an even more recent study which looks at the fat-burning effects of vinegar on actual human beings….no more mice studies.

The Science

In this study, researchers investigated the effects of vinegar intake on the reduction of body-fat mass in obese Japanese students.

The 175 students were randomly assigned to three groups of similar body-weight, BMI and waist circumference.

During the 12 week study, the participants ingested 500ml daily of a beverage containing either 15 ml of apple vinegar (750 mg AcOH – acetic acid), 30 ml of vinegar (1500 mg AcOH) or 0 ml of vinegar (0 mg AcOH, placebo).

In place of vinegar, the placebo group ingested 1250 mg of lactate.

To make them more palatable, all beverages contained the equal amount of flavor and artificial sweetener.

The Results

After only 4 weeks, the vinegar-group participants saw their body-weight, BMI and body-fat percentages improve. These improvements continued in a dose dependent manner for the entire 12 weeks

Translation: more vinegar = more fat loss

In addition to BF, BMI and BF%, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, LDL cholesterol and serum TG (triglyceride) levels also fell (starting in week 8).

These results can be considered to be due to the body-fat loss because the VFA (visceral fat), SFA (subcutaneous fat) and TFA (total fat) values were significantly lower in the vinegar groups than in the placebo group.

Does the vinegar make these "diet" chips?

Conclusion

15 ml (0.5 oz or 1 tbsp) of vinegar per day is enough to significantly improve your:

Body-Weight
BMI
Body-Fat Percentage
Waist Circumference
Waist-Hip ratio
LDL Cholesterol
Serum TG
Visceral Body-Fat, and
Subcutaneous Body-Fat

And considering that these health markers are associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and metabolic syndrome, perhaps it might be wise to consider adding a tbsp or two of vinegar to your daily diet.

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Fighting Fat With Vinegar

October 14th, 2009

Your Grandma was right.

It turns out that the acetic acid found in plain ole’ vinegar is effective in suppressing body fat accumulation.

The Science

Earlier this year, Japanese researchers found that laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet and given acetic acid developed significantly less body fat (up to 10 percent less) than other mice.

Based upon their findings, the scientists believe that acetic acid fights fat by turning on genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes. The genes churn out proteins involved in breaking down fats, thus suppressing body fat accumulation in the body.

link to the study

Conclusion

Vinegar is cheap, harmless and versatile in the kitchen.

It may also help you metabolize sugars more efficiently, lower blood pressure and lose weight.

What do you have to lose?

Links to more vinegary/weight loss research

Journal of Agricultural Food & Chemistry - A study showing the fat-burning benefits of vinegar
Agricultural and Biological Chemistry – Vinegar controls insulin response to carbs
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition – Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects
Medscape General Medicine – Vinegar: Medicinal Uses and Antiglycemic Effect

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Drink more soda…it's good for you

October 8th, 2009

Not everyone is happy with the anti-obesity/anti-soda ad produced by the NYC Dept of Health.

And it isn’t just the people who lost their lunches after seeing that globby/fatty/veiny cup of goo.

It’s groups like the Center for Consumer Freedom.

In fact, the CCF was so upset, that they produced their own rebuttal ad and had it printed in the New York Times

BTW, a full page ad in the Times costs upwards of $158,004.

$158,004

And we’re not even including the costs associated with creating the ad.

We’re talking big money.

BIG MONEY

And thinking about that big money awakened the skeptic in me. And that inner skeptic started thinking…who is the Center for Consumer Freedom and why are they spending a ton of money defending our freedoms against anti-cola advertisements?

So, I did a little research into the CCF.

My findings?

Apparently, there are a lot of people who don’t like the CCF.

To them, the CCF is nothing but a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries.

It runs media campaigns which oppose the efforts of scientists, doctors, health advocates, environmentalists and groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, calling them “the Nanny Culture — the growing fraternity of food cops, health care enforcers, anti-meat activists, and meddling bureaucrats who ‘know what’s best for you.’ ”

Over 40 percent of the group’s 2005 expenditure was paid to Rick Berman’s PR company, Berman & Co. for “management services. As part of its operations CCF runs a series of attack websites.

Sourcewatch

But, don’t take their word for it….Check out the “attack” websites

And, if that ain’t enough, watch this video…

Or listen to the man himself as Rick Berman is interviewed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow…

So, what do you think?

Is Rick Berman…

standing up for your freedom against the American nanny state?
or is he spinning lies in order to promote the interests of his anonymous donors?

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Can America's Food Producers Save Us From Obesity?

October 7th, 2009

30 of America’s biggest food producers have come together to form the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation.

It’s kind of like the Justice League of America, but instead of fighting comic book super villains, the HWCF is fighting against obesity.

Their plan is to do this by “helping consumers lead healthier lives by making energy balance – calories in balanced with calories out – a daily habit”.

We will do this by increasing access and opportunities for physical activity, healthier nutrition options and raising awareness of the energy balance approach…

…in the marketplace….

…participating companies are committing to build on existing efforts and will be making changes to their products, packaging and labeling to make it easier for consumers to manage their calorie intake while preserving or enhancing overall nutrition quality.

Specific options companies may undertake include:

product reformulation and innovation;

providing smaller portions;

redesigning packaging and labeling;

placing calorie information on the front of products;

providing consumers with information and educational materials;

and in-store promotion of the initiative.

…in the workplace…

…participating companies will undertake new or enhance existing programs to help employees achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

This may include:

providing calorie information and healthier food and beverage options in cafeterias,

vending machines and break rooms;

providing access to exercise at work through individual and group activities;

offering weight management programs;

and implementing tools to track progress, like health risk appraisals.

…and in schools…

…the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation will expand the successful Healthy Schools Partnership to additional schools around the country. The Healthy Schools Partnership integrates nutrition education and physical education through a school-based curriculum to help children develop lifelong positive healthy habits.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it.

Healthier food products
Improved and expanded nutrition information
and lots and lots of money being spent to help improve our fitness levels

So, how come I feel dirty.

Like I have just been lied to.

Hmmmm, it seems like my Spidey-Sense is tingling.

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Fatwashing is the new Greenwashing

October 5th, 2009

Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry are the celebrity faces of a new anti-obesity ad campaign being launched by Pepsi.

Anti-obesity & Pepsi?

That’s an odd combination

I always thought that soda helped to cause obesity.

But, if Pepsi wants to help me lose weight and get fit, then they must be one of the good guys…and therefore, I must drink more Pepsi

MUST DRINK PEPSI….MUST DRINK PEPSI….MUST DRINK PEPSI….

Nooooooo!!!!!!!

Help….I’ve think I have just been fatwashed by Pepsi

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