I am thankful for...

My Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ

My best friend and wife Caryn. She is my Queen.

Our 3 wonderful boys Cayden, Ethan, Nathan and our little principessa Kelsey

Whoever invented the garage door opener

My XANGO partners, employees and distributors

Our 2 dogs Odie and Jack Jack

Whoever invented Air conditioning. God bless you

The invention of the car jack. Think about it.

The Wright brothers. Strange to think one can soar through the air in a metal tube from one end of the world to the other.

Toilet paper. 2 ply more specifically. Need I say more?

XM satellite radio.

That our boys have such good friends.

Snow and skiing.

Nail clippers.

Soap, shampoo and conditioner...and deodorant.

Sun screen and SPF lip balm

Sewage systems

People willing to work in sewage.

My favorite season autumn and favorite time of day; late afternoon.

Note: I received a message from an anonomous person question why I put in sewage. Two things: 1. This message is intended to be somewhat random because of how much we truly have in life. The list is remarkably endless. Therapeutic to review. 2. For anyone who may question this: may I propose attending Scout camp for a week and use nasty, dirty porto-potties and I am sure it will be on your list. :):)

This doesn't even scratch the surface but it is a start. Let's all be thankful for Our blessings in life. I believe gratitude is therapeutic.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Is there really a short cut?

I am in a hotel in NYC traveling back from an overseas flight and I am jet lagged.  I can not sleep.  What does that mean?  Informercials a plenty.  

I saw two informercials that seem to sum up how we approach our health here in America which is looking for the easy way out.  The first infomercial was for a way to get the perfect abs.  The message claims to look like the models in the informercial without any real work other than wearing a belt around your waist.  No ab workouts necessary, just wear this belt.  It's so easy.  Is it really that easy?  No.  I am sure they had the actors use the product, but I venture to say that they spent a lot of time at the gym and they were on a very strict diet.  For the vast majority of people we can not look like that without proper diet and exercise.  

The other product I watched was a body contouring product.  You know, the underwear that you wear under your close and claim that they can instantly give the impression of taking 10s of pounds off?  I am not saying that this product will not be helpful to a select group of people.  However, it tells me we are looking for a quick fix rather than getting to the heart of our challenge in America.  What is this?  In a nutshell, 1. How much we put into our mouth. 2. The quality of what we put in our mouths and 3. the level of activity we have on a daily basis.  Simply put, it takes effort on our part.  

Why do we take an elevator?

I had a choice the other day, like I always do of taking the elevator at the office or taking the stairs.  I generally take the stairs but often take the elevator as well.  I thought since I am in a hurry I would take the elevator but then decided no, I will take the stairs and just run up the 3 flights of stairs.  Wooohooo, I was huffn' and puffn' when I reached the top.  I made it quicker than the elevator and I felted better.  

Here is the point, my heart rate was elevated, which meant my metabolism was kicking in and I figured I burned some calories.  So how many?  I googled it and found several sources.  One was a person who tested it and came up with an average 150 pound person will burn approximately 4 calories climbing 1 flight of stairs.  That is just walking.  But what if you run it?  Not sure yet.  Stay tuned and I will eventually figure it out. :)  

So why do we take the elevator?  

Please Note, there are people who are simply not capable due to an injury or physical disability.  Please do not misunderstand this blog entry.  I am simply saying, if we are capable and able then why take the elevator?  More convenient? In many cases.  Easier?  Most definitely.  But we are also not burning calories in the process.  Consider this quote from Cha Cha website: 

"Everything we do burns calories. Modern sedentary lives, combined with high-fat, high sugar diets, have contributed to a situation in which most people take in more calories than they burn, resulting in obesity."  

Interesting.  So what if we simply made decisions each day that will help with regards to our daily habits?  I am not saying don't ever take the elevator but consider this.  Let's say I take the stairs on average 3 times per day.  That is approximately 12 calories per climb equaling 36 calories a day which we would not have burned.  Not much you say.  You are correct, not much.  But that is 60 per week, 240 per month and 2,880 calories per year.  That isn't much you say...but that is one simple decision.  And I did not take into account going down the stairs and that is only 3 times per day.  Stay tuned as I explore other areas that with a simple decision each day will add up.

Again, we tend to look to a pill to cure our ills but we overlook simply starting with ourselves.  The human body and mind is an amazing thing.  Ciao for now.

Stupid Calories

Why do we consume so many stupid calories?

We all know as an adult it is suggested that we should consume approximately 2,000 calories per day.  My brother Gordon refers to many foods around us as "stupid calories".  His point is, if we have approximately 2,000 calories we have to consume, then why waste them on calories that have no value?  Interesting point.

