Andy - Week of 6/16/11 Stats - Biggest Loser Week 5

Week Starting Weight: 347.6 lbs

Week Ending Weight:  357.4 lbs

Lost Since Last Week:    0.0 lbs

Exercise

Thursday: 45 minutes of hiking, 1 hour of swimming
Friday: None

Saturday: 3 minutes of Treadmill Warm-up, 160 lbs, x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 100 lbs x 60 Double Bell Squats*, 160 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 45 seconds x 4 sets of Planks, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses; 25 minutes of Walking
Sunday: None

Monday: 4 minutes of Elliptical Warm-up, 160 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 45 seconds x 4 sets of Planks, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 100 lbs x 17 Double Bell Squats**; 20 minutes of Treadmill Cardio; 20 minutes of Walking

Tuesday: None
Wednesday: 3.25 minutes of Elliptical Warm-up, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 50 lbs x 60 Double Bell Squats, 160 lbs, x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 45 seconds x 4 sets of Planks, 160 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses

*This was the point where I proceeded to put too much strain on my right trapezius muscle in my neck near the base of my skull.  This was probably due to poor alignment of the neck and trying to do too many repetitions in one set.
**This was the point where I was a little too forgetful about my previous injury and tried to go back and do it over.  This time, the resulting pain caused me to stop my strength training all together for the day.

Reflections

I would love to say, "I give up on trying to understand my body" but I understand it all too well by this point.  The foods we eat act as ghosts, coming to haunt us days after eating them (see my post on Carbs).

The stats from this week are a combination of many things.  The first being a terrible sleep and work schedule.  This is what happens when you work way more than you should are used to and on varying shifts.  The second factor was poor eating choices when in a hungry pinch.  The third being fatigue from loss of sleep and injury combined.

In other news, I did get to find a great little nature trail that I got to go out and walk earlier in the week.  It took me about 45 minutes with my son, but I'm sure I could sprint/jog it in about 25 minutes (3 year-olds need to make periodic stops to check things out).  It has a relatively level terrain and it's really beautiful to look at.  I expect to go back a lot.

Goals for Next Week

I've got three more weeks of scheduled madness at work.  There is a small chance that it may get cut short if the new-hires being trained finish up sooner than expected and start working regularly scheduled shifts.  I'm not going to get my hopes up or anything, but the relief will be nice.  The bottom line is that I would rather them be ready for the job than to come out half-cocked and not last.  That's three more weeks of doing my best to cope with 4-5 long days of madness.

In the meantime, I'm going to have to do my best to utilize the time I have to get adequate rest.  This should help with the fatigue I'm experiencing and not cause the foods I eat to affect me so badly.

Of course, making better eating choices is going to be key.  I've did a lot better over the past week than I have in the past few, but improvements still can be made in many areas.  I want to make a return to intermittent fasting.

I'm happy with my cardio time and the number of times I'm making it into the gym for strength training.  The only thing I have to work on now is practicing good form when I do my lifts.  Without proper form, I am setting myself up for a needless injury.

Creatine in Your Routine

Normally, when words like Creatine are mentioned in a discussion about fitness, one of the first images that people think of looks something like this:

I suppose that it is possible for somebody to look like that after taking creatine.  The question we have to ask ourselves is, "What else were they taking?"  Could you imagine somebody who takes creatine looking any different?  Could you imagine them looking like... me?

Yes, I have been using creatine.  For the past six weeks I've been "juicing it up"; and you know what?  I feel fine.

Here's the rub on the taboo supplement that makes people shudder:

Creatine is the most popular and commonly used sports supplement available today. There are numerous studies backed by anecdotal evidence that support the efficacy of creatine supplementation. For the majority of the population, including both elite athletes and untrained individuals, creatine supplementation increases fat free mass and improves anaerobic and possibly aerobic performance.

- Bodybuilding.com 

Creatine is, and always has been, a natural component of skeletal muscle. The only reason that creatine may seem like something new is a recent boom in scientific research in the area since the early 1990s. In a sense, creatine was rediscovered when world-class athletes became wise to the option of utilizing it to enhance their physical performance.

