Michael Phelps Record Olympic Gold Medalist 12,000 Calorie Diet

There were a lot of exciting record-breaking swimming events in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Michael Phelps went a perfect 8-for-8 in Beijing, breaking Mark Spitz's single-Games record for gold medals. He swam 17 times over nine days and broke the world record in four of his five individual swims. His three relay teams also set world marks.

Michael Phelps is now acclaimed as the best and most decorated modern Olympic medalist. He is a really swimming sensation.

His secret to success? "Eat, sleep and swim. That's all I can do. Get some calories into my system and try to recover the best I can." according to Michael in an interview with NBC.

His "some calories" is not the average man's 2000 calorie a day. According to New York Post, Michael eats about 12,000 calories a day in staggering 3 big meals.

Here is the breakdown of Michael's diet:

Breakfast (4,000 calories)
Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.
Two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch (4,000 calories)
One pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread plus 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Dinner (4,000 calories)
One pound of pasta and an entire pizza plus another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

He burns all these 12,000 calories and still maintains his lean, cut, Olympian swimmer physique. He needs all the calories to fuel his body and supply the energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week swimming regimen.

His 12,000 calorie-a-day diet is not something for the ordinary deskjocky who is sitting all day without much moving.

What can we learn from 12,000 calories-a-day diet?

Plan your nutrition and calorie intake around your daily activities and workouts. The calories are to fuel your body and support your training. If you burn more than taking in, you'll lose weight. Likewise, if you eat more than your body can burn off, you'll gain weight. Calorie and energy balance is just that simple. Too many people (including fitness industry) are making weight-loss so complicated.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Grand Opening

Let the games begin .................

No matter which country, sport or athlete you're rooted for, you can be your champion and Gold medalist.

In the game of life, you're competing with youself. Be the best you can be.

We all can learn from the Olympic spirit of the greatest athletes.

Click here for Olympic Games update.

How to Recession-Proof Your Health and Fitness

I know. That big R word.

I don't want to think about it or talk about it. It's so negative in your thoughts that you'll attract more of it to your life.

The abundant thinking is to manifest what you REALLY want, not what you don't want. The law of attraction plays in your favor.

But you know what. By the time everyone is talking about it and the media is all over about it, we're probably half way through it already.

When the government data confirms it, it's at least six months behind. And we're looking forward to recovery and the next boom market.

When the R hits the economy and job cut announcements are everywhere, people feel the stress and tension. All the non-essential or non-life-threatening expenses are normally cut out first.

Ask youself these questoins.

Is health and fitness essential or non-essential to you?

Is your health life-threatening or not?

Is health and fitness part of your core values?

Do you value the benefits of being healthy and fit?

Do you know the cost of NOT being healthy and fit?

You make the choice.

All I can tell you is that my training business has been prospering in the past months. I have signed up new clients. Current clients renewed their contracts and continue to train. They see and feel improved in their body and mind. I don't see or feel recession in my training business.

All my clients keep their jobs. They're fit in their body and sharp in their mind through regular training and exercise. And they're fit on their jobs as well.

They highly value the benefits of health and fitness. They don't simply cut out training because of the main-street's recession talk. They invest in their health for the long term.

Do you want to be one of them who continues to succeed and prosper in recession?

Let me put it this way. Never let your health and fitness slip into recession.

So my words of advice to you as to how to recession-proof your health and fitness are:

1. Don't short-change your health and fitness because you need it and you're in it for the rest of your life.

2. Adopt a healthy and active lifestyle that's working for you.

3. Keep working out. Continue your training and and even kick up a notch.

4. Regular exercise helps you relieve the stress and put things in perspective.

5. Eat healthy and balanced meals and snacks to fuel and recharge your body.

I have addressed these topics in my training and coaching program. Click here to ask me about your challenges and become my clients.

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

Flat Belly Diet??!!

OMG!!!!!!!!!

Another new weight-loss regime? or scam?
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/91674
When can the health industry teach the public the right ways?

I guess not. It's all about weight loss buzz, marketing and making money out of the public's desperation.

Here is the list of the top 10 most popular diets:

Weight Watchers
South Beach Diet
Atkins Diet
Lemonade Diet
Low Carb Diet
Cabbage Soup Diet
Mediterranean Diet
3-Day Diet
Detox Diet
Flat Belly Diet

They all seem to work for a while --- 3 days, one week or a month.

