Why Diets Don't Work

If you go "on a diet", what does that mean? That you will eventually go "off the diet". If you haven't changed your eating and physical activity behaviors, what's going to happen? Rationally, you know the answer, but emotionally, you engage in wishful thinking, hoping that this time you will lose the weight and keep it off. What weight are we talking about? When people tell me they lost 12 pounds in two weeks, I ask "12 pounds of what?" On low-calorie diets, about 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle (Ballor & Polehlman 1994).

Losing muscle is a bad thing. Muscle tissue is very active--it burns a lot of calories. Every pound of muscle burns about 35 calories per day, just staying alive. Using the above example, if you lost 12 pounds, then, you lost three pounds of muscle. You would be burning 105 less calories per day or 3150 per month. Since there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, you would gain almost one pound of fat per month just from the muscle mass that you lost!

Surprise: "Toxic" Mortgages Are The Best

With all the negative talk and horror stories concerning the Option ARM I thought I would share this article that recently came out in BusinessWeek.

Surprise: 'Toxic' Mortgages Are the Best

The Key To Optimal FAT BURN is...???

The majority of us were taught to believe that cardiovascular training was the quickest and most effective way to shed unwanted pounds. Aerobics, jogging, swimming, running and biking were the primary activities to turn to when we wanted to slim down. The idea was that when you perform low level aerobic exercise your body relied on calories from fat. So far so good, right? Well, there were a couple of major limitations with this method...

First of all you only burn fat calories while the aerobics are performed. If you do thirty minutes, then you only burn for thirty minutes; if you do two hours, then you only burn for two hours.

Secondly, if you are overzealous with aerobics your body actually eats away at lean tissue (muscle), leaving you with lowered calorie requirements. Ever wonder why you eat the same amount but still put on pounds? A loss in lean tissue (muscle) will do that to you every time.

Fortunately for us, we live in a time of great scientific discovery with tools and resources that give us the cutting edge in our quest for a leaner, sexier body. And science has given us the solution for optimal FAT BURN.

The Solution for optimal FAT BURN is: Resistance Training!

You have probably heard about the many benefits of resistance training.

Here are just a few:

1. Muscle strength increase

2. Prevention of injuries

3. Improved bone density

Here are the two reasons that resistance training is the most effective way to BURN FAT:

1. Oxygen Debt

Now I know debt isn't usually a word that we enjoy...but in this case I'm sure you will agree that it's a great thing. Resistance training puts your body into oxygen debt which means you will BURN FAT as you recover from your workout. And this effect can last quite awhile - studies have shown an increase in calorie burning for up to three days following a resistance training workout.

2. Lean Tissue Burns More Calories

The other way that FAT BURN is accomplished with resistance training is through an increase in your resting metabolism. Lean tissue (muscle) requires many more calories each day than fatty tissue. In fact, one pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories each day at rest - compared to a measly 9 calories per pound of fat.

When you perform resistance training exercises your body composition will change to contain more lean tissue, thus resulting in extra calories burned while you sleep.

Celebrate Your Success Every Day!

Celebrate your success every day! Be proud of what you have accomplished while continuing on your weight loss plan to a healthier, happier and more fit you! Also, be sure to tell your friends about how hard you have been working and how great you feel (if they already haven't told you how great you look!). This will probably make them take a close look at themselves and their lifestyles and hopefully encourage and inspire them to begin or to enhance their exercise routines and nutritional plans. All it takes are a few encouraging words and leading by example and you will certainly have a positive impact on others!

Tips For Beginning Your Fitness Program

Proper preparation for a fitness program is essential in order to achieve the best results.  The following tips will not only help you when starting a new fitness program, but help you to stay consistent with it over the long term.

Following is a list of general principles:

•1. Prior to beginning an exercise program, speak with your physician, especially if you have a medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure, are overweight, sedentary, over 35 years old, have any heart problems, or have a history of heart problems in your family.

•2. Set achievable, measurable, attainable, realistic goals.  Write them down and keep them someplace visible.

