Knowing How Much To Lift

Knowing How Much to Lift

Q: What size dumbbells should I be using — 5-pound, 10-pound? What's a rule of thumb for how much to start with, when to move up, and so on?
A: For weight loss, research has found that lifting between 60 and 80 percent of your 1-rep max (that is, the heaviest amount of weight you can lift for one repetition of an exercise) is the best way to stimulate muscle growth, which is what helps you lose fat. The problem is that most of us don't think about how much weight we need, or go to the trouble of figuring out our 1-rep max for every exercise we do. In fact, I see many gym-goers lifting the same weights week after week — this is just one way to keep your body from changing.
So how do you figure out how much to lift if you don't know your 1-rep max? Here's what I suggest, especially if you're a beginner:
Choose a weight you can only lift with good form for 12 to 16 reps (which constitutes 1 set). You don't need to go into complete muscle failure, but make sure you're challenging your body.
Begin with 1 set of each exercise, slowly working your way up to 2 to 3 sets (adding a set each week).
When you've added sets and have a solid foundation (after 6 to 8 weeks), add enough weight so that you can ONLY do 8 to 12 reps.
Continue to progress by adding a rep each week until you reach the max reps (no more than 16); then increase your weight again and drop your reps back down to 8 to 12.
The important thing to remember when it comes to strength training is that you must give your muscles more weight than they can handle — that's how muscles grow. The challenge of lifting heavier weights is just as much a mental game as a physical one. If you haven't pushed your body's limits in a while, the act of lifting weights alone may be all you can handle. If you're consistent with a basic program and build a solid foundation of strength, you'll be ready for the next step — increasing the amount of weight to push your muscles to their limits. You'll be amazed at the changes in your body!

About Your Midsection and A Good Recipe

More Reasons to Whittle Your Middle – from Jilian Micheals

I think we can all agree that "muffin tops" — the fat hanging over the waist of a too tight pair of pants — and beer bellies aren't attractive. Still, when it comes to excess belly fat, the situation is more serious than how you look. Excess belly fat has been linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and stress.
When you have stress, your body releases certain "fight-or-flight" stress hormones that are produced in the adrenal glands: cortisol, norepinephrine and epinephrine. When you first get stressed, these hormones kick into gear. Norepinephrine tells your body to stop producing insulin so that you can have plenty of fast-acting blood glucose ready. Epinephrine will relax the muscles in your stomach and intestines and decrease blood flow to these organs. Once the stressor has passed, cortisol tells the body to stop producing these hormones and to go back to digesting regularly. It's normal for your cortisol levels to go up and down throughout the day, but when you are chronically stressed your cortisol level goes up — and stays there.
When your stress and cortisol levels are high, the body actually resists weight loss. Your body thinks times are hard and you might starve, so it hoards the fat you eat or have present on your body. Cortisol tends to take fat from healthier areas, like your butt and hips, and move it to your abdomen which has more cortisol receptors. Hello ab flab! In the process, it turns once–healthy peripheral fat into unhealthy visceral fat (the fat in your abdomen that surrounds your organs) that increases inflammation and insulin resistance in the body. This belly fat then leads to more cortisol because it has higher concentrations of an enzyme that converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol. The more belly fat you have, the more active cortisol will be converted by these enzymes — yet another vicious cycle created by visceral fat.
So what if you have belly fat? Lose weight by following the best nutrition and lifestyle strategies that support you in times of stress, like the ones in my program. When you limit your caffeine to 200 milligrams a day, avoid simple carbs, processed foods, and refined grains, and get plenty of high-quality protein, in addition to de-stressing yourself, you'll automatically help your body keep your stress hormones, especially cortisol, lower. It's a day by day choice you'll have to make, but the results will be worth. Think how good it will be when you are as healthy on the inside as you look on the outside.
JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY
Make Your Belly Fat Flat
Want to reduce your belly fat? Don't just drop and give me 20 crunches. Rather than doing strength training abdominal exercises, concentrate on your diet and doing cardio to reduce your overall body fat instead. Try to decrease your daily sodium intake — try to keep it to 1,500 mg or less — boost your water intake, and cut out all the greasy, fattening foods that helped build that bulge in the first place.