But when you get on a diet, you have to get off. That's when you fall off from the dieting wagon and re-gain part of the weight if not all the weight back.

Wanna learn the right ways?

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

Can You Change Your Genes to A Healthier You?

The answer is positive according to a recent study.

But it takes a complete approach including healthy lifestyle changes, regualr exercise, proper diet and stress managment, as I always advocate to the public and educate my clients.

In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.

The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.

As expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes.

After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.

The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This is an exciting no-excuse news to many people who blame their genes for overweight or obesity. In just three months, you can change hundreds of your genes to become healthier by changing how you live and what you eat.

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

Teleclass: Real Secrets to Create Real Abundance

Alright, I ain't no expert in this area.

But we all can learn from the real experts as to how to create real abundance in every area of our life.

In a few days, you'll have the opportunity to learn from a Master Certified Coach, The Guru of Coaching(SM), Terri Levine, about her 10 real secrets to create real abundance.

The FREE teleclass is hosted by Hueina Su, a Certified Empowerment Coach, the Creator of Rx for Balance(TM) program and founder of Beyond Horizon Coaching.

Date: Monday, August 4, 2008
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm Eastern/New York Time (11:00 am Central, 9:00 am Pacific)
Cost: None, except for your own long-distance telephone charge

This Teleclass will be recorded, and you will receive the recording afterwards

Sign up for the Teleclass here: www.beyondhorizoncoaching.com/terrilevine.html

This is what you will learn, in Terri's own words:

Whatever your financial situation, health situation, love situation, spiritual or emotional situation, I can shift you to earn and keep masses of money, and create abundance in all areas of your life.

You have just landed upon the most important information to help you build REAL abundance in your life with endless financial profits in rapid time and at the same time MORE FREE TIME and GREATER LOVE and WELL-BEING!

Now you can learn directly from Terri what her secrets are and use the 10 steps she will teach in the Teleclass to create REAL ABUNDANCE in every area of your life!

How do you feel when you achieve all these in your life??

Click here for more information and to sign up for this FREE Teleclass!

Energy Drink Trap

Can you really party like a rockstar?

Energy drinks have been a high-flying beverage market ever since people are more conscious about sugar-loaded soft drinks.

Even the youth athletes playing soccer, football or baseball are drinking from those cans. They (or the parents) think that these drinks would give them the energy to play hard and get bigger, faster and stronger.

These so-called "energy drinks" are loaded with sugar and supplemented with herbal stimulants to give you the instant energy boost. Your energy doesn't come from the external sugar. It should come from your internal generation through training.

The sugar gives you the instant sugar rush. The stimulants help you pump up your heart rate. So you think you have the energy. In fact, it will give you the sugar crash when the sugar wears out after few hours. The stimulants put excess burden on your heart function. Overtime, you could even develop Type II diabetes. The simple sugar goes straight to your system. Any excess calorie is stored as fat.

Think twice before you gobble down the energy drink. Better yet, read the nutrition label. That's your best defense against overdrinking, overeating and overweight.

Check out this brand of energy drink.

It looks like a soda can, about 6 inches tall. The nutrition label could be deceiving, thought. Most people will find the 140 calories per serving first. But read closely again. This can contains two servings. So if you drink down the whole can, you just load up your body with 280 calories of pure simple sugar. That would of course keep you high for a while.

But keep reading. It also has a few vitamin B's and a couple of herbal supplements. You can take a vitamin B complex to get at least the amount of %Daily Value. The herbal supplements just overload your body and organ functions.

All in all, the energy drinks in the market are not real energy-producing drinks. They would sap your energy after a few hours and put your health in long-term danger. They don't protect you from the free radicals released by your stressed body and exhausting lifestyle.

So what can you do? How do you get your energy and feel revitalized and rejuvenated?

Try NingXia Red wolfberry antioxidant drink.

Why? Read here for details about why NingXia Red is the most potent antioxidant drink in the market that helps you fortify, replenish and rejuvenate your body.

One serving of NingXia Red contains only 19 calories of natural sugar from the fruits. There is artificially added sugar.

Click here to learn how to order the products and start to enjoy the best antioxidant anti-aging, disease-fighting benefits (Product # 3003, 3023, 3043).

Read the Label Before Ordering Your Food

Three years ago, New York City Board of Health banned smoking in restaurants.

