Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica

Hey All,

Here’s an update on my Tamarindo Beach excursion that I”m taking.  It seems my friends are even closer to buy their condo in Costa Rica and I’ll be going down hopefully in February to celebrate their housewarming (condowarming?).  I told my brother, who’s much more well-off than I am, about these and I showed him the place they purchased and he immediately scoffed at the price, until he found out about how many things there were to do there!  So now he might purchase one…So between my friends and my brother, I’ll be basking in the glow of Costa Rica luxury a couple times a year!  Which reminds me, I should really dust off my elliptical trainer in the next few days to get some extra cardio in in the comfort of my own home before I leave.

Anyway, I’ll keep you guys updated with the vacation details.  So much stuff to do…Also, somebody remind me to call my litigation lawyer in PA before I leave…yours truly has a bit of a wild streak and without knowing Costa Rican law, I might push it a little too far!

Obese People Get Less Food Satisfaction

A new study shows that obese people get less satisfaction from food, according to scientists.  Given this, obese people tend to overeat because the taste of food produced less of a pleasurable sensation in their brains.

Full Story Here

Therefore, people who are overweight, or obese, have to eat more to feel content.  Now, I’m curious…If this country has a weight problem, how many people have this lessened excretion of dopamine?  Is it really scientific as to why we’re all overweight, or is it the onslaught of marketing and the fatty, unhealthy food choices?

I absolutely love how all of these fast food chains and restaurant franchises have suddenly taken some concern (or lack thereof) in their customers’ well being…All of sudden, they market “NO TRANS FATS!” and calorie counts, like the people who regularly dine at the establishment really care…The truth is that counting calories and advertising no trans fats is just a marketing gimmick.  The calorie count may be low, but how many of those calories are empty?  The lack of trans fats is a nice touch, but what about the thousands of grams of saturated fat?  It’s all bullshit.  Ask any obese person, a chicken breast just isn’t a chicken breast if it isn’t smothered in something slimy and can eat through a paper plate in 30 seconds…but he won’t die of heart disease!!  Instead, he’ll die of cancer, diabetes, a heart attack, a stroke, gallbladder disease, or sleep apnea, just to name a few…

My point is: This country has a serious problem concerning obesity (I’ve recently read somewhere that the average woman is a size 14 right now.  SIZE 14!!).  I see a lot of studies being done, a lot of experiments being conducted, and a lot of information being spewed forth, but nobody is doing anything with it.  The government is dragging its heels, parents don’t want to say their children are fat, that might hurt their little feelings And schools are still cutting phys ed class: My son just told me the other day that they only have one day of gym.  I looked at him with the usual “Huh?” face, in disbelief…then I felt like a schmuck for being the “uninformed” parent…so much so that I was going to call and ask when this was implemented.

So, whoever the powers that be may be that implements these kinds of studies and plans of action, do it soon so I don’t have to duck out of the way when I’m walking down the sidewalk because an obese family is moving towards me like a fleet of interstate truckers!

Police Officers Should be Subject to Physical Fitness Tests

In today’s society, police officers should be physically fit.  Most of the criminals are fit, or at least trim, so why shouldn’t our cops?  I don’t hate cops, I don’t hate what they stand for, and I kinda fear their authority (even though I’m grown up now and not the delinquent that I once was, I still get a little nervous when I’m on the road and a cop is following me), and I’m even for cops getting higher pay.  It’s a dangerous job, they should get paid A LOT more!

But when I see a fat, out of shape cop, it’s just embarrassing.  We live in a very contradictory society where there’s a lot of pressure to be thin and in shape, while there’s so much crap food that you can buy cheap out on the market.  But when you envision a cop, you think of someone that is physically fit with a badass attitude, or maybe that’s just the movies…

Well anyway, here’s an article that makes the argument that cops should be physically fit as part of their job, meaning that they have to stay in shape throughout their career because of the strenuous nature of the job.

Police One article

I have to agree with the article because, like I said before, most of the criminals are fit and active…except for the usual crack addicts and meth heads…but a lot of criminals are scrappy and most of them could probably outrun a cop.  Police officers don’t have to look like Sylvester Stallone-badass-supercops, but they could get into a fitness routine that keeps them in shape.  You have to pass a fitness test to get into police academy, you should have to pass fitness tests to keep your career as well.

