Give me 25 minutes & I will give you an opportunity (Must See).

Suze Orman recently said " We have a long way until this recession is over". That means more jobs will be lost, more homes will foreclosed and unemployment will continue to rise.

Unemployment statistics are currently higher in 143 areas, and unchanged in 17 areas. Nonfarm payroll employment was down over the year in 193 metropolitan areas, up in 168 areas, and unchanged in 11 areas. What does that mean?? It means no job is secure, and whats worst is that you may be one of these numbers sooner or later. Companies are going into survival mode by down sizing and getting someone else to do your job (Multi-positioner), and they wont even get a increase in salary.

Give me 25 minutes and I will give you an opportunity. Yes!! an opportunity, just watch this video and see what we are all about.




Once you have seen this video, you will know 5 key things. 1) That you can avoid being a unemployment statistic. 2) Answer your own question about wanting to run your own biz (no more boss and no more fear of losing your job. 3) That if you can spare and hour or less this biz is for you, and 5) You will have a back up plan. This is were you contact at wwww.supersamfitness.com me to get started in bringing in a second income. Whatever your reason for needing or wanting to make more money, this is were it's at.

NO START UP COST FOR A LIMITED TIME...So what are you waiting for!

SOMETHING FOR YOU...

I'm a team player. I play with my friends and with some of my enemies, but I respect everyone when it comes to my sport. I know I'm not going to get a multi-million dollar contract to play professionally. I know I may not even get my name in the paper. I play for love of the game. For the pride and honor, for the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make the team, to earn the spot, to win the game. I play because I can, I play because I know that my life would be empty without the sport I play. I would have a lack of everything my sport gives me... integrity, courage, talent, fearlessness, pride, strength, stamina, will, and the heart of a champion. If I didn't play, I would lose a part of me. I'm an athlete. I'm a man. I'm a champion, not because my team always wins, but because when we don't, we learn from our mistakes. We try to fix them, and most of all because we have fun. I have built lifelong friendships and memories because of my being an athlete. I leave everything on the field or court and continue to push myself. I am never happy with second place, but I have learned to accept it. I have learned to get over and through my anger and be the athlete and player I have always dreamed of being. I don't play for my parents, for my family, for my friends; I don't play for my coach or my teachers or my school. I play for myself but when I'm playing I represent them. It isn't about winning or losing, but I hate to lose. I won't settle for a tie, and I am not satisfied with 100%. To play, you have to sacrifice everything, your body, your time, your sweat, blood, and tears, everything... for your team. I am a player, and athlete and a champion, not because I know what it is like to win, but because I know what it is like to lose. I know what it is like to feel the anger and pain that comes along with "second best." I have been that man with tears in his eyes, walking out to recieve the second place trophy and clapping as the other team, my opponents, receive the first place one. I know what it is like to lose, to win, to want to quit, to want to cry, to not want to get up. I know what it is like to hear the cheers and yells for you. I know what it is like to feel the pressure of everyone on your shoulders, and I know what it is like to choke under that pressure. I know what it means to be an athlete, a true player, and that is why I play. I AM AN ATHLETE, A CHAMPION, A TRUE PLAYER.

WORKINGOUT 101

Our bodies were designed to move, since the beginning of time. We have the perfect bodily systems for swimming, running, walking, and lifting heavy weights. Thousands of years ago it was more of a requirement that we move on a regular basis, but since then it has become more of a thing that only some people do.

Working out and benefiting from the workout means knowing your insides and outsides thoroughly. If you do not have a clear understanding of the science that goes into your workout regimen, then you will ultimately harm yourself.

Prior to working out, you should be fueled with plenty of carbohydrates and proteins. Your muscles use these two compounds to keep your body running efficiently. During your workout you will need a considerable amount of water as well. Some doctors recommend at least 20 ounces per hour, depending on your activity level.

When you lift weights, your muscles contract. Muscles that are not accustomed to lifting heavy amounts will be sore the next day, resulting in something very painful for you. Avoid this by stretching and warming up your limbs, so that you can safely perform weight lifting exercises.

Cardiovascular activity is easily one of the most important types of activity around, because it involves your heart and lungs. Cardio activity should increase your heart rate dramatically, which is where strengthening of the heart and body kick in. You will literally wipe out extra calories and start burning harmful fat, especially if you go for longer than 30 minutes. Imagine your heart getting continuously stronger as you run, or walk, or even dance!

Simple working out tips can keep your body safe and healthy, for many years to come. Following them isn’t difficult, and it can make the difference between healthy and unhealthy!

REGARDLESS, YOU CAN DO IT...

Regardless of what your fitness goals are, you'll be better able to attain them together by following these simple and effective tips:

Tip #1: Set an Example
If you're trying to motivate your partner to get fit, the single most important thing you can do to get started is set a healthy example. Don't bother nagging or complaining about his or her bad habits. That may only cause resistance and/or resentment. Instead, inspire by example. Create your own healthy new habits like going to the gym every day, cutting out junk food, refraining from eating after 8 p.m., etc. In addition, start talking to your partner about the healthy habits you're incorporating into your daily life. Share why they're important to you, and how they make you feel strong and confident (and maybe even super sexy!). If you're consistent with your healthy new routine, your partner will see that and most likely be inspired.

Tip #2: Set Goals
The next step in becoming more fit together in 2009 is to set individual goals. Do you want to lose weight? Lose inches? Exercise daily? Cut out junk food, booze, and/or sugar? It's perfectly okay if your goals are different. What's most important is that you identify and share your individual health and fitness goals with your partner so that he or she can help motivate and inspire you to achieve them (and vice versa). As the year goes on, revisit each other's goals often to track your progress and/or tweak them as needed for maximum results.

Tip #3: Plan Healthy Meals/Activities Together
Getting fit together in 2009 is about more than just going to the gym. It's about incorporating healthy eating habits and activities throughout your daily lives. For example, start by making a weekly meal plan together. Encourage each other to stick to it by preparing those healthy meals and snacks together. You can even change your grocery shopping habits from grabbing quick (and often unhealthy) on-the-go snacks during the week to picking up fresh produce at a local farmers market or organic grocer on the weekend as part of your overall healthier lifestyle. And instead of spending your weekends on the couch, plan fun outdoor activities like hiking, biking, skiing, or even just window shopping in your favorite neighborhood. If for some reason you can't make it to the gym during the week, take nightly walks together. You can catch up on the activities of the day while doing something good for each other. Remember, the more healthy habits you can incorporate together, the more successful you'll be!

Tip #4: Motivate/Support One Another
Once upon a time, you and your partner might have enabled each other's bad habits. Whether it was encouraging late-night bingeing on junk food, distracting one another from going to the gym, or any other way of supporting unhealthy habits, those days are over. In 2009, it's important to motivate and support each other's health and fitness goals. Some days that may require a gentle nudge to make a healthier eating choice, while other times you may need to employ tough love tactics to keep your partner motivated and inspired. Only the two of you know what will work for one another.

Tip #5: Communicate
Just as communication is key to the success of your relationship, it's equally important to the success of your health and fitness goals this year. By sharing both your triumphs and frustrations, you can work together to find healthy solutions. If something's not working for you or your partner -- whether it's an exercise regimen, part of your new eating plan, or another healthy habit -- by talking about it you may just discover a resolution. That's the beauty of getting fit together. You now have a 24/7 support system to not only help motivate and inspire you but to keep both of you on track when the going gets tough. Keep in mind that when it comes to getting and staying healthy, there are going to be obstacles. It's important to help each other surmount those hurdles so you can ultimately celebrate your victories together.

There you have it -- five terrific tips to improve your and your partner's health and fitness in 2009. By incorporating healthy new habits together this year, you greatly improve your chances of making these lifestyle changes lifelong. Here's to your healthy new life together. May you live long, love life, and thrive!

STOP SABOTAGING YOUR BREAKFAST...

You should know by now that breakfast is the most important meal you have by far. A good breakfast will stoke your metabolism, help you lose weight, give you tons of energy, and support your lean muscle and mood.
However, are you sabotaging your breakfast and loading up on sugars, processed sugars, and tons of extra calories?

I'm talking about things you can eat or drink. Let's take a look at some examples of products that can do these things to you.

