How to Get the Best Steak

How to Get the Best Steak - WSJ.com

This is a great article discussing the gradual decline in meat quality in the US and how to get back on the right track! It is no questions that corn/grain fed animals are less healthy, but they also just don't taste as good! So let's start getting the bulk of our nutrients from meat sources that are wild/grass-fed and have not been pumped full of hormones, antibiotics and corn. Our bodies, minds and taste buds will thanks us. Happy eating!

Colin

In Related News: How Different Groups Spend Their Day

How Different Groups Spend Their Day - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com

This is a great visualization of how Americans spend their days. From a health standpoint, it is telling to see that while most Americans spend over two and a half hours watching TV, they spend 24 minutes preparing meals and 16 minutes relaxing and thinking (other factors are also interesting to look at). This worries me when so many of us battle stress, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise, and think that we do not have the time to change this. TV is not the only thing that we can get consumed with that has little added value for our lives, and when you only have so much time in a day, it is important to really know why you dedicate time to each of your activities.

Time is the most valuable resource we have, and if we utilize our time, we can truly achieve anything. The quality of any area of our lives is a direct result of the time we spend on it. Health, fitness, relationships, career, family, sleep, inner peace. The more time we spend nurturing these areas, the more success and happiness we will find. Think about what is important to you and see if you are really giving these areas enough attention, or are less important activities getting in the way? If they are, then that's a good thing, because now you know a perfect way to free up more time to help make your life better!

Enjoy the chart and keep up all the good work, health and fitness is a lifelong journey, so enjoy the ride!

Colin

In Related News: 3/24/10

Study: Women need to work out an hour every day to fend off flab as they age - San Jose Mercury News

This article ran in the San Jose Mercury News today, and while I agree that consistent exercise is important, I am actually not totally in favor of what the article is saying. Basically what it says is if you do some sort of moderate activity (hiking, biking, jogging, yoga, etc.) for an hour a day you can maintain weight. That is fine if A) you are happy with your weight and B) if you have 7 hours a week to dedicate to exercise, but that is rarely a reality! Now if you have read this blog before, you will know that I am fully an advocate for healthy lifestyles and integrating movement into everyday life, but that is only a piece of the whole picture. Before exercise comes diet.

The first thing they state in this article is that 60 minutes a day is needed if women do not want to change their diet. Unfortunately, diet is the MOST important part if you want to have a healthy lifestyle. I would rather someone worked out 2 hours a week and ate right than work out 7+ hours a week and kept eating the way most Americans do. Now, ongoing moderate exercise (especially when social) has many positive mental effects which is why I am all for doing a little bit every day and building it into your life. However, if you want your body to perform at its best and you are overweight, then this is not going to cut it.

The one thing I did like about this article was actually before I even opened the link. There was an alternate link to a poll asking what people would have to give up to have time for exercise. This was a great question because it is one of the most important steps toward reaching any fitness goals (or any life goals for that matter) that you set for yourself. Many people fail to achieve their fitness goals simply because they did not have a clear idea of what it would take to succeed. They know they need to start eating right and exercising, but after the first week, they begin to realize that their life gets in the way. Before setting up a program, it is important to think first about the obstacles and then choosing how to work around them. If you do not have the time to cook your own meals, how are you going to make time? If you need to work out, what are you going to have to give up to make that happen? These are important questions to answer before you start, or at least to be aware of.

In summary, do try to be consistent but 7+ hours a week is probably going to be hard. Focus on diet first and integrating movement into your life (using the stairs, parking far away from work, take 5-10 minute work breaks to walk and stretch) and save your time at the gym for weight training that will actually produce results. Good luck and as always, happy fitness.

Colin

The Key to Longevity

When looking at the various aspects of the health and fitness industry, one topic that they can all really be linked to is longevity: living a long, but more importantly, health and happy life. This article and video have uncovered some of the most basic need that humans have. While we may all know innately that these things are good for us, it is interesting to see them all together and looked at as a group. I hope you all can take something from the video, I think it ties in nicely with my last post, expanding on what it really means to be healthy and happy. Enjoy!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/26/buettner.long.life/index.html?hpt=Sbin

In Related News: 11/17/09

Recently, a movie known as Food, Inc. came out on video and shed some much needed light on the food industry in this country. The health of the country is only getting worse, and while we think that the low fat/low carb/cabbage soup diet is the answer, we consume more and more processed, packaged, corn/soy based, corn fed, hormone filled, pesticide ridden foods. All of this "food" is very cheap, but as we spend less on what our body uses to operate, it is no wonder our health care cost are so high.

This movie covers a great breadth of information, all of which could be looked into more, but the message is sound: change is needed. Here is the trailer to give you a taste, but I highly recommend renting this movie and seeing how far we have strayed from eating real food.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0&feature=fvw

This movie deals with health, disease, ethical practices (toward the consumer, the workers and the animals), political corruption, and more. It's not all negatives, however, because as they explain, the best hope for change is with the consumer. So please check this out, I hope you like it, and let's work together to promote health for our bodies, our economy, our government, and our planet.

-Colin

In Related News: 11/9/09

I saw this article in the New York Times and wanted to share it with all of you! It talks about barefoot running and makes reference to the book Born to Run, which I recommend for anyone who enjoys running or would like to get into it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27well.html?ref=nutrition

In my opinion, barefoot activity is the way to go. Running barefoot realigns your body and forces you into a self limiting exercise. This means that you will have a shorter, more efficient stride, while allowing you to only go as long as you feet will tolerate. If you start to feel pain, then it is time to stop. From my experience, however, once you get used to it, barefoot running will allow for long bouts of running without the all to common aches and pains that are associated with endurance running. By running barefoot, you are no longer restricted to move in the way the shoe was designed for (heal striking), but rather what the foot was designed to do (landing on the ball of the foot). This minimizes the impact force that reverberates up your body, helping to reduce pain and injury at the foot, ankle, knee, hips, and back.

If possible, I enjoy working out barefoot as well. There is no substitute in training or maintaining balance and stability than allowing your foot the sensation of having contact with the floor. Don't take my word for it; do some research, try it out, and see if you experience the balance, stability and strength that comes from kicking off the shoes.

As a side note, I do realize that there will be times that this is inappropriate or unsafe, so be sensible. If your running in unknown terrain, it can be best to have protection, but the thinner the sole the better. I hope you try it out, I have been exercising barefoot for a few months now and don't plan on going back. Have fun and let me know what you think!

-Colin