Besides, there’s nothing stereotypically funnier than seeing a cop eating a donut!

Obese Children May Need New Livers By Age 30

In another unsurprising bit of news about the obesity epidemic in America, now overweight children will need to have their livers replaced because of being overweight.  If their livers aren’t damaged now, it will be by their 30s….

CNN news article here

“The American Liver Foundation and other experts estimate 2 to 5 percent of American children over age 5, nearly all of them obese or overweight, have the condition, called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.”

Apparently, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease causes cirrosis of the liver, which is then followed by liver failure and liver cancer.  Now, I’m no doctor, but I do know that they all lead to DEATH!!

Parents, please tell your kids to get off the couch and go outside for a bike ride or a pick-up football game because nonalcoholic fatty liver disease CAN be cured through weightloss.  Stop it with the denial.  Look at your kid, admit to yourself they’re fat, and tell them to put down the cheese doodles and do something athletic before they’re subjected to a very short lifetime of pain, misery, and an endless search for organ donors.

Flip Flops Get A Much Needed Design Update

I found this article about the PecheBlu flip flops on Tribble Agency.  Usually, I wouldn’t think about the design of my footware, especially flip flops, but this is pretty compelling.  Now I know why my feet constantly hurt and my shins feel like they were kicked 10 times each with steel – toed boots.

PecheBlu flip flops, unlike other “slab” flip flops, offer arch support for your feet.  I didn’t really think about it until now, but I can see how if your feet aren’t supported, it tends to cause a lot of strain on your ankles, shins, and knees. Not to mention that regular “slab” flip flops make you feel like you’re walking funny…

I did some more research into them and it looks like a pretty cool company….and they actually care about how they make their flip flops!  Granted, some of them are a little expensive ($400 for a pair of crocodile flip flops?), but they’re definitely worth checking out.  Walk the beach in comfort!

Time in a Gym: Less is More

Peoplejam.com has a post on how to get more of a work out in less time.  It has some really cool insights on what you should be working on and how long it should take you, and it’s very simple to understand.  It goes into how many times a week you should work out (3), and being able to do a full body workout in about 40 minutes.  It also gives you a small, really simple exercise program you should follow.

Article Here

I’m one of those people who used to have 2 hour marathons in the gym.  It was great at first, but eventually I started regressing.  I wasn’t putting on as much muscle, somedays I couldn’t lift as much as other days that same week with the same muscle group, and I would always be pulling a muscle, or I’d have tennis elbow and joint pain.  I wish I had some muscle spasm lotion back then, because I’d be hurting for weeks with a pulled muscle.  I’d train through the pain, though, like an idiot.

The article is right in saying that fitness magazines are depressing.  You can’t do any kind of marathon in a gym and expect to go anywhere fast.  This article says to train for three days a week, which is precisely correct when you’re first starting out.  I go to the gym four days a week because most of my program consists of upper body training, so I use the fourth day for lower body.

If you want to go five days a week, though, make sure that two days are dedicated to cardio.  Get on a treadmill for 20 minutes and do some windsprints, or hop on an exercise bike for an hour.  You need to give you body time to heal the muscles that you just worked.

Anymore, I spend about 40 to 45 minutes on my workout.  I have no more muscle discomfort, no aching joints, and I’m constantly seeing improvements.  Remember: Less is more!

LA Bans Fast Food Restaurants in Poor Neighborhoods

The Los Angeles City Council doesn’t want the poor people to eat.  That’s not what they’ll tell you, though.  The City Council is in the last stages of passing an ordinance restricting and/or prohibiting the construction of fast food restaurants in and around South Central LA.

Story Here

The Council says it’s not trying to starve the po’ people, but trying to help them, yeah right:

This ordinance is in no way attempting to tell people what to eat but rather responding to the need to attract sit-down restaurants, full service grocery stores, and healthy food alternatives. Ultimately, this ordinance is about providing choices—something that is currently lacking in our community.