Coffee creamer: This is one of the most favorite things for women. Coffee-Mate adds lots of flavor to coffee, but it also adds tons of sugar and extra calories which you don't want to consume. Use the sugar free version.

Jams: This is tough because toast and jam are great. It tastes great and jams have many benefits like antioxidants and vitamins. However, they too are packed with sugar and even high fructose corn syrup.

Processed Carbs: You have probably read about processed carbs before on this blog, and this is definitely a popular choice for breakfast. Whether it's bagels or toast, processed carbs will spike your blood sugar and add fat to your body.
There are some more, but these are the bigger ones.

Just pay attention to the small things you add to all your foods when you eat. It's like eating a salad... they can be really healthy for you, but depending on what you eat, you can make them terrible for you.

Weight loss and Diet advice

The answer to losing weight in the form of excess body fat, is also really really simple, you intake less calories in food and fluid then you expend through your daily calorie usage.

The biggest problem is that for most people they have put weight on over a number of years, simple for two main reasons, firstly that good tasting foods are all around and easy to eat and secondly lifestyle changes mean that most peoples lives have become less active.

Simple mathematics would equate to the fact, that if you have taken a number of months or years to slowly increase your body weight and increase your body fat percentage, you need to appreciate that this weight is not going to be safely removed for a friends wedding or summer holiday a few weeks away.

The truth is that in order to lose just 1lb of body fat, a deficit of 3,500 calories needs to be achieved.

If you're generally eating 2,500 calories a day, then aim to simply cut back by just 10 - 15%, anymore and your body will think about going into its starvation mode (avoid at all costs).

The other side of the equation, is to look at increasing your calorie expenditure, if your body is using 2,500 calories a day, than chances are you haven't gained much weight lately, however if your only using 2,000 calories a day, then over just 1 week you could be close to increasing your bodyweight by 1lb.

Just a small amount of daily exercise, enough to increase your bodies calorific expenditure by 250 calories a day, combined with just a 10% reduction in your calorie intake from food, will already help you on the way to losing 1lb of body fat per week, with minimal change in your eating habits - slowly change both your eating habits and foods you eat and you will get quicker positive results.

If your aim is to lose 10lb in weight this week, then the information within this weight loss (fat) section is not for you, as this form of weight loss is detrimental to both your health and long term weight loss goals.

Wii..The People!

A lot has been made of the Wii fit and it's potential ability to actually get kids and family members to exercise and move around. With claims like that coming from a video game system, Scott Owens of the University of Mississippi conducted an 8 week study.

In those 8 weeks, he followed 8 families that were loaned a Wii fit. Before the 8 weeks, they were measured in regards to their aerobic activity, lean muscle mass, and a few other measurements.

After the 8 weeks, they noticed that kids actually did see a rise in their aerobic levels, but adults didn't see anything. Both kids and adults didn't see any rise in lean muscle, flexibility, balance or body composition.


Bottom Line:

If you want to get fit and really change your body then a video game system will not work. I said it time and time again, you need resistance training and intense cardio training.

There are no short cuts to anything that is worth going for in life and fitness is one of those.

TIP'S Please

Our bodies were designed to move, since the beginning of time. We have the perfect bodily systems for swimming, running, walking, and lifting heavy weights. Thousands of years ago it was more of a requirement that we move on a regular basis, but since then it has become more of a thing that only some people do.

Working out and benefiting from the workout means knowing your insides and outsides thoroughly. If you do not have a clear understanding of the science that goes into your workout regimen, then you will ultimately harm yourself.

Prior to working out, you should be fueled with plenty of carbohydrates and proteins. Your muscles use these two compounds to keep your body running efficiently. During your workout you will need a considerable amount of water as well. Some doctors recommend at least 20 ounces per hour, depending on your activity level.

When you lift weights, your muscles contract. Muscles that are not accustomed to lifting heavy amounts will be sore the next day, resulting in something very painful for you. Avoid this by stretching and warming up your limbs, so that you can safely perform weight lifting exercises.

Cardiovascular activity is easily one of the most important types of activity around, because it involves your heart and lungs. Cardio activity should increase your heart rate dramatically, which is where strengthening of the heart and body kick in. You will literally wipe out extra calories and start burning harmful fat, especially if you go for longer than 30 minutes. Imagine your heart getting continuously stronger as you run, or walk, or even dance!

Simple working out tips can keep your body safe and healthy, for many years to come. Following them isn’t difficult, and it can make the difference between healthy and unhealthy!

SHIN SPLINT...HEAL PREVENT.

Many athletes get shin splints -- also called tibial stress syndrome -- at one time or another. Whether you jog daily or just had to sprint to catch a bus one day, you may have shin splints when you feel throbbing and aching in your shins. While they often heal on their own, severe shin splints can ruin your game.

Shin splints aren't really a single medical condition. Instead, they're just a symptom of an underlying problem. They might be caused by:

Irritated and swollen muscles, often caused by overuse.
Stress fractures, which are tiny, hairline breaks in the lower leg bones.
Overpronation or ''flat feet" -- when the impact of a step causes the arch of your foot to collapse, stretching the muscles and tendons.
Shin splints are very common. They're the cause of 13% of all running injuries. Runners might get them after ramping up their workout intensity, or changing the surface they run on -- like shifting from a dirt path to asphalt. Shin splints are also common in dancers.

What Do Shin Splints Feel Like?
Shin splints cause dull, aching pain in the front of the lower leg. Some people feel it only during exercise; others, when they've stopped exercising. Sometimes, the pain is constant.

Depending on the exact cause, the pain may be located along either side of the shinbone or in the muscles. The area may be painful to the touch. Swollen muscles can sometimes irritate the nerves in the feet, causing them to feel weak or numb.

To diagnose shin splints, your doctor will give you a thorough physical exam. He or she may want to see you run to look for problems. You may also need X-rays or bone scans to look for fractures. Other tests are sometimes necessary.

What's the Treatment for Shin Splints?
Although shin splints may be caused by different problems, treatment is usually the same: Rest your body so the underlying issue heals. Here are some other things to try:


Icing the shin to reduce pain and swelling. Do it for 20-30 minutes every three to four hours for two to three days, or until the pain is gone.
Anti-inflammatory painkillers. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin, will help with pain and swelling. However, these drugs can have side effects, like an increased risk of bleeding and ulcers. They should be used only occasionally unless your doctor specifically says otherwise.
Arch supports for your shoes. These orthotics -- which can be custom-made or bought off the shelf -- may help with flat feet.
Range of motion exercises, if your doctor recommends them.
Neoprene sleeve to support and warm the leg.
Physical therapy to strengthen the muscles in your shins.

In rare cases, surgery is needed for severe stress fractures and other problems that can cause shin splints.

When Will My Shin Splints Feel Better?
There's no way to say exactly when your shin splints will go away. It depends on what's causing them. People also heal at different rates -- three to six months is not unusual.

The most important thing is not to rush back into your sport. If you start exercising before your shin splints have healed, you hurt yourself permanently.

While you heal, you could take up a new non-impact activity that won't aggravate your shin splints. For instance, runners might try swimming.

Your shin splints are fully healed when:


Your injured leg is as flexible as your other leg.
Your injured leg feels as strong as your other leg.
Your can jog, sprint, and jump without pain.
Your X-rays are normal or show any stress fractures have healed.

How Can I Prevent Shin Splints?
To prevent shin splints, you should:

Always wear shoes with good support and padding.
Warm up before working out, making sure to stretch the muscles in your legs.
Stop working out as soon as you feel pain in your shins.
Don't run or play on hard surfaces like concrete.

BUSTED!! HIGH FRUTOSE SYRUP...

You have no doubt by now heard of high fructose corn syrup. It's a synthetic sugar that is much sweeter than normal sugar and cheaper to make saving the food and beverage business billions of dollars each year.
However as we have come to know, the food and beverage business will use all sorts of ingredients with out thinking about our health. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to obesity and is main component in many cases for insulin resistance.

When the cells of your body resist insulin (which helps transport glucose to your cells for energy) then it will get out of control and store fat on your body like nobodies business.

Now according to the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network, high fructose core syrup also scars your liver, which can lead to liver failure.