Healthy Steak Tacos
Craving Mexican food? There's no need to go out for a heavy, calorie-loaded Mexican dinner. Forgo the extra fat and calories, and instead create this delicious steak taco meal for your family. It combines savory and sweet flavors and can be prepared in less than 25 minutes!
Chipotle Flank Steak Tacos With Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients
12 soft corn tortillas
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder plus 1 pinch, divided
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
1 pound flank steak beef, trimmed of fat
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Preparation
Preheat grill to high. Stack tortillas and wrap in heavy-duty foil. Combine oil, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small dish. Rub mixture into both sides of steak. Place the tortilla stack on the coolest part of the grill or upper warming rack, if possible, and heat, flipping once, until warmed through and very pliable.
Meanwhile, grill the steak for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium, or until desired doneness. Grill pineapple rings until moderately charred, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Remove the tortillas, steak, and pineapple from the grill. Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing very thinly crosswise into strips.
Meanwhile, dice the pineapple and transfer to a medium bowl. Add bell pepper, onion, cilantro, vinegar, the remaining pinch of chipotle powder, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss to combine. Serve the sliced steak in the warm tortillas with the pineapple salsa.
Makes 6 servings.
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 16 mins
Total Time: 21 mins

Nutrition Facts
Number of Servings: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 283
Total Fat: 8 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 29 mg
Sodium: 378 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 36 g
Dietary Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 19 g

Recipe reprinted with the permission of EatingWell.com.
JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY

Add Some Spice to Your Life
Adding herbs and spices to your meals is an excellent way to add flavor. In this recipe, you don't need the sour cream, cheese, and other fatty toppings that are usually par for the course at Mexican restaurants. The chipotle chili powder adds a smoky taste and a little bit of heat to give your taste buds a kick, while the cilantro adds freshness — and both ingredients are virtually free of calories! Next time you're cooking, experiment with different herbs and spices to make your meals pop without expanding your waistline.

Why Go Organic?

What to Buy
Why You Should Go Organic
It's easier than you think to avoid foods with harmful components that can disrupt your metabolism. Simply buy organic foods!

Organic foods — those grown without pesticides or other chemicals — are healthier for you and for the environment. Here are the top eight reasons to buy organic:
1. Organics can help keep you slim and prevent diabetes. More than 90 percent of the endocrine-disrupting pesticides that linger in the tissues of our bodies come from the foods we consume — especially animal products.
2. Organics help you avoid scary hormones. The FDA currently permits six kinds of steroid hormones to be used in cattle and sheep raising. Most cattle in U.S. feedlots that are not raised organically are fed or injected with steroid hormones.
3. Organics help you avoid pesticides and other chemicals. A study at the University of Washington found that the urine of children who ate mostly conventional (that is, pesticide-laden) diets had nine times the organophosphorus pesticide concentration found in the urine of kids who ate mostly organic diets.
4. Organics prevent antibiotic resistance. Massive use of antibiotics in the meat and dairy industries leads to widespread antibiotic resistance, which leaves us vulnerable to harmful, and potentially fatal, bacteria.
5. Organics taste better. Organic food is and will always be fresher than nonorganic food — without pesticides and chemical preservatives, organic produce has to be eaten faster or it will rot.
6. Organics boost the variety in your diet. When you eat organics, you’ll switch your fruits and veggies seasonally — asparagus in the spring, tomatoes all summer, kale and sweet potatoes in the fall — thus ensuring that you get more phytochemicals.
7. Organics are more nutritious. Without pesticides, organic fruits and vegetables have to fight off bugs with their own “immune systems,” which naturally raises their antioxidant levels.
8. Organics save the earth. Regular produce grown in the United States eats up fossil fuels as it travels an average of 1,500 miles before being sold. Organic farming uses 30 percent less fossil fuel while conserving water, reducing soil erosion, maintaining soil quality, and removing carbon dioxide from the air.
Organics may be more expensive than conventionally grown foods, but the health and safety benefits are too great to put a price on, not to mention the lighter environmental impact. Still, I know your pocketbook can't be endlessly stretched. Below is a list I’ve assembled, using research from the Environmental Working Group, to guide you in spending your organic dollars selectively but wisely.
ALWAYS BUY ORGANIC
Even after washing and other attempts to reduce pesticides, these foods will remain the most toxic. Spend your organic food budget here:
· Meat, dairy, and eggs
· Coffee
· Peaches and nectarines
· Apples
· Bell peppers
· Celery
· Berries
· Lettuce
· Grapes
· Foods you eat often
SOMETIMES BUY ORGANIC
I call this the “Hey, if you’ve got the cash, why not?” section. Better safe than sorry.
· Processed foods (I don't like processed foods in general, but some organic brands, like Amy's, are okay)
· Onions
· Avocados
· Pineapple
· Cabbage
· Broccoli
· Bananas
· Asparagus
· Corn
· Mangoes
DON’T BOTHER BUYING ORGANIC
Don’t be duped into wasting your organic budget on these foods.
· Seafood
· Water
· Foods you don’t eat that often