In truth, however, creatine was identified as an indispensable part of skeletal muscle some time ago. Nearly two centuries ago (1835) a French scientist and philosopher named Michel-Eugène Chevreul isolated a component from skeletal muscle that he gave the name Creatine after the Greek word for flesh, or Kreas. A few years later (1847) a German scientist named Justus von Liebig proposed that creatine is necessary to support muscular activity when he observed that wild (active) foxes contain more intramuscular creatine than foxes kept in captivity. Liebig later went as far as lending his name to a commercial extract of meat that he asserted would help the body perform extra “work“. Indeed, Liebig’s “Fleisch Extrakt ” could reasonably be considered the original creatine supplement – complete with marketing strategy.

In fact, meat and fish are the richest natural sources of creatine. Carnivores therefore, receive their creatine directly via dietary channels. Conversely, herbivores (and strict vegetarians), since they abstain from consuming these sources of creatine, are solely reliant on their body’s natural ability to synthesis creatine from basic components. Omnivores, on the other hand, have at their disposal both avenues from which to fulfill their daily creatine requirement.

 - CreatineMonohydrate.net

So, now that we've got it out of the way that our bodies naturally produce creatine, and that we also obtain it from meat that we eat, let's talk about how I've been using it and what it has done for me.

First off, I started using creatine on a six week cycle.  For the past six weeks, any time I have did any kind of strength training, I have had 5mg of Creatine Monohydrate mixed into a water bottle.  I normally started drinking this water right before I went to the gym and usually finished it right before my last station.  Other than that, my routine has stayed the same, including my regular multi-vitamins and drinking a protein shake right after my workout.

I did not go through a "Loading" phase with it like a lot of people do.  I started out with 5mg every time, and only on the days that I did strength training.  Now that my six weeks of using creatine are over, I will go without using it for four to six weeks.

As far as my strength training is concerned, these are the results after six weeks of using creatine monohydrate:

• Lateral Pulls and Rows:  Started at 140 lbs x 20 reps, Ended at 160 lbs x 25 reps, Equals 20 lbs increase in weight and 5 repetitions increase.
• Double Bell Squats: Started at 90 lbs x 40 reps, Ended at 100 lbs x 60 reps, Equals 10 lbs increase in weight and 20 repetitions increase.
• Bench Presses: Started at 105 lbs x 25 reps, Ended at 110 lbs x 25 reps, Equals 5 lbs increase in weight and no repetitions increase.
• Shoulder Presses: Started at 130 lbs x 25 reps, Ended at 160 lbs x 25 reps, Equals 30 lbs increase in weight and no repetitions increase.
• Planks: Started at 30 seconds x 3 sets, Ended at 45 seconds x 4 sets, Equals 15 seconds increase in time each set and 1 extra set -or- 90 seconds increase in total time.
• In addition, I can see more definition of muscle in my calves, thighs, stomach, chest, shoulders, and upper arms from six weeks ago.

I am very pleased with the results of this first round.  I had hoped that I would be able to increase my weight more in my bench presses than what is shown, but I'm okay with that.  My maximum effort lift is just short of half my body weight right now, which is where I hope to get it and then maintain it at that level, if not go above it.

In my next cycle of creatine usage, I plan to up the dosage just a little bit.  I am going to try a small "loading" phase, and also use it on a daily basis.  I hope this will aid in my road to a healthier me in the future.

After all, isn't that what we're all trying for here?

Take a Picture, It Will Last Longer

Have you noticed the About Andy section of the blog yet?  If not, let me bring you up to speed as to what is going on over there.  Yes, there is a short biography about me, but there are also a bunch of pictures.  I'll tell you why they are there.

A piece of advice that I received a long time ago was that weight loss doesn't always go according to our plans.  We hit those wonderful things called "plateaus" and we can't seem to get our weight any lower that what it's been for the past - say, for instance - three months.  It can get discouraging to step up on the scales when you aren't visually seeing those results you want.

The best thing to combat those plateaus is to track your weight loss by other means.  Some people choose clothing sizes, which works just fine.  It can even be very motivating for some if they're trying to get down to the next size.  I choose to go another, less expensive route.

I take pictures.  Every month, within the same five-day period, I take a picture of myself.  Most of the time, my wife takes it for me and we try to take it in the same place or at least with the same pose every time.  The first picture shown was one of me where I wasn't actually posing because of my weight.  It was a picture of me on my birthday, while I was out with my wife and son on a geocaching trip.

The next photo was taken three months later, just as a starter picture for this blog.  I didn't know until a month later what a favor I had done for myself.  In a month's time, I hadn't lost the weight that I had planned on losing, and I was telling a friend about it.  They said, "Why not take a photo of yourself and track it again in a month?  That way you can still see the fat coming off of you."  I went out and took a picture that moment, and that was how it all began.

