States Get Tough On Chunky Monkey State Workers
“Hey state workers! You’re fat, you smoke and we’re not going to take it anymore.” So says your state and health insurance company. Whip out your wallets because your rates are going up.
North Carolina: Obese state employees will face higher rates starting in July 2011 and smokers’ health insurance rates will go up in July 2010.
South Carolina: Smoking state workers will start paying an additional $25/month on their health insurance beginning in January 2010, much like Kentucky and Georgia.
Alabama: Gives non-smokers a discount, but doesn’t raise rates on smokers.
Yes, America is fat and has a nasty smoking habit, but is it right for state governments and insurance companies to penalize them?
Why do people buy health insurance? In case they need a doctor. DOH! It’s a business transaction. Insurance is a service for which the employee pays a fee and in exchange for that fee the employee has every reasonable expectation to receive necessary medical attention when needed. Then somewhere along the way the insurance companies said, “Hey, wait a minute! We’re not rolling in enough dough and the CEO is expecting that $3 million bonus this year. We need to raise some more cash.”
Employer health plans (state or not) are group plans. Group health plans may not discriminate against unhealthy employees. (That may vary by state, but in CA they can’t.) I’m no health insurance expert, but from what I’ve been told by several insurance representatives when I was looking for my own private health insurance, they (employers/insurance companies) can’t charge an unhealthy person any more than what other members in the group are paying.
I personally think they’re strolling into a gray area when they penalize an obese person and give discounts to “normal” people. That is preferential treatment. What about super skinny people with anorexia? That’s unhealthy, but they don’t charge them any more.
Smoking is different. Smoking is a non-life essential activity. Obesity is a result of eating, a life essential activity. Ok, there may be other contributing factors like not enough exercise or not eating the right foods, but keep reading…
When the government had a sneaking idea that cigarettes were bad for people, they said no more tobacco ads on TV. Years later the government took the tobacco companies to court when they found out they were spiking cigarettes with additional chemicals.
The government doesn’t penalize a vehicle owner because his ride only gets 10 mpg because that’s just how cars were built. Instead, it goes to the manufacturers to say you guys need to start building cars with better gas mileage.
But what about food? What about all the fat, sugar and salt food manufacturers slip into the food we eat? Fast food joints are no different. Then they wrap it up in pretty packages and put ads on TV and tell us over and over again how good it tastes and how quick and easy it is to prepare.
Where’s the government now? Why aren’t they pulling food ads from TV? Why aren’t they going after manufacturers for putting stuff into food like they did with the tobacco companies?
They are going after the wrong end of the problem. The FDA pulls drugs off the market all the time because they make people sick or worse, dead. People are getting diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks from eating the stuff these food processors create, but instead of going after the processors, they’re going after the people who got sick from eating it by raising their health insurance rates. That’s backwards.
If your state’s riding your fat butt about being overweight, you’ve got until the next enrollment period to get back into shape. Oh, and you can forget about a gym membership. You can’t afford it because the state furloughed you, remember?
You need a home gym system, but not the big bulky kind that takes up the entire living room. Get back into shape with the Terrell Owens Super Strong Man home gym system. It’s got up to 254 lbs of resistance, yet it’s lightweight and compact so it travels anywhere. And since it doesn’t take up any room in the house, you won’t be tempted to use it as a clothes rack. It’s also safe enough for the entire family to use. Makes a great Christmas gift, too.
Fat Loss Tips – A Few For You To Consider
There are many ways in which you can help your body to lose fat. However, before you actually do decide to go on any kind of program or fat loss tips you will need to talk to your doctor or nutritionist first. This is to make sure that your body will be able to cope with the changes that you are planning to make. Certainly as you start to lose the fat, you will start to notice difference in the way you feel and look.
Some people have found that simply by changing what is in their diet they can lose the fat that their body has stored. Although for some people, actually losing fat is easy, for others it can prove to be somewhat of a challenge. One of the first steps that one should taken when changing your diet should be to eliminate all fatty foods from your diet. By doing this your body is not only taking in less fats but you will have far less fat that you will need to remove. Also reducing the amount of salt you consume each day can also help and eating more green vegetables and those with less starch content can help improve your situation.
