Bike ride, Never too late, Labels-what do they mean?

Now that I am back from a nice 23 mile bicycle ride topped off with two bowls of home made potato soup, saltine crackers and 2 light beers I am ready to tackle this mature fitness business. While I have no clue as to how many calories I burned off during the ride, I also don't have a clue on how many calories I put back in. But, I do know I stayed within my philosophical opinions on eating and drinking. I did not eat to taste but to satisfy my hunger after the exercise. When I got full I quit, not even drinking all of the second 12 oz. light beer. I did satisfy my sweet tooth hunger with 4 Oreo's, yes that Oreo that is milk's "favorite cookie." Now I will go into the Cowboy's game tonight with my hunger pains numbed and all of the energy I need to pull them through another victory.

In the current AARP newsletter I noticed some comments from Everett Koop, former U.S. Surgeon general. In it he states that no matter how old you are it is never too late to quit smoking. I once knew a brilliant businessman that was very addicted to cigarette smoking. When he developed emphysema, around the age of 55, he chose to continue smoking, even to the point of inhaling on a cigarette with one hand and placing the oxygen mask on his face with the other so he could continue to breath. I have sat through meetings with him when he actually did this. It was very hard to watch since he was such a good person and an exceptional business man. This man died at the age of 61 and I have always wondered how long he would have stayed with us if he had stopped smoking when he was diagnosed. While it is a known fact that smoking is more addictive than cocaine or heroin, it is just not a matter of will power. There are many aides out there now to help people quit. When I quit my 2 packs a day habit 44 years ago I remember it like it was yesterday, and I will never forget it. While some would say I quit with sheer will power, the truth is I quit by changing some of my daily habits and adjusting my mind to the fact that I wasn't going to smoke ever again. To this date that is the case; however, I must add that any day I think of smoking I feel that little twinge in the back of my lower teeth reminding me of the nicotine taste. Trust me, it is a terrible habit, not to say how costly it is. I challenge everyone who has this habit to reconsider your choices and do whatever it takes to lay those legal weeds down, forever.

Labels that appear on food items are everywhere now and sometimes they seem to be a little humorous. For example, when my sweet tooth is begging to be satisfied sometimes I will go by the 7/11 and get me one York dark chocolate peppermint pattie. It says that it has 140 calories with Calories from Fat @ 25. Then on the front it says, "as always" 70% less fat! Now I wonder, 70% less fat than what? It doesn't really explain what that means but it has it in bold white against a bright red background. So, that is really all you see. Regardless for me I still eat them since it takes care of my sweet tooth craving. My Oreo's carton is somewhat different than the rest, they don't claim any good healthy values, they just come right out and say, "Oreo's are milk's favorite cookie." No claims to low fat, less this or less that. They are my hero cookies!! Then there is the Smucker's "Natural" creamy peanut butter. While it looks life peanut butter, smells like peanut butter, it does not taste like it. It has a large fat content and just doesn't compare to Jif creamy peanut butter. So when I want to satisfy my peanut butter desires I go to Jif. Then I wonder, what does "Natural" really mean? In the mornings I like the Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats and I notice on their box they list the calories, total fat, sodium, sugars, fiber and magnesium. So, they get quite technical and I imagine no one really reads this. I don't since I just want to satisfy my early morning hunger and move on with life. One advantage to the Mini-Wheats box is that they have an Indiana Jones DVD offer. I really don't know what that has to do with nutrition or food value but it is there. On the Quaker Quick Grits box they just say, "smooth and creamy," enriched with hominy. Now this is catchy to me since I like hominy, but I really never noticed this until I started doing this post. The really healthy box of food stuff in our cabinet is the, "Heart Smart" Bisquick pancake and baking mix. It has the following with yellow checks on each one: low fat--check, Og trans fat--check, Naturally Cholesterol free--check, Excellent source of Calcium--check. Then it has a red heart and the top of it with a white check on it, from the American Heart Association. On the back cover it says, "heart healthy recipes for 2!" What a deal. To round my samples out I have chosen the Post Selects Banana Nut Crunch Naturally Flavored Banana Nut Whole Grain Cereal. Wow, what a description but it is there all over the front of the box. On the back it describes the life of a banana in the rain forests and then they bake the real bananas into their crunchy multi grain clusters, etc., etc. So, what is the bottom line here? Never have we been given so much information, much of which we really don't understand, just to fulfill our bodily needs for life saving food. My recommendation is to make a study, in laymen terms, of what all of this means. Listen to your body as to what works for you in regards to how you feel, how your body responds to weight gain or weight loss, and if necessary go to a real expert on nutrition and follow their advice. But, if what you are currently doing is working to the optimum for you then why change. Now, what happens is the chain smoker reads this and says, "I feel good, I look good, I am good, so following your advice why quite smoking? My reply would be, because we now know that it will ultimately ruin what good health you have now and this reason enough to quit. Plus, at $5.00 per pack or more you save that every time you don't smoke a pack.

Remember, "eat to live, not live to eat." Exercise 3-4 times per week, at 75%-80% of your maximum heart rate for at least 20 minutes.