Good Fats and Bad Fats

This article came from Jilian Micheals

What to Buy
Good Fats vs. Bad Fats
If you want to get rid of fat in your body, put a little fat in your mouth. Seriously. The party line about reducing dietary fat to decrease body fat is finally losing ground. And not a second too soon — high-carb diets got us into a hormonal mess. (Don’t get me started on that again — go back to The Right Carbs for my rant.)
But don’t smother your food in butter just yet! Not every fat is going to improve your body composition. You need to know which fats to choose. And lucky for you, I’ve done my homework. Everything you needed to know about fat is right here.
GOOD FATS
Monounsaturated fats: These fats raise HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind) while lowering your LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind), cutting your overall risk of heart disease.
Best choice: Extra-virgin olive oil
Omega-6 fatty acids: These polyunsaturated fats lower both HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Traditionally, they were assumed to be heart-healthy, but many sources of these fats (such as corn) can create eicosanoids, hormonelike chemicals that can lead to inflammation and blood vessel damage.
Best choice: Walnuts
Omega-3 fatty acids: These polyunsaturated fats lower both HDL cholestorol and LDL cholesterol, yet they’re extremely beneficial in reducing inflammation, the risk of heart disease and heart attacks, and possibly the risk of diabetes and bipolar disorder.
Best choice: Fish-oil supplements
NOT-TERRIBLE-BUT-NOT-GREAT FATS
Saturated fats: These fats raise HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol at the same time. Some researchers think their effects on HDL and LDL actually cancel each other out, so you're better off eating unsaturated fats whenever possible.
Best choice: Coconut oil
Trans fats from animal sources: The jury’s still out on these fats, which may lower body fat, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides but also increase insulin resistance and promote a fatty liver.
Best choice: Organic, pasture-raised beef
REALLY, REALLY BAD FATS
Trans fats from commercial products: These man-made fats raise LDL cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, increase inflammation, and are just plain bad for you.
Best choice: None! Stay away!

Good Carbs and Bad Carbs - good article

What to Buy
Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

I have a secret: Carbs are GOOD for you! We need carbs — we couldn't function without them. They give us the energy to walk, dance, drive — to do anything. And they make food taste better, giving it texture and crunch, variety and color.

If carbs are so great, why do they have such a bad rap? Think about some of the carbs that are super popular in America today: soda, chips, candy, cookies. These calorie- and fat-laden metabolism killers aren’t going to help you lose weight or get toned — and you’re certainly not going to feel good when you've eaten all the chemicals they contain. These are the foods people think of when they hear the word “carbs.”
But they are NOT the carbs nature intended. If you’ve read through my power metabolism foods, you already know the “good” carbs: fruits, veggies, and whole grains. These carbs have unique nutritional profiles that make them awesome for your body. And they all share one amazing metabolism booster — fiber. What makes fiber so fine?
· Fiber soaks up estrogen like a sponge and carries it out with other waste.
· Fiber lowers levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your bloodstream.
· High-fiber carbs don’t cause insulin spikes, so blood sugar levels remain more stable.
· Fiber slows digestion, so you feel full with less food — and you stay satisfied longer.
When you’re looking for foods that are rich in fiber, pay special attention to the ones with soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber, which bulks up the stool and aids digestion, is cool, but it’s soluble fiber that is really critical for hormone balance. If you want to tell the difference between the two types, picture the food submerged in water. Insoluble fiber, like apple skins and celery stalks, will retain its shape; soluble fiber, found in oatmeal and inside beans, will get gooey and sludgy. Or you can just check out my list of the best sources for soluble fiber:

