This past friday my father had a triple bypass surgery done. This is the second time he has been though the procedure, however that didn’t make it any easier on any of  us. The one attribute that I’ve always associated with my father is strength. It seems that he always fights as hard as he can to overcome the situation. This time however I was very afraid that he wouldn’t have any strength left to beat the odds.

The surgery overall went well, however it was a very long and tough procedure. The fact that he made it through was a huge relief as I woke up that day fully expecting to lose my dad. He tends to not eat as healthy as he should and he knows it. I have been preparing myself for the day to come where his body just wasn’t going to be able to handle it any more. As I see my dad grow older I can see how his body can’t take the abuse and punishment that he bestows upon it. After the surgery, he man who always showed a great deal of strength was lying in front of me with a bunch of machines keeping him alive. He was completely helpless. He is beginning to recover and  has been given a third opportunity at life. I really hope that he seizes that opportunity and learns to live a healthier life and is around to enjoy watching my kids grow up just as my grandparents watched me grow up.

At the same time, I found out my mother has been in and out of the hospital on an outpatient basis for a variety of tests, and my mother-in-law is battling a cancer that has already taken other family members from us. It seems that while we are trying to grow into adults and raise kids of our own, our parents are slowly being pulled from us. The safety net is on its last string and eventually there will be no one there to catch us when we fall.

The hardest part, however, is the idea that all of this stuff is just part of getting older. Everyone is getting older, it’s a fact of life. Seeing the effect it has on our parents throws a great deal of worry, frustration and fear into my life. Will I suffer the same fate as my father? Will my wife eventually fall victim to the cancer that struck her mother and grandmother before her? Unfortuantly we just don’t know. The one thing we can take from our parents troubles is the fact that all of these events serve as a warning to us. We need to take what we are experiencing with our parents and do everything we can to avoid the same situations happening to us. We need to remember how we feel seeing our parents age and do our best to make it as easy as we can on our kids. We can choose to live healthy life styles and stay active and aware of our changing bodies, taking as many preventative measures as possible. While there will always be unexpected illnesses that we couldn’t prevent if we took every precaution, we can still prevent those in which we do have control over.

We are a little over a week into 2010 now. How many of you are still working out trying to fulfill that New Year’s Resolution? Over the last 6 months I have put together a 10 minute ab workout that has really done a lot of good. It’s not overly difficult, but provides toning exercises for all your ab s and core muscles. I have included some videos I’ve found on YouTube to help you out. Here it is…enjoy!

1. Sit-ups - Start with sit-ups. Many people have moved to doing crunches only, but I feel that the sit up is still a great exercise. When I started this workout, I tried to get around 30 in. The key for me was to situp at a normal pace, but move a little more slowly on the way down. Work your way up by adding 5 or so sit ups per week.
2. Plank – Now that you have those abs warmed up it’s time to build that stability. The plank exercise involves resting on your toes and forearms. Make sure to keep your body straight. To start hold it for 30 seconds. Work your way up to a couple minutes, or a couple reps of 30 secs a piece.
3. Crunches – Keep your feet flat on the floor and put your hands behind your head. Raise your shoulders of the ground. Leave your lower back touching the ground. Come back down. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps each.
4. Leg Lifts - This can be done one of two ways. For both lie on your back and place your arms at your side and keep your legs straight. The first variation involves lifting one leg up in the air and bringing it back down. While you are bringing the leg down lift the other. Do 3 sets of this 10 reps per leg (20 total reps per set). The other variant involves lifting both legs in the air and holding them there for 30 seconds. Repeat this 3 times and feel the burn in your lower core.
5. V-holds or V Crunches - This is another one in which you can vary your method. The first method involves sitting on your butt. Left your legs up off the ground and keep them bent at the knees so that your body makes a v shape with a little line on the end (your lower legs). Hold this pose for 30 seconds. Repeat this 2-3 times. The other variation involves getting in the same starting position. Instead of holding the position, in one motion, straighted your legs and lower your back towards the ground. Do not go all the way down, but just enough to feel the burn and come back up. Do 3 sets of 10 at a steady pace. If you keep it slow you will be more effect than if you rush through each rep.
6. Oblique Twists - To Start get in the same position as a V-hold described above. Hold a weight, medicine ball or cuff your hands together and turn from side to side. Do about 10-15 reps per side for 3 sets.

It is important to remember that while these exercises will help you get those six pack abs, they will not do it alone. In order to see the muscle definition, you must do a lot of cardio work and eat healthy to trim away the fat. Everyone has a six pack, with most of us you just can’t see it. Don’t expect to see the muscles, you will however feel the difference when you move and to an extent even when you feel your stomach.

About a month ago I decided I was going to grow my hair out a little. I usually keep it very short, so growing it out a little is in reality growing it out to a normal length. This morning I was combing my hair and realized it was starting to fill out a little. The other thing I noticed is how many grey hairs I have. I have noticed one or two greys here and there over the last 5 years or so, but now that my hair is a little longer I realize that I am headed in the grey direction on a fast track. Being 30, I’m not sure I am ready for that quite yet. I accept getting old and will not fight it with hair dyes or other such products, but I would rather not show off the grey hair just yet. I will be getting my hair cut next week.

