The older you get the fatter you get is a simply stupid statement — don’t you believe it. Perhaps a more accurate proclamation might be the lazier you get the fatter you get.

As I have written in the past, unless there is an underlying medical cause, there is no reason, aging or any other, for one to become obese. Obesity is a result of poor eating habits and lack of proper exercise.

Because more strength is more muscle and more muscle is more calories burned, strength training lowers body fat, strengthens joints & bones, increases cardiovascular fitness and much more.

Below are some helpful pointers to keep in mind:

• Focus on Strength. More strength is more muscle. More muscle is more calories burned. Focus on strength whatever your goal is. Start light and add weight systematically. You should lift more today than 1 year ago.
• Use Free Weights. Free weights force you to stabilize the weight, allow for natural movement patterns and build functional strength. The bulk of your routine should consist of free weight barbell exercises.
• Use Compound Exercises. Exercises that hit several body parts at the same time stress your body more. Your routine should include Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Pull-ups, etc.
• Use Proper Technique. Decreases the risk of injury and allows for more weight. Bad technique is acceptable on heavy attempts, but build good habits from the start by learning proper exercise technique.
• Eat Whole Foods. Supplements make your life easier, but whole food is better. Eat proteins, veggies & fruits with each meal. Carbs for energy. Plenty of water. Eat every 3 hours starting at breakfast.
• Don’t Be Perfect. Junk food is ok 10% of the time and bad workouts happen to everyone. Train hard 45 weeks/year & eat healthy 90% of the time, you’ll be muscular with a healthy body fat.

Black Friday, 2011. While $11.4 billion was being spent at retail stores and malls, some over-enthusiastic customers decided to make things even more interesting:

• At a Walmart store in Porter Ranch, California, a woman fired pepper spray into a crowd in an attempt to clear a path to an Xbox. 20 people were treated for injuries.

• Gunshots were fired in a parking lot outside a mall in North Carolina around 2 am. While no one was injured, many shoppers were sent into a panic.

• Believing he was stealing a video game, security guards at a Walmart in Arizona left a 54-year old grandfather bleeding heavily from his nose after slamming him into the ground. The grandfather claimed he put the game in his pants to keep it safe while trying to protect his grandson from getting trampled.

• A shopper was shot outside a Walmart in San Leandro, California at 1:45 am after members of his family resisted two armed robbers attempting to steal their purses. The wounded man was in critical but stable condition.

• After punching another shopper while waiting in line to buy video games, a man was stun-gunned by Police in order to subdue him.

• At 1:15 am, customers waiting in line outside a Hollister store in SOHO were a bit upset after learning that that particular location was not opening until the next day. They got tired of waiting for the door to open and broke it down instead, looting the store in the process.

Happy Birthday to my Princess Lovebug! Squirt is five today.

And this is my Princess Lovebug four years and 42 weeks ago!! I love her so much!

DES MOINES, Iowa -- November 2, 2011.

A rare but welcome shot of rain is rolling through Iowa today. It really is not much of a storm...it is a friendly little “event” as the weather people would call it.

I went out for my walk with my lovebugs early to beat the rain. And then I smelt…"that smell"...the smell of rain. I asked myself, "is it possible to smell the rain?" Well, you can smell something, but rain? Have you ever tried to smell this same rain in January when the ground is frozen solid? Not a chance, but when the ground and plants are warmer, you can smell something.

 
What you really smell comes not from the air, but the ground! Plants release oils that enter the soil and blend with the other earthy odors. These odors are released into the air when the relative humidity at ground level exceeds 75 percent. Moist humid air will transmit odors far better than dry air. In these moist humid conditions we notice these odors more readily. And since rain is so often connected with moist humid air, we tend to associate one with the other.

Some rocks such as limestone also smell like this when wet. Science tells us it is the slow evaporation of calcium; small particles are released into the air which enter your nose, and there’s a gaseous calcium-containing molecule produced by interaction between carbon dioxide, water, and a calcium compound.

I came home, and as the rain started, I settled in for some serious and overdue relaxation time. I am curious about nature and its ability to evoke memory, about universal experiences that each of us can deeply personalize, about nostalgic places, smells, and emotions. I have always loved the rain. I remember childhood times at the lake. The neighbors, my brother, and I would swim in the rain. We would play "under the dock tag". The rain was sometimes cold , but the lake water warm, dark, and engulfing. I love the rain! I love the darkness of an afternoon with thunderstorms crashing overhead, and me snuggled up in a blanket at home. I love the constant tapping of the rain on my roof at night, coaxing me to sleep.

I will soak up today's rare, but welcome fall rain.

My fall lawn food is down and soon the grass and plants will go dormant as they prepare themselves for the spring bloom. Spring cannot get here soon enough!

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.

-Roger Miller

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some of you reading this, I know well. Some of you, I don’t know at all, which makes it a little awkward when trying to figure out when to tone things down and when to really get on your case. I cannot tell when you have had enough, and I cannot entertain questions at the end of every paragraph (although, you are welcome to email me questions at any time).