Almonds
Apples
Apricots
Artichokes
Avocados
Bananas
Barley
Beans (kidney, black, navy, garbanzo, pinto)
Blackberries
Black raspberries
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Bulgur
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Crushed psyllium seeds
Figs
Grapefruit
Ground flaxseed
Kiwi
Lentils
Mangoes
Nectarines
Oat bran
Oatmeal
Onions
Oranges
Pears
Peas
Plums
Potatoes
Prunes
Raspberries
Rice bran
Rye
Strawberries
Sunflower seeds
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes
Wheat germ

Quit making excuses

Count your calories up and write them down. Its time to be accountable to yourself.

One Final Motivational Word

Most of you can tell me how much money is in your paycheck every month. You can tell me the amount of your mortgage and car payments. You balance your checkbooks. You know the birthdays of your family members. You know the dates of christmas and easter. The one thing many people seem to have a hard time with is understanding the number of calories they eat daily. If you don't attempt to use some way to measure the amount of food you eat, and convert it to calories using a calorie counter, then you do not know the amount of calories you eat - case closed, quit arguing.

I recieved a phone call yesterday from a patient who started last week. The patient said that the program wasn't working for them. They admitted the pills were helping supress their appetite. When asked about a diet journal and calories - totally clueless. When asked to recall their food intake yesterday it consisted of cheese pizza and hot wings! Give me a break. Were you sleeping during the presentation?

If you have no idea how to count calories and keep a log, please let me know if you would like to attend a free class on how to do it.

Calories Per Gram

1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 grams
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
1 gram of alcohol = 7 calories

Lesson - fat is much more calorie dense than protein or carbs. It only takes a small amount of fat to rack up a large amount of calories.

I am trying to see how many patients look at my blog. If you read this please send me an email at operationzbh@gmail.com to confirm you did.

Snacking

Here is 150 calories of various kinds of food.

Notice the trend? Fruits and veggies offer a whole lot more for the calories. In addition, they prevent disease, unlike processed foods which cause disease. God put Adam and Eve in the Garden for a reason.

Target Heart Rate

Q: When I'm doing cardio, my target heart rate is supposed to be at 85 percent. How do I know what that is, and how do I measure it during my workout?

A: To determine your target heart rate, you should first figure out your maximum heart rate (MHR). This is done by subtracting your age from 220. For example, I'm 32, so check it out: 220 – 32 = 188 (so now I know my MHR is 188). Then I take 85 percent of 188, which gives me 160, so that's my target heart rate — the ideal number of times my heart should beat in one minute when I'm training.
The easiest way to keep track of your heart rate is by wearing a heart rate monitor. If you don't want to spring for one, no problem — just find your pulse, either on your wrist or on your neck (usually right next to your larynx), count the number of times your heart beats in 6 seconds, and then multiply that number by 10.
That said, it's pretty tough to keep your heart rate at 85 percent, so don't be discouraged if you can't at first. Work your way up to it. There will also be times when your heart rate will reach 100 percent of your MHR — if this happens, don't worry. It's not unhealthy, it's just VERY difficult to sustain over 45 to 60 minutes of cardio — which is why 85 percent is the magic number for cardio training.
One footnote before you start doing all the math: If you're on medication for a heart condition, talk to your doctor. Your healthy heart rate range might be a little different than you'd expect.

The Fastest Growing Disease in History

What is the fastest growing disease in human history? The answer is type 2 diabetes. The primary cause is obesity. Don't dig your grave with a fork today - stop the madness now. Make constructive, lifelong changes in your diet and exercise habits. It will add years to your life.