After doing that for a few months, I thought it would be a good idea to share my progress with everyone, not just with my weekly stats updates.  I didn't want the blog to just be pictures of me though, so I started adding them to my "About Andy" page.  That's where I've been putting them ever since.

The bottom line is that you don't have to be like me and put your pictures up on the internet.  But if you want a cool way to track your personal fitness goals, then try taking a picture of yourself every month.  If you want to see more drastic changes, try taking one every six months, but be warned that you may miss something that you would want to correct by not taking pics on a more regular basis.

If you don't want to put your pictures up on the internet, that's fine.  Something you can try since the photos you take will be more private is taking pictures of yourself either in your underwear or naked.  It sounds perverted and gross; I know.

But isn't this one of the main reasons we're doing this?  Don't we all want to look good naked?

(If you do take those pictures in your birthday suit, I might suggest hiding them well.)

No Sweets? No Sweat! 30 Day Challenge - Day 30 (THE END)

With a lot of people like me who are trying to lose weight, one of the biggest obstacles we have to overcome is giving up sweets. For the next thirty days I want you to take this challenge with me.  Eat nothing sweet!  Let's cut out all the indulgences we take for granted, and prove to our bodies, our minds, and everyone else that we don't need sugar to survive!  I'll be posting periodically about my progress.  I want you to leave comments about your progress as well.  Let us inspire one another!  

Day 30

So how did you do?  Be honest.  Was it hard?  

For me, it certainly was a hard challenge.  I slipped up a few times.  I blatantly disregarded the challenge a couple of times.  But that wasn't the point.

The point of this whole thing was to prove to ourselves and others that we don't need sweets to get through our days.  We proved that we didn't need sweets to keep our blood glucose levels maintained at a reasonable level.  Most importantly, I hope we all found alternatives to sweets foods that satisfy our needs and cravings.

One thing that has surprised me over the past few weeks is how much gum I chewed gum.  My wife asked me at least four or five different times if I needed more chewing gum.  I finally asked her, "Do I really go through that much that often?"  I guess the answer was, "Yes."

I know that I'm able to walk by the candy and gum isle at the grocery store now and not give it a second look.  I can also see a gallon of sweet tea or lemonade and not be thirsty for it, because nothing beats my bottle of ice-cold water.

Did anyone else learn anything about themselves through this challenge?  If so, please leave a comment with your experiences.

When Illness and Exercise Collide

For the past week, I have had one terrible head cold.  It's mostly been brought on by something that I am not even aware of starting to bloom in some location near or far that has little pollen spores that travel straight to me and cause my sinuses to go on the fritz.  (See: Kentuckians have some of the worst allergies and that's why it sucks to live in this state sometimes)

I've been coughing, sniffling, hacking, wheezing, and dragging (my butt).  I realize how much worse this could be if I weren't taking a daily regiment of Zyrtec, and I am glad for it.  This also makes me happy because it doesn't stop me from getting into the gym.

"But Andy, why would you want to work out when you're sick?  Will that not just make it worse?  Don't you feel awful when you go to the gym?"

I had to ask myself the same questions.  Luckily, I had some good friends that guided me to the "rule of the neck," and this article which mentions this rule and goes into some detail about working out while ill.

In general, if you're like me and you just have a minor head cold, it's probably safe to work out.  In fact, I go to the gym just to clear my chest congestion and sinuses out.  The intensity of the workout and the increase in body heat help to drain out a lot of the pressure.  I actually walk out of the gym feeling like I was never sick in the first place.  The good feelings usually last about an hour before they return, but most of you that have ever had a cold know that even an hour is heavenly when you're congested.

My personal rule has always been that if it's all in my head, it's probably still safe to play.  However, no illness is the same, so each case much be judged individually.  If you just don't feel up to the task, don't beat yourself up about taking a few days off to recover.  You'll get back in there with energy that you didn't know you had when your illness is finally passed.