"We have identified an environmental risk factor that may contribute to the metabolic syndrome of insulin resistance and the complications of the metabolic syndrome, including liver injury," - Abdelmalek (a researcher) said.

Besides liver failure, this can lead to liver cancers and the need for a liver transplant. As you also no doubt know, the liver is a vital organ for us.

Click here to read more specific details about the case.

Bottom line is cut out the high fructose corn syrup, and do that not just because of the high fructose corn syrup, but because any food or drink that has that ingredient, also will be loaded with other sugars, salts, and chemicals.

That is not the type of food you want to be putting in your body. It's essential for your long term health that you begin to eat clean now!

THE BODY GOSPEL SENSATION®

At last, you can combine the power of your faith with your desire to lose weight and get fit. Body Gospel is a first-of-its-kind program that includes workouts set to inspirational gospel music, breakthrough new resistance bands, and a complete nutrition plan created by fitness icon Donna Richardson Joyner.

She shows you how to combine this effective program with your faith in God to transform your body and your life. With glorious music guaranteed to get you moving, every workout is a “party with a purpose,” and the results will amaze you.


If you believe, you will succeed! and it's Avaliable here by clicking on the banner below.

ANTICIPATION OF TURBO FIRE®

The workout that will take the nation by storm. Get ready to be fired up! Chalene Johnson's new Turbo Fire® DVD set will be sure to melt of those unwanted pounds. Chalene Johnson is taking it to the next level with Turbo Fire, set to hit the market Mid-June 2010 for coaches and July for public.

Stay tuned for tons more Turbo Fire® information.

Chalene brought you incredible workouts like Turbo Jam and Chalean Extreme, so now get ready for Turbo Fire®. Turbo Fire® will put your body in the furnace and help burn off that stubborn fat with new heart pumping moves. Chalene will take you through some of her best high velocity workout moves yet.

It looks like Turbo Fire® will consist of 12 workouts on 10 DVDs. There will be a basic and a deluxe package. A workout calendar, nutritional guide, Fat burning guide, Class Schedule for all 12 weeks, 5 day Inferno Plan, Resistance Bands, and a Measuring Tape will also be included in the package. The Turbo Fire® DVD set is beginning to take shape as the June launch is quickly approaching. Be sure to get on our Turbo Fire email list to be one of the first to get a copy!

There will also be a Turbo Fire® Deluxe workout package with even more moves! As soon as Turbo Fire is available you will be able to order it directly from this page. Be sure to bookmark this page!

Turbo Fire Workout®. Will be avaliable at www.supersamfitness.com

Giving the iPhone a Run for Its Money

There's a two-foot-by-two-foot area near the foot of my bed that I call "the Bermuda triangle." It's the only spot in my entire Manhattan apartment where I get service on my iPhone 3G. And even there, the line is crackly and the call usually drops within five minutes.

It's frustrating that I pay $100 a month for my requisite AT&T (NYSE: T - News) wireless plan when my iPhone has essentially become a pricey iPod that I use to send text messages. And I'm not alone: Cities like New York and San Francisco are swarming with iPhone users who can't get a signal.

So I was intrigued by HTC's Droid Incredible, the newest smart phone on the block to utilize Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG - News) increasingly popular Android operating system and Verizon's (NYSE: VZ - News) more reliable wireless network.

The Incredible costs $200 with a two-year Verizon contract and mail-in rebate, and the service plans runs between $90 and $120 a month. It is light and rectangular-shaped, with a 3.7-inch touchscreen and vivid, colorful graphics. The device has four simple buttons: the menu key, search key, return key and "Leap" key, which displays thumbnails of seven different customizable screens. The spacious touchscreen keyboard was easy to use to type email, but BlackBerry owners who love their keyboards may disapprove (but don't they always?).

I found plenty of Android apps to play with, including Flixter and Shazam, two of my iPhone favorites. However, I was disappointed that the Android store didn't have as many of my favorite news apps as there are in the Apple store, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN apps. Still, reading the news and browsing the Internet with Google's operating system was amazingly fast. Google's own programs, such as Voice Search and Maps, were seamless.

Indeed, it was the Incredible's zippy efficiency that won my heart. The Incredible served up new emails instantly, whether I was in my apartment or walking among the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan, places where my iPhone typically would stall for several minutes. Websites loaded at lightning speed, and browsing online felt more like using a computer than a mobile phone.

Verizon's wireless coverage was excellent. I enjoyed a 30-minute conversation with an old friend while relaxing on my couch, which is impossible to do on my iPhone without the interruption of a dropped call.

I also loved the 8-megapixel camera, complete with zoom, flash, and video. It made my iPhone's 2-megapixel, zoomless, flashless camera look weak. In fact, the Incredible's photos were comparable to a digital camera, but my iPhone's pictures only turn out well if they're close-ups and in the daylight.

However, the Incredible's Sense interface, which gives users the seven different customizable screens based on themes like work and travel, felt too busy and not nearly as intuitive as my iPhone. The graphics were bright and beautiful, but I often found myself overwhelmed by the options for widgets and folders, and didn't necessarily think that so much customization was helpful.

I did like the "FriendStream," which merged my Gmail, and Facebook and Twitter friends into a single list, allowing me to see everyone's status updates in one place. The phone also created a special list of my "friends" that was pretty much right on target about who are my nearest and dearest (turned out it was culled from my most frequently Gmail contacts). It saved me the time and effort of creating a list of my "favorites" among my contacts.

Music-wise, I wasn't impressed with the Incredible. I liked the built-in radio, but the Incredible's software isn't Mac-compatible, and I couldn't load songs purchased from Apple's iTunes. Instead, I had to transfer tracks from Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN - News) using a miniSD card. The company said that an advantage to supporting mp3s purchased from Amazon.com is that because they aren't copyright protected, they can be loaded onto multiple devices. Even so, for me, it won't replace my iPod.

The biggest downside to the Incredible was its short battery life. The company says that battery life will vary on individual usage and that typically a user can make it through a full day on a single charge. But when I was running multiple apps at once, I burned through the battery in about four hours. Granted, that's pretty much the same as my iPhone, but I expected better performance.

So, is HTC's Droid Incredible worth it? For me, and doubtless others who have a love-hate relationship with the iPhone and AT&T, the Droid Incredible offers a competitive alternative. Though lacking in the music and battery department, it offers loads of apps, Google's strong computing power, and Verizon's superior wireless coverage. At about the same price, the Droid Incredible gives the iPhone a run for its money.

7 Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook

We all have a facbook acount, but do we know the safety of useing it. Here are some tips According to ConsumerReports.org:



Using a Weak Password

Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word "houses": hO27usEs!

Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile

It's an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you've already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.

Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls

For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don't want anyone to have access to that information anyway.

Posting Your Child's Name in a Caption

Don't use a child's name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn't on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.


Mentioning That You'll Be Away From Home

That's like putting a "no one's home" sign on your door. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your vacation was and be vague about the date of any trip.


Letting Search Engines Find You

To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook's privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn't checked.

Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised

Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but children younger than that do use it. If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. "What they think is nothing can actually be pretty serious," says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment "Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes" every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents' regular comings and goings.

FAT, PLAIN & SIMPLE

We always talk about how we want to lose weight. But that's not really what we mean. When we talk about losing weight, we're really talking about losing fat, getting rid of the spare tire, turning the keg into a six-pack. It's about more than getting ready for swimsuit season or squeezing back into your "skinny" jeans, though. (More importantly, it's about having a healthy body fat amount so we don't put ourselves at risk for myriad diseases.) After all, our bodies need some fat. Fat is responsible for regulating our body temperature. It insulates our vital organs. It stores energy that our bodies draw on to function. Not to mention, everyone wants a few strategically placed curves, and you can't get them with just bone and muscle. So, what exactly is a healthy body fat amount?

1.What is body fat percentage? It's simple enough. It's the amount of adipose tissue (body fat) we carry compared to our weight. A 160-pound person who is carrying 32 pounds of fat would be said to have 20 percent body fat. We all want to be working toward an ideal body fat percentage, staying in a range wherein we carry enough fat to feel and look healthy, but not so much that we develop the health issues associated with obesity: hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. So what are the ideal ranges, and what are the best ways to get rid of unwanted excess adipose tissue, aka body fat?