Good Article about Detoxing your home - from Jilian Micheals

Detoxing Your Home

Not only will making cleaner choices help you take charge of your metabolism, lose weight, and feel amazing, but you'll also be helping the environment. Get started by removing these toxins from your living space.
In today's world, our bodies are under assault every day. All the toxic chemicals in our environment wreak havoc on our biochemistry and cellular health. And the more of these poisons we have in our lives — combined with bad habits like overworking, overeating, and missing sleep — the greater our "bioburden," or the total impact of these endocrine disruptors.
After cleaning up your diet, your next mission is to clean up everything else — and the best place to start is your home. I know that may sound a little overwhelming, but I've made it easy for you. Below are three major product categories you should focus on. With each change you make, you'll have that much more impact on your own metabolism, vitality, longevity, health, and happiness. And hey — even if you make use of only half these suggestions, you'll be in better shape. Let's get to work.
Household Products Beauty and Personal Care Products Plastics
Household Products
Your kitchen and bathroom cabinets are probably stuffed with everyday products that seem harmless but actually contain hormone-disrupting ingredients. It's time to protect yourself! Here's what you need to steer clear of — and a few safer alternatives.
Avoid these products:
· Chlorinated white paper towels — The EPA found that dioxins, by-products certain chemical processes involving chlorine, are 300 times more carcinogenic than the banned pesticide DDT; they're also very estrogenic.
· Bleached coffee filters — These can leach chlorine into your coffee and release dioxins with every drip.
· Antibacterial dish-washing soap — The antibacterial agent triclosan mixes with chlorinated tap water and creates the carcinogenic gas chloroform as well as chlorinated dioxin, a highly toxic form of dioxin. (And this is added to the fact that antibacterial products promote resistance to antibiotics.)
· Teflon pans — A chemical in Teflon may damage the liver and thyroid and impair the immune system.
· Chemical home cleaners — Most incidents of poison exposure occur at home and involve items like cleaning supplies. The worst offenders are drain, oven, and toilet bowl cleaners, and products containing chlorine and ammonia. (Get this: The combination of chlorine and ammonia produces chloramine, which was used as a chemical weapon in World War I.)
· Artificial room deodorizers — These products are little factories of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs (gases or vapors that have adverse health effects). In other words, they’re just pumping toxins into the air.
· Stain-resistant upholstery — One compound used to make stain-resistant fabrics is believed to cause birth defects and cancer.
Stock up on these instead:
· Chlorine-free paper products — Look for items (including toilet paper) whose labels sa they are processed chlorine-free, or PCF.
· Unbleached or oxygen-bleached coffee filters — These use chlorine dioxide, a type of bleach that doesn't produce dioxin residues.
· Natural soaps — Choose dish-washing soaps without chlorine or phosphates.
· Iron, porcelain-coated, stainless steel, or glass pans — These kinds of cookware will help you avoid immune-system damage.
· Natural cleaning products — Instead of chemical cleaners, stick with products made from 100 percent natural ingredients to clean your house; they're just as effective and they're cheap too! White vinegar mixed with water can make floors, windows, and mirrors shine. Baking soda can be used to deodorize your fridge, freezer, and carpets; clean cutlery; and scrub toilets and tubs. Lemon juice is a great substitute for bleach.
· Safe store-bought cleansers — Check the labels, and look for the following words: ammonia-free, biodegradable, free of dyes and perfumes, noncarcinogenic, non-petroleum-based, and nontoxic.
· Plants — One potted plant placed every 100 square feet in your home can remove many harmful contaminants from the air. The best varieties are bamboo palm, English ivy, gerbera daisy, and green spider.
· HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter — A study found that using a HEPA filter for two days improved the cardiovascular function of healthy nonsmokers. Get one with a VOC (volatile organic compound) filter.
Beauty and Personal Care Products
Cosmetics and personal care products are a huge source of chemical poisoning and hormone disruption. When choosing alternatives to these products, buy from companies that have signed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics compact, established by a consortium of environmental and consumer health groups. Go to http://www.safecosmetics.org/ to see which companies have signed on. And avoid the following ingredients, which are all suspected of sending hormones into a tailspin:
· Mercury (often labeled as thimerosal) — A known human reproductive and developmental toxin and a suspected endocrine disruptor, mercury is found in some lip liners, lip glosses, facial moisturizers, mascaras, eyedrops, and deodorants.