•3. Wear comfortable clothing that will absorb perspiration. Choose clothing that won't restrict your movement, and remember that this is about fitness, not fashion. Wear good athletic shoes that provide plenty of arch support. Dress for the climate.

•4. Choose and schedule times to work out that fit your daily routine. There really isn't a time of day that is any better than another, but it helps to pick a time when you usually feel energetic and your schedule allows for consistency.  If you have a busy lifestyle, put your workouts into your schedule just like any other appointments or responsibilities that you have.

•5. Track your workouts in a log or notebook.  This helps ensure that you consistently challenge yourself to do more in your program, allows you to see the progress you are making, and gives you a record to monitor so you know when to build variety and progression into your program.

•6. Warm up for 3 - 5 minutes with a light activity that targets all the major muscle groups prior to beginning your fitness program.

•7. After your workout, finish with a cool down phase of 5-10 minutes.  This is also a good time to incorporate any stretching into your fitness program.

•8. Consistency is the key with any fitness program designed to achieve lasting, long term results.  Start with small steps, but keep moving forward with your program consistently.

•9. Do not go overboard with your fitness program.  Exercise is like anything else, and too much of a good thing can be detrimental.  Give your body adequate rest, not only by getting a good night's sleep on a consistent basis, but by varying your exercise routine so that you do not suffer from repetitive use injuries.

 

Do You Keep a Training Journal?

Always make sure to keep a detailed training journal. By keeping a journal of your training sessions, you will have a detailed log of your every exercise you perform along with reps, sets and how much weight you lifted. It's also great to document how you felt before, during and after your training session along with any food/supplements you took before and after you trained. By keeping an training journal, you will have access to a wealth of information and be able to detect specific areas in your current training routine which can be changed or improved upon.

One of the biggest mistakes most people make is to continue on with a training routine that simply does not work well for them. As the old saying goes, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results". Don't let exercise insanity set in. Make sure to always switch up your training routines and document each one of them into your training journal. When you look back on your training journal, you will see specific patterns where you are succeeding and also where you're falling short. One of the most important pieces of exercise advice is to figure not only "what to do", but more importantly "what not to do". When you know the areas to avoid, your progress will skyrocket!

Counting Calories For Losing Weight

It is not recommended to lose more than 1 pound per week for healthily weight loss. The reason for this has do to with the issues which quick and drastic weight loss can have on your body's metabolism and muscle mass. When you lose a lot of weight quickly, you really need to strictly monitor where this weight is coming from. Is it water weight, body fat or muscle mass? The majority of the time, it unfortunately comes from lean muscle mass and this is exactly what will cause serious issues with your metabolism. Muscle is your body's most potent and active tissue for burning calories and body fat. Its basically your body's "furnace" which you want to always keep burning hot. When someone loses a lot of weight, which usually comes from crash dieting or some other unhealthy way of dropping the weight, the body's lean muscle mass is cannibalized and you lose some of your biggest "power" tissue for keeping a lean body.

The worst thing is when the person finally decides to get off the diet and start eating again. Their calories go back up, but since their BMR (basal metabolic rate) is lowered and they have lost muscle mass, the end result is they pack on the body fat very quickly! Ever heard of the term "yo-yo" dieting. This is the reason why tons of people have issues and hard times with their weight loss plans.

Try and focus on creating a max 500 calorie deficit per day which equates out to an overall 3,500 calories per week (1 pound of body fat). Create this overall 500 calorie deficit through a 250 calorie drop in your diet and another 250 burned with an exercise routine. This is the healthiest way to lose body fat while keeping your muscle mass and having your body run at an optimal level. It will also provide you with a much better plan to permanently keep the weight off forever!

The Oldest And Shortest Written Constitution Of Any Major Government Belongs To The U.S.

