Tuesday, November 16, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: LOL
My Life's Biggest Project: LOL: "I will tell you all about the amazing night I had last night. It didn't really start off that way, but ended up being fantastic. As I said y..."
LOL
I will tell you all about the amazing night I had last night. It didn't really start off that way, but ended up being fantastic. As I said yesterday I went to the Dane Cook show last night and it was oh so awesome. My friend and I left my apartment and it was raining. The show was about 30 minutes from my place and while I was on the highway it started pouring rain, which stressed me out and as we all know stress is horrible on the body. The entire drive there I kept thinking to myself, this show better be worth it.
We end up parking a ways away and having to walk in the cold rain to the Ford Center. Again I was thinking this better be worth it and when we get in and finally find our section the man assisting in the seating asks my friend and I if we would like to upgrade our seats...for FREE. Heck yes we did. We ended up going from row N to row D, which yes is 4 rows up from the floor. It was amazing! Then the show began. I laughed, I laughed so hard I cried and I laughed so hard that I almost tinkled in my pants. That Dane Cook sure is a funny guy. He has so much energy that you can't help but have a whole lot too while watching him.
What does all of this have to do with getting fit you may ask, well let me tell you. Laughter is as beneficial to the body as stress is as traumatic on it. According to studies, laughter does a lot of great things for us. It reduces the level of stress hormones and increases good hormones in the body like endorphins and neurotransmitters. Laughing also boosts one's immune system and that results in less illness and all the bad things that stress physically does to the body. Laughter makes us breathe easier. Also know that the more positive our outlooks are we can also increase longevity.
Think of Santa Clause (yes I know he's a fatty, but hear me out). When we laugh we "shake like a bowl full of jelly". Laughter provides an internal workout. This exercises the abs, diaphragm, shoulder muscles and stimulates the heart. William Fry, a laughter researcher found that it took up to ten minutes on a rowing machine for the heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of "enthusiastic laughing".
Laughing makes us feel better, we temporarily forgot about any pain we may have (physical and emotional). Our muscles are more relaxed after a good laugh and that makes us feel good too. In a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center, it was found that laughter may prevent heart disease and that it lowers blood pressure. Something they found in this study caught me by surprise, they found that people who had heart disease laughed less in their lives, even in good situations. They also were more outwardly angry, hostile and had much more anxiety. When we laugh we are much less likely to be depressed or feel helpless. How many depressed people do you know that laugh huh? Bernie Siegel, M.D., said, "The simple truth is that happy people generally don't get sick."
There are so many good things about laughing! It's a fantastic ice breaker and a way to connect with other people. It's also contagious. Statistics say that people are about 30 times more likely to start laughing in the presence of others than when they're alone. Some more statistics for us to try to soak in is the following: preschoolers laugh up to 400 times per day (can you imagine)? And young adults are lucky if they laugh 15 times a day (what a huge decrease). Another thing that stuck out to me was that they say that couples who laugh together stay together. It even plays a role in mating and men think it's hot when women laugh freely. Psychology Today said that women laugh more than men and men are often times the source of our laughter (maybe I should marry Dane Cook?). The woman's laughter is the primary determination in whether a relationship is healthy or not. So the secret to a great romantic relationship is...LAUGHTER :) It helps people to become close during good times and restore that closeness during bad times.
So what have we learned today, lets recap shall we. Laughter is the key to all aspects of a healthy life and it is enjoyable. Something healthy that we enjoy, insane right? No it's true. So keep on smiling, keep on laughing and you will stay happy and healthy (How cool is that?). So have you laughed today?
What does all of this have to do with getting fit you may ask, well let me tell you. Laughter is as beneficial to the body as stress is as traumatic on it. According to studies, laughter does a lot of great things for us. It reduces the level of stress hormones and increases good hormones in the body like endorphins and neurotransmitters. Laughing also boosts one's immune system and that results in less illness and all the bad things that stress physically does to the body. Laughter makes us breathe easier. Also know that the more positive our outlooks are we can also increase longevity.
Think of Santa Clause (yes I know he's a fatty, but hear me out). When we laugh we "shake like a bowl full of jelly". Laughter provides an internal workout. This exercises the abs, diaphragm, shoulder muscles and stimulates the heart. William Fry, a laughter researcher found that it took up to ten minutes on a rowing machine for the heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of "enthusiastic laughing".
Laughing makes us feel better, we temporarily forgot about any pain we may have (physical and emotional). Our muscles are more relaxed after a good laugh and that makes us feel good too. In a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center, it was found that laughter may prevent heart disease and that it lowers blood pressure. Something they found in this study caught me by surprise, they found that people who had heart disease laughed less in their lives, even in good situations. They also were more outwardly angry, hostile and had much more anxiety. When we laugh we are much less likely to be depressed or feel helpless. How many depressed people do you know that laugh huh? Bernie Siegel, M.D., said, "The simple truth is that happy people generally don't get sick."
