August 20th, 2008 — , Adidas, Gadgets, Garmin, Nike, Watches, wii fit from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
One of last week’s Deal of the Day at SmartMoney was a look at seven gadgets that might help you get in better shape and they ran the gamut of accessories:
Suunto wrist-top computer
Nike + iPod Sport Kit
Adidas-Polar Project Fusion
Diet and Exercise Assistant for Palm OS
Garmin Forerunner
Wii Fit
PumpOne
It was cool to see the Wii Fit in [...]
Related StoresAugust 18th, 2008 — , Energy Drinks, Food, Red Bull from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Hmmm… the first time I saw Red Bull was on a trip to China when I was a teenager, about a dozen years ago. We saw the bus driver drinking these cans and thought he was getting drunk! It wasn’t until we inspected the can did we learn that these were energy drinks, which hadn’t [...]
Related StoresAugust 13th, 2008 — , Food, Michael Phelps, Olympics from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
The New York Post has an article today about the diet of swimmer Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps eats an amazing 12,000 calories a day (vs. a typical diet of 2,000 calories) and is well on his way to trying to beat mark Spitz’s record of 7 gold medals in an Olympics. The man has already [...]
Related StoresAugust 13th, 2008 — , Coffee, Food, caffeine from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
The New York Times recently took a look at America’s #1 beverage, coffee, and the ingredient that makes people drink, caffeine, the most widely used drug. The article has a lot of facts but here were the ones that stood out for me:
There’s a list of how many milligrams of caffeine is present in average [...]
Related StoresAugust 11th, 2008 — , Food, spinach from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Popeye used to eat the stuff by the can when he needed a little ‘pick me up’ against that brute Bruno. I like to grab a whole bunch whenever I make a salad. What is this awesome leafy green? None other than Spinach. Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that is packed with an incredible [...]
Related StoresAugust 10th, 2008 — , Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
There’s a great post at Fat Man Unleashed: Why are we fatter than the animals at the zoo!? Part of the reason is that “cooking food makes us fat and unhealthy is that heating a food above 118 F destroys its precious enzymes.” I’ve been reading a lot about raw diets and how good they [...]
Related StoresAugust 7th, 2008 — , Diets, Food, Volumetrics from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Volumetrics is a diet plan developed by nutritionist Barbara Rolls, PhD, with one aim in mind - fill you up with food that is low in calories but high in volume (volumetrics! get it!?). She explains the Volumetrics diet in a 2000 book titled The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan and then in 2005 with The Volumetrics [...]
Related StoresAugust 6th, 2008 — , Funny, General from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
For your Wednesday afternoon enjoyment, I saw this AskMen.com gem of a top ten list - Top Ten Things Only Men Can Do.
One of my favorites has to be #9 - Hold our liquor simply because the photo is hilarious. I have to contest this one though because even though we may be able to [...]
August 4th, 2008 — , Eggplant, Food, garden, tomatoes from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
This spring and summer, my wife and I have restarted our patio garden and planted some tomatoes, hot peppers, and bell peppers. So far we’ve only harvested a handful of patio and Roma tomatoes but they’ve tasted fantastic. We did it for several reasons:
There is entertainment value out of growing your own fruits and vegetables,
It’s [...]
August 2nd, 2008 — , Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Lazy Man reviews Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells, one of those “dumbbell systems” where you have one set and multiple weight configurations.
Fat Man Unleased has an unreal bicep routine that’ll teach you how to build the ultimate bicep. The image is chilling but the routine seems straightforward and effective.
Kevin at Weight Ladder shares the Beck Diet, [...]
Continue reading → Weekly Roundup: Dumbells, Thin Thinking & Unreal Biceps
July 31st, 2008 — , Food, HDL, LDL, Lycopene, avocado, cholesterol, tomatoes from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
As a child I never had the opportunity to eat much avocado. I’m Chinese and avocado simply didn’t make its way into many, or any, of the meals my mom prepared so I wasn’t exposed to the delicious treat until much later. I think my first try was sometime in college when I tried guacamole, [...]
