I wanted to share an email I received this weekend in response to a video I did on “What Is Considered Fat?” Subject:

response to “what is considered fat”

Nov 17, 2008

“Hi there.I started to respond to your vid, but I couldn’t fit it in the response box so here it is.

First of all, looking at your body I don’t think you’re fat. Your belly is tight, your arms are clearly muscular, not fat. And your boobs are just big, which isn’t fat but just reeaallly sexy.But to speak in general about fat and Americans:To me, it seems a bit silly how Americans view their weight problems.

Every time I see a docu on the subject people keep scratching their heads over it, but if you see how unhealthy u.s. citizens eat and drink, and how little they exercise or just move about in day to day life, the answer is quite easy. I don’t know if this fits you, of course. Just saying the general image.

Most Europeans cycle more, or walk more, and use healthier foods. And most Europeans are slimmer. I’m not trying to be nasty, just honest.

What we call fat over here, you wouldn’t even notice. What you call fat, we call massive.Again, to me, being fat constitutes unhealthy reserves of fat in an untrained body. You don’t have any of that, what I can see.Hope you like my honest answer.”

I have to say I totally agree with this response.   As a child I spent most of my free time on my bike or running around the neighborhood.  Today I hardly ever see kids on bikes or even outside playing after school.  Kids are either in front of the television, on the computer or playing video games.  What happened to our youth?

Then there are our food choices: Burger King, McDonalds, Wendys, etc.  for fast food, but then regular restaurants like Chilis, AppleBees, Olive Garden, etc.  Even their healthy choices are filled with fat, extra calories and lots of high fructose corn syrup.

You could walk into a grocery store and see pretty much the same thing.  I tried to find a box of whole wheat crackers that did not have high fructose corn syrup in them.  It is an impossible task.   Who would think wheat crackers would have that crap in them? It just doesn’t end. 

So many companies are marketing foods as “healthy” when they are really garbage.  I wonder if it is like this over in Europe.   When my son’s friends come over my house they think we are weird because we only have healthy food choices.  We are considered “odd” because we eat healthy.  What the heck is wrong with this country? 

I am trying to build muscle, so I decided to go heavier on the weights and less reps.   I just started this about 2 weeks ago and I am already noticing results.  I was sitting on a bench at the gym and looked at my arms in the mirror.  They are definitely getting bigger and have more definition.  I also notice my waist looks bigger though.  I need to do more intense cardio sessions.  I also think I need to cut the skim milk in my protein shakes after like 3 pm.   I really don’t need the extra calories.

 I also noticed I haven’t been doing nearly as much in the ab department as I used to.  I was doing abs about 3 to 4 times a week, but now I only do them once a week.  Time to start kicking it up again I guess.

 I ate more than I should have today.  I was just starving all day.  I do not know why I felt like I could not get enough, but I know I ate more than I should have, but I didn’t go nuts either.  I wish I could shut my stomach off sometimes.  There are just some days where I feel like I need to have more than what I should.  For the most part, I listen to my body.  Maybe not completely, but I do eat more than usual. 

I haven’t done photos in forever.  It is time to get another update.  I will see about getting that done this week.   Not much else to report today.

I guess it is that time of year again.  My family is sick and I am the only one who hasn’t been ill yet, but I do feel a tickle in my throat, so it may not be too far behind.  I am praying I will avoid it.  It is amazing I have made it this long without an illness. 

I watch other people around me and they have one cold after another, which is the way I used to be myself.  Now it is rare for me to get ill and even if I start to feel sick, I can usually fight it off so I don’t really catch anything, which is what I am trying to do right now.

 I think eating right has a lot to do with it, but also proper rest and taking spiralina and vitamins.  I know Spiralina has helped me to fight off a number of ailments.

Okay, this weekend my son had a football game.  It was a superbowl and when the game started the kids didn’t play up to their potential.  They were not losing the game, it was still 0/0, but they could have had a couple of touchdowns.  One little boy screwed up a couple of times and finally the coach pulled him out of the game.  If that wasn’t enough, the coach then screamed at him in front of the all the parents and other kids.  The boy cried.

So here we are at this special event, which is a big deal to these kids.  They should feel special because the team was actually good enough to go to the superbowl and for the second year in a row.  So they didn’t play as well as they could have, but does that warrant being berated in front of the entire stadium?

These are little boys and this is JUST a sport.  We expect so much from kids as it is.  When did extra-curricular activities become a job?  Isn’t it supposed to be about going out there and having fun?  Yes, fun.  What is that anymore?

The coaches take this way too serious.  I think they are trying to relive their own dreams through their children and it absolutely pisses me off.  I wanted to go down on that field and scream at the coach and then kick him in the balls.

I think it discourages our kids from playing sports when they are treated like this.   It is so important to encourage active lifestyles in children and I would guess behaviour such is this contributes to inactivity in children.

