(Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle)

Week of January 20, 2008

Table of Contents

* Senior Citizens Should Lift Weights Too*

* Isn't It Sweet Enough? *

Everyone knows an overweight person when he sees one. Telltale signs are usually bulging bellies, plump faces, and generally a body which is huge and far from firm.

Many people would never suspect that a slender person could also be ‘fat.’ There are no telltale signs. The stomach is as flat as a pancake and the face is healthy looking. But there are many ‘fat’ skinny people walking around.

There are physical laws at work which affect every man and woman on planet earth. One natural physical law is that a person will begin to lose lean body mass (muscle) once a certain age is reached.

As a person ages, muscle atrophies and is replaced by fat. It is a natural human process. This process is similar to a machine. As it ages, parts wear and break. In order to keep the machine in good working order throughout the years, it has to be maintained.

The human body is no different. It ages and begins to wear with time. The skin loses its elasticity, the bones grow thinner (osteoporosis), and muscle atrophies. Basically we all begin to droop! Like the machine, a good maintenance program will reverse some of this damage.

Beginning at about age 45, a human being loses approximately 1 percent muscle per year. Muscle is active in that it burns calories. The more muscle a person has, the more calories he or she will burn while at rest.

As muscle atrophies due to the normal aging process, and lack of strength training exercises, metabolism slows down and fat accumulates.

If a thin person is not physically active, and is in his 40s or beyond, he is getting fat no matter how slender he appears. An ordinary bathroom scale will not indicate this process. It just tells how much the combined muscle and fat weighs.

The only way to measure the amount of body fat you are carrying around is to have it measured either by skin calipers or electronic hand held devices that are available. Omron Healthcare makes one such device.

Below is a table of recommended body fat percentage ranges for male and female:

Women Ages: 20-39 40-59 60-79

% bodyfat : 21 - 33 23 - 34 24 - 36 __________________________________________________

Men Ages: 20-39 40-59 60-79

% bodyfat : 8 - 20 11 - 21 13 - 25

(This table was reprinted from the Omron Body Fat Analyzer [model HBF-306] instruction manual.)

How can you prevent the inevitable from happening? Weight training. You are never too old to start. Resistance training will prevent muscle loss and the subsequent decline in metabolism. It will enable you to remain strong and less likely to fall. And if you do fall, you will not be as susceptible to hip fractures. Hip fractures are one of the leading causes for senior citizens being confined to nursing homes, and even death.

I weight train with two other men at Diamond Gym in Maplewood, New Jersey. I am 56 years old. The youngest of our trio is 42 years old and the oldest is 68 years old. The two oldest men who work out at Diamond Gym are 80 and 84 years old!

“Often, a fall with fracture is a frequent precursor to long term residence in a nursing home” (Read full article...)

“Sugar is as dangerous as tobacco and, in terms of world health, far more important” (British Medical Journal, 2005.)

It is well known that sugar is highly addictive. It is one of the most pleasurable sensuous experiences we can enjoy–-taste-wise anyway. Food companies know this well as they use it to their advantage.

“Food companies have doubled the amount of sugar they add to some of their most popular products — including soups and cereals — in an attempt to attract sweet-toothed customers . . . ” (Read full article...)

Food producers are increasing the amount of sugar in their processed products. And out of all the processed products available on stores’ shelves, breakfast cereals are seeing some of the biggest increases in sugar content.

Kellogg’s Special K contained 9.6 grams of sugar for every 100 grams in 1978. Now the sugar content has almost doubled at 17 grams for every 100 grams!

Why are these companies adding even more sugar to their products? Aren’t they sweet enough? There’s a couple of reasons. Sugar prices are falling. So these large food companies can add even more sugar without it costing them any more money. And the return on investment will be multiplied tremendously.

Sweeter products will make consumers eat more breakfast cereals, soups, breads–-you name it. So you have cheap sugar prices and Americans buying and eating more and more of these overly sweetened products.

The over consumption of sugar and artificial sweeteners are enormous contributors to the world’s ever growing obesity epidemic. Obesity increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 300 percent!

Currently 1 in 3 Americans have either diabetes or pre-diabetes. I shudder to think how much sugar and artificial sweeteners Americans consume on a daily basis. And this is not counting the white breads, rice, and potatoes which the body processes as sugar.