If you are not currently doing any form of exercise, then the next thing that one should be considering is adding some form of exercise into your daily routine. You do not need to go overboard just taking a walk each day could effect just how much fat you do lose. However, if you already have a regular exercise regimen in place, then thing about doing more cardio vascular type exercises. These have been shown as being extremely effective in helping you to lose body fat a lot more quickly. But you do not just have to do these kinds of exercises there are plenty of other types worth considering.
It is important to remember that your body needs muscles in order to support the joints especially when doing cardio exercises as considerable strain is being placed upon them. Therefore if you are able to include some form of weight or strength training in to your exercise regime also. These particular exercises will not only help to build up muscle and provide the support that your joints need, but you will find that more muscle mass helps to burn off fat more quickly as well.
A great way of ensuring that you lose fat but also increase muscle mass is by ensuring that your diet contains foods which have high levels of protein in them. If you are unsure just how much protein, it is your body needs then discuss the matter with your doctor or nutritionist. Plus you need to make sure that your body is being supplied with protein every three hours and that you have some protein prior to going to bed.
It is vital that you also start to drink plenty of water if you want to get rid of fat that is stored in your body. A person looking to lose weight or fat effectively should be drinking around 100 fluid ounces of fresh distilled water each day. This will help your body to actually remove unwanted toxins and waste that can cause you to retain fat. Plus it provides a good kick-start to any fat loss program and makes achieving your results much easier.
Because the body is made up of around 70% water, you need to drink plenty to ensure that it remains well hydrated. This in turn will help to ensure that the body functions correctly throughout the day. Plus although your body is able to cope quite well with food for a period of time, it finds it much harder to cope if you are not getting enough water. Also, drinking cold water is a great way of helping to eliminate the hunger pangs you may feel when you make changes to your diet and reduce the amount of calories you consume. Also, water is actually the ideal way of helping the body to eliminate unwanted fat as well.
Above we have shown you the best ways when it comes to fat loss, but if you want, you could try using supplements as well. However, you need to be wary as not all supplements are approved and may contain ingredients that could actually be detrimental to your health. Certainly, there are some, which contain ephedra that are harmful to anyone who suffers from heart or other medical conditions. So be wary and discuss the possibility of using such supplements with your doctor first.
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Why Natural Bodybuilding Is Your Best Option To Build Muscle
When you are in a place where you want a better body and just to be healthier all around, it is time for you to take a look at Natural Bodybuilding. Natural Bodybuilding is the process of losing fat, gaining muscle and generally being healthier without resorting to things like anabolic steroids or HGH.
When you take substances like that, you are putting your progress and your health on the line. When you want to see steady improvement and the ability to maintain the shape that you are in, it is time to turn to Natural Bodybuilding.
Natural Bodybuilding can be a considered a return to something much more basic to our bodies. After all, in nature, we do not require steroids or HGH to build up our muscles. We developed our muscles because we needed them and because the things that we eat can encourage the growth of our muscles.
With that in mind, it is easy to see why Natural Bodybuilding is so good for you. You are taking things at a pace that your body can process and you are also in a place where you can make sure that your body is going to be able to move forward and really keep the shape that you get it into.
Remember that Natural Bodybuilding is something that takes a holistic approach towards the work that you are doing. You need to be certain that you are watching what you are ingesting and the affect it has on you. Your meals should be about 30% protein, 50% from natural carbohydrates and 20% from healthy oils.
You will find that you are going to want to avoid eating foods that are too sugary or too overly processed and that you will want to pay special attention towards looking at the role that protein plays in your eating habits. Eating too many sugars and processed food you’re just adding fat and not muscle. Instead, concentrate on proteins and what they can do for you. The only way to heal torn muscle fiber from a hard work out is natural protein.