Have a great week,

Mike Greer

Miscellaneous Thoughts-Vegetarism, Exercise

In my fathers generation and all generations before that, I think, there was very little thought given to the "proper" diet for optimum good health. They just basically went by the idea that you eat what tasted good and that made it alright. Basically meat was eaten three times per day with little regard for how it was prepared and how much the quantity was. Just eat till you pop, but must certainly you had to "clean" your plate of all the food that was placed on it. In just the opposite direction of that era we find more information than we can possible "digest" whether it be from the newspaper, tv, Internet, or the latest book to be written on diet and exercise. In consideration of the perils of eating too much meat or say beef and dairy products, I kind of blame God a little on this dilemma, since he placed the cow on the planet for no other reason that to be fatten and slaughtered to be fed to humans. After all the cow is not a good pet, it doesn't have hardly any brain cells, it can't run fast so there are no cow races or derby's to go to, and it just does 4 things in life(eat, poop, pee, and sleep, unless it is a bull then you have to add that fifth activity of creating new little calfs to be raised, fattened and slaughtered for human consumption). So, we have this creature that provides us with the tasty rib eye, t-bone, sirloin, and hamburger steaks that are real hard to resist, and then it gets blamed for all our ill health. Well, based on this the cow has also taught us some good lessons on proper eating, since it is a true vegetarian. Have you ever seen a 1500 pound cow sit down to a 16 oz. medium well done rib eye, baked potato, and salad for a dinner? No, what they do is eat grass, feed, and special supplements provided to them so they will gain weight and be real tasty. While there have been vegetarians in existences since the beginning of time(Adam and Even were the first actually) it has no come full circle and is looking better every day. I have observed our household diet change to the vegetarian style over the past year and the results are looking good. The master mind of all this around our household is my wife and she has gone 100% in that direction and I would say I am 50% there, since I have to have at least 12 oz. of lean rib eye steak within a week. Other than that I am moving closer to the vegetarian diet and liking it real well. When I venture to JD's bar and grill on my motorcycle I find myself eating the beyond delicious famous hamburger that they prepare, but I do not do the french fries and then will limit my other meat intake during the rest of the week. Last night the meal of choice in this house was pinto beans, butter beans, green beans, and rice. This morning for breakfast a special very healthy biscuit, watermelon, grapes, and grape jelly. To throw in the breakfast scent I ate 3 extra crispy lean bacon strips with water to drink. Now you say, but I don't know how to cook a vegetarian diet and get all of the proper vitamins and minerals I should get. Sorry, but that is no excuse in this day and time. Too much information is out there to miss it, but here are two good books that have some great recipes in them: "Skinny Bitch", yep that is the name and is authored by two former fat ladies who are now skinny because of the vegetarian diets they now follow. I don't have their names right in front of me, but it is a best seller, and beware there is some rough language in it, but great ideas. "Vegah Planet", written by Robin Robertson with some great recipes. Try it, you will find these meals tasty, filling and good for you. Do remember though, that most of the "bad" foods out there are white, with a few exceptions. So, always think darker is better when choosing your foods at the next out to dinner excursion. Also, when you open the frig you should see greens, reds, purple, and the only whites should be onions, hominy, some beans, etc.

Exercise-While I will never venture too far from exercise as one of the best things we can do for ourselves I must always consider the diet factor as mentioned above. While there is also all kinds of exercise information out there I still insist the exercise calling for sustaining aerobic exercise keeping your heat rate to the 75-80% of maximum for 20-30 minutes, 3-4 times per week is the best way to maintain minimum fitness. There are also augmenting exercises that can target certain areas of your body that may need them more than others. In men it would be the stomach muscles, that tend to graduate to the "pot" belly if we don't watch out. Many time this happens because of food or beverage intake, i.e. the "beer pot belly", even though it is just the area that tends to loose itself over a period of time. In the ladies we have the rear end and upper thighs that tend to get out of normal shape with aging. Why this happens is any one's guess even though many theories are out there. But, there are exercises that will help these two problem areas, i.e. setups for the men and stair steps for the women. Other thoughts along this exercise subject are fairly simple, 1. Keep exercise goals realistic, 2. Do some deal making with you mind and body, i.e. swap a coffee break for a brisk walk, 3. At a social function(party), move, dance, mingle, etc. 4. If you are going to the 3rd or 4th floor for a meeting, walk the stairs. 5. During a business meeting break drink water, eat fruit instead of the coffee, and donuts.

Since politics has been in the news lately it will be interesting to see what the diet of Mr. McCain's running mate is. Gov. Sarah Palin, is 44 with five children and looks very healthy and energetic. What is her secret? Well I haven't found out yet, but I will. With the awesome schedule she must follow, even though she says she is "just a soccer mom", she must be very disciplined to do all that she does.

Mike Greer

Quote for a life time!

This past weekend I attended my high school class reunion. While we had our 50th anniversary reunion last year I thought that a year later was way too soon for another one. I suggested every 5 years but got voted down on that idea. Everyone said, "we may all be dead by that time." My reply, "well we had the 50th and many of us had not seen each other since we graduated 50 years ago, so what does it really matter." Plus if we die and we have been good we will go to a better place as promised by all of the Christian ministers, and whatevers. At any rate I did attend about half of the functions and voted again for every 5 years and I really don't know what they decided. But I did decide for myself that I will go again in 5 years if I am in town. What I did come away with from this reunion is that yes, we have all grown older, with the average age around 69 and some are healthy and some are not. But, I did notice that there was a lot of thought put in to what, when, and how much we were going to eat, with little regard for how much we were going to burn off. So, I came up with me quote for a life time in regards to eating, "we should eat based on the hunger in our gut, not through our taste buds!" We should always do the math on calories in and calories burned. While I have never been a big calorie counter I am silently aware of what I am taking in and how much I am burning. Kind of like my Explorer that has a capacity of 22 gallons in the tank and approximately 440 miles of driving range on that tank. Our bodies are similar and when we have a glut of calories going in with only the minimum burn, we have excess fat in our systems and then obesity.

For today,

Mike Greer