Andy - Week of 6/9/11 Stats - Biggest Loser Week 4

Week Starting Weight: 350.6 lbs

Week Ending Weight:  347.6 lbs

Lost Since Last Week:    3.0 lbs

Exercise

Thursday: 25 minutes of Walking; 3 minutes Elliptical Warm-up, 150 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses,  100 lbs x 60 Double Bell Squats, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 45 seconds x 3 Planks, 30 seconds x 1 plank, 160 lbs x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 10 minutes of Elliptical Cardio

Friday: None

Saturday: None

Sunday: 5 minutes of Treadmill Warm-up, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 45 seconds x 4 Planks, 160 lbs x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 100 lbs x 60 Double Bell Squats, 150 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses

Monday: 20 minutes of Jogging

Tuesday: 3 minutes of Elliptical Warm-up, 45 seconds x 4 Planks, 160 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 160 lbs x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 100 lbs x 60 Double Bell Squats; 20 minutes of Walking/Jogging

Wednesday: None

Reflections

Head colds are nasty.  That's how I have spent the past week.  The only times that I've felt any relief from it have been when I worked out, which may surprise a few (see my post for tomorrow).  

What surprised me was losing that additional 3 pounds this week.  I suppose that a lot of it can be contributed to the fact that I wasn't eating much of anything due to the cold.  But believe me that I probably would have been eating crappy food.  I've had a hard fall from the paleo/primal train lately.  I can feel it too.

Goals for Next Week

Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.  Lately, I've been doing 50% paleo and 50% crap food.  I've got all the resources I need to eat a proper paleo diet.  All I need is the motivation to stay away from crap food.  That will be my goal for the week.

My strength training is going well, but I need to boost my cardio hours back up.  I only spent 1.4 hours on cardio this week, and that isn't nearly enough.  If I'm going to be eating crap especially.  My optimal time should be between 3-5 hours a week.

No Sweets? No Sweat! 30 Day Challenge - Day 25

With a lot of people like me who are trying to lose weight, one of the biggest obstacles we have to overcome is giving up sweets. For the next thirty days I want you to take this challenge with me.  Eat nothing sweet!  Let's cut out all the indulgences we take for granted, and prove to our bodies, our minds, and everyone else that we don't need sugar to survive!  I'll be posting periodically about my progress.  I want you to leave comments about your progress as well.  Let us inspire one another!  

Day 25

Did you think I had forgot about the challenge?  Sadly for the both of us, I have not.  How have you been doing through these past 15 days?

I've not did too terribly.  I've cut out so much of the sweetener that I use in my coffee that I sometimes don't put it in at all.  Then again, I'm not drinking nearly as much coffee as I used to be.  Over the past 15 days, I can think of 5 times that I've slipped up and had something sweet.  Each time, I felt a little bit of remorse when I was done, but I knew that I could handle life without sugars.

For the "haters" out there, I'll let you know that I have been checking my blood glucose levels at random intervals during this challenge to see if it's having an effect on me.  Before the challenge started, I was having blood glucose readings that sat in the 90-120 range.  Now that I've cut regular intake of sweets out of my diet for the past 25 days, I have been surprised to find my blood glucose levels sitting between...

90-120.  Yeah, I know it's not a change at all.  I wasn't really surprised, either.  I just wanted it to be suspenseful.  

See you guys in 5 days!

Andy - Week of 6/2/11 Stats - Biggest Loser Week 3

Week Starting Weight: 352.2 lbs

Week Ending Weight:  350.6 lbs

Lost Since Last Week:    1.6 lbs

Exercise

Thursday: None
Friday: None

Saturday: 10 minutes of Walking; 3 minutes Warm-up, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 100 lbs x 60 Double Bell Squats, 150 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 45 seconds x 2 Planks, 30 seconds x 2 planks, 160 lbs x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 5 minutes of Treadmill Cardio, 15 minutes of Elliptical Cardio
Sunday: 10 minutes of Walking; 15 mintes of Elliptical Cardio, 10 minutes of Treadmill Cardio, 5 minutes of Bicylcle Cardio
Monday: None
Tuesday: 3 minutes of Treadmill Warm-up, 160 lbs x 25 Lateral Pulls and Rows, 45 seconds x 2 planks, 30 seconds x 2 planks, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 100 bls x 60 Double Bell Squats, 150 lbs x 25 shoulder presses

Wednesday: None

Reflections

This past week was rough because of all the hours I'm pulling at work.  I was really off the paleo track and I only got to do my strength training twice.  For somebody that is used to doing it three times a week, it's a huge loss.  I love being at the gym because it gives me time to think, but this past week was just too hectic to get in there much.