Then the Board initiated the move to ban trans fat from all of their food.

Early this year, the Board required the city’s chain restaurants with more than 15 units nationally to list nutritional information and calories on menus and menu boards. These include TGI Friday’s, Outback Steakhouse, Chipotle, Quiznos, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Subway, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba Juice and Chevys chains.

Now these restaurants are required to list the calories along with prices of the foods on the menus to comply with regulations. Click here for details.

When you eat out, it's difficult control the ingredients in the food and how it's prepared. It's likely that you don't know how much you're eating. Now you get a chance to know the calorie and price of the item on the menu. Many people got this whooping calorie shocking reaction in addition to the price-sticker shock.

The typical reaction is ...

"Wow...!! I couldn't believe a small muffin has that many calories."

"I thought I'm eating healthy by just eating salad. But that plate of salad with everything on it cost me 1300 caloires?!"

"That Grande Frappuccino is 430 caloires?! and loaded with fat!!"

Now get this ...

Taco Bell Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef = 1,450 calories

Outback Bloomin' Onion = 2,310 calories

Wendy 3/4 Pound Triple with Cheese = 980 calories

Chiptole Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito = 1,179 calories

Chili Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream = 1,600 calories

McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips with creamy ranch sauce = 830 calories

Starbucks Pecan Magic Bar = 450 calories


The so-called "low-calorie" or "low-fat" meals in restaurants may not be that low as you would think. Read more about the 16 secrets the restaurant industry doesn't want you to know.

... just food for thoughts ... and think twice before you replace your order.

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

Are Squats Better Than Lunges?

Both squats and lunges are great exercises to train your leg muscles - quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. They are multi-joint compound exercises that work more than one muscle at a time. So they are the basic exercises to help you build muscle or develop strength.

Both your feet are firmly planted on the floor when you squat. You're able to squat more weights than do lunges. When you do lunges, your glutes have to contract harder to control the deceleration on your way down. In addition, lunges are close to most sports and real-life situations where your feet are in the front-and-back stance or position.

You can incorporate both squats and lunges in the same workout session. It could be too demanding to your muscles and central nervous system. One option is do squats for a few workouts and switch to lunges for several other workouts.

You can always change up your training routines by varying the sets and reps through weight variation. Click here to learn how to change up your weight training routine.

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

Can You Really Sleep Off Your Fat?

This is a hot topic in recent months.

More research studies showed that lack of sleep or sleep deprivation make you crave for sweet of fatty foods and eat more calories.

Although it's a long debate as to how much sleep is enough, it likely depends on each individual's need. Some feel fine with 5 to 6 hours of sleep while some others need 9 to 10 hours to feel awake.

A new research study conducted at Laval University in Quebec, Canada showed that only 5 to 6 hours of sleep makes it hard to lose fat. On the other hand, too much sleep doesn't help either.

According to the study, 5 to 6-hour short sleepers are 27% more likely to become obese, gain 124% more body fat and 35% more likely to gain 11 pounds.

9 to 10-hour long sleepers are 21% more likely to become obese, gain 94% more body fat and 25% more likely to gain 11 pounds.

So how much sleep is just right?

7 to 8 hours of sleep seems to be just right.

When you engage in strength training or competitive sports, properly and timely recovery is very important so that you come back to train harder or compete in the games. A good night sleep is definitely your best strategy.

You may not be able to sleep 7 to 8 hours every night. Your sleep most likely fluctuates from day to day (or from night to night). If you don't catch with your sleep, it will catch up with you.

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

Ride the Wave like Olympian Dara Torres

A returning Olympic medalist in swimming, Dara Torres could be one of the most covered athletes in 2008 Olympic Game. Her story is so inspiring to anyone who's complaining just about everything in achieving healthy and fit body.

So what's so great about Dara Torres:

• She's 41 years old - a generation older than most of her competitors. She won medals in her first Olympics in 1984, before many of them were even born.
• She will go the Beijing Olympics as the oldest ever member of the US swim team.
• She's a mother and still has maybe the most impressive abs I've ever seen on a women.
• She's about as all-American wholesome and attractive as could be.
• She's considered to have the purest and most efficient swimming stroke of any woman in the world.
• She's medaled in four consecutive Olympics. Beijing will be her fifth, and she's favored to at least medal, possibly win the 50 meter freestyle.
• She owns 8 Olympic medals.
• She retired from swimming after 2000 Olympics in Sydney and now she's BACK!
• she is amazingly fit. If she medals, which is almost a foregone conclusion, she'll be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. If she gets the gold, maybe even Time magazine.