Most organizations classify a healthy body fat percentage as 20 to 25 percent for women and 8 to 15 percent for men. Women who have over 30 percent body fat and men with over 25 percent are generally classified as obese. There can be some variations that are healthy. Athletes will tend to have less body fat, for example; however, below a point, low body fat can be as dangerous as high body fat.

There are various ways to calculate body fat percentage, with varying degrees of accuracy and expense. Many clinics offer what they describe as the only truly accurate readings, derived from water-displacement, ultrasonic, or X-ray tests. Much simpler than that are many home body fat scales. While simple, they are fairly inaccurate. The best home device is an inexpensive and simple test using skinfold calipers. These calipers measure folds of skin at various parts of the body and provide an estimate of body fat percentage based on those measurements.

Inaccurate or not, most trainers recommend using some sort of body fat calculation in addition to being weighed on a scale. For most of us, though, true accuracy isn't that important, just as long as we're sure that our body fat percentages are going down. We can starve ourselves and lose weight to reach that goal, but a lot of that loss will be muscle loss and won't give us the healthy look or feeling that most of us seek.

2.Muscle burns fat. One reason we want to be so cognizant of our body fat loss, as opposed to mere weight loss, is because muscles burn calories, and if we lose muscle, it will make burning calories—and, by extension, fat—much more difficult. Because the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn—even when you're resting! So it's important to follow an exercise program that combines resistance activities, like weight lifting, that build muscle with aerobic cardio activities that burn calories. This combination is key to the success of Beachbody's programs, including Chalene Johnson's brand-new ChaLEAN Extreme™.

The really good news is that when you exercise, your body begins turning stored fat into glucose for fuel before it begins breaking down muscle for fuel. This is why high-level athletes can eat so much and still stay sleek. Take Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps's 12,000-calorie-a-day diet, for example. Because he has such a low percentage of body fat, he has to provide his body with enough fuel or his body will begin breaking down proteins in muscle, since it's pretty much out of body fat to go to for fuel. During newsletter chats and on the Message Boards, P90X® graduates often complain of an ammonia-like smell after working out. That smell is indicative of the protein breakdown that occurs when their new elite, low-fat bodies have begun tapping into muscle for fuel. It generally means that they need to start eating more to make it through the workouts—a problem most of us would love to have! Most of us aren't dealing with the problems of elite athletes trying to get enough fuel; we're just trying to get our bodies to approach that kind of shape.

One popular exercise myth is that if we're trying to lose body fat, we should just do lots of cardio and sweat and burn fat, then build muscle later. That's a sort of "lose weight now, get in shape later" approach. There's some truth there. The more we exercise, the more calories we expend and the sooner our bodies tap into our fat stores for energy. But by building up muscle, in addition to doing cardio activity, we can burn a lot more calories, even while we're at rest, and maximize the calorie burn during cardio. Plus, when the stored fat begins to melt off, there will be lean, sexy muscle in its place.

3.How diet affects body fat composition. Something we've discussed before is the myth that dietary fat contributes to body fat. This is only half true. The fact is that body fat, or adipose tissue, comes from stored calories. Your body fat doesn't care whether the calories come from fat, protein, or carbs. Don't believe me? Try drinking a six-pack of fat-free beer every day—you'll have a pony keg under your shirt in no time. The term "beer belly" comes by it honestly, and beer doesn't have a gram of fat. Neither does soda, and it's one of the main culprits behind the obesity crisis.

Fat does have more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein, so it is wise to monitor the amount of fat in your diet, but if it's healthy fat, like the kind found in avocados, olive oil, fish, or nuts, there's no reason to exclude it from your diet. It is wise to avoid saturated and trans fats, but that has more to do with lipids in your blood, not the composition of adipose tissue.

4.Can you target areas to burn body fat? There's a French proverb that says that sooner or later every woman must choose between her face and her bottom. What this means is that it's a myth that you can target one area of your body over another for fat loss. While we may mainly want to get rid of our guts or slim down our thighs, our bodies are largely democratic about where they take stored fat from—they take fat from all over.

If you've seen Madonna lately, you can see the results of her latest workout regimen. She has incredibly low body fat, but her face has lost the fat as well, so that her bone structure is more prominent and has a more sunken appearance (although it looks like some cosmetic procedures have helped her fill it out somewhat). So if you ever see a product advertised that claims to burn fat off one part of your body and not others, it's over-promising. You can target muscle groups specifically, but fat burning is general.

Any activity will go a long way toward reducing body fat percentage. And health professionals advise that even a modest decrease in body fat percentage will have extraordinary health benefits. So even if achieving your ideal supermodel weight seems impossibly far away, you can really increase your quality of life by making a few minor changes in your activity level and diet. Engaging in a comprehensive program like ChaLEAN Extreme, which encompasses resistance training and aerobic exercise, as well as a healthy diet, is a great place to start. Here's to seeing less of us!

MR. CLEAN...

Working out makes you feel and look great, but it doesn't make you smell great. One of the biggest advantages to working out at home instead of the gym is that you don't have to lug around a suitcase full of products to restore your body to its inoffensive pre-workout condition. There's no shortage of products that you can have easy access to at home. The industry of smelling good and looking good is massive. But which products really work? And which ones are really necessary? Let's take a look at some of the most commonly used toiletries and what they do—and separate fact from fiction.

1.Deodorants vs. antiperspirants vs. crystals. There's always been a lot of debate about which of these methods is the most effective for eliminating odor, but one thing is undebatable, if you don't use something, your friends, family, and workout buddies are going to be keeping a wide perimeter around you and your malodorous underarms. As we talked about in "The Sweatiest Thing," body odor is caused by sweat from your apocrine glands, which, unlike your eccrine sweat glands (which only produce water and saline), excrete quantities of fat and protein that the hungry bacteria living on your skin digest, and this digestion process is stanky! So, with better living through chemistry, there are numerous approaches for battling B.O.
Deodorants. These are regarded by a lot of people as just perfumed sticks of goo that give off a strong enough smell to mask whatever nastiness is taking place under your arms. In fact, that's only part of the story. You can't really cover up B.O., but you can prevent some of the bacterial reactions taking place (I'd write about the time I was stuck in a small, enclosed room with a hippie chick who only used patchouli oil as deodorant, but the memory's making my lunch come up). Most commercial deodorants contain some sort of antiseptic or other chemical that makes the surface of your skin unfriendly to the bacteria that want to eat your excreted fat and protein. They also contain some sort of perfume which will make you smell pretty. But they won't stop you from sweating under your arms, they'll only ameliorate the damage.
Antiperspirants. The purpose of antiperspirants is to reduce your sweating, thus giving your armpit bacterial sharecroppers nothing to feed on. Antiperspirants usually contain some kind of aluminum salts which cause your sweat pores to close up. There have been lots of rumors that the aluminum will contribute to Alzheimer's disease, and that clogging the pores will cause toxic buildups which can lead to breast cancer. Neither of these urban legends has been given credence by the medical community, including the Alzheimer's Society and the National Cancer Institute. Antiperspirants are the most likely to cause irritation under your arms though, with fragrance-loaded deodorants a close second. So, if you have sensitive skin, crystals may be the way to go.
Crystals. I admit that, before doing research for this article, I thought those crystal deodorant sticks were some wacky faith-healing googaws that Shirley MacLaine or some other New Ager had cooked up. As it turns out, they work similarly to deodorants by coating your skin with a chemical salt that inhibits the bacterial reactions that cause B.O. These probably interfere with your body's natural processes the least. They don't stop you from sweating, don't include artificial fragrances, and, surprisingly (at least to me), actually performed better than traditional deodorants in reducing odor.
Now, apparently, you can even have the nerves in your underarms surgically severed to prevent sweating or you can receive Botox injections to paralyze your sweat glands. These extreme methods have their own drawbacks, not the least of which is the expense. The best thing to do is to probably try different products and see which ones work best for you and those who have to smell you. For truly excessive perspiration or body odor, it might be worth checking with your doctor, either to receive a prescription-strength antiperspirant or to see if any strange odors emanating from your body might be signs of an underlying health problem.