Goals for Next Week

I want to get back in the gym on a regular basis.  This is going to be hard with my work schedule being combined with that of my wife, but I'll figure out a way to make it work.  Three times a week is what I need to get myself up to.  I'm also going to try and work on walking more during my non-gym time.  If I can get in 30-40 minutes of extra walking a day, I know that I'll gain a lot of ground.

It looks like I'm going to have to make a trip to the grocery this week by myself and find some good paleo/primal food.  It's not that I haven't wanted it, I just haven't had time or access to get to it.  I would imagine that a late night trip to the grocery either right before or right after I get off work will be in order to get what I need.

Check it Out! The Definitive Guide to Walking

I could be biased because this is where I get fed all of the new information for the Primal Blueprint, but I absolutely love Marksdailyapple.com.  Mark Sisson writes some of the best articles on making big and small changes to our every day lives to make us healthier.

This article doesn't let us down.  A lot of people think that walking is such a simple thing and that we all do it, but nobody stops to think how often they walk or how they're performing it.  They might stop and find out that they've been pounding their heels into stubs and didn't even notice it.  If you're one of those people that thinks their stride could use some maintenance, then check out this article.

Hard At Work

The last few days have been rough.  I must apologize to anybody who reads this blog.  You see, I signed up to take an extra shift at work every week for the next six weeks.  My wife works opposite of me so that we can save money on child care for our son.  In short, Biggie Smalls got it right when he said, "Mo' money, mo' problems."

In total, I've worked over 60 hours in the last 5 days at my job, and it's made me a little tired.  I don't want to let any of you down and I don't want to leave you with nothing to read while I'll be catching up on rest for the next few days.  Which means I'm going to be linking to some really awesome articles that I enjoy reading when I've got a few moments to spare.

I'm still working out as much as I can, and I'm trying to do a decent paleo/primal diet as much as I can, and I'm still going through the 30 Day No Sweets? No Sweat! Challenge.  Just keep in mind that nobody is perfect and sometimes we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.

I appreciate all of you that are still checking the blog out regularly for new articles.  Have faith, because I'll be back soon!

Andy - Week of 5/26/11 Stats - Biggest Loser Week 2

Week Starting Weight: 356.0 lbs

Week Ending Weight:  352.2 lbs

Lost Since Last Week:    3.8 lbs

Exercise

Thursday: 3 minutes Elliptical Warm-up, 150 lbs x 20 Lateral Pulls, 150 lbs x 20 Rows, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 100 lbs x 50 Double Bell Squats, 140 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 2 hours 30 minutes of Hiking

Friday: None

Saturday: 3 hours of Swimming

Sunday: 4 minutes Elliptical Warm-up, 140 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 45 seconds x 4 sets of Knee Planks, 150 lbs x 20 Lateral Pulls, 150 lbs x 20 Rows, 100 lbs x 50 Double Bell Squats, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses, 20 minutes of Elliptical Cardio

Monday: 1 Hour of Yard-work

Tuesday: None

Wednesday: 5 minutes Elliptical Warm-up, 140 lbs x 25 Shoulder Presses, 30 seconds x 4 sets of Planks, 150 lbs x 20 Lateral Pulls, 150 lbs x 20 Rows, 100 lbs x 50 Double Bell Squats, 110 lbs x 25 Bench Presses

Reflections

I'm glad to see nearly four of those pounds come back off.  The workouts over the past few days along with the cardio thrown in have felt good.  I'm finally starting to be able to do regular cardio again after doing whatever I did to my toes.  I've been able to run and do planks at the gym again, so that should help with regaining the ground I lost.

My diet has been slipping recently due to a few factors.  The first being the Memorial Day weekend that we had.  It was hard to eat completely paleo while I was at so many cookouts, but I managed pretty well.  The other problem has been access to paleo food at the grocery stores.  The local places seem to be slipping in the amount and variety of fresh foods that they carry, and what they have been putting out has been expiring a lot quicker than it used to.  It's bad mojo for my salads.

Goals for Next Week

My biggest goal for my exercise is keeping on a steady routine.  I've been working a lot, and my wife works opposite of me.  When I'm not at work, she is and that leaves me no way to get to the gym (especially with a three year-old).  Where I'm picking up the extra hours at work lately, I've been feeling quite a bit of fatigue when I get home.  Often times, if I have a day off I find myself just laying on the couch trying to recover.  The only solutions to this problem are either (1) grinning and bearing it, or (2) getting more coworkers that can pick up hours and share the load.  Only one of those is in my control.