You're never too old to exercise and get fit!!

Shoulder and Triceps High-Volume Superset

Superset #1 (3-4 sets, 60-sec rest interval)
1A. Smith-Machine 85-degree Shoulder Press x 8-12 reps
1B. Dumbbell Lateral Raise x 12-15 reps

Superset #2 (3-4 sets, 60-sec rest interval)
2A. 1-Dumbbell (2-arm) Overhead Triceps Press x 12-15 reps
2B. Dumbbell Front Raise x 12-15 reps

Superset #3 Triple Dropset (3 sets, 60-sec rest interval)
3A. Rope Triceps Pressdown x 6-8 reps
3B. Rope Triceps Pressdown x 6-8 reps (next lower weight)
3C. Rope Triceps Pressdown x 6-8 reps (further next lower weight)

>>> Sign up for FREE monthly e-Newsletter to receive insider training tips, workout routines and check out your FREE bonus e-books to help you build muscles, lose fat and uncover your six pack abs.

How to Relieve Muscle Tension and Emotional Stress with Essential Oil Roll-Ons

Feeling muscle soreness from your hardcore workout?

Too much stress and tension from sitting all day at your desk?

Neck and back pain?

Tension headaches?

No breathing room from your hectic daily schedule?

Energy drain from a bad day at the office?

Out of balance in your body, mind and spirit?

Not a problem.

Essential Oil Roll-Ons are coming to rescue.

Three new unique essential oil formulations offer pleasant relief to your tension and stress.

The Roll-Ons provide portability and convenience in no-mess application.

DEEP RELIEF
Deep Relief Essential Oil Roll-On is a proprietary blend of oils specially formulated to relieve muscle soreness and tension. Peppermint, Wintergreen, Copal, and Palo Santo essential oils as well as others play an integral part of healing in this blend.

Simply apply on the affect areas where you feel muscle and body discomfort. For head tensin, roll across over the temples and on the forehead.






TRANQUIL
Tranquil Essential Oil Roll-On is a proprietary blend of lavender, cedarwood and roman chamomile essential oils formulated to calm and relax the body and mind. Using the new roll on application, Tranquil provides convenient and portable relaxation.

Transquil is an ideal alternative to prescription medication that can leave you feeling tired and groggy.

Apply liberally on temples, neck and wrist for immediate stress relief.




VALOR
Valor® Essential Oil Roll-On is an empowering combination of therapeutic-grade essential oils that works with both the physical and spiritual aspects of the body to increase feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem in the face of adversity. Renowned for its strengthening qualities, Valor enhances an individual's internal resources. It has also been found to help energy alignment in the body.

Apply generously to feet, wrists or back of the neck and feel your self-doubt drain away as you inhale its revitalizing aroma.




For more information and to order products, please visit:
http://www.truehealingoils.com for items #3534, 3533 and 3529.

Caution: Keep out of reach of children. If pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult a healthcare practitioner prior to use.

How a Fitness Guru Got Ripped!

Many people think or blame that those fitness models, experts or gurus were just naturally born with good genetics and great bodies.

It may well be true. But one thing in common among them is that they still train hard, eat well and find their own programs or systems that work for them.

One of the most renowned fat loss expert and natural bodybuilder Tom Venuto posted a story about how he got ripped for the very first time.

In his story, Tom detailed his journey from a good weightlifter to a champion natural bodybuilder with a set of most envied six pack abs.

Tom summarized the 7 lessons learned from his journey.

1. Set the big goal and go for it.
2. Align your values with your goals.
3. Do the math. Stop looking for magic.
4. Get social support.
5. Be consistent.
6. Persist through difficulty and self doubt.
7. Redeem yourself.

Click here to read Tom's story.

Less Learned from Tim Russert - How to Avoid Sudden Heart Attack

On Friday, one of the most influential people in broadcast journalism, Tim Russert, passed away. He died of a heart attack at age 58.

I watched Larry King and he interviewed a few cardiovascular experts asking them about Tim Russert's heart attack. Tim had a stress test in late April. But the test didn't reveal that he had heart disease.

Larry King asked one of the doctors as to how else could Tim have known he was at risk for heart disease. And the doctor said, his waist circumference. The size of your waist is a very valid predictor of your risk of heart disease.