2.Body wash. I have become a big proponent of body wash over bar soap—purely because of laziness. I know body wash costs more, but, for me, its big advantage is that it doesn't dissolve into airborne particles in the shower, like soap does, which creates that dreaded soap scum. And to someone for whom washing the shower is a semiannual event at most, this is no small thing. It turns out that there's an even better reason not to use bar soap though. Because most soap has an incredibly high pH level, it can remove a lot of natural protectants from your skin. It's why your face gets that tight feeling after you wash it. Soap-free body washes have a pH balance that will get you clean but will not upset the pH balance of your skin. Another thing you should avoid in body washes is irritating chemical fragrances. Look for body washes that are labeled "fragrance free" or that are scented with essential oils, which are more skin friendly. Also, avoid body washes which contain sulfates and parabens, chemicals that can dry out and irritate your skin. Various formulations of body wash can offer even more in the way of dermatological delights. You can look for natural moisturizing ingredients such as aloe vera or shea butter or soothing ingredients like oatmeal or peppermint oil. Mesh scrunchies are ideal to use with body wash as they help exfoliate your skin and, unlike sponges, are more resistant to collecting bacteria or mildew. For maximum exfoliation, you can use a body brush before your shower. This dry, stiff-bristled brush will help loosen the dead skin to maximize your shower's effectiveness. It also helps circulation, which can improve your skin's appearance (here are more great tips for healthy skin).

3.Shampoo and conditioner. If you work out every day, it could mean that you are taking two or more showers every day. If possible, try to schedule your workout close to the time you would be showering anyway, so you don't end up drying out your hair and skin from overwashing. If you are washing your hair more than once a day, it's very important to choose a shampoo that is gentle or you'll be stripping your hair of all its natural oils and dulling its color, especially if you have naturally dry hair. Using a good conditioner will help your hair retain moisture and will not dry it out from the frequent washing. Even though it's more convenient, try not to use two-in-one shampoo-conditioner combos. The conditioner is usually washed out with the shampoo and is not nearly as effective as when conditioner is applied separately. As with body wash, it's good to try finding shampoo that is free of artificial fragrances, parabens, and sulfates. It may be hard to find shampoo without sulfates on a typical supermarket shelf and even harder to find one at a low price. You may have to look in a professional beauty supply store or a store that sells natural products. If you use gel, mousse, pomade, or a similar product in your hair, you might treat yourself to a clarifying shampoo once a week—it's formulated to be more astringent than your daily shampoo and will strip out the buildup from other products.

4.Body powder. Body powder is great for absorbing moisture and preventing chafing. It's important to look for talc-free body powder though, as there has been some evidence that talc can contain impurities, including heavy metals, which can be carcinogenic. Talc can also be inhaled and cause lung problems. If you want to spend extra money for "medicated" foot powder, it won't harm your feet, but, generally, it's just regular powder infused with a little camphor or menthol to give you a cool, tingly feeling—it usually doesn't contain any active ingredients or medications to prevent athlete's foot or fungal infections. Tea tree oil is an ingredient, on the other hand (or foot), that has been shown to have some moderate antibacterial properties, in addition to having that menthol-like cool feeling. But the best thing you can do for your feet is to change your socks frequently and invest in decent socks and shoes, as Steve Edwards discusses in the article below.

5.Moisturizer, lotion, and sunscreen. After you've been sweating and showering, it's very easy for your skin to get dry, as a lot of your natural oils have been washed down the drain or sweated off onto your workout floor. Like with body wash and shampoo, try finding products free of fragrance and parabens. Also, don't buy products that contain mineral oil or petroleum. Both of these will clog your pores and can trap sweat and dirt, causing acne. For your face, you should also try to use a moisturizer that contains sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. If you're working out outside, make sure your sunscreen is broad-spectrum in addition to having a high SPF. It should protect against both UVB rays, which cause superficial sunburn and skin discoloration, and UVA rays, which penetrate deeper into the skin, accelerating aging and causing skin cancer. Make sure you don't forget your ears and the back of your neck when applying sunscreen as they are prime real estate for skin cancer. Don't forget your lips, either—try to use a lip balm with an SPF 15 or higher to avoid drying and burning.
6.Shaving. The shower is a great place to shave for men and women because the steam opens up the pores, making it less of a struggle to remove unwanted hair. Giving the area to be shaved a good scrubbing beforehand to exfoliate the skin will help prevent ingrown hairs. That and keeping the skin warm and moist means you won't clog the razor with dead skin. But you'll still be scraping a sharp metal blade against your poor skin, so you'll want to use a shaving cream or gel that contains moisturizers to lubricate the area, and is free of irritating additives like fragrance, sulfates, and parabens. Shaving cream designed for men or women is really only a marketing ploy. There's no real difference except maybe in fragrance, which you don't want anyway. Razors, on the other hand, are designed to shave different parts of the body more effectively, so you may want to experiment with different kinds. Men and women probably shouldn't share razors because men's hair tends to dull the blades more than women's, and dull blades equal sharp cuts. You should try shaving against the direction of the hair growth for best results or with the grain of the skin for less irritation. After shaving, make sure to use some balm or moisturizer on the area, since you've taken off all the natural oil with the hair. Alcohol-based aftershaves may feel bracing, but, really, they're just going to irritate your scraped-up skin.

FAMILY FITNESS

When most people think "exercise," they picture themselves spending an hour hitting P90X® or taking a long run on the beach. Busy parents, with schedules crammed full of carpooling, cooking and, often, work outside the home, find they can't even think of exercise seriously, let alone do it. Sure, once the kids are a little older or maybe on the weekend, but now? Today?

Yes, today. Ideally, you'll make that time for yourself, but when it falls through the cracks, fitness and health experts agree that fitting fitness into parenting just takes a little creativity. "The hard part is parents really have to build the time in," said Eric Thompson, senior director of communications and marketing for the American Heart Association. "Being fit is all about habits—habits you form when you're younger that carry you through life."

However, experts agree, it's never too late to start those healthy habits. Here are ten ways busy parents can fit a little extra fitness into their lives:

Chores

You've gotta cook. You've gotta clean. There are ways to squeeze in some love for your body, while doing those things you love to hate.

1.Anybody can just push a vacuum around, but then that person's not getting the full benefits of this otherwise rueful activity. Instead, use deep knee bends while pushing the vacuum out, being sure to tighten and hold the abdominal muscles and buttocks, keeping your back straight. Be sure to switch the lunging leg every few pushes.

2.How many hours a day does a parent spend standing before a sink of dirty dishes? Make better use of that time by working out your legs with side leg lifts. Begin on two feet, then lift one leg slowly out to the side until it reaches about a 45-degree angle. Hold it there for 5 seconds, using the thigh muscle to keep it aloft. Switch to the other foot. Repeat each leg 10 times.

3.Young children means lots and lots of toys. Of course, we want them to clean up after themselves, but we know who really does most of the picking up. Carry a laundry basket or satchel around and bend both knees deep beside each toy to pick up. While squatting, keep your back straight and tighten your abs. Walking and squatting to each toy can quickly translate into dozens of toning squats.

4.Finding workout tools in the kitchen is just as easy as finding cooking gadgets. Next time you find yourself still before a boiling pot of macaroni and cheese, grab a couple of cans from the pantry and do bicep curls. Grasping the can, leave your elbows still and bent at your side. Keep tension in your upper arm as you curl the can up. Repeat 10 curls on each arm.

With the kids

What does any kid want more than their parents' attention? Here are some ways to stay involved with your kids, get some exercise, and have some fun!

5.There are some obvious things we can do with our children that are both healthy and fun; it's just we sometimes forget or, really, are just too lazy. Walking is often overlooked as an easy and convenient way to exercise, as we're all so quick to jump in our cars for every little errand. It may take more time to walk to the store, but the benefits are worth it. And what better way to burn some extra kid energy? Better yet, have your kids ride their bikes, scooters, or skateboards—and try to keep up!

6.Everyone encourages their kids to get involved in team sports like soccer or baseball . . . but who says they should be the only ones exercising? While your kids are at practice, bring your iPod® and take laps around the field (just be sure to keep an eye on them and offer encouragement!). Not all sports need to be organized. Next time your kids are vying for some parent time, take them outside for a vigorous game of tag or soccer yourself.

