• 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
• Be Active Your Way: A Guide for Adults
• An activities toolkit for communities and organizations
• The advisory committee report for health professionals and researchers

For the first time, Americans are encouraged to do both aerobic activities and strengthening activities.

The guidelines recommend at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week (moderate aerobic activity as in “I can talk while do them but I can’t sing”) or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity every week (vigorous activity as in “I can only say a few words without stopping to catch my breath”).

Adults are also encouraged to do muscle strengthening activities at least two days a week. The two guidelines for these types of exercise are:

• Include all the major muscle groups such as legs, hips, back, chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms.
• Exercises for each muscle group should be repeated 8 to 12 times per session.

One nice thing about the Body for Life method is that following it allows a person to essentially meet these requirements. (Not exactly, though. If you do Body for Life by the book, you only get an hour of aerobic exercise per week, and you only exercise each muscle group 1.5 times.)

So, surprisingly enough, I’m meeting the Federal guidelines for physical activity. A year ago, I was a couch potato. That’s progress!

[U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans]

The governator said, “I’m really pumped up about this…” I’d go further into the quote, but do you really care. As we know from Pumping Iron, when Arnold is pumped, he is pumped.

I’m excited by this. I really hope it becomes a nationwide trend. It’s been a long time coming.

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Pam has often referred to studies that show that the majority of people who consistently exercise do so in the morning.  So off to the internets I went, searching for answers to this controversial topic.  It seems that every time I do some research, I never find a definitive answer.  It seems that in order to find one, I’m going to have to change my question to “Is it safe to smoke?” or “Should I blow dry my hair while standing in a bath tub full of water?”

Yep, I found articles that supported exercising first thing in the morning and articles that said this was a bad idea.  But, the most overwhelming piece of advice I found was that it’s better to exercise than not to.  So if early in the morning works for you, then that’s what you should be doing.  Here are some of the tidbits that I found while poking around:

Pros for early morning workouts:

• Early morning workouts may boost your metabolism throughout the day.  This is a great perk for those of us trying to lose weight.
• Exercise may increase mental acuity. If this is true, then why not take advantage of it during the whole day instead of just part of it.
• Exercise in the morning may energize you throughout the day. I definitely feel better when I’m working out than when I’m sitting on the couch.  And the few hours right after the workout are often the best in the day.  So maybe, if you start out your day well every day, you’ll have more better days and continue to exercise.
• If exercise is a priority in the morning, then it’s harder for other things in your life to push exercise out of your routine.
• More than 90% of people who have a consistent exercise routine do it in the morning.  If consistency is your goal, then this one is hard to overlook.

Cons for early morning workouts:

• Muscle strength peaks during the late afternoon. Some studies suggest that workouts performed in the afternoon are more beneficial and also decrease the likelihood of injury.
• Many people are more awake and alert in the afternoon. It’s easier to pay attention and work harder if you’re alert.  People who have a tendency to skate through an early morning routine also have a tendency to concentrate and work harder in the afternoon.
• Circadian rhythms prepare your body for an afternoon workout. Blood pressure, body temperature, and some hormone secretion peak for many people between two and four in the afternoon.  All three have been linked to better performance in the gym.

So again, it’s not really hard to find an article on the internet that helps you believe what you want to believe.  This, I have found, is especially true regarding exercise and nutrition.  Remember, the main point is that exercising–no matter what time of day–is better than sitting on your behind all day.  Do what works for you.  For me, I’ll stick with the 4:30 AM wake up call.  This week.

With the news that Japan will now begin measuring waist lines, in an attempt to force their citizens to lose weight, it has never been more important to compare the cost of being heavy or healthy. Part of Japan’s plan is to begin charging employers for their overweight employees and many of these same tactics are making their way into the Western world as well (example Clarian Health of Indianapolis). In an effort to recoup their costs, some businesses are even moving to dock money from an overweight worker’s paycheck. While most of these new cuts are not expected to take place until 2009, it is obvious that big changes are coming.