"The Size of Your Waist is a Very Valid Predictor of Your Risk of Heart Disease."

I have repeatedly talked about the danger of excess belly fat and its link cancer, heart disease and many other diseases.

Although getting your lean and sexy abs makes you look great on the beach, the reality is that a flat stomach can help save your life!

Here is a quick calculation you can do to see if you are at higher risk for heart disease. This came from one of the doctors on Larry King.

Take your height in inches. Measure your waist at the level of your belly button using a tape measure. If your waist size is more than half of your height, then you may be at risk for heart disease.

Try the calculation and see what you come up with. If your waist is too big, you probably know what you need to do.

A New Workout Routine to Chisel Your Chest Muscle

Tri-Set Chest Workout Routine (3 sets, 2-minute rest interval)

Dumbbell 45 deg. Incline Press x 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Flat Bench Press x 8-12 reps
Cable Cross-Over x 20 reps

* The key is do all three exercises using proper weight to finish the prescribed rep ranges. You'll need to reduce the weight that you normally perform each individual exercise by 15 to 20% to start with.
* You can replace third exercise "cable cross-over" with dumbbell flyes or dips in subsequent workout sessions.

How to Sculpt Round and Well Defined Shoulders

Superset #1 (3 sets, 60-sec rest interval)
1A. Dumbbell Shoulder Press x 8-12 reps
1B. Dumbbell Bent-over Rows x 8-12 reps

Superset #2 (triple dropsets, no rest)
2A. Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise x 6-8 reps
2B. Dumbbell Lateral Delt Raise x 8-12 reps

* Perform 2A and 2B exercises with proper weight to reach the rep range. Then pick the next lower weight and continue 2A and 2B exercises. Drop the weight again. Do the third superset of 2A and 2B exercises.

Summer Strength and Cardio Combo Workout

Tri-Set (3 sets, 90-sec rest interval)
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift x 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Front Squat x 8-12 reps
Bulgarian Split Squat x 8-12 reps each side

Combat Fitness (Bodyweight, 2-minute rest interval)
Jumping Pullup + Burpees
x 8-12 reps

4-miniute Tabata
Kettlebell Swing x 20 sec + 10 sec rest
x 8 intervals

Summer Tri-Set Workout Routine

Tri-Set Routine #1 (4 sets, 60-sec rest interval)
1A. Lat Pulldown x 8-12 reps
1B. Rear Delt Dumbbell Rows x 8-12 reps
1C. Rear Delt Dumbbell Raise x 8-12 reps

Tri-Set Routine #2 (4 sets, 60-sec rest interval)
2A. 45-deg Dumbbell Press (neutral/revese grip) x 8-12 reps
2B. One-Dumbbell Behind-the-Head Triceps Press x 8-12 reps
2C. Triceps Pressdown x 8-12 reps

Why Antioxidant? Why NingXia Red Wolfberry Juice?

Antioxidant energy drinks have been catching on media advertizement recently. Even the soft drink companies are marketing their own version of antioxidant beverages.

With so many brands to choose from, do you know which one is the best?

Do you know how to compare the antioxidant level based on the ORAC or S-ORAC ratings?

Do you know how to get the most antioxidant benefit from your money? And the price doesn't tell you the whole story.

Do you know how to separte the facts from the marketing spin?

In an earlier post, I have shown an independent laboratory test on various antioxidant drinks in the market. NingXia Red has the highest levels of naturally occurring, age-defying S-ORAC (Super-Oxide Radical Absorbance Capacity) activity to help support immune function, cardiovascular health, and nourish the eyes.

Here is a video showcasing the NingXia Red. Click here to learn how to order the products and start to enjoy the best antioxidant anti-aging, disease-fighting benefits (Product # 3003, 3023, 3043).



Here is another funny video comparing NingXia Red to other energy juices.

Affirmations for Good Health

Day to day, I've seen so many people sabotaging their health and damaging their own bodies. Many of them vow to eat healthy and exercise regularly. In their subconscious mind, they don't believe in themselves that they can do it.

You can "choose" positive thoughts that create a mental atmosphere reinforcing your actions and yielding positive results. The positive thoughts make you feel loved, appreciated and joyful.