Related StoresJuly 29th, 2008 — , Bile, Body Hacks, hydration, urine from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
With a double header softball game this afternoon in what will undoubtedly be a hot day, hydration is always on my mind. Dehydration can hit pretty quickly when you’re running around outside in the sun and it can affect your mood and athletic performance in insidious ways. You’ll get moody, cranky, and miserable to be [...]
Related StoresJuly 27th, 2008 — , Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Much like Lazy Man, I’m a huge fan of edamame and am surprised to hear that soy products may lower sperm count. Darn darn darn, I need my spermies!
Kevin at Weight Ladder has some good tips for making lifestyle changes.
Israel asks an interesting question, why is it that we’re fatter than animals at the zoo? [...]
July 24th, 2008 — , Food, fat, fish from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Earlier this week I wrote about why Omega-3 fatty acids are important and discovered that it’s not only important to eat Omega-3 oils but it’s important to ensure your Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are in proper balance. Both are essential but the proper ratio is necessary because both compete for the same metabolic enzymes. [...]
Related StoresJuly 22nd, 2008 — , Food, fat, fish from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Omega-3 fatty acids are good for you, that’s something we’ve known for quite some time now, but do we know why? I didn’t until I did some research.
Why Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids are family of unsaturated fatty acids that your body can’t make itself and it’s an essential nutrient for your body. What exactly is the [...]
July 21st, 2008 — , Daily Recommended Values, Food, calories, carbs, cholesterol, fat, fiber, protein, saturated fat, sodium from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Do you know what the daily recommended values (DV) are for everything on that nutrition label? It’s like budgeting, you don’t know if you’re doing well or doing poorly unless you have a reference point. Daily recommended values is the FDA’s way of setting reference points and it’s important to know what they are, even [...]
July 20th, 2008 — , Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I had no idea there was an Overeaters Anonymous but it’s great that such an organization exists, this week at Fat Man Unleashed there is a guest post by Jenny Clark about the group. She gives us an inside look at Overeaters Anonymous meetings.
Can walking prevent a common cold? I’m surprised to find out that [...]
July 16th, 2008 — , Diets, Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Which is best? Low carbs? Low fat? Or the Mediterranean diet chock full of healthy fats, fruits, and veggies? Turns out that conventional wisdom, where lower fat is always better, doesn’t always win out and the latest study shows that low carbs is actually the biggest winner. This was a story featured on ABCNews and [...]
Related StoresJuly 15th, 2008 — , Carcinogens, Food, Nitrates, Nitrites from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Nitrates, and nitrites like sodium nitrite, are additives. They were added processed foods, usually meats like cold cuts and hot dogs, to fight botulism. The unfortunate part is that they can form nitrosamines in our intestines once they are digested. Nitrosamines are bad because they might be carcinogenic.
Does that mean you should avoid processed foods [...]
July 13th, 2008 — , Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
A few weeks ago I decided I’d like to pick up golf. Since then I’ve been practicing on my back deck hitting balls into a net from my little path of artificial turf heaven. My father had given me his old set of clubs, which were in great condition, and so I pretty started up [...]
Related StoresJuly 10th, 2008 — , Best Food, Food, weight loss from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
My wife used to drink a lot of apple juice as a child. She absolutely loved the stuff. Me? The only juice I ever drank was orange juice. Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice, usually with as much of that juicy fiberous pump as humanly possible. I always thought apple juice was like sugar water and [...]
Related StoresJuly 9th, 2008 — , Medical, Softball, gatorade, hydration, powerade from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Every Tuesday for the last two months I’ve played in a work softball league that starts around 6 PM. Fortunately in the last few weeks our games have been played in relatively mild temperatures, but there was a stretch where the temperatures were pretty high. Well, I’m an outfielder, generally center right or center left [...]
Related StoresJuly 8th, 2008 — , Food, Worst Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to a carnival but the same types of food served there are also served at local Renaissance festivals, wine festivals, and, well, every other festival. Newsweek took a crack at the most unhealthy carnival foods:
Deep fried Oreos
Cotton candy
Corn dogs
Deep fried Twinkie (detecting a trend?)