While you can debate the fairness of these tactics, or talk about discrimination, the fact remains, being overweight can be costly. A recent study from two Stanford health economists found that, “obese workers are paid less only when they have employer-sponsored health insurance.” Indicating that employers were recognizing the risk and compensating employees acordingly for the very real risk of increased health care costs.

We’ve long known that being overweight does end up costing more. The cost of food aside, clothes are more expensive and harder to find, automobiles may not get optimum gas mileage and the costs for insurance are incredibly high. Is this forcing the population to get healthy? As of now, the answer is no. American’s waistlines are still ballooning. However, if BMI and waist size suddenly has an effect on our weekly paychecks that may change.

While companies may see small changes in revenue if their workers lose weight, the industry that will continue to profit is the diet industry. Currently, more than $40 billion is spent annually on diets, diet programs and materials every year. If thousands of workers were suddenly forced to lose weight, that number could easily double or even triple.

Since many of us won’t change until the news really hits home, let’s look at just 2 of the ways that being overweight can affect you right now.

1. Job Advancement — First, the overweight are typically not as secure in their jobs as their slimmer counterparts. Promotions are passed over, and wages are lower. The risk of losing your job due to the fact you are overweight is very high, especially if your employer simply cannot afford the health insurance.
2. Productivity — Secondly, the overweight may not be as productive in many instances. No one is discounting the fact that you have to feel good in order to work well. The secondary health conditions that many overweight people face may also begin to affect not only their job performance, but also their time at work.

The bottom line is that being overweight costs more money. If you’re looking to free up extra cash each month, and gain more job security, losing weight may be very beneficial. It is a tough situation that is facing the millions of people whose waist sizes may not be optimum, but as many of us know, life isn’t fair. Right now, there has never been a better reason to shape up and get healthy. Your wallet will definitely thank you. Besides, personally I am tired of being overweight… Aren’t you?

This article was submitted by a Weight Ladder, author of Weight Loss Journal. Here are his weight loss pictures. Follow and encourage as he climbs down the weight ladder.

Today will be the A’s ninth annual Root Beer Float Day. A’s players and local celebrities will serve root beer floats from 10:35 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the West Side Club, with proceeds benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Does it strike anyone as a little odd that they are going to be giving kids root beer and ice cream in an effort to aid with juvenile diabetes?

I suppose selling apples just doesn’t work as well.

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Dieters who write down everything they eat each day lose twice as much weight as those who don’t, according to one of the largest weight-loss studies ever conducted.

According to a new study found in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, dieters who kept a food diary lost an average of 18 pounds in 6 months while dieters who didn’t only lost 9 pounds. The big losers also attended weekly group sessions and exercised more than those who didn’t lose as much.

You might be saying that this is just a simple case of motivation: That those who worked harder at their diets lost more weight. And in part, I bet that’s true. But for me, and lots of people I know, looking at a list of the foods your eating (and their caloric values) have a tremendous impact on how successful a diet can be. Here are just a few reasons why I think food diaries can be helpful.

Food List as Motivator—If done right, a food list should provide you with certain targets to hit each day. Your targets should at least have the number of calories you’re supposed to eat each day.

Food List as Guilt Inducer—If you’re not doing well on a particular day, and you’re being honest with your food diary, when you see those chocolate chip cookies on the list from earlier in the day, you’ll find it harder to eat them again later in the day. When I tend to have a small lapse in diet judgement, it really helps me to get back on track when I’ve got my list going.

Food List as Nutrition Guide—By keeping a diary, you can track where your calories are coming from. This is especially helpful if you’ve adopted one of the many specialized diet plans out there such as Atkins, or The Zone diet. Even if you’re not on one of those diets, it’s still helpful to know how many calories your getting from the different types of foods: protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Food List as Secretary—I don’t necessarily use this very often, because I don’t often look into the past. But looking back at your diary to periods that were particularly successful for you might help to work through the tough times. And we all have tough times when we’re trying to lose weight.

Whatever the reasons may be, food diaries work for many people who want to lose weight. I think it’s time for me to start mine back up. Now…what did I have for breakfast this morning?