There’s a couple of things you must never forget: first, there are no easy routes to Natural Bodybuilding. Second, this program will allow you to make significant yet natural changes to your life. Rather than something that is going to go away the minute that you break a cycle, it will be real progress.
This is strength that is being created in a healthy way, rather than in a way that will leave your body angry or wounded, and this is something worth considering.
It is very important to work towards the body that you want, and while there are a lot of different ways to get there, make sure that you take a look at Natural Bodybuilding and see what it can do for you!
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Notice The Five Top Fat Loss Rules
I remember reading once that “all diets work” and all diets will help you to “lose” weight. The difficulty is that instead of maintaining the weight loss we often go back to our bad eating habits and gain all of the weight that we lost back again. I disagreed.
I have often tried various diets and various ways to lose weight. I would religiously follow the diet program and the scale would not move. Not a pound dropped off. Some women’s bodies are totally resistant to weight loss.
It is a biological anomaly for women. Men will always be able to lose weight and gain muscle easier and faster than women because women are biologically programmed to hold onto the fat. In the rare event of a famine our bodies are designed not only to keep us alive but also to keep any babies that we may be carrying alive. Biologically it is just more challenging for women to lose weight.
But over the years I have learned quite a bit about what works to lose weight and what won’t work. Here are the most important five rules that I have come up with.
First rule is to Eat. That’s right; do not starve yourself if you want to achieve lasting weight loss. Eating regularly will keep you from getting over hungry which in turn will keep you from eating everything you see later on. It also keeps your metabolism going and your body will keep on burning calories. If your body thinks it is starving it will turn off your metabolism and conserve the fat so eat, at least 3 meals and as many as 6 small meals a day.
The second rule is to watch what you do eat. Empty calories in the form of “white foods” and empty carbohydrates do nothing to fill you up and just pack on the pounds. Choose quality and you will instantly reduce quantity. Many cravings are caused by a lack of sufficient nutrients so choose quality, high-density nutritious foods when you do eat. Clear the junk out of your pantry and out of your life.
The third rule is to add protein with every meal. Protein is digested slower than carbohydrates and it will not create a sugar spike in your bloodstream. Eating protein will keep you fuller longer and you will end up eating less later on.
The fourth rule is to pick your carbohydrates wisely. Simple carbohydrates like sweets, candy and actually anything made out of white flour will just spike your blood sugar, make you hungry and add to your fat deposits. Choose complex carbohydrates like whole grains and vegetables. These will add fiber, which will also keep you fuller and will keep your digestive system running at its highest levels.
Fifth is to begin an exercise program. Start moving. Take the stairs. Take a walk. Move more. You can start slow and work your way up but exercise is crucial for long-term weight loss success.
Long- term weight loss is a lifestyle change. Few people who have had weight challenges in the past are able to just lose it once and be done with it forever. It is an everyday, lifetime commitment. But if you commit to these rules most of the time you will be on your way to permanent and healthy weight loss.
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Two Basic Bodybuilding Workout Rules to Gain Muscle
There are a huge amount of muscle building programs out there. Gaining serious muscle will involve using methods that will get you there as quickly as possible.
Most often, the rule of thumb is, “More is better.” In other words, practice more, and you’ll get better at what you do with better results. However, with gaining muscle, most of us need to be working out less, not more.
Each time you pick a magazine up all you see is bodybuilders who will tell you that to get muscles like them you have to train nearly everyday of the week. When we see there huge muscles we think if we follow their advice, we will get the same results.
However, for most of us, this is not true. Those who are in bodybuilding professionally have an advantage over the rest of us, which is to say that they have a genetic predisposition to build muscle, so that they can do these very intensive workouts without a break. They don’t need a lot of rest to recover after they train, but that’s not true for most of us.
You need to accept this situation before you can start to gain muscle the correct way. A lot of people make the mistake of training too much when it comes to gaining extra muscle. Cut back on your training now if this is what you are doing.
You should begin to see results in about eight weeks if you follow just a couple of simple rules.