There are so many good things about laughing! It's a fantastic ice breaker and a way to connect with other people. It's also contagious. Statistics say that people are about 30 times more likely to start laughing in the presence of others than when they're alone. Some more statistics for us to try to soak in is the following: preschoolers laugh up to 400 times per day (can you imagine)? And young adults are lucky if they laugh 15 times a day (what a huge decrease). Another thing that stuck out to me was that they say that couples who laugh together stay together. It even plays a role in mating and men think it's hot when women laugh freely. Psychology Today said that women laugh more than men and men are often times the source of our laughter (maybe I should marry Dane Cook?). The woman's laughter is the primary determination in whether a relationship is healthy or not. So the secret to a great romantic relationship is...LAUGHTER :) It helps people to become close during good times and restore that closeness during bad times.
Monday, November 15, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
My Life's Biggest Project: Somewhere Over the Rainbow: "Friday while I was getting ready to head to Tulsa I had the television on in the background. One of the things that came on was Dr. Oz and t..."
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Friday while I was getting ready to head to Tulsa I had the television on in the background. One of the things that came on was Dr. Oz and the topic of the day was shortcuts. The first list that he presented was entitled "Dr. Oz's 6 Shortcuts to Losing Weight" and they are as follows:
1.) Eat an apple 15 minutes before you eat lunch. It will actually cut down on how many calories you consume at lunch because the fiber in the apple will keep you full. By doing this you can cut five pounds off your body in a year.
2.) Refrigerate your cans. If they have saturated fats in them the fat will rise to the top and you will be able to scrape it off. In a year you will lose up to six pounds.
3.) Dilute your juice. You cut the calories in half. If you drink two glasses of juice a day and are not diluting it in a year you will have consumed over 40 pounds of sugar. By diluting the juice by equal parts juice and equal parts water you can lose up to 13 pounds in a year.
4.) Fake a Carbohydrate! If you mash squash instead of potatoes you can lose up to 12 pounds in a year.
5.) Replace oil with applesauce. You replace 50 percent w/applesauce (when baking cakes or brownies for example) and you could save six pounds in a year.
6.) Swap gym bags with a friend. What is meant by this is have a workout buddy. We are use to disappointing ourselves, but we don't want to let our friends down. If you and your friend exchange something like tennis shoes then you will have to go with them because it will be your fault that you kept your friend from being able to do his/her workout. Accountability is what we are talking about. If you work out three times a week for 30 minutes a day you can lose up to 13 pounds.
The next segment was entitled "Dangerous Shortcuts that Dr. Oz Would Never Take":
1.) Diet never to use would be the hormone diet. Many people say that it works, but it can have a damaging effect on your metabolism. This diet is also known as HCG (human chorionic gondatropin) Diet. HCG is the hormone produced in the body when a woman is pregnant to ensure that the pregnant woman is burning the right kind of fat when burning calories. The HCG diet pills consist of small doses of HCG that tap into stored fat and burn it off. It also suppresses the appetite so that people are consuming as few as 500 calories a day. You can rapidly drop weight, but ultimately you are starving yourself, thus destroying your metabolism. Another negative effect is the loss of muscle mass in the body and as a result of this you will no longer be able to effectively burn calories. To naturally suppress your appetite Dr. Oz suggests the Four F's: fiber, fish, fowl and (good) fats like walnuts and flaxseed.
2.) Shortcut snack never to buy would be the 100 calorie snack packs. They normally aren't very healthy (containing things like trans fats) and make you more hungry. Dr. Oz suggests making your own snack packs so that you can watch your own calorie intake.
3.) Never take the elevator at work. If where you work is less than three flights of stairs Dr. Oz says you should always take the stairs as it helps build muscle mass (looks like I was on to something huh! ).
4.) Dr. Oz says we should never borrow an antiobiotic from a friend. First of all the friend should have finished their entire antibiotic. This may lead to a worse infection and even antibiotic resistance.
I hope all of this information has been informative to you. I am currently at work with my grapefruit breakfast to go...lol. I should also work on finishing my big paper that is soon due. Tonight I'm going to see Dane Cook and that should be healthy because laughing helps burn calories and that guy cracks me up. I'll let you know all about it tomorrow. I weighed myself this morning and it looks like I've lost two pounds since last week.
2.) Refrigerate your cans. If they have saturated fats in them the fat will rise to the top and you will be able to scrape it off. In a year you will lose up to six pounds.
3.) Dilute your juice. You cut the calories in half. If you drink two glasses of juice a day and are not diluting it in a year you will have consumed over 40 pounds of sugar. By diluting the juice by equal parts juice and equal parts water you can lose up to 13 pounds in a year.
4.) Fake a Carbohydrate! If you mash squash instead of potatoes you can lose up to 12 pounds in a year.
5.) Replace oil with applesauce. You replace 50 percent w/applesauce (when baking cakes or brownies for example) and you could save six pounds in a year.
6.) Swap gym bags with a friend. What is meant by this is have a workout buddy. We are use to disappointing ourselves, but we don't want to let our friends down. If you and your friend exchange something like tennis shoes then you will have to go with them because it will be your fault that you kept your friend from being able to do his/her workout. Accountability is what we are talking about. If you work out three times a week for 30 minutes a day you can lose up to 13 pounds.