7.Don't use dreary weather as an excuse to keep you from moving about; there's plenty to do inside with your kid. Turn on the music and dance! Need some inspiration? Check out Shaun T's Fit Kids® Club or Get Real with Shaun T for families who like to groove. Also, Tony Horton's Tony & the Kids! DVD is a fun and wacky way for the whole family to get fit.

Downtime

The long day of trudging through the grind is over, and who wouldn't be tempted to sink into a comfy couch, remote in hand, and just laze away into the night? But remember that every few minutes of exercise counts, so, sure, take a load off here and there to regroup. Just be sure to take breaks and get moving.

8.Commercial breaks generally last about two minutes. Figuring there are five commercials in any given one-hour show, that's 10 minutes of movement you can sneak in right there. Crunches, push-ups, and jumping jacks are classic exercises you can do just about anywhere at any time. And if you're watching back-to-back shows, squeeze in a 10-Minute Trainer® session during the break. But to make sure you don't miss one thrilling minute of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, warm up during the first show's commercial break and cool down during the second show.

9.Yoga can be an excellent source of exercise, but it's also a great way to relax. And it just feels good to get those kinks out. If you don't know where to start, take a look at Yoga Booty Ballet's Pure & Simple Yoga or Pajama Time yoga workouts to awaken your mind and your body to the possibilities.

10.There is no bigger time waster than waiting for a kid to brush his teeth or put on her pajamas. Use that time wisely. Instead of hanging around the bathroom sink listlessly, grasp on with your hands for some slow, deep squats. Work your abdomen at the same time by keeping those muscles tight. Remember to keep your back straight. Repeat 10 times.

AWWW, SO SWEET!

Few topics boggle dieters and fitness enthusiasts the way sugar does. Is this simple carbohydrate the key to unlocking elite sports performance? Or is it the chains that drag our country deeper into the obesity epidemic? Annoyingly, the answer is both. But before you throw your hands up in frustration and grab yourself a Twinkie®, let's take a minute to talk about sugar. It's not as complex as it seems. In fact, with just a few guidelines, it's incredibly easy to use these simple carbohydrates for good instead of evil.

Rule #1: Just say "know."
Here's a grossly oversimplified look at how sugar, also known as simple carbohydrates, works. Just as with all carbs, you eat sugar and it's absorbed by your blood, where, if you have the right amount of it, the insulin in your system converts the sugar to energy. However, if you introduce too much sugar into your system, the insulin stores it as body fat. A little stored body fat is fine; the body likes some emergency fuel. However, if your blood sugar spikes too often and the insulin has to work too hard converting fat, this can lead to a variety of health issues, including type 2 diabetes and heart problems.

As we'll discuss later, when your body obtains sugar from natural sources, like fruits and veggies, the process tends to be checked by fiber, which slows absorption. However, when you eat foods with added sugar, this can overwhelm the usual checks and balances, causing problems like those nasty blood sugar spikes. To make matters worse, consuming too much added sugar can cause a host of other problems, including tooth decay, increased triglycerides (or stored fat), and malnutrition (from overconsumption of foods filled with empty calories and deficient in nutrients).

If you wanted one overarching rule to work from, you might choose to avoid added sugars entirely. You'll get all the energy you need from foods with naturally occurring sugar. That said, there are times when refined sugar is okay or even beneficial. If you're able to build yourself a lifestyle completely free of added sugar, nice work. But for the rest of us, the trick is moderation.

Rule #2: Less is more.
One teaspoon of table sugar has 15 calories. Honestly, if you have a couple of cups of tea or coffee in the morning and you dump the proverbial spoonful of sugar in each, that's 30 calories. If the rest of your diet is tight and you're active, it won't matter. If you're trying to lose weight and eating at a severe deficit, you'll probably want to skip those few spoonfuls of sugar, because table sugar is nutritionally void and you want every calorie to count nutritionally. Other than that, though, life's short—enjoy your java.

Rule #3: High fructose corn syrup is the enemy . . .
In a recent study out of Princeton University, two groups of rats were fed a sucrose solution and a high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) solution. The rats that consumed the corn syrup got fatter. "Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity," said study leader Bart Hoebel, "but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests."

There are a few possible explanations for this. One is that the ratio of fructose to glucose in HFCS is slightly higher. Another is that in the HFCS manufacturing process, fructose molecules are free and unbound, making them easier to absorb. The fructose in table sugar is bonded to the glucose, which means it requires an extra step to be used.1

Rule #3.5: . . . and it's hiding behind every corner.
And you thought Invasion of the Body Snatchers was creepy . . . Avoiding the obvious sweetened foods like soda, cake, cookies, and pies is only half the battle. Manufacturers add HFCS (as well as other sugars) to a mind-boggling amount of foods because it adds flavor. If it's in a bottle, box, or can, read the ingredients. You'll find sweeteners in everything from ketchup to peanut butter to bread to salad dressing. With a little effort, you can usually find versions of the same food with no added sugars or HFCS that are more nutritious and taste just as good.

Rule #4: No, the sugar in fruit isn't bad for you.
When the low-carb "revolution" hit in the early aughts, fruit was demonized for its sugar content. This is, in a word, ridiculous. Yes, fruit is loaded with sugar, but it's also usually loaded with fiber, which slows sugar absorption, making it an ideal way to get your simple carbs without straining your little insulin buddies. Fruit is also loaded with easy-to-absorb vitamins and minerals. Most fruit is also filled with water, yet another benefit.

Even relatively low-fiber fruits like bananas offer far too many benefits to deny. Bananas, in particular, are rich in electrolytes, which are crucial to sports performance. As I always say, I defy you to introduce me to an overweight person whose biggest indulgence is fruit.

You can think of the ingredients in Shakeology® the same way. Sure, there's a little sugar in there, but the protein and fiber slow absorption, and the massive amount of nutrients makes it all worthwhile.

Rule #5: Occasionally, a hit of straight sugar is a good thing.
You're sitting around watching television. You haven't done much today. Your glycogen stores are up, and because you've eaten normally, your blood sugar level is balanced. Time for some Results and Recovery Formula™? Probably not.

Conversely, you just blasted a killer workout. You've blown through your blood sugar and your glycogen, leaving you shaky and tired. Now, getting some sugar in there to recharge quickly wouldn't be such a bad idea. Furthermore, since it'll rush in so fast, it's a great opportunity to add some protein and micronutrients to that sugar blast, because they'll rush into where they're needed just as fast.

If you genuinely gave the workout your all and you're truly wiped out, you won't even come close to storing that sugar as fat.

So there you go. Not so tough, huh? With a little forethought and self-control, keeping an eye on your carbs can be, ahem, a piece of cake.

A REAL HERO JAMIE OLIVER

This is a cause that moves me to help. Jamie Oliver believe's that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!

We live in an amazing country full of inspirational people and you have the power to change things. With your help, we can get better food into homes, schools and communities all over America and give your kids a better future. Sign the petition www.jamieoliver.com it only takes 30 seconds to save America's cooking skills and improve school food. It could be the most important thing you ever do for your family. America's health needs you now!

HEALTHY CHOICES...

Chances are that anyone reading this is interested in making healthier choices in their daily life. This means that you probably peruse the daily news headlines looking for health information that can improve your lifestyle. And you'll find it. Well, you'll find the headlines. Whether or not the information will do you any good is another matter entirely. Learning to read health articles is a lot like learning to read food labels. It's all written to sound appealing, but you need to learn how to get past the headlines and into the fine print. Here are a few of the latest health headlines and how they may, or may not, have an effect on your life.

Tea strengthens older women's hips

A new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved 1,500 elderly Australian women (70 to 85 years old) who participated in a five-year trial testing the effect of calcium supplementation on osteoporotic hip fractures. Information on tea consumption "was collected at the beginning of the study for 275 participants," and "all participants filled out a beverage consumption questionnaire at the end of the trial." By the end of the study, bone mineral density at the hip was 2.8 percent greater in tea drinkers than in non-tea drinkers.

V.M. Hegarty; H.M. May; and K.T. Khaw. "Tea drinking and bone mineral density in older women." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 71, No. 4, 1003–1007.