1. The first rule is, take it easy. Don’t think about what others lift, and instead just focus on yourself. What you need to do is challenge yourself for yourself and work on your larger muscle groups. That’ll make you more efficient in your workouts, because you will hit more muscle groups with one type of exercise. Squats are one good way you can do this.
2. Don’t train more than a couple of times a week. Believe me this is a far better way for you to gain muscle. Intense training does not only hit your muscles, but it also hits your entire nervous system. Your nervous system may not have recovered, even if your muscles have.
If your nervous system hasn’t recovered, you’re not going to do any good with further training and in fact may give yourself a setback; that’s because if you haven’t let your nervous system recover, it’s not going to be able to cope right. Give it time to catch up. If you don’t recover, you can’t build muscle. Try this; after your training session, take a day, two days, even three days off as a break. See how you feel and don’t overdo it, but so keep challenging yourself moderately and within limits.
Many people will attempt this for a short time and then go back to their old ways. The fact is that if you have been using particular bodybuilding programs which haven’t worked, then something is wrong. Look at doing things differently.
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Advice On Weight Loss Drugs
Being an obese person in today’s world is becoming the norm, although the problem is that increasing numbers of children are also being affected and of course they grow into overweight adults. To cure this problem, some individuals have resorted to surgical measures whereas others have resolved that adjustments to their food intake and an increase in physical activity is necessary. Weight decrease should be approached as a long term proposition especially when you consider it takes considerable time to become overweight so the use of weight loss drugs should be used with caution.
These drugs work in a variety of ways, although primarily they try to fool the brain into believing the stomach is full and improve the person’s metabolism. These medicinal drugs were quickly withdrawn from circulation when tests revealed that one of the more dangerous negative effects was an increased risk of heart valve disease. Since then, more groundbreaking drugs have been developed and physicians continue to prescribe them although they are still awaiting FDA certification.
The use of drugs that help weight reduction has become so common that it is almost certain that you know of someone who has tried them. This is evidently a very tempting prospect, to lose that excess weight while eating the same diet. As a consequence, drug companies spend millions of dollars in research on weight loss drugs while consumers spend even more buying the pills.
Somebody wishing to buy weight control pills can do so over-the-counter or have them prescribed by their doctor. However there are still health dangers associated with their use. But they are not the only negative aspects and some can be more harmful than others, including: heart attacks, tremors, strokes, hallucinations and renal failure.
The negative aspects vary depending on the lifestyle and wellbeing of the person and can be minimized as long as one confers with the doctor first before buying them. Problems like depression, sickness, bad mood swings, nightmares, and sleeplessness for instance have all been reported when a person has stopped taking the weight control tablets.
While the effectiveness of these weight loss drugs isn’t in question, they are more effective if they are used alongside a controlled diet and exercise routine. The kind of balanced food groups would be oats, cereals, rice, potatoes with fruit and vegetables as the best source of minerals, fiber and vitamins.
Physical exercise can be done in whatever form suits the individual best, but it should incorporate fat-burning exercises that will burn up any excess calories. The best exercise programs should have cardiovascular and weight training workouts as this helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase a person’s metabolism and help with weight loss.
Make strength training part of your exercise routine. If you’re doing cardio exercises, did you know that after a workout your body stops burning calories? By adding resistance exercise, muscles continue burning calories for up to 48 hours after your workout. You can literally turn your body into a fat burning machine with strength training. One of the easiest ways to perform resistance exercises without spending hundreds of dollars on expensive home gym systems is with resistance bands.
Build Your Upper Body Muscle Mass Fast
Most people know that in order to build up muscle in the upper body one of the best exercises to do is the bench press. A frequent question bodybuilders ask each other is how much you can bench press. Let us examine what it takes to build muscle and how to achieve a bigger bench press. This can be done in a few very effective ways that will make a noticeable difference fast.
Grow your triceps. As much as two thirds of the complete muscle mass on your arms is made up of the tricep muscle. The best exercises to build muscle mass on your triceps are using barbells and dumbells: close grip bench-presses and skull crushers. Isolation exercises are not as good as they isolate the muscle completely. They will definitely help add weight to your bench press.