The next segment was entitled "Dangerous Shortcuts that Dr. Oz Would Never Take":
2.) Shortcut snack never to buy would be the 100 calorie snack packs. They normally aren't very healthy (containing things like trans fats) and make you more hungry. Dr. Oz suggests making your own snack packs so that you can watch your own calorie intake.
3.) Never take the elevator at work. If where you work is less than three flights of stairs Dr. Oz says you should always take the stairs as it helps build muscle mass (looks like I was on to something huh! ).
4.) Dr. Oz says we should never borrow an antiobiotic from a friend. First of all the friend should have finished their entire antibiotic. This may lead to a worse infection and even antibiotic resistance.
I hope all of this information has been informative to you. I am currently at work with my grapefruit breakfast to go...lol. I should also work on finishing my big paper that is soon due. Tonight I'm going to see Dane Cook and that should be healthy because laughing helps burn calories and that guy cracks me up. I'll let you know all about it tomorrow. I weighed myself this morning and it looks like I've lost two pounds since last week.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Don't Give Up
My Life's Biggest Project: Don't Give Up: "As it turns out beer was not the problem this weekend. It was the food. After my friends and I left the football game we went to get food. T..."
Don't Give Up
As it turns out beer was not the problem this weekend. It was the food. After my friends and I left the football game we went to get food. The problem was that we went somewhere that had absolutely no healthy options. We went to a pizza place that was only serving greasy pizza, calzone, stromboli and that was pretty much it. I could have said something, but this is where everyone else wanted to go. So I didn't say a word. Instead I ordered my food and ate it, regretting every bite.
I thought that I would really enjoy it, but in all honesty it was horrible. I hadn't eaten anything like that in over a week so it actually ended up making me feel like I wanted to puke more than anything. About half way through our meal my Sib who came down to watch the game said, "Oh Sib we should have gone somewhere you could've found something healthy to eat." I assured her that it was fine and then everyone else at the table started to feel bad. I didn't want to make anyone feel bad which is why I didn't say anything to begin with. A whole lot of good that did. If I learned anytihng from this particular experience this weekend it was to speak up.
Today I stepped on the scale and it turns out that I only lost one pound this week. Which is kind of a downer, but I also know that I was not nearly as intense this week. What with having to quit the workout program. I also went to the dentist on Tuesday which pretty much kept me innactive the rest of the day, Wednesday was horrible as I spend the whole day at the doctors office and found out I was going to have to have surgery on my back again. Thursday is my fault and if I hadn't have spent half of the day feeling bad for myself I could have probably accomplished something.
Everyday I would give myself an excuse and say I'll get back on this tomorrow. That's no different than what I did in years past and look where it got me. Not where I want to be in terms of fitness that's for sure. There were picutres posted from my outing with my sorority sisters Friday and I wasn't happy about how I looked in them and I don't want to feel that way anymore. I've made a commitment to myself and I'm keeping with it. If I don't believe in myself who will?
Friday I watched Dr. OZ while I was getting ready to leave town and he said some interesting things that I will share with you all tomorrow. Until then, I have a 15 page paper to write that's due on Thursday and need to get back to that. Oh the joys of being a graduate student...lol. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
I thought that I would really enjoy it, but in all honesty it was horrible. I hadn't eaten anything like that in over a week so it actually ended up making me feel like I wanted to puke more than anything. About half way through our meal my Sib who came down to watch the game said, "Oh Sib we should have gone somewhere you could've found something healthy to eat." I assured her that it was fine and then everyone else at the table started to feel bad. I didn't want to make anyone feel bad which is why I didn't say anything to begin with. A whole lot of good that did. If I learned anytihng from this particular experience this weekend it was to speak up.
Today I stepped on the scale and it turns out that I only lost one pound this week. Which is kind of a downer, but I also know that I was not nearly as intense this week. What with having to quit the workout program. I also went to the dentist on Tuesday which pretty much kept me innactive the rest of the day, Wednesday was horrible as I spend the whole day at the doctors office and found out I was going to have to have surgery on my back again. Thursday is my fault and if I hadn't have spent half of the day feeling bad for myself I could have probably accomplished something.
Everyday I would give myself an excuse and say I'll get back on this tomorrow. That's no different than what I did in years past and look where it got me. Not where I want to be in terms of fitness that's for sure. There were picutres posted from my outing with my sorority sisters Friday and I wasn't happy about how I looked in them and I don't want to feel that way anymore. I've made a commitment to myself and I'm keeping with it. If I don't believe in myself who will?
Friday I watched Dr. OZ while I was getting ready to leave town and he said some interesting things that I will share with you all tomorrow. Until then, I have a 15 page paper to write that's due on Thursday and need to get back to that. Oh the joys of being a graduate student...lol. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
My Life's Biggest Project: Beer and Football
My Life's Biggest Project: Beer and Football: "Are you curious about what I did at Olive Garden in terms of food and how that whole situation was handled? Well it's easy enough I'll just ..."
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