· Lead — I’m sure you’ve heard of the developmental and learning problems that lead causes in children; it’s also been linked to other central nervous system damage, miscarriage, reduced fertility, hormonal changes, and menstrual irregularities. Though you'll never see “lead” on a label, it has been found in 61 percent of brand-name lipsticks.
· Toluene — A chemical found in nail polish and other cuticle and nail treatments, toluene is a possible reproductive and developmental toxin.
· Formaldehyde — You'll find this chemical in many products, including foundations, eye shadows, facial cleansers, styling gels, hair sprays, moisturizers, sunscreens, acne treatments, and baby wipes. It’s a known human carcinogen.
· Parabens — Preservative chemicals found in shampoos, conditioners, body washes, tooth whiteners, toothpastes, toners/astringents, and other personal care products, parabens have estrogenic effects and are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
· Placenta — Yep, you read that right. This estrogen-producing ingredient can be found in some hair relaxers, moisturizers, and toners. Exposure may raise the risk of breast cancer and other problems.
· Phthalates — Found in some nail polishes, fragrances, bath oils, moisturizers, and hair sprays, these chemicals may be toxic to the reproductive system, causing infertility and birth defects. Because they’re not listed on product labels (they’re sometimes hidden as “fragrance”), they can be hard to track down.
· Triclosan — An antibacterial agent added to moisturizers, hand creams, shampoos, conditioners, facial cleansers, exfoliants, body washes, antiperspirants, and toothpastes, triclosan is believed to interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism, to cause antiobiotic resistance, and to create carcinogenic compounds when combined with chlorinated water.
So what should you use? Well, your best bet is to choose natural cosmetics and personal care products. This can be tricky, though, because while some products claim to be "organic," no firm governmental guidelines currently exist for the beauty industry. For now, check out Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group's cosmetics database, to learn how toxic some of your favorite products may be and to find healthier alternatives.
Plastics
Manufacturers use plastics more than any other material, and some of them are more likely to leach endocrine disruptors and other dangerous chemicals. Distinguishing among plastics can become confusing, but fortunately, the numbers printed on the bottoms of most containers will clue you in as to how toxic they are. Here's a full list of the plastics you should avoid at all costs (and some suggestions for good substitutes), and the ones that have a better track record.
Don't use these plastics:
#3: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) — Found in clear wrap used to package cheese, deli meats, and other foods; cooking-oil bottles; plumbing pipes; and toys. Use safer food-storage alternatives, like Glad wrap, Saran Premium wrap, and Saran Cling Plus wrap (which contain neither PVC nor bisphenol A), or store leftovers in glass. Buy cooking oil in glass bottles. And never microwave food in plastic — use parchment paper or wax paper instead.
#6: Polystyrene (PS; Styrofoam is one form) — The extruded type is found in disposable coffee cups, take-out containers, foam egg cartons, meat trays, packing peanuts, and foam insulation. The nonextruded type is found in CD cases, disposable cutlery, and transparent take-out containers. To protect yourself, buy eggs packaged in cardboard containers, transfer foods packed in polystyrene to glass or ceramic containers ASAP, and go to restaurants that use paper-based take-out containers.
#7: Polycarbonate (PC) — Found in baby bottles, microwave ovenware, stain-resistant food-storage containers, eating utensils, the plastic liners of most food and soft-drink cans, hard-plastic drinking bottles, and 5-gallon water jugs. Protect yourself by rinsing your canned food thoroughly before eating it, using glass baby bottles, and switching to stainless steel or ceramic-lined drinking bottles. If you ever smell a plasticky odor in any water or liquid, don't drink it!
These plastics are okay:
#1: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) — Found in bottles used for cough syrup, ketchup, salad dressing, soft drinks, sports drinks, and water. Also found in plastic pickle, jelly, mustard, mayonnaise, and peanut butter jars.
#2: High-density polyethylene (HDPE) — Found in milk jugs, yogurt containers, margarine tubs, recyclable grocery bags, trash bags, shampoo bottles, sanitary products, laundry detergent bottles, and some Tupperware products.
#4: Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) — Found in bowls, lids, bottle caps, six-pack rings, trays, liners, sandwich bags, and squeezable bottles.
#5: Polypropylene (PP) — Found in plastic utensils, cups, some condiment bottles, safe baby bottles, diapers, and thermal underwear.
The only good kind of plastic is #7 polylactide (PLA) — it’s made from plant-based starches and is fully compostable. Just remember to avoid any other #7 (PC) plastic. Ultimately, though, the fewer plastics in your life, the better!