Snow cone
Funnel cake - [...]
July 3rd, 2008 — , Butter, Food, Margarine from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
It’s gotten to the point where I don’t know if margarine is good for you, bad for you, better than butter, worse than butter, which is it? The flip flopping by the scientific community has my head in a spin and I have no idea which way is up. Fortunately, in the confusion, science has [...]
Related StoresJuly 2nd, 2008 — , Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Beets and cabbage have headlined the latest “best foods you’re not eating” article, this time on the Well column of the New York Times. Author Tara Parker-Pope listed these items as foods you should be eating but probably aren’t (along with simple preparation methods):
1. Beets
2. Cabbage
3. Swiss chard
4. Cinnamon
5. Pomegranate juice
6. Prunes
7. Pumpkin seeds
8. Sardines
9. [...]
July 1st, 2008 — , General from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
My wife and I have the great pleasure of living within walking distance of a nice man-made lake. The total distance from our front door, around the lake, and back is approximately three miles. Our neighbor, who has lived here for quite some time, gave us the estimate of the length and we’ve never had [...]
Related StoresJune 30th, 2008 — , weight loss from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
One pound of fat equals three thousand, five hundred calories.
If you want to lose weight, your body needs to run at a deficit. If you eat 3500 fewer calories a week, you can expect to drop a pound of fat. If eating 3500 fewer calories seems unreasonable, especially if the typical diet is 2000 calories [...]
June 30th, 2008 — , General, Myths from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Many many years ago, someone told me that if you kept bulking up and then stopped, all of your muscles would be converted into fat. That’s right, muscles that were not used would magically turn into fat.
Wrong.
Wrong and a bit insulting to one’s intelligence I might add. Muscle and fat are two entirely different tissues [...]
June 28th, 2008 — , Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Week one has been a success though my elbow continues to make a clicking noise. I’ve been more cognizant of the way I’ve been holding the bar at Body Pump during the leg track, when I believe I hurt my elbow three weeks ago, and haven’t experienced as much soreness as last week. The clicking [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → 100 Pushups Update: Week One Done, Elbow Issues
June 26th, 2008 — , Golf, Sports, injury from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I’ve recently picked up golfing, a sport that my dad is an avid fan of. I remember, many years ago, watching him practice for hours each night. He’d stand on the back deck and hit balls into a practice net over and over and over again. Never, in the years I’ve watched him do this, [...]
Related StoresJune 26th, 2008 — , Golf, Sports, injury from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I’ve recently picked up golfing, a sport that my dad is an avid fan of. I remember, many years ago, watching him practice for hours each night. He’d stand on the back deck and hit balls into a practice net over and over and over again. Never, in the years I’ve watched him do this, [...]
Related StoresJune 25th, 2008 — , 100 Pushups, workout from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Last week I took a break because of elbow and wrist soreness and pain, this week I’m back on track having gone to Body Pump on Tuesday and restarting the 100 Pushups regime on Monday. I just finished up Week One, Day Two with good results despite the layoff.
What I like the most about the [...]
June 24th, 2008 — , Food, Small Changes, beer, soda from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Cut one 120 calorie soda or one 120 calorie beer a week and you’ll lose some serious weight.
A pound of fat is about 3500 calories, so cutting a 120 a week for a year would save you 1.8 lb. of fat a year. While that doesn’t seem like a lot, that’s one soda a week. [...]
June 23rd, 2008 — , Atkins, Diets, Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
If you’ve ever heard of the Atkins diet then you’re familiar with one of the most popular high protein, low carbohydrate diets. The idea behind high protein and low carbohydrate diets is that you get approximately 30-50% of your calories from proteins, which is much higher than what the American Heart Association, the National Cholesterol [...]