My big goal for my diet is to get back on the paleo/primal bandwagon in a big way.  I'm going to be venturing out to see if I can find new sources of food from different locations.  I think if I can change up the variety of what I'm eating, get more fresh food, and find new and awesome ways to cook that food, I'll be alright.

Hard work is ahead.

8 Tips for Staying Sun-Safe

The temperatures here in Kentucky are starting to really cook!  Summer must be right around the corner.  Unfortunately, in this state we lose the Spring and Fall seasons and we're either in extreme cold or heat.  Many of my fellow Kentuckians forget the all important rules to surviving the summer and staying sun-safe during these sudden transitions.

Just in case, the Emergency Medical Fatinicians have come to the rescue with 8 Tips for Staying Sun-Safe this summer:

1. Get at Least 20 Minutes of Sunlight Daily

Our bodies need sunlight.  The sunlight hits our skin and causes the natural manufacture of Vitamin D which helps to strengthen bones, skin, prevent inflammation, and boost immunity.  For more information on Vitamin D, click here.  Twenty minutes of sunlight daily in the optimum time to kick-start our bodies into creating Vitamin D without burning our skin.  An added bonus, besides the gradual tan we will build from being outside, is the extra protection to UV rays that those daily 20 minutes gives us.  

2. Wear Sunscreen/Sunblock

It's pretty much a no-brainer by now, but some people still manage to forget.  The purpose of sunscreen is to block out the harmful UV rays that burn the skin and cause melanomas (cancer).  The level of SPF (Sun Protection Factor) you need depends on your skin and how long you plan to stay outside.  The University of California, San Francisco has a great page on sunscreen and determining what SPF you need here.

3. Stay Hydrated

Bring a bottle of water outside with you.  You don't have to gulp the whole bottle down within the first few minutes of being outside, but it is important to remember to at least take small sips for the duration of the time outside.  If your body gets dehydrated, your skin will burn quicker which can also lead to sun poisoning.  Dehydration can also lead to an altered mental status (confusion), which can be dangerous if outside by yourself.  You want to be able to remember to get back to the safety of cooler climates and shaded areas.  The key here is to prevent dehydration, not to cure it.

4. Wear Appropriate Clothing

The activity you are performing outside is going to determine what clothing you should wear.  Mesh and light cotton clothing are going to have less sun blocking ability than a denim will, but they will breathe better.  The same is going to go for the color of the clothing your wear.  A black shirt will attract heat quicker than a white shirt would, but your skin would be better protected in the black.  I am a very "middle-of-the-road" kind of guy.  When I go outside to exercise or play in the hotter months, I like to wear lighter colored t-shirts and athletic shorts usually made of mesh polyester or nylon.  Don't forget hats and sunglasses as well!  They can go a long way.

5. Take Breaks and Find Shade

Nobody said you had to stay out in the sunlight for six straight hours!  Remember to find shade and rest periodically.  This will help you keep your energy up and keep your body temperature down.  If you can't get inside to an air-conditioned location, try to find a place with shade like under a tree or in a gazebo.  You may not be able to escape the humidity (if you live in a humid place... like Kentucky), but the heat will be lesser in the shade.

6. Stay Away from Sunlight Prime-Time

The sun shines the brightest when it is directly overhead.  This usually falls between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the day.  Do your best to find shelter or shade during these hottest hours or at least plan to take plenty of breaks to prevent overexposure.  

7. Be Prepared for the Sunlight "After-Party"

When you do finally get out of the sunlight for the day, don't assume that it's all over.  As many of you know, a sunburn might not always set in right away.  A lot of people get the pleasure of the "6 p.m. Sunburn" (a sunburn that doesn't show up until sunset hours).  There are a few great ways to prevent these sunburns or at least their severity.  Taking cool showers or baths, wearing cool dry clothing, and applying lotions, creams, or gels containing aloe vera to the skin after getting out of the sun can all help.

8. Be Mindful of Others

Some of our fellow humans just do not take the power of the sun into consideration.  Make sure that when you are out with other people in the sun that they are also wearing sunblock.  Gentle suggestions or offers to help them put on sunblock are always helpful.  Don't forget to be mindful of children either.  A child's skin is usually a great deal fairer than our own and will burn much quicker than ours.  Make sure the kids are wearing higher SPF sunscreens and appropriate clothing.  Also be sure to remind them to drink plenty of water while they are outside playing as they can sometimes be forgetful.