Just about every processed food product contains sugar. Though they are not as obvious as breakfast cereals, they are just as bad. Breads, hot dog and hamburger rolls, mayonnaise, relishes, soups, crackers, and dozens of other food products contain sugar.

The grand-daddy of all products which are laced with sugar and artificial sweeteners are soft drinks and fruit drinks. Anyone who follows the standard American diet (SAD) is literally overdosing on sugar every day. Remember, even 100 percent fruit juice, and the fruit itself, contains sugar. Even though it’s natural, the body processes it just as it processes table sugar.

With food producers adding even more sugar to their products, the statistics will soon read 1 in 2 Americans are diabetic or pre-diabetic! That is an astounding 50 percent of Americans!

What can you as a concerned consumer do? Scrutinize food nutrition labels. Don’t buy any product which contains more than 9 to 10 grams of sugar per serving. Substitute water and 100 percent fruit juice for soft and fruit drinks. (1 teaspoon = 4 grams of sugar.) Eat a lot more whole, unprocessed food.

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The obesity crisis is global. Almost every nation is struggling with a population which is growing larger by the year.

Unfortunately this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down, let alone decreasing. The percentage of Americans overweight in 1960 was 45 percent; in that same year, 13 percent were obese.

Fast forward to the 21st century. America’s overweight percentage is now 66 percent while approximately 33 percent are obese.

Obesity is a crisis because with rising body weight comes rising risk factors for chronic disease, and the development of disease itself. Certain cancers, heart disease, and even seemingly unlikely medical conditions such as asthma, sleep apnea, and erectile dysfunction are directly or indirectly related to obesity.

Another name for type 2 diabetes is adult-onset diabetes. That’s because it used to affect mostly adults. Not any more. Rising obesity rates are afflicting children with this terrible disease. Overweight and obesity is expensive. It costs America about $123 billion per year. The average medical costs for an obese patient is approximately 25 to 35 percent greater than for a non-obese patient!

Childhood obesity statistics for America are appalling. Look at the data from the mid 1970s to 2003-2004:

Age Range Mid-1970s 2003-2004:

2 thru 5 5% 14%

6 thru 11 7% 19%

12 thru 19 5% 17%

Obesity rates in the 2 through 5 year old and 6 through 11 year old categories almost tripled! They more than tripled in the 12 through 19 year old group!

The global obesity crisis is causing people worldwide to change their lifestyles. Resorting to diets is a bandaide. Only a healthy lifestyle can cure obesity.

In this e-book you will find why diets fail. You will discover that only by a change in lifestyle can you enjoy good health through permanent weight reduction.

You will also discover how America and the world reached this point. There is a reason for everything. After reading the reasons for our global obesity epidemic, you will better understand and appreciate the ‘cure.’

Obesity was not inevitable. It was however inevitable when food companies relied more and more on chemicals, and excessive processing.

But the global obesity crisis is a two-pronged problem. Along with food companies tinkering with food products, technology has given the world population more gadgets to distract us from physical activity. We have become excessively sedentary. We’re obsessed with text messaging and talking on cell phones, watching 24/7 cable/satellite television, surfing the web, and playing countless hours of video games.

There’s no more time to exercise. Stairs have become little more than ‘window dressing’ since hardly anyone uses them anymore. The automobile has become our major means of transportation–relegating walking to situations where it cannot be avoided.

A Comprehensive Guide to Weight Loss will show you what food ingredients and chemicals to avoid. These ingredients and chemicals not only will make you fat, but they negatively affect overall health. You will learn that exercise is a remedy for not only obesity, but chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Prepare to read and digest the enclosed obesity destroying material in these pages. Also prepare to feel and look as you have possibly never felt and looked before. Let the journey begin...

1 Chapter One: Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

9 Chapter Two: Drop Pounds by Changing Lifestyle

14 Chapter Three: The Weight Crisis

24 Chapter Four: Nutrition Makeover

43 Chapter Five: Exercise to Lose Weight

I hope that the information contained in this ezine was helpful. If you have any questions or comments concerning this week's topic(s), please go here...

Until next time...