What a crock of shit!  Now, the Public Gym doesn’t recognize fast food as any kind of health food, but to deny people, it doesn’t matter if you’re poor or rich, the right to choose which food they want to eat is against civil liberties.

I don’t know about you, but when I was poor, I couldn’t afford healthy food at the grocery store, I lived off of Ramen noodles, Rice A Roni, and mac and cheese, and oh yeah, the McDonalds Dollar Menu!  I had absolutely no money to sit down at Applebee’s and have a three course meal.  And I can only assume that in South Central, LA, and every other poor neighborhood in the U.S., that it’s basically the same as in my small case.

These people need to eat.  It’s not a matter of choice, it’s a matter of necessity!  It’s also a matter of education.  Educate the people on how to eat healthier.  Even McDonalds has salads and yogurt…

I bet Beverly Hills has blocks of fast food restaurants….

Breakfast Before a Workout

Have you ever wondered what to eat when you’re in “workout” mode?  Well, the important thing is to remain on a low-fat healthy diet, that’s obvious….This means no box food either:  No mac and cheese, no Hamburger Helper, no TV dinners….you get the point.  Most of these box foods, what I call them, are pure crap.  There’s no nutritional value at all, and the only thing that gives it the flavor is the 700 tablespoonfuls of salt.  Plus, all the preservatives in that crap will make you feel sluggish, lacadaisical, and very rundown.

But let’s talk about breakfast!  It’s the most important meal of the day, and it’s also my favorite!  For a guy that likes eating, maybe a little too much, there’s nothing better than waking up and tasting food.  Many of you will now think I’m overweight LOL, but I’m not.  If you go for your workout in the morning, the best foods to have are high carb, low fat snacks.  Nothing too much or you’ll feel sluggish during your workout.  Some snack combos to eat are:

• banana and yogurt
• whole wheat bagel (toasted) with a fruit spread
• instant oatmeal

This should get you pretty well energized for your workout.  After the workout, when your body needs to replenish, I recommend these foods:

• peanut butter sandwich
• some almonds or mixed nuts
• fruit smoothie with a shot of protein

This will recharge your body and give it a quick, sugary jolt to start your day.  Believe me, it’s better than coffee in the morning!  Speaking of coffee, I would advise switching to green tea in the morning or throughout the day.  Green tea is rich in anitoxidants, and it boosts your metabolism along with that treadmill run or exercise bike!  Don’t forget to order the muscle spasm lotion either.  There’s plenty of links to the ointment on the site, so click one and check the product out!  Oh yeah, and another shameless plug:  If you’re working out on grass, get these Monroe lawn care professionals to fix all the divots you’ve made over the summer.

Simple Summer Workouts

With the summer here and the weather being 85 degrees +, is there anybody that wants to work out in a gym? I really don’t….a gym can get hot and really humid in the summer, and barely any of them have air conditioners, except if you’re one of those huge gym-spa-yoga class franchises. But nobody said that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with training outside.

There are many things you can do outside to keep in shape. Right now, Men’s Health has a couple workouts you can do outside that don’t require much much equipment, like the sandbag workout, or the Seize Your Saturdays workout. You can even just go run around at the local high school track, or do windsprints on their football field.

If your high school’s football field is being redone by a Connecticut landscaping company like mine is, go ride your bike in the mountains, or take a long hike in the woods. It all just takes a little creativity to enjoy your summer instead of spending it indoors. Chances are, you probably already work indoors, so why would you want to work out indoors? Go outside and enjoy yourself for once! Working out shouldn’t be considered work, so don’t make yourself feel like you’re doing manual labor.

Great Workout for the Beach

Hey guys and gals,

I found this new workout on Men’s Fitness online, it’s called the Eternal Beach Body Plan.  I’ve changed up my workout routine to this and it seems to be working great!  Right now I’m in the middle of Phase 2, on week 7, and I’m already seeing results.  I wanted to try this workout initially before I posted this and so far I’m very happy with it!

Here’s a tip…for a warm up to get your muscles loose, take a run on a treadmill for 10 minutes.  After your workout, put some muscle cramp ointment on any of your sore muscles.

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