Hopefully, with all these things in mind, you will be able to survive and enjoy your summer with minimal pain.  Here's to you and enjoying the great outdoors!

Check it Out! 8 Smart Summer Snacks

I found a great article over at Yahoo! Shine that I thought I would share with you.

It seems to be intended for the ladies, but I don't see why men couldn't benefit from this information.  Either way, it's a great list of snacks that you could eat to cool yourself off with over the summer.  It lists these snacks as alternatives to junk foods like sodas and pretzels, and it tells you why they're better.  

The only thing I might add my personal opinion part to would be the protein chips and the 100% Fruit Juice.  The only thing I would ask is that you carefully read the labels of the products you pick out to make sure there aren't any additional additives that the manufacturer is trying to sneak in on you.  Take a look!

8 Smart Summer Snacks for the Beach

Carbs, Sugar, and Insulin - Short and... Sweet

I don't think it's possible to talk about insulin, glucose, or diabetes without thinking of Wilford Brimley.

One of the readers of EMF and a good friend of mine recently asked me to do a post on insulin.  He told me that he was really interested in the subject and wanted to find out as much as he could about it in relation to his diet.  I started doing some reading to refresh my memory, and that was when I realized that you can't talk about insulin without talking about carbohydrates and sugars as well.  (It's a packaged deal, you see.)  I hope I give him the answers he was looking for.

Let's look at the big picture first.  Everything we eat is fuel for our bodies.  If we don't use it right away (most of the time we don't need to), then we store it for later or flush it out of our system.  

Any type of carbohydrate you eat (breads, pastas, cereals, grains, fruits, and sweets) will be broken down into one of those forms of fuel called glucose.  Glucose is a simple form of sugar.  If the glucose is not burned up right away, then the pancreas creates insulin to combine with the glucose and helps the liver and the muscles find a way to store it in the form of glycogen.

Once all of the cells being filled with glycogen get full, they have to be turned into something else.  Anyone want to take a guess as to what it is that they convert to?



(Insert the voice of the teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) Anyone?  Anyone?

Saturated fat.  That's how the Twinkie and the the Tootsie Roll you ate yesterday are making you fat today.

Sometimes, the pancreas can't handle the load of insulin needed by the body and isn't able to make enough.  This is called Type 1 Diabetes.  It's also known as Juvenile Diabetes, but don't be fooled by the name.  Many adults can get this for of diabetes.

In other, many more common cases, the glucose created by the body is insulin resistant.  It doesn't bond with the insulin much or at all.  This is commonly known as Type 2 Diabetes.  Type 2 Diabetes is the one of the most common diseases in the world, and with most people it is incurable.

The problem with both of these diseases is that high levels of blood glucose are poisonous to our bodies.  This can lead to the onset of strokes or heart attacks that can sometimes have deadly results.  

There is also a third problem that can sometimes rise called Hypoglycemia.  This is commonly caused when the body gets (or makes)  too much insulin, is starved, or under the influence of alcohols or poisons. Hypoglycemia can usually be fixed by having the person affected eat something with complex carbohydrates.

The root of all these problems seems to be carbohydrates.  However, we will be told by doctors, nutritionists, health teachers, and the government that the problem is not with the carbs, but with our own bodies.  Doesn't it seem simple enough that we could cut out the problem of our bodies being overloaded on glucose and glycogen if we narrowed out the carbs we were getting?

Would it surprise you to hear that our hunter-gatherer ancestors like the cavemen ate an average of 80 grams of carbohydrates a day?  Did you know that the average person eats between 250-300 carbohydrates daily now?  It's no wonder that Diabetes is becoming an epidemic.

Mark Sisson, of Marksdailyapple.com, suggests that we try to consume anywhere between 100 to 150 grams of carbohydrates daily to maintain our current weight, although this number can fluctuate with our weight.  He also says that if we eat between 50 and 100 grams of carbohydrates daily, that we hit a "carbohydrate sweet spot" for losing weight.  He states that with a controlled carbohydrate diet and regular exercise, we could possibly lose up to two pounds a week!

This was how all of those people back in the 1990's and early part of the 2000's lost all of those pounds on the Atkins Diet.  They learned that through controlling their carbohydrate intake, they could regulate their weight gains and losses. 

And for those of you that said that the Atkins Diet was dangerous, those people are still alive today.