Related StoresJune 22nd, 2008 — , Food, General from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I mentioned earlier that my wife and I might go vegetarian for a week and so I began researching some vegetarian sources of protein. As it turns out, there are plenty of proteins out there from non-meat sources so I figured I’d find five that could be our staples. The five are:
Beans
Tofu
Peanut Butter
Lentils
Broccoli
This whole vegetarian [...]
June 20th, 2008 — , Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I heart me some meat. I like steak, I like burgers, I like chicken, I like wings, I like pork and I’ll even have some lamb on occasion, though that’s a bit of a pricier cut. I’m a fan of meat and have been for quite some time now. However lately, my love of meat [...]
Related StoresJune 19th, 2008 — , Medical from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Sometimes it pays to take a break from lifting.
I mentioned a few days ago that I’d be taking a break because my elbow was sore. Well, my elbow and my wrist were both sore and I felt that taking a break would help it. Well, a few days later, I have to report that both [...]
Continue reading → Sometimes You Need Perserverence, Sometimes Rest
June 16th, 2008 — , 100 Pushups, Medical, injury from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Last week at Body Pump, while I was doing the quad/hamstring track (which consists of a ton of squats), I think I overextended my elbow. On that track, I put the weight of my shoulders and my arms are unloaded essentially just keep the weight steady. I think I was getting a little lazy because [...]
Related StoresJune 16th, 2008 — , 100 Pushups, Diets, Roundup from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
The man who told me about 100 pushups in the first place is also joining the 100 push up challenge. A few others are joining the craze as well, we’ll all be ripped in six weeks.
Elsewhere in the fitness world, there’s been a deluge of posts about diets. Fat Man Unleased unleashed a post on [...]
Continue reading → Weekly Roundup: Diets & Pushups Are Popular
June 13th, 2008 — , General from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
How would you like to consume 2,310 calories, 108 grams of fat (64 of which are saturated) and 266 grams of carbohydrates in one fell swoop? Drink a Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake and you’ve pretty much just inhaled eleven Heath bars. Worst drink ever.
Check out the shake’s nutritional facts and awe at the fact [...]
Continue reading → Worst Drink Ever: Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake
June 13th, 2008 — , Food, Reviews, powerade from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
This week we had two double header softball games in the wonderful heat and humidity that is Maryland. The first game was on Tuesday and the second was just yesterday, Thursday, and it was pretty warm on both days. Tuesday was far worse, with a combo hit of humidity and heat that really sapped our [...]
Related StoresContinue reading → POWERade Zero Mixed Berry Tastes Not So Great
June 12th, 2008 — , Food from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Did you know that the preservative used in Chinese dishes like Peking duck and pickled tofu can cut cancer by two thirds? Or that heart attack victims who took extract pills were 45% less prone to repeat attacks? Those and many more fast food friendlies were showcased by The Sun today.
The Outback Aussie Cheese Fries [...]
June 11th, 2008 — , 100 Pushups, workout from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
Yesterday I wrote I was doing the 100 Pushups plan and fired off 27 pushups in the initial test. I was surprised at rattling off 27 because I really thought I was only going to get somewhere in the low 20’s - body pump is really doing its thing I think.
Today, I did the first [...]
June 10th, 2008 — , Classes from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
One Hundred Pushups is a site that outlines a six-week training program that claims to have you doing one hundred pushups straight after you’re done. That’s right… a hundred. That’s a lot of freaking push ups!
It all begins with an initial test that calibrates the six week training regimen and each week requires three days [...]
June 9th, 2008 — , Body Hacks from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
I’ve been going to Body Pump every Tuesday and Thursday for the last two months without skipping a single day. Now, I haven’t gone regularly on other days but every single week I’ve at least gone to two Body Pump classes. Some people mark it on a calendar, I remember it in my head, but [...]
Related StoresJune 9th, 2008 — , General from jim @ Journal of Healthy Living
On Thursday after my Body Pump class, I’m pretty sure I had some leftovers that were a little past their prime. I’m pretty sure because my stomach has been pretty upset at me for the last five days and I haven’t had usual youthful energy. Regardless, it’s certainly not anything as bad as Kevin rupturing [...]
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