Many people say that gray hair is a sign of maturity and sophistication. I agree with that, but I am only 30. I want to give it a couple more years before I get too sophisticated. How about you? If you are a man do embrace the greys or do you do everything you can to hide it? If you are a woman reader, do you like your husbands or boyfriends to embrace the sophisticated look or does it remind you that your man isn’t the young stud he used to be?

As a kid I was always told that I need to eat all my dinner. Honestly I don’t remember if I did, but that lesson stuck with me my entire life as throughout most of my adult life as I always ate all my dinner. This is not a good thing. When children are told to eat all of their dinner it can become a habit for life. Given the average portion size served at today’s restaurants, eating all of your dinner can be detrimental to one’s health. I still have a lot of trouble walking away from food at a restaurant. This often carries over to home cooked meals as well. If the food tastes even slightly good, I always have the urge to eat it up to the last bite. When I do I always regret it both physically and mentally.

After a life time of eating large portions it’s easy to become a very unhealthy person. For years I struggled with my weight. I attributed my obesity to those large portion sizes. About 4 years ago I found that eating smaller portions at each meal helps to control that weight and allows your body to feel leaner. I am very lean and in shape now, but to this day I still struggle with my portion sizes. I did a great job while I was losing weight. Once I got to that target weight however I noticed that I have started to revert back to my old ways of eating all my dinner. I have managed to keep most of the weight off by a ton of exercise, however that is not always an option for everyone. Exercise is essential to life, but not everyone can get out there an hour a day 6 times a week.

About a month ago I realized that we were passing on this bad habit to our son. We want him to grow up being a well rounded person when it comes to his taste in food. We always encouraged him to eat all of his dinner, just like my parents did when I was a kid. If he ate all of his dinner he got a small desert. I had a talk with my wife and we decided that our request for him to eat all of his dinner was not in his best interest. We now have a new rule. Our son must now eat half of his dinner.

Some people may say that this is a waste of food and that there are starving children in other countries that don’t have those meals; however, you can always pack up that leftover food for lunch later in the week, or if it is a side dish, use it with another meal. We feel that requiring our son to eat half of his food will help build a habit of controlling portion sizes and prevent over eating at a meal. With any luck my son will not go through the weight struggles that I went through over the course of my life as well as the overeating struggles that I still experience to this day.

Here are a couple tips to help prevent over eating for both your self and your children.

1. Eat six smaller meals throughout the day. By eating more often you will be less hungry. Your body will learn that it doesn’t need to store as much food due to the higher replensih rate.
2. Use smaller dishes. If you fill up a smaller plate and eat all of your dinner, you will be eating much less than if you filled up a larger plate and ate all your dinner.
3. Do not under any circumstances upsize your meal at fast food restaurants. That food is bad enough for you. Teach yourself to eat less by ordering less.
4. Cheat every once in awhile. If you have to have a big meal go for it maybe once a week. Just remember how uncomfortable that stuffed fealing is when you are done.
5. Eat a small salad with a little dressing as you can. Eating a little bit of lettuce, carrots, etc just before a meal tends to fill me up so that I am not as hungry when the less healthy main course comes. Remember not to use too much dressing as that completely defeats the purpose.

Remember next time you telling your child they must eat all their dinner, that you are setting an expectation for them that they may have trouble not living up to later in life.

Feel free to leave a comment with any tips you have for controlling portion sizes.

I am a carb lover, I can eat carbs all day long: rice, pasta, bread, bring it on! unfortunatly, carbs do not like me as much as I like them. I often feel less than stellar after having too many of them. Carbs are very important as they provide fuel for your body, however excess carbs along with excess calories can cause an increase in body fat percentage. I try to to get to into weight gain because lets face it we are guys, not all weight gain is bad for us. When we put on muscle and gain weight, that’s good; when we put on fat and gain weight, not so good. About a month ago I was shopping at the grocery store when I noticed a new product in the bread aisle…mmmm bread…! So what’s this new product I am supposed to be raving about? Well here it is:

Oroweat Sandwhich Thins, you may see them as Arnold’s Sandwhich Thins depending on what part of the country you live in.

I am not one of those who can give up my bread. I need a hamburger bun for my hamburgers. Wraps are just wannabe tacos in my opinion. The sandwhich thins are a great way for me to get good healthy carbs and enjoy my sandwhiches the way they were meant to be enjoyed. The whole wheat Oroweat Sandwich Thins have a measly 100 calories and 21g Carbs. Compare that with a typical hamburger bun which has around 160 calories and 35g Carbs. You may fine some hamburger buns and wheat bread out there with similar stats, however looking at the ingredients will determine how good or bad that bun really is for you. The Oroweat Whole Wheat Sandwhich Thin’s first ingrediant is whole wheat flour which is a good source of complex carbs (good carbs). The very first ingrediant shows you this is not a chemistry experiment you are putting in your mouth, it’s the real deal.