My blog is not all about me, although I am quite aware that few things have more transformative power than people and stories. Real life and ordinary people are fascinating. Why else would you be reading this right now??

So, this is why I tell you that for several years now, I have been experimenting with different nutritional plans. I have veered far away from the cultural habits that many have conformed to in the U.S. You will come to realize that I am literally taking you on a pilgrimage, sharing my passions and revealing my hopes for changing the way the world views health, specifically, food.

My greatest sign of hope for a worldview change regarding food is the emergence of a new generation that is eager to return to a state of health. People are actually paying attention! So, my question is no longer “what to do if nobody listens, but what happens when people actually start to take me seriously”. Now, don’t get me wrong, even though people around the country thirst for health, there is still the problem of “bigger and bigger.” We want to super size our fries, our sodas, and everything else that spell disaster.

Can you see the headlines? Extra, Extra, read all about it: Obesity Hits an All-time High! The proportion of U.S. adults who are obese grew by nearly 2% between 2005 and 2007, from just under 24% to 25.6%. Newspapers, journals, radio, and TV tell us we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. But, as I mentioned above, the things that transform us are people and experiences. Scientific studies of “fat genes” and medical reports posting statistics regarding the rise of obesity are really not that compelling, even if they are true!

Somewhere along the way I started to wake up to the profound effect food made upon me, my body, my mind, my mood, and, ultimately, my heart. I began to notice that what I consumed had both an immediate, and long-term, effect on everything about my lifestyle, my environment, and me.

It is undeniable that we have to eat in order to stay alive. But, here’s where it gets a little tricky. I am going to ask you a simple question: “When you are eating, do you ask yourself if the food items serve a purpose? Are there vitamins or minerals? Does the fat come from a healthy source or is it saturated or worse, a trans fat? Does the carbohydrate have a good amount of fiber or is it high in sugar? Is the protein lean or fatty? The bottom line is this; if the food you are about to consume doesn't serve a purpose, don't put it in your mouth. The purpose of eating is to nourish the body…provide it with the nutrients it requires for bodily functions.

A healthy eating diet takes a balanced approach. You will find there are foods that will make you feel and look better, while still allowing you to fit them into an enjoyable daily routine. A healthy eating plan is based on the following major food groups: carbohydrates, fat and protein…each in a specific amount and at just the right time of day.

The time has come for a new way of viewing food. Start to think about why you eat rather than what you are eating. Once you know why you are eating, you will know what to eat!

CASE STUDY

Subjective: rash. 14 year old white male presents with many blisters filled with yellow or honey-colored fluid material on his right cheek. Some have been oozing and crusting over. Mom states her 12 year old daughter has also had a rash for over a month surrounding her nose/nostrils. Mom initially thought it was a mild case of acne and tried every acne product known to man to cure it, before finally decided it was time to take both of them to the doctor.


Objective: 14 yr old white male alert and oriented. No distress. Vital Signs are stable.
HEENT: unremarkable
H: RRR without murmurs
L: clear
Neuro: CN II-XII intact
Skin: multiple honey crusted lesions are noted on the right cheek. Some are reddened and appear to be drying up.

Assessment: Impetigo

Plan:
1. Wash (do not scrub) the skin several times a day, preferably with an antibacterial soap, to remove crusts and drainage.
2. Rx given for Bactroban to apply bid for 10 days
3. Patient education given. Impetigo is caused by streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph) bacteria. Methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) is becoming a common cause. The skin normally has many types of bacteria on it, but intact skin is an effective barrier that keeps bacteria from entering and growing in the body. When there is a break in the skin, bacteria can enter the body and grow there, causing inflammation and infection. Breaks in the skin may occur with:

Animal bites

Human bites

Injury or trauma to the skin

Insect bites


Prevent the spread of infection.

•If you have impetigo, always use a clean washcloth and towel each time.

•Do not share towels, clothing, razors, and and other personal care products with other family members.

•Wash your hands thoroughly after touching the skin lesions.

Are you looking for a new training coach? Let me give you a few things to consider when beginning your search. If you are a trainer and reading this...take notes.

#1: The best trainers perform thorough assessments when working with new clients before doing anything else.This means movement screens and basic performance tests. This also means identifying the client’s current food intake and assessing lifestyle variables, including schedule, primary complaints, current level of social support, willingness to change, and more.

#2: Clients are spending big bucks to get into shape. Often as much as five or ten thousand dollars. And if a trainer can get them into shape, they are worth every single penny. The greatest evidence of a trainer's value is found in their client record books.

That’s why the best trainers do the following:

• track client adherence
• log how their clients’ bodies are changing and over what time period
• record performance and lifestyle changes
• keep photo albums with before and after photos
• highlight before and after photos, body composition change data, and testimonials; and show this book to all prospective clients.