What it really means. The scientific community was quick to point out that this study was inconclusive but that it was conducted on a large scale with a broad platform and deserved to get some attention. The benefits of tea have been getting a lot of play over the last decade and this certainly diminishes none of what we've been hearing. Tea's components, particularly its antioxidant flavonoids, are thought to benefit us in myriad ways. Since the only potential downside to tea drinking is a small amount of caffeine (and stuff that you might add to it), it's pretty safe to assume that adding tea to your diet could be a good thing.

Tea is more hydrating than water

From the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition comes information that dispels the common belief that tea dehydrates you. Public health nutritionist Dr. Carrie Ruxton and colleagues at Kings College London looked at published studies on the health effects of tea consumption. "Studies on caffeine have found [that] very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate," said Ruxton. "But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid."

E.J. Gardner; C.H.S. Ruxton; and A.R. Leeds. "Black tea – helpful or harmful? A review of the evidence." European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007), 61, 3–18. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602489.

What it really means. I added this one next because it's always a good idea to get more information than to believe one study. This one, though academic, was funded by The English Tea Council. The authors stressed that the work was independent, but the results should still be viewed with some skepticism. Regardless of whether or not the whole dehydrating issue was true, a close look at the work reveals that "experts believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health." Ah, those again. Tip of the week: drink tea.

Convenience foods are not really convenient

The British Food Journal published the "first academic study" tracking the dinner routines of American families and found out that "convenience foods" didn't save you much time in the kitchen.

Of the 64 weeknight dinners observed, "70 percent were home-cooked, meaning they were prepared at home, but virtually all of them included some form of packaged convenience food, such as stir-fry mixes, pre-made chicken dishes, frozen vegetables, and canned soup, for example." Despite these conveniences, dinner wasn't prepared much faster. The preparation time difference between meals involving more than 50 percent convenience foods and those with limited use of such items (between 20 to 50 percent) was negligible. Meals still took an average of 52 minutes to prepare.

M.E. Beck. "Dinner preparation in the modern United States." British Food Journal, July 2007, 109(7): 531–547.

What it really means. Unfortunately, the study is far too myopic to be of much use. It doesn't appear to reflect the way most of us use convenience foods. When I make a convenient meal, it's generally tossed into the microwave and done in five minutes. The upside to this study is that those who prepare real meals don't need to use cheaply-produced store-bought sauces and mixes—and this is great. It's just not what most of us think defines convenience.

Refined sugar is more addictive than cocaine

James Cook University and other research found that sugar was far more addictive than cocaine. Studies showed that 94 percent of rats that were allowed to choose mutually exclusively between sugar water and cocaine chose sugar. Even rats that were addicted to cocaine quickly switched their preference to sugar, once it was offered as a choice. The rats were also more willing to work for sugar than for cocaine. There was speculation that "the sweet receptors (two protein receptors located on the tongue), which evolved in ancestral times when the diet was very low in sugar, have not adapted to modern times' high-sugar consumption. Therefore, the abnormally high stimulation of these receptors by our sugar-rich diets generates excessive reward signals in the brain, which have the potential to override normal self-control mechanisms, and thus lead to addiction."

M. Lenoir; F. Serre; L. Cantin; and S.H. Ahmed (2007). "Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward." PLoS ONE 2(8): e698. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000698.

What it really means. The study is really fascinating. Though we don't really need a study to inform us that sugar is highly addictive. A peak at society—or our Message Boards—can tell you that. The truly interesting thing here is the findings of "excessive reward signals in the brain," which might explain exactly why artificial sweeteners are being linked more and more with obesity.

Diet soda is dangerous

A study of about 6,000 middle-aged men and women, who were observed over four years, at the Boston University School of Medicine showed that those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese. They had a 30 percent increased risk of developing a larger waist circumference, "which has been shown to predict heart disease risk better than weight alone"; a 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides as well as high blood sugar; and a 32 percent higher risk of having low high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol levels. The researchers then analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available. Those who drank one or more diet or regular sodas per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a syndrome marked by the presence of usually three or more of a group of factors, such as high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, high triglyceride levels, low HDL levels, and insulin resistance, that are linked to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

R.S. Vasan, MD, professor of medicine, Boston University School of Medicine.

R. Dhingra. Circulation, July 31, 2007: vol 116: pp 1–9.

What it really means. That diet soda is going to the mat. While it's still a relatively small-scale study (since diet soda is consumed by billions), it's plenty large enough to loft some serious bombs into the "zero calories is all you need to know" theory of fake-sugar marketing. It also adds credence to the sugar addiction study above. There is no good reason why anyone should drink diet soda anymore. It doesn't taste as good as regular soda, has no nutritional value, has at least some health risk, and probably even makes you fat.

Vitamin K helps reduce varicose veins

Varicosis, also known as varicose veins, may be attributable to a lack of vitamin K, according to a new study in the Journal of Vascular Research. Inadequate levels of vitamin K may reduce the activity of the matrix GLA protein (MGP), which in turn has been identified as a key player in the development of varicosis. Since vitamin K is required to activate MGP, it is believed that adequate dietary intake of vitamin K is a prerequisite for the prevention of varicose veins.

C. Cario-Toumaniantz; C. Boularan; L.J. Schurgers; M.F. Heymann; M. Le Cunff; J. Léger; G. Loirand; and P. Pacaud. "Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes in Human Varicose Veins: Involvement of Matrix Gla Protein in Extracellular Matrix Remodeling." Journal of Vascular Research, July 20, 2007, 44(6):444–459.

What it really means. This is one of those "why not" studies, meaning that there's no reason not to try the solution, just in case it works. Vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables, some meats, and fermented food products. Since most of us could use more green veggies and naturally fermented items in our diet anyway, it's a win-win situation.

Drugs' side effects are worse than the conditions that they're treating

A 2005 study published in the Archives of Neurology found that dozens of patients using Mirapex or similar drugs developed serious gambling addictions. Hundreds of people have reportedly contacted lawyers about joining class-action lawsuits that allege Mirapex and Requip caused unusual side effects such as compulsive gambling, shopping, painting, and eating.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has updated the package insert for its restless legs syndrome (RLS) drug Requip. According to the new insert, Requip may cause "pathological gambling" and "increased libido including hypersexuality." These side effects are reportedly a drug-class-wide thing, which impacts all the drugs belonging to the non-ergoline dopamine agonist class of drugs. Specifically, the insert reads: "Impulse control symptoms, including compulsive behaviors such as pathological gambling and hypersexuality, have been reported in patients treated with dopaminergic agents."

Another RLS drug, Mirapex (which is also used to treat Parkinson's disease), has reportedly caused similar symptoms. The Mirapex package insert reads: "Patients taking certain medicines to treat Parkinson's disease or RLS, including Mirapex . . . have reported problems with gambling, compulsive eating, and increased sex drive."

M.L. Dodd, MD; K.J.K., MD; J.H.B., MD; Y.E.G., MD; K.A.J., MST, MD; and J.E.A., PhD, MD. Arch Neurol. 2005, 62:1377–1381.

What it really means. Do some homework before taking your meds. This is in no way an isolated incident. Why do you think all of those pharmaceutical ads have to list a string of possible side-effects that generally take longer to recite than the rest of the commercial? What really gets me is that many of these conditions that drugs are treating are minor and could be remedied by living a healthier lifestyle.

Non-drug intervention works better than drugs for ADHD in children

A five-year study of 135 preschool students with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found that non-medicinal interventions work effectively to prevent the related behavioral and academic problems in infants. "While medications for ADHD may treat the symptoms," said George DuPaul, professor of school psychology at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa. and lead author of the study in School Psychology Review, "they do not improve the children's academic and social skills the way behavioral interventions may."

The study evaluated early intervention techniques and their ability to decrease aggressiveness and behavior problems while improving academic and social skills in children aged three to five. The interventions, which included individualized programs that emphasized positive support to reinforce behavior at home and school, were highly effective. Specifically, children who received the intervention techniques had:

A 17 percent decrease in aggression and a 21 percent improvement in social skills at home
A 28 percent improvement in both categories at school
Improvements in early literacy skills of up to three times over their baseline status
ADHD, which affects about 7 percent of school-aged children, makes it difficult for children to pay attention and control their behavior. Up to 40 percent of toddlers with ADHD symptoms are suspended from preschool, and 16 percent are actually expelled.