The Oroweat Sandwhich Thins can also be included in different recipes such as garlic bread, mini pizzas and more. Give them a try and enjoy those carbs the right way!

Many of us do not have hours to spend on a treadmill shedding away the pounds. Actually many of us don’t want to spend hours on a treadmill. Walking or running in place is not the most exciting activity I can think of. In order to slim down we need to burn fat. One of the best ways to burn fat with less of a time commitment is High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. There are many different ways to perform HIIT. Today I am going to talk about sprinting. These workouts work well because they get your heart rate going and for the rest of the day your body will expend energy trying to recover from the intense butt kicking you gave it. In the future I will talk moe about HIIT, however today I am going to talk about a simple 20 minute sprint program.

I am one of those who does cardio for 60 minutes 3 times a week. I decided to try a quick sprint workout one day in place of my cardio for fun. I also felt that if it worked out well it may improve my short distance speed. Increasing my speed over short distances will help me in playing sports like softball and basketball. Here is the work out I tried:

• Start with a 5 minute warm up. Walk or jog at a slow pace to get the heart rate going and the muscles working. Without a proper warm up you risk injuries during the more intense running. Don’t push yourself, you’ll regret it later.
• Do some leg stretches to get your muscles ready to go
• Find a field that has about 100 yards in length
• Start with a 40-50yd sprint at about 50% of your max ability. Walk or jog back to your starting point depending on your fitness level. This walk or jog back is critical because it allows you to recover. Do not sprint again until you are recovered to the point where you aren’t breathing hard anymore.
• Do a 60yd sprint at 60% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• Do a 70yd sprint at 70% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• Do an 80yd sprint at 80% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• Do a 90yd sprint at 90% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• Do a 90yd sprint at 90% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• Do a 100yd sprint at 100% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• Do a 100yd sprint at 100% of your max ability, Walk back and recover
• End your workout with a 5 minute walk or jog to cool down. Always stretch when done.

This workout took me around 20 minutes beginning to end. It may take more or less depending on your recovery times. If it takes more time, dont’ worry, it is still just as effective. If you find it’s not a challenge, increase the distances of your sprints. Even though I run many times a week, this workout really did kick my butt. I really felt like I was recovering the rest of the day. Make sure you only do this maybe a couple days a week so you don’t over stress your body.

Flu season typically runs from as early as October through May. Many parents have to make the tough decision on whether or not to get themselves and their children vaccinated. With the outbreak of the H1N1 strain, we have even more to worry about. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), on average every year in the United States, 5% – 20% of the population gets the flu. The flu can cause hospitalization for up to 200,000 of those individuals and even causes around 36,000 deaths per year. This article will provide some very general information about the flu vaccines available. There are references at the end which I highly encourage visiting to learn more about the options you have for yourself and your family.

Flu vaccinations are often a highly debated topic. Their effectiveness, cost and side effects tend to polarize people regarding the need for the vaccine. Many people feel that the vaccine is unnecessary or even unsafe. There are those who even believe that the flu vaccine is simply a way for drug companies to increase profits at the expense of others. Scientists try to match the virus to the form that is expected to be most prevalent in the upcoming season. While this is not a 100% guarantee that the vaccination will work, it will be effective against many strains.

There are now two types of vaccines available. Both vaccines work on the prinicpal that the body will build up immunity when it comes in contact with the virus. The body is exposed to a dead or weakend version of the virus. The virus causes your body to build up anti-bodies against it therefore helping to prevent a full strength flu virus from growing. This process of building up enough antibodies usually takes around 2 weeks. It should be noted though that the body will only build up the necessary defenses for those strains of the flu that it is injected with.

The first is the traditional “Flu Shot”. The flu shot involves injection of a dead flu virus into the body. Side effects can include but are not limited to:

• a low grade fever for 8 to 24 hours after you receive the shot.
• Soreness or redness around the injection point lasting up to 2 days
• slight chills or a headache within 24 hours

Some people may also suffer more sever allergic reactions to the injection.

The other option involves a nasal spray containing a live but weakened version of the virus. This vaccine is only approved for people 2 to 49 years in age, are healthy and not pregnant. The side effects include many flu like symptoms, but you cannot get the flu from the vaccination. Side effects include but are not limited to:

• runny nose
• nasal congestion
• sore throat
• fever

Many people are concerned that exposing the body to a live virus will cause the flu. According to Melanie Swift, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine and medical director of the Vanderbilt Occupational Health Clinic, and Thomas Talbot, M.D., assistant professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine, the virus is modified that it cannot reproduce or survive once it is exposed to the temperatures is the human body.

It is important to make any decision regarding vaccination against the flu. Below are some resources and references for this article. It is encouraged to read through them to get all of the fine details not presented here. It is also a good idea to consult medical professionals, especially if you or someone you know is at risk.

Resources and References

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flulive.pdf
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=3689
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/05_flu_shot_rxn.htm