May I propose the following that would fall into this category.  I want to first say, I am not anti-sugar.  I am simply anti TOO much sugar.  Holy Moly, we are out of control with our consumption of sugar.  Consider this, "In the last 20 Years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year!  Prior to the turn of century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year!  Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's"   http://healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm

Before you reach for a soda, energy drink or whatever the functional beverage is, I recommend you take a look at this website.  It will make you think twice.  A little heads up, there are 10 teaspoons of sugar in a 12 oz. can of Coke.  When was the last time you sat down and ate 10 teaspoons of sugar?  There are also 140 calories in this drink.  You may say, "That is not a lot of calories, I still have 1,860 calories left for the day".  You need to ask yourself what you are getting out of those calories.  Enjoy.

www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm

If you desire to read further consider the following:

Sugar affects the immune system.  "The bottom line is that sugar upsets the body chemistry and suppresses the immune system.  Once the immune system becomes suppressed, the door is opened to infectious and degenerative diseases.  The stronger the immune system the easier it is for the body to fight infectious and degenerative diseases".  Nancy Appleton Ph.D.

"The average person loses more than 90 percent of their immune system function within 15 minutes of indulging in this poisonous substance.  This deficiency lasts for about 2 hours after the stress occurs".  Dr. Stoll.  Interesting to consider going into flu season.

Again, in today's world, we are shocked at how much obesity, heart disease and diabetes that exists and look to the magic pill.  "Please cure us" is what we are saying.

What we need to do in most cases is look to ourselves for change.
Join me in my quest...

Why do we eat the way we eat?

In my quest for continuing to improve the health of myself and my family, I can't help but ask the questions, "Why do we eat the WAY we eat? Why do we eat WHAT we eat?"  

Obesity is an epidemic in America, obesity causes heart disease which is the number one killer (here) in the states.

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 will have a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.”
http://www.cdc.gov/features/heartmonth/

Diabetes is rapidly growing in our society which is also largely due to obesity.

“Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death. It is also a leading cause for complications such as blindness, kidney failure, and lower extremity amputations (1). In 2007, the total cost of diabetes in the United States was estimated at $174 billion.”
http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsDiabetesTrends/

Do we ever stop and ask ourselves, why this is happening in a society that has so much? But is it any wonder when we look at how we eat as a society?

I would like to invite you to join me as I seek to understand why we do what we do.  

Example:
Why do WE consume so many calories when we watch a movie at a theater?
Why would THEY allow us to consume so much?

This will be the first issue I address...

Consider this:

1. If you go to a theater and order a SMALL popcorn without butter, these are the nutritional facts; (facts found at livestrong.com, based on AMC Movie Theater Popcorn) :
serving size: 1/2 medium 42 grams
calories: 225
total fat: 11g
carbs: 26g
protein: 5g

Movie Theater Butter Popcorn (now adding butter)
serving size: 1 small / 7 cups
calories: 400
total fat: 27g
carbs: 0g
protein: 0g

2. Now let’s add some other ‘Movie-time-favorites:
*32 Oz Fountain Cola
serving size: 32 oz
calories: 350
total fat: 0g
carbs: 98g
protein: 0g

* Nutrition Information for Junior Mints (most movie theaters sell a 12oz box)
Serving Size 40g
Servings Per Container 8.5
Amount Per Serving Calories 170
Calories from Fat 30
Total Fat 3g 
Saturated Fat 2.5g
Sodium 30mg   
Total Carbohydrate 35g   
Dietary Fiber 1g
Sugars 32 G
   

So add this up: 400 calories for a small buttered popcorn, plus 350 calories for a 32 oz Cola, you are looking at over 750 calories...add on a box of your favorite candies (Theaters mostly carry the medium to large candies, which triple calories) and you might be well over 1000 calories (depening on your combination of food choices) consumed during your favorite feature film. We must remember our RDA of calories is 2,000.

So again, why do many people do this?  I appreciate the attempt to up sell me each time I buy some popcorn at a theater, but I will always get a small or a medium for me and whole family. When they try to up-sell me my answer is,

"No thank you, because then I would eat it."

 True? 

Absolutely.  

And how many people get small sodas anymore?  It is not uncommon to get a 20+ oz fountain drink. Start adding it up.  

In the 1950s, would our parents order that much popcorn or that size of a soda? I venture to say it was not even an option.  And we question why we have the obesity problem that we have? In asking the question Why do we eat the way we do at a theater; although it will vary from person to person, but one of the main reasons is because it is there, cheap, and we are up-sold to think we are getting a deal. We want our money’s worth but in reality we are harming ourselves.


In today's world, we are shocked at how much obesity, heart disease and diabetes that exists and look to the magic pill.  "Please cure us" is what we are saying.

What we need to do in most cases is look to ourselves for change. 

Join me in my quest...