In The News & Checking In 9-13-12

CNN was awash with different health related stories yesterday so it's time for another installment of "In the News with Panda..."

Fish oil's heart benefits may be overstated

The article basically says that while omega 3 fatty acids are great, the concentrated form in a supplement isn't as good as the natural way and more research is needed to determine how effective it really is in preventing heart attacks and heart disease.  Here's the bit that bothers me...

These healthy fats have been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce triglycerides, and prevent heart rhythm abnormalities, but clinical trials investigating whether these properties translate into a lower risk of heart attack and stroke have had mixed results.

I am a believer that blood pressure, cholesterol numbers, etc. DO NOT cause heart attacks.  They are merely a symptom leading up to a heart attack.  A heart attack, itself, is merely a symptom of something else (blocked artery).  We spend so much money on drugs, supplements, etc. trying to treat symptoms instead of addressing the actual cause of these symptoms.  That's my soapbox on this one.

Next up...
Bride's vows: 'In fitness and in health'

I didn't watch the video but this is apparently one of the CNN Fit Nation people who got married and have lost a bunch of weight with a personal coach and all that.  She's got some good tips that I know we've all seen here in Blogland but I wanted to reiterate a couple of them.

1.  Diet is everything.  You know my take on this - it's all about the FOOD!
2.  Realistically assess your weaknesses.  I think this is a great one...I just don't like the example she uses.  She uses assessing her areas of weakness in the swimming portion of training for a triathlon.  I associate this with taking a realistic look at your goals, triggers and knowing what you will and what you WON'T do.  For instance, know your trigger food.  What's going to make you go off the deep end?  For me...it's sweets.  Another piece...I know I'll NEVER get up earlier than necessary to go work out.  I am NOT a morning work out person.  Do I feel good when I do?  Yes but the snooze button is going to win for me every time so there's no point in even putting that goal out there.   I need to find the time elsewhere in my day.  
3.  Track your progress.  We've all talked about it...not just weight...measurements!  You lose inches even when you're not losing weight but also NSV's!  It's not all about the sizes and the scale people!  

The only thing I don't agree with is I don't think you need to go meatless to be healthy.  A lot of vegetarians are NOT healthy but think they are because they don't eat meat.  You still need to make sure you're getting all your nutrients.  I'm not saying you HAVE to eat meat...but just because you don't eat meat doesn't make your diet a healthy one.  Does that make sense?

Here's a fun one -
Gross, sure -- but maggots have medical benefits

OK...This one I just found interesting as all get out and even though I'm allergic to penicillin, I'm going to have to put a no-maggot order in my medical file.  Eeeeewwwwww.

And on the exercise Front...
Tabata: Scorch calories without the time commitment

Has anyone does this?  It basically sounds like a fun word for "interval training" which is the basis of most group exercise classes as well as crossfit.  Nothing too groundbreaking here in my opinion.  I'm also not real sure that 25 minutes, 3 days a week will bring any real results as far as weight loss goes...but I'm curious as to if anyone has tried and their experiences with it.

So there's your health news from Panda.  Hope you enjoy.  As for checking in, yesterday was good up until dinner.  I didn't work out but that was planned as my body needed a rest day.  Hitting Bodyworks tonight (with Yolanda who is FABULOUS!).  But we had Burger King for dinner!  Yikes!  Whopper Junior with 4 french fries and 4 licks of my daughter's ice cream cone.  Oh well...today is another chance to do better.

Checking in for yesterday.
List of NO's:
No fast food. No Check - BK
No carbonation. Check
No Starbucks.  Check
No pasta, rice or bread. Bun on the Whopper Junior
No chocolate, candy or sweets.  Mostly Check - 4 licks of an ice cream cone
No juice, milk or sugary drinks.  No Check - Pink Lemonade at BK

List of WILL's:
I will work out at least 4 times this week.  2/4
I will limit the amount of processed foods I eat.  Mostly Check
I will go to sleep at a decent hour.  Eh Yesterday.
I will be kind to myself.  Check 
I WILL stay on plan.  Nope!

OK...I'm sure I've got 10 things for TTT in there somewhere.  Tomorrow is Friday...YAY!  Hope y'all are surviving the week.  Remember....it's all in how you look at things...