Work your triceps separately. The majority of bodybuilding regimens advise that you workout the chest in the same session as the triceps. If you train the triceps separately, you can concentrate on them and get the muscle growing very quickly. Try this over a few weeks and then have a look at how many more kilograms you can bench press.
Change is good. Have you been doing that same old workout regimen for months now? When your muscles have done the same workout a few times, they become used to it and therefore the need to keep growing muscle is not needed. Keep changing things around, it can be slight changes like changing the grip width or even reversing the order of your regimen or they can be more drastic changes such as doing supersets or compound sets and others.
Make sure you are not doing too much. While with most things in life more is better, in muscle building this is not quite true. If you do too much and overtrain your chest then it can struggle to recover and find it hard to grow more. Focus on intensity and technique as opposed to quantity. A short intense workout is much more effective than a long drawn out one.
Rest well. Your muscles will not be growing at the gym! You need to be getting a good amount of rest, as muscles will grow as you are resting. If you do not give enough time for growing then they will not grow. A good rule to set is to is to limit yourself to 6-9 sets per session for each muscle group otherwise, you will risk overtraining.
Take a break from training. If you hit a training plateau then consider taking a complete break. Allow your body to fully recuperate and eradicate all the strains and return a week or so later doubly motivated.
Examine your diet. Are you eating 6 meals per day with a minimum of 1 gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight you have? If you are not following this sort of diet, then it is probable that you are limiting your gains by not following a muscle building diet. In every meal try to eat 50% carbohydrates, 30% proteins, and the remainder can be fats.
Focus on your technique. Are you pressing correctly. Poor technique can shift the focus away from the chest muscles and can also put you at increased risk of injury. Ensure you are not moving your feet up off the floor and that your hands are not grasping the bar too closely together, these are two easy and often made errors.
By sticking to the tips above you will be greatly increasing your chance to develop more muscle mass on your chest quickly.
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Controlling Evening Snacking
What is it about sitting in front of the TV in the evening that has me eating more calories in those few hours than I eat all day long? There was a time when I didn’t snack at night, however I was sipping wine at the time. Actually, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t sipping. I was drinking wine iced down in a 28 ounce tumbler every night…several of them.
When I stopped drinking wine my carb cravings went through the roof. Suddenly I was craving sweets and I am not a dessert person. It’s not that I don’t like sweets, it’s just that I rarely ever eat them. All of a sudden I found myself filling my shopping cart with them. That’s not me. I don’t do that. The only thing I can link it to is no longer drinking. I know my wine drinking was an expensive and out of control habit, but quitting drinking made me gain at least 45-50.
Taking a flax seed oil capsule helps a little. The fat satisfies me and flax seed oil is healthier than greasy potato chips. I’m wondering if Benefiber would help. It’s soluble fiber and something I saw the other day said soluble fiber takes longer to get through the system than non-soluble fiber.
I’m not hungry in the evening, but there is a switch inside of me that’s not flipping off. Something is telling me I’m not satisfied, therefore I keep eating.
I’d like to hear from you. Do you snack in front of the TV? What do you eat? Do you have any tips for controlling unquenchable “hunger”? Please feel free to comment.
Possible Health Benefits of Exercise With Cancer – Part 1
by AJ Farro
Recent studies show that exercise, including strength-training and aerobic workouts, can help reduce fatigue, maintain or improve muscle function, and may even improve the quality of life for cancer patients, both past and present.
What are the potential benefits of participating in regular exercise routines while being treated for cancer? Continue reading
Control High Blood Pressure With Resistance Training
It’s a no brainer that regular exercise can help lower high blood pressure. To help you throw your sedentary (inactive) lifestyle out the window and decrease your BP values, incorporate some of these exercises into your daily routine and watch your BP amazingly decrease.
Read more about resistance training here…
Bodylastics Resistance Bands