In honor of Independence Day, here are 13 little-known bits of trivia about the United States constitution, courtesy of constitutionfacts.com:

1. The first constitution was not known as the Declaration of Independence.  It was called the Articles of Confederation.
2. The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.
3. There are spelling errors throughout the Constitution, but the misspelling of the word "Pensylvania" above the signers' names is a notable one.
4. Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution. He was in France during the Convention, where he served as the U.S. minister.
5. The Constitution was "penned" by Jacob Shallus, a Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk, for a fee of $30.
6. The entire Constitution is displayed in public just one day a year -- September 17.  This is the anniversary of the day the framers signed the document.
7. Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, but declined, because he "smelt a rat."
8. The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).
9. When the Constitution was signed, Philadelphia was the nation's largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
10. Because of his poor health, Benjamin Franklin needed help to sign the Constitution. As he did so, tears streamed down his face.
11. The first time the formal term "The United States of America" was used was in the Declaration of Independence.
12. There was initially a question as to how to address the President. The Senate proposed that he be addressed as "His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties." Both the House of Representatives and the Senate compromised on the use of "President of the United States."
13. The word "democracy" does not appear once in the Constitution.

Have a safe and happy July 4th, everyone.

Source
Fascinating Facts about the U.S. Constitution
http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=constitution&page=fascinatingFacts.cfm

Making English Out Of Fed-Speak (June 2007 Edition)

The Fed left the Fed Funds Rate unchanged again today for the eighth time in a row after 17 consecutive hikes.  None of this is news to us.

The Fed's press release, though, highlights a key theme about our country's economy:  inflation may be moderating, but we are far from in the clear. 

In other words, there are still a handful of outside factors that could push the Fed back out of their "comfort zone" and force them to raise the Federal Funds Rate.

Mortgage rates were up only slightly after the Fed's remarks which were neither tough nor soft on inflation and the economy.

Source
Parsing the Fed Statement
The Wall Street Journal Online
June 28, 2007
http://online.wsj.com/mdcapp/public/page/2_3024-info_fedparse_shell.html

Is Your Child's Social Security Number at Risk?

You know you should check your credit report to see if your identity has been stolen. If a thief obtains your Social Security number, they can establish credit cards in your name, borrow money and make purchases - all without you realizing it.

And yet, millions of people have never checked to see if their identity has been stolen. You know why? Because they can't read, have no access to a telephone and don't know how to use the Internet.

I'm not talking about immigrants. I'm talking about three-year-olds. In fact, I'm talking about your three-year-old. Your teenagers, too, and your grandchildren.

All the pundits offer advice on how you can safeguard your Social Security number. But what about your kid's Social Security number? Most every child gets a Social Security number shortly after birth, which means every child is a potential victim. And if you were a thief, whose number would you prefer to steal: a corporate executive's, or her child's? After all, children won't use their Social Security number for years - not until they apply for a job, a driver's license, or open a bank account. If a thief steals your child's or grandchild's number, the theft may go unnoticed for years.

So here's how you can protect your child's Social Security number:

1. Call 877-322-8228 or visit http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to see if you can get a free copy of the child's credit report. You shouldn't be able to; since the child probably hasn't applied for credit, there should be no credit report. Therefore, if the child has one, it is likely that someone is illicitly using his or her Social Security number. (Note: if the child is under age 13, you must request a copy of the child's credit report via letter. The Web site provides further information.)

2. Monitor the mail that is addressed to your child. A collection notice, or even an offer for a pre-approved card, is a tip off that something is likely wrong.

3. Don't give anyone your child's Social Security number. When doctors, hospitals, schools, cell phone providers or others request the number; see if they will accept some other identification number. Ask how they will share the information and who has access.

4. Keep the child's Social Security card in a safe place. A bank safe deposit box is a good idea because the card is rarely needed. Remember that most identity thieves are friends or family members of the victims.

5. When the child is old enough to understand, explain why he or she must never disclose any personal data (including the Social Security number) without your prior permission. Warn them that identity thieves are active on the Internet, often offering enticing gifts such as iPods and free music downloads in exchange for the child's birth date, name, address and Social Security number.

6. Shred documents that contain the child's information, but keep the shredder away from the child as some machines shred more than paper.

If you think someone has stolen your child's identity, check with one of the credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion or Equifax), and talk with a police officer who specializes in juvenile identity theft.

Be as vigilant with your child's data as you are with your own.

By Ric Edelman
From Inside Personal Finance