I am attempting to switch to morning workouts for like the 50th time.  I went at 7:30 this morning and the gym was pretty sparse.  By the time I finished my workout the gym started to get crowded, so if I make sure I get there at the same time each day I should get out before it gets too busy.  I don’t like working out with a lot of people around.  Around 9 am the gym fills with women who are there for the classes.  I know I am a parent myself, but I don’t like it when the daycare is open because there are kids everywhere.  I like peace and quiet while I am working out.  

I don’t know why it is so difficult for me to stick to a morning workout pattern.  My body naturally wakes up at night, but I am up in the morning anyway and it is great to get the workout out of the way first thing so nothing happens to prevent me from working out in the evening.  I will give it another go and see what happens.   

We live in a drug happy society.  Doesn’t matter what your ailment, doctors smile while they hand you over yet another prescription.  I read an article yesterday that linked a diabetes medication, Metformin, with heart disease.  So you go in for help with diabetes and walk away heart disease.   Isn’t that great? So you have to decide which you want more? Is that what it comes down to?  Doctors are eager to hand us medication instead of getting to the root of the problems.   This drug is an oral treatment for Type 2 diabetes, which, in most cases, can be treated with a proper diet and exercise.   So why risk a fatal heart attack by prescribing such medications?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to treat the problem without further hurting the body? What has happened to the medical community?  It seems to be bought out by the pharmaceutical companies.  

Tonight I went to a restaurant with my family.  The waiter gave us a kids menu for my youngest.  The options were:corn dog with friespizzahamburger with fries fried shrimpmac and cheeseWhat kind of meals are these for kids?  What about veggies and non-fried foods?  We wonder why this nation is so obese, but with options like that, what do you expect?Kids start life eating corn dogs, hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and let’s not forget cokes and sprite.  Then they grow up and we expect them to eat healthy.  If you train a child to eat crap then you can’t expect the child to grow up and want to suddenly eat healthy foods.It is frightening how many overweight children there are.  I remember growing up there was always that one fat kid.   Now most of the kids would qualify as fat.  The scary part is no matter how thin a child is, usually you will see belly fat, which is a risk for coronary heart disease.  

Okay…I enjoyed Maui, but I have to say I am so happy to be back home again.  I missed my gym and I hated being out of a normal routine.  It is time to adjust to my schedule again.  It bothers me when I get off track and it happens quite frequently since I travel so much.   I did manage to get a tan, but now the trick is to try to keep it.  I always feel so much better when my skin is tan.  I need the sunlight also.  It really makes a difference in the way I feel.  That is one of the many reasons I am not fond of the winter and why I definitely could not live up north.  I feel bad for people who have to deal with really cold temps and harsh winters.I had a huge halloween party for my kids last night and they had a blast.  I allowed them to eat candy and that was a mess.  My youngest was up until 1:20 am bouncing off the walls.  Today he has been lethargic and he did not feel well.  I think he decided himself that sugar is an enemy.  I did not eat any junk at all even though I was surrounded by crap food.  Instead, I did something almost as bad, which is not eating, but there wasn’t anything healthy readily available, so I opted not to eat at all. I know that isn’t good, but the alternative was worse. I knew if I had some sugar that I wouldn’t be able to control myself.  It sounds stupid, but it is so true.  I am like an alcoholic…truly.    

Okay, finally was able to get photos from my camera. So here is a picture from the luau the other night:

And here is a picture of me with my business partner/friend at dinner tonight:

I am at the buffet this morning at the hotel and I decided I might have some All Bran cereal instead of oatmeal.  That is, until I read the label: 

Wheat Bran, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Malt Flavoring, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Sodium Ascorbate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Reduced Iron, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid, Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D.

Okay, have you seen All Bran?  It looks look sticks of cardboard.  Why the heck would there be sugar and high fructose corn syrup in it? 

I don’t get it.  How do you market this cereal as a healthy choice and then the second and 3rd ingredients are crap.  How do they get away with marketing this as a healthy food.  If I hadn’t read the label first I would have eaten a bowl myself.

I know, I know all the commercials right now are chanting about how good HFCS is and how it isn’t bad for us if it isn’t overused.  Well guess, what?  We overuse sugar, alcohol and every other acceptable if small portion food.  At least sugar is natural.   This is chemical crap.

Oh and in case you are not aware of how this is made: “The corn wet milling industry makes HFCS from corn starch using a series of unit processes that include steeping corn to soften the hard kernel; physical separation of the kernel into its separate components—starch, corn hull, protein and oil; breakdown of the starch to glucose; use of enzymes to invert glucose to fructose; removal of impurities; and blending of glucose and fructose to make HFCS-42 and HFCS-55.” - www.hfcsfacts.com

Yeah, that sound healthy doesn’t it.  They are trying to say this is natural.  Bogus crap!