Whatever you say and think about your health and body affects your brainwave and your actions, positively and negatively. Here is a list of positive affirmations for health by Louise L. Hay. Hope they'll work for you.

by Louis L. Hay (copyrighted by Hay House, Inc., 2004)

☀ I enjoy the foods that are best for my body. I love every cell of my body.

☀ I look forward to a healthy old age because I take loving care of my body now.

☀ I am constantly discovering new ways to improve my health.

☀ I return my body to optimal health by giving it what it needs on every level.

☀ I am pain free and totally in sync with life.

☀ Healing happens! I get my mind out of the way and allow the intelligence of my body to do its healing work naturally.

☀ My body is always doing its best to create perfect health.

☀ I balance my life between work, rest, and play. They all get equal time.

☀ I am grateful for my healthy body. I love life.

☀ I am the only person who has control over my eating habits. I can always resist something if I choose to.

☀ Water is my favorite beverage. I drink lots of water to cleanse my body and mind.

☀ Filling my mind with pleasant thoughts is the quickest road to health.

☀ My happy thoughts help create my healthy body.

☀ I go within and connect with that part of myself that knows how to heal.

☀ I breathe deeply and fully. I take in the breath of life, and I am nourished.

Cost of Overweight and Obesity

For a long while, it's difficult to pinpoint the cost of overweight and obesity and resulting health problems. People are blindsided by the implication of huge future medical cost.

A new study has shown that the savings on medical, fuel, food and other costs would be enough to give every U.S. household more than $4,000 totalling $487 billion dollars.

I'm sure it would give a big boost to the economy and quality of life.

Whole Egg or Egg White Only??

Do you eat the whole egg or egg white only and ditch the egg yolk? - that's a debate.

Americans have consumed whole eggs until early 1970s when studies linked high cholesterol to heart disease. That's the cholesterol in the blood, not in the diet that linked to heart disease. Egg yolk is the major source of dietary cholesterol and immediately causes concern and gets the bad name.

The 212 milligrams of cholesterol in one large egg certainly catch the consumers' attention. They started to cut back on eggs. However, according to Neva Cochran, a nutrition communications consultant that thirty years of research has never linked eggs to heart disease.

Saturated fats and trans fats are the bigger concerns than cholesterol leading to coronary artery disease. Dairy products, meats and oils are potentially loaded with bad fats. So at least you can choose healthier lower fat choices if you don't want to cut them all out.

The American Heart Association's latest nutrition recommendations do not limit the number of eggs intake as long as the total dietary cholesterol is limited to about 300 milligrams per day. So one whole egg a day is good.

You Want to Shape Up Like J.Lo?

According to a report in Closer magazine, the actress/singer Jennifer Lopez (a.k.a. J.Lo) has adopted a punishing exercise regime to get back to her pre-pregancy shape.

Read more here >>

J.Lo gets up 4 a.m. every morning and starts her 3-hour workout, 7 days a week under a team of personal trainers and nutritionists. That's tremendous dedication and commitment.

Granted that J.Lo has her own personal trainers and nutritionists. But she still has to get up every morning at 4 a.m. and does all the 3-hour hard workout. Her trainers can't do the exercise for her. Her nutritionist can't eat the foods for her.

This Latin goddess is just like everyone else. She's not different. J.Lo doesn't have anything special to get in shape and stay in shape. She trains hard and eats well. Can you commit yourself something similar to her regime? You want to shape up like J.Lo? Can you work out like J.Lo?

Don't blame your fat genes!

Today you don't need to be a Hollywood celebrity to have your own personal trainer. Contact Your Dream Body WorkoutXpert to get in shape like J.Lo.

Normal Weight = Healthy Weight ?

Even if your weight is normal (BMI<25.0), you're still susceptible to heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders if your body fat is too high.

According to a recent study lead by Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenz, a cardiologist with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., more than half (61%) of Americans are suffering from the so-called "normal weight obesity". Their body weights are within normal range (BMI<25.o), but their body fats are higher than 20% for men and 30% for women.

High body fat can affect heart and metabolic health including high cholesterol, high levels of leptin that regulates appetite and high rates of metabolic syndrome.

Normal weight is NOT equal to healthy weight.

Body weight or BMI is not a reliable gauge of obesity or health at the individual level. A muscular person may have high BMI, yet has low body fat and very healthy. On the contrary, a normal-weight person may have high body fat and is not healthy.

"Excess body fat in the belly is a menace, whatever your weight." said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.