The Finish Line

What happens when you get to your goal weight? If you give this some thought, you realize that eating right and exercising has to remain part of your strategy forever - if you want to stay your goal weight. Hence, one of my favorite sayings: THERE IS NO FINISH LINE! You need to focus today on making permanent lifestyle changes that you can practice until you die.

A Good Article About Interval Training

Interval Training: The Great Workout Shake-Up

By Melissa Joulwan My favorite breakfast is 100% Bran cereal with dried cranberries and milk, along with a side order of honey ham. I love it! Would I want to eat it everyday? No way! I’d get bored. Really bored.
The same thing happens to our bodies when we give them the same exercise diet day after day. Our muscles, including our hearts, get “bored” and stop improving in strength and endurance. I’m going to introduce you to interval training, a workout technique that will keep your mind and body engaged to make you stronger, faster, and endlessly energetic. Endurance is one of the key components to a fit life because it keeps you going on the playing field, as well as in the board room, the carpool, the grocery store, and wherever else you find yourself.
Heart Rate
I believe that success is not measured by numbers on a scale, numbers on a timing clock, or even placement numbers on a list of race finishers. Having said that, I encourage you to get to know a very important number that will help you gauge your fitness — your resting heart rate.
Resting heart rate (RHR) is the number of times per minute your heart beats when you’re completely at rest. The average woman has an RHR of around 60-85 beats per minute; the champion cyclist Indurain has an RHR of 30. That’s right! His heart beats once every other second. All of his cycling has given him a very strong heart. Along with this lower RHR, he also has an increased stroke volume; you will, too. Lower stroke volume means that with every beat of your heart, a higher quantity of blood is pumped more easily through your body.
Taking RHR
On a weekend morning, or some other time when you can wake up without the alarm, before you move one iota, take your pulse for one full minute — that’s your resting heart rate. Twelve weeks after that first test (and after 12 weeks of following the new training program explained below) take your resting heart rate again. It should be lower … and that means you’ve improved.
The goal with all of this RHR business is to improve your sports performance and endurance. The idea is this: if on “Day 1″ you can run a mile in, say, 10 minutes at a particular level of exertion, by the end of the 12 weeks, you should be able to run that same mile either FASTER at the same exertion level, or in the same amount of time at a LOWER exertion level.
Maximum Heart Rate (Max HR)
To determine the range of heart rates at which you should workout, you need to also know your maximum heart rate. The old method of subtracting our age from 226 to find our max HR has proven to be pretty unreliable. Max HR tends to vary according to sport, so you’ll need to find your Max HR via a little test. If you can afford it, a heart rate monitor is one of the best investments you can make in your fitness and health. If you don’t have a monitor, take a 15-second pulse on the inside of your wrist or the side of your neck, then multiply by 4 to get your 1-minute HR. Though less accurate than a monitor, this is an OK substitute.
DO THE MAX HR TEST WITH A FRIEND! You’re going to be pushing yourself to exertion; it’s good to have someone around to make sure you’re OK. After a solid warm-up, do the activity of your choice continuously for 2-4 minutes, checking your heart rate several times. Gradually increase your exertion level until you are going full-out and your heart rate is no longer increasing.
Record the highest HR you see on your monitor. Rest for 10 minutes and do it again. Average your two Max HR measurements to find the HR on which you’ll base your target HR. Your target heart rate for an activity depends on whether you want to exercise in your aerobic or anaerobic zone.
Aerobic vs. Anaerobic
One of the best ways to wake up your workout is to alternate between your aerobic and anaerobic zones. Aerobic exercise is defined as being “in the presence of oxygen.” What that means in practical terms is that you’re working, probably sweating, breathing deeply and heavily, and starting to feel that buoyant, “I’m so awesome”-feeling of endorphins. The key is that you are not breathless. In contrast, anaerobic exercise is so strenuous that your muscles are working beyond their oxygen capacity; you will feel slightly breathless in your anaerobic zone. Traveling back and forth between these two zones is an excellent way to improve your fitness level and to jump start yourself when your progress hits a plateau.
Generally speaking, your aerobic heart rate zone is 50%-80% of your maximum heart rate. Above 80% of your maximum, you will be anaerobic. For example, if your maximum heart rate for running is 190 beats per minutes, your aerobic zone would be 95 (50% Max HR) to 152 (80% Max HR) beats per minute. Your anaerobic zone would be 153 to 180 beats per minute.
How to Shake-Up Your Workout
Now you know the terminology, but you may be wondering about the practical applications of all of these numbers. There are a number of ways to incorporate new training principles into your workouts:
Intervals Interval training allows you to bounce back and forth between your two training zones to challenge your heart and burn more fat — research shows that intervals burn 40% more fat than training at a steady heart rate. To add intervals to your workout, alternate between 2-3 minutes of aerobic work and 1-2 minutes of anaerobic work. If you’re a walker, you might alternate walking at your regular pace for 2 minutes with a light jog for 1 minute. Runners or cyclists might try fartleks: chose a landmark in the distance (a telephone pole, a fire hydrant, a streetlight) and sprint to the landmark. Drop back to a slower pace until your heart beat slows a bit, then pick a new landmark and sprint again. Though many sports are just now catching on to the idea of interval training,good swimming workouts have always been based on intervals; by challenging our hearts we not only improve endurance, we also pick up speed.
Use the terrain and weather Hills and headwinds, the two dreaded “H” words for runners and cyclists, can actually be a blessing in disguise — they automatically incorporate intervals into your workout. By training in these unfavorable conditions from time to time, you can increase your leg and heart strength for greater endurance and fat-burning power. Next time the wind is whistling through the trees, bundle up and face the wind head-on, or head FOR the hills instead of away from them. You may be surprised by how much fun — and how effective — it can be.
Don’t just exercise, TRAIN Motivation can be a problem for all of us; the best motivation I’ve found is to set a training goal and devote myself to reaching it. Pick a race or community fun run, select a challenging hill and vow you’ll ride your bike to the top one day, promise yourself you’ll shave 5-10 seconds off your 100-yard swim time, try to walk forty minutes instead of thirty … choose a goal and work toward it. You’ll not only have that extra motivation you need to stick to your workout routine, when you reach your goal you’ll look in the mirror and see the strong athlete you’ve had inside you all along.
Melissa Joulwan, melissa@gogirlmag.com, is the creator and Editor of Go, girl!, a bi-weekly magazine dedicated to getting women of all ages and fitness levels involved in sports. Visit Go, girl! at http://www.gogirlmag.com/