#3: The best trainers are lifelong learners. We all know how the fitness industry is riddled with weekend certifications and nutrition courses. High quality certifications and internships with the top coaches in the field are not easy to come by and they are often not cheap. But elite fitness pros find a way to get the best training anyway. Clients can recognize this. Knowing your trainer is worth every dollar they charge is priceless.


#4: The best trainers practice what they preach. Would you trust a realtor who’s never owned a home? How about a broke financial planner? Probably not. So why would anyone hire an out-of-shape trainer? Now, don’t get me wrong. Top trainers don’t have to look like fitness models or bodybuilders. However, they do have to live the kind of lifestyle they preach to their clients. They should have a little more muscle, a little less fat, and a better health profile than the average person. This is powerful evidence that they know both how the body works (exercise/nutrition physiology) and how the mind works (change psychology).

#5: The best trainers reward behavior, not outcome. For instance:
“I need to lose 10 pounds” is an outcome. “I need to exercise five times per week” is a behavior.

The outcome is the trainer's responsibility and the behavior is the responsibility of the client. Your trainer is good when he/she rewards you for following last week’s habits 90% of the time and didn’t miss any workouts regardless of the outcome — because it’s this pattern of behavior that will eventually lead to success. So, instead of setting outcome goals, your trainer should set behavior goals.

#6: The best trainers measure everything worth measuring. Clients want to achieve something measurable. Good trainers will monitor and record performance variables like sets, reps, and rest intervals. They’ll monitor nutrition habit and behavior compliance. They’ll monitor workout attendance. They’ll monitor body composition. They’ll take pictures.

#7: The best trainers are well-trained and adaptable. They’re able to produce results in every type of client. From 18 year old guys, to 65 year old women, from level 1 beginners, to level 3 pros...they can do it all. That makes them indispensable. (And in demand.)

#8: The best trainers offer integrated nutrition and training solutions as part of their programing. They oversee exercise programming. They coach the movements. They provide motivation. They also schedule private nutrition sessions. They assess nutritional intake and compliance regularly. They show their clients around the grocery store, and encourage them to prepare and cook their food.

#9: The best trainers care about their clients. It is every trainer's responsibility to help every person that comes to see them. And that means actually caring about that person and doing whatever it takes to help them make improvements in their body – and their life.

#10: The best trainers read more than just training books. Trainers also need to read about other things as well. Learning about the psychology of change is a significant part of being a good trainer.

Today's lesson is that of respect. Respect, as many of you are aware, has great importance in everyday life. One hopes that children will learn respect from their parents. The child learns the most from the way the parents behave in the presence of the child. If, in presence of the child, the parents fight or rebuke each other or use curse words, the child is bound to learn this. If the child sees that the parents respect not only each other but also other members of the household or society they move in, they will also learn the same. They will also develop the habit of respecting others.

As a child growing up in a single parent family, I'm sure outsiders tended to judge my brother and I on the basis of our simple living conditions and adherence to rules. It was common to hear my dad explaining to my brother and I why a desired behavior is so important. For example, he would explain that thanking someone for a gift shows how much we appreciate the thought, time and money that went into choosing and purchasing the gift. My dad would tell us to look people in the eye when they speak to us to show that we are respectful listeners, and we don't interrupt. He would especially teach us respect for our things as well as the property of others. This was very important to my dad as he knew he could not give us the things the other kids got, but instead, he taught us that saving our money to buy things was very powerful. Taking care of things would allow them to last longer, and most importantly, he thought teaching boundries was important when it came to property. Can you imagine that feuds my brother and I had over Hot Wheels? My dad set us straight on that one.

Unfortunately, I do not witness appropriate parent role models every day. If only parents realized just how powerful their actions can be.

You may have heard the famous verse, "children learn what they live" authored by Dorothy Law Nolte in 1974. I will leave you with this short verse in hopes that it will spur parent role modeling in a positive way upon children. It goes like this:

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

More Jobs Lost Because of ObamaCare


We all know that ObamaCare is going to kill hundreds of thousands of jobs. What we didn't know was that this trend would hit President Obama's hometown of Chicago so quickly. Major Chicago pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories will be forced to cut 1,900 jobs-more than 2% of their entire workforce. This follows the 9,000 jobs they were forced to cut last September. The spokesman for the company explained that ObamaCare was the main cause. Already, the Democrats' health care law has cost them over $200 million in the past year alone. He went on to say that the layoffs were "in response to changes in the health- care industry, including U.S. health-care reform and the challenging regulatory environment." Looks like if ObamaCare isn't repealed, and fast, even the President himself won't be able to stop it from harming his own backyard

"Consider the humble paper clip. A thin piece of steel wire bent into a double-oval shape. And yet over the past century, it remains the standard method of holding loose sheets of paper together. The first paper clip was invented in 1867 by Samuel Fay. The patent was issued on April 23, 1867 and was actually for a Ticket Fastener. The modern paper clip was patented on April 27, 1899 to William D. Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut, and for more than 100 years has been fastening loose paper with few modifications"