A.K. Jitendra; G.J. DuPaul; R.J. Volpe; K.E. Tresco; R.E. Vile Junod; J.G. Lutz; K.S. Cleary; L.M. Flammer-Rivera; and M.C. Manella. "Consultation-Based Academic Intervention for Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: School Functioning Outcomes." School Psychology Review, August 2007, Vol. 36, #2.

What it really means. While the research is inconclusive, it makes a lot of sense. Our "take a pill and get better" reaction to behavior issues doesn't seem to be working, which is becoming clearer as the U.S. continues to slide down the scale in terms of world scholastic achievement. It's promising research, however, and will hopefully lead to us having more accountability about our lifestyles. After all, getting proactive is the Beachbody®/Million Dollar Body™ way. We know it works, and it stands to reason that it will work for kids, too.

Obese children benefit from peer support

The Journal of the American Medical Association took a first look at whether heavy kids benefited from being encouraged to play with more physically active peers. A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that obese children who lost weight kept it off if they were in a maintenance program. The research, involving 150 overweight 7- to 12-year-olds, is one of the first large-scale studies to evaluate the long-term effects of weight loss maintenance strategies in children. The kids initially lost weight on the same program, and then were split into groups—some with support, others left to their own devices. The longer the kids remained in the active support network, the longer they tended to keep their weight off.

10 REASON TO GIVE UP SODA

If you're looking for a scapegoat in the obesity epidemic, look no further than soda. It's the single greatest caloric source in the world, accounting for somewhere between 11 and 19 percent of all the calories consumed worldwide. It's cheap, addictive, and readily available, which generally means that it will take some willpower to avoid. But don't despair, as we at Beachbody® are here to help. We present: our top 10 reasons to give up soda. Drumroll please . . .

10.Soda may cause cancer. According to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks. As reported, the study "followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years. During that time, there were 140 pancreatic cancer cases. Those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week (averaging five per week) had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not."

Then why, you're probably asking yourself, is this number ten on our list and why is soda even still on the shelf? Not that I'd challenge the ability of such large corporate power to hide such a thing but, in this case, the study slit its own throat. As one of the researchers noted, "soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can't accurately control for," meaning that we have no way of knowing, for sure, if soda was the culprit. Still, it doesn't hurt to know that when you drink soda it lumps you into a fairly unhealthy user group.1

9.It's not just about calories. Calories grab headlines, but recent science is showing that diet soda users are still in the crosshairs. A 2005 study by the University of Texas Health Science Center showed that there's a 41 percent increased risk of being obese—and a 65 percent increased risk of becoming overweight during the next 7 or 8 years—for every can of diet soda a person consumes in a day. Admittedly, this one should be higher on the list, but I wanted to make sure the article-skimming crowd knew the score up front: that diet sodas are very much a part of the problem.

8.It's the water . . . and a lot more. Okay, so that was a beer slogan, but soda is also made up mainly of water, and when you're slinging as much of it as they are, and you need to sling it cheap, sometimes you can't help but run into problems with your supply chain. In India, Coca-Cola® has found itself in hot water, and not the kind they thought they were purchasing rights to. Two of their factories have been closed, but one continues to run amok. According to a report in The Ecologist, "They accuse the company of over-extracting groundwater, lowering the water tables and leaving farmers and the local community unable to dig deep enough to get to vital water supplies."

"Since the bottling plant was opened in 2000, water levels in the area have dropped six metres, and when a severe drought hit the region earlier this year the crops failed and livelihoods were destroyed."2

7.BPA: not just for water bottles anymore. Nalgene® and other water bottle companies took the heat when the dangers of bisphenol A (BPA) were made public a couple years back. While these companies went to great lengths to save their businesses, the soda companies somehow flew under the radar and continue to use it in their products. A recent Canadian study has found that BPA exists "in the vast majority" of the soft drinks tested. Most of these were under the national limits set for toxicity, but some were not. And remember how much soda the average person consumes, meaning odds are most soda consumers are at some risk.

"Out of 72 drinks tested, 69 were found to contain BPA at levels below what Health Canada says is the safe upper limit. However, studies in peer-reviewed science journals have indicated that even at very low doses, BPA can increase breast and ovarian cancer cell growth and the growth of some prostate cancer cells in animals."3

6.Can convenience. As in the 1950s colloquial: can it. Speaking of the 1950s, those were the happy days when most of our soda was consumed at soda fountains, obesity was a term hardly anyone had heard of, and the most feared epidemic was one of atomically mutated insects taking over the world. Now instead of hoofing it down to the corner confectionery for one soda, we fill out trucks with pallets of shrink-wrapped cans or bottles and quaff the stuff by the six-pack. Not to mention how out of balance this ensures our diets will become, it wreaks havoc on the world around us. The bottled-water industry (which is mostly owned by the soda industry) famously uses 17 million barrels of oil a year, and the aluminum industry uses as much electricity as the entire continent of Africa. Not only that, aluminum mining accounts for a ton of toxic chemicals that is left behind for every ton of the metal produced.4

5.The Frankenfood factor. Whether you consume diet or regular soda, you're getting all of the genetically modified food you need and more, via high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. Both of these are under plenty of scientific as well as anecdotal scrutiny. Findings aren't pretty but, so far, this multibillion-dollar industry has kept these sweeteners on the shelves while alternative sweeteners meeting cost requirements are explored. Since it's almost impossible to read health headlines without finding one of these ingredients in some type of controversy, I'll just use one example:

"The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and food safety advocacy group, called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to review the claims, which stem from research conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation in Italy.

The foundation reported that rats who consumed aspartame in exceedingly large quantities were more likely to develop cancer. CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson considers this an important finding that should not be overlooked." 5

I know, there I go again with the cancer. But some people need to be shocked in order to take action. For me, seeing the Diet Coke® and Mentos® experiment was all I needed to swear off the stuff.

4.Foreign news cares how much soda we sell in our schools. How bad is your country's problem when the whole world is watching its daily actions? "Nearly one in three children and teenagers in the U.S. are overweight or obese and health experts say sugary drinks are part of the problem." Yep, bad. The world is well aware of the problems soda is causing and is looking to us to lead. And we certainly are trying. Are you with the program?

"Under the voluntary guidelines, in place since 2006, full-calorie soft drinks were removed from school canteens and vending machines. Lighter drinks, including low-fat milk, diet sodas, juices, flavoured waters and teas, were promoted in their place."6

And, while great and all, it appears that no one got the memo about diet sodas.

3.Diet? Um, that's just like your opinion, man. When it comes to soda, treat the word "diet" as a slogan. A study at Boston University's School of Medicine linked diet soda with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. To be more specific, the study "found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome," which is a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other symptoms that lead to heart disease and/or diabetes. And, for those of you only concerned about how you look in the mirror, "Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese."

2.Soda outkills terrorists. A study out of the University of California, San Francisco, shows that soda has killed at least 6,000 Americans in the last decade.

From ABC News: "The new analysis, presented Friday at the American Heart Association's 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, offers a picture of just how horrifying the damage done by excess consumption of sugary drinks can be.

Using a computer model and data from the Framingham Heart Study, the Nurses Health Study and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers estimated that the escalating consumption between 1990 and 2000 of soda and sugar-sweetened beverages, which they abbreviated as 'SSBs,' led to 75,000 new cases of diabetes and 14,000 new cases of coronary heart disease.

What's more, the burden of the diseases translated into a $300 million to $550 million increase in health care costs between 2000 and 2010."7

1.It's the "real thing" . . . not exactly. Should having the number one caloric source in the world come from something that's entirely manmade be a metaphor for a dying world? It doesn't have to be this way. After all, there's nothing in soda that we need. In fact, there's nothing in soda that even comes from the earth except caffeine, and that's optional. It's a mixture of altered water (injected with carbon dioxide gas), artificial flavors (yes, "natural flavor" is artificial), artificial color, and phosphoric acid, along with its sole caloric source that is a by-product of genetically modified corn production and offers virtually no nutritional value. It's about as real as The Thing.