Congratulations

I never thought the saints could do it. They suprised me. I never have really cared much for New Orleans. The town's main claim to fame is their food and drink - at least that's what it seems like. When you are in the diet business, you try to avoid places like that. When you are trying to make good lifetime choices you want to avoid certain situations where you are tempted to make bad food and drink choices. So, if you decide to visit the "big easy" go for another reason -don't go for the food and drink.

Tired of the Snow

Snowed at my house again today. This is the view at 4:30pm. I made salad - not cookies. Just because it snowed doesn't mean I have to get fat eating junk.

More from Dr. Kessler

From page 218

A useful tool to help you step back from the habit of reaching for food when you're under stress is to label the feelings you're experiencing. You can begin simply by saying, "I feel sad", "I feel tired," or "I feel fearful." Recognizing your emotions and describing them helps you to look more objectively at your options for coping. Indeed, many of us do feel better for a brief while after we" eat foods high in sugar and fat. But the distortion in our thinking is that the new mood will last or that there is nothing else we can do to achieve the same effect. Ask yourself, "Will eating help me truly deal with this feeling?" Most of the time it won't.

Another Quote

Again from Dr. Kessler's book page 14:

The combination of sugar and fat is what people prefer, and it's what they'll eat most. The art of pleasing the palate is in large part a matter of combining them in optimal amounts. That can do more than make food palatable. It can make food "hyperpalatable".

Hyperpalatability is what makes you eat and eat and eat... even when you are not hungry.

Quotation

This quote is from Dr. David Kessler and comes from his smash hit book "The end of overeating." It is from page 12.

Palatability is largely based on how food engages the full range of our senses. Usually, the most palatable foods contain some combination of sugar, fat, and salt. The sensory properties of platable foods - the cold, creamy pleasure of a milkshake, the aroma of chocolate cake, the texture of crispy chicken wings sweetened with a honey-mustard dipping sauce - all stimulate the appetite. And it's that stimlation, rather than genuine hunger, that makes us put food into our mouths long after our caloric needs are satisfied.

I think this explains a lot of overeating. Dr. Kessler is the retired head of the FDA under 2 different presidents.

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