Over at CNN.com they have a section called Fit Nation. There is quite a few interesting articles, but the one thing I would like to pass on is the Fit Nation Checklist. Its a list they came up with of 10 general things you can do to be fit.

1.) Learn your family health history
2.) Make fitness fun
3.) Get at least 30-minutes of exercise daily
4.) Drink water
5.) Be a role model for children
6.) Take the stairs
7.) Be consistent
8.) Do the math
9.) Eat a healthy breakfast
10) Involve the whole family

If you have been reading this site you know that I recently ran in the Arizona Rock-N-Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. That was back in January and to be perfectly honest I have only ran once since then. My motivation is non-existent to say the least. Surfing the net while NOT running I ran across this article with tips to change yourself from a couch potato to a Gym enthusiast. Now I have been hitting the gym doing stronglifts 5×5 so going to the gym is not really the issue but I feel most of the tips still apply to my running issue.

http://blog.liferemix.net/10-tips-change-yourself-dedicated-couch-potato-gym-enthusiast

I was on a long road trip today for work, a total of 7+ hours.  One can get quite board of your typical music radio.  At some point I found a station that was taking about a new (at least to me) supplement called HA or Hyaluronic Acid.  From what I gather, one of its benefits is similar to Glucosamine but better.  If you are not familiar with Glucosamine it is suppose to help with your joints.  Below is a list of its major benefits.

Treatment for both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

Keep joints lubricated

Hydrates the skin

Helps wounds heal more quickly

Promotes a youthful appearance

At a brief look it seems the price for this particular supplement can range from cheap to expensive.  One place I found is even giving a free 30 sample if you pay for shipping. Please note that I know nothing about HA except from what I heard about it on the radio and from what I have read online tonight so do some research if you are interested in trying it out.

There is a rule of thumb out there that states 3500 calories equals 1 pound. This has been generally accepted by most. With that equation you can decrease you calorie intake over a week and predict weight loss. Recently there has been some questions about that formula. Check out the following post for a good article with more details about this very subject.

http://www.atozfitness.com/wordpress/3500-calories-to-lose-a-pound-is-this-formula-all-wrong/

Not everyone can be a “morning person”. For some of us it can be a real downer. Here is a few reason to get up a bit earlier and help change your outlook on mornings.

1.) Personal Time
If you get up a bit earlier you can have some personal quite time. Have your morning coffee or watch the news, read the paper, all without interruptions.

2.) Have a good breakfast
Having cold cereal can really get boring. If you wake up a bit earlier you can find time to make a nice warm healthy breakfast. Try making some eggs with whole wheat toast and coffee. Or how about some buckwheat pancakes.

3.) Make more time for a busy day
If you have a busy day ahead of you, waking up early will denfintly give you a head start. Its amazing what you can fit into an extra hour or so.

4.) Now you have time to exercise.
In todays busy age its hard to find time for some much needed exercise. 30min a day three times a week can sometimes be very hard to find. Not if you wake up a bit earlier. The best time to exercise is in the mornings.

5 .) Planning
Sometimes you need to plan out how your day is going to be. Waking up a bit earlier will give you that time to plan things out so the day will go the way you would like it.

6. The view
When is the last time you had seen a sunset.

Thanks to realityofnature.com for the ideas

Weight loss seems to be the primary goal when the subjects of diet, exercise, and fitness come up.  One of the best things you can do to loose those those extra pounds is, believe it or not, gain a few pounds.  It might sound strange until you think about it. The more muscle your body has, the more calories it will burn.  The more calories you burn the more fat you could loose (with a balanced diet). Since muscle weighs more than fat, you can see what I mean about gaining some weight to loose some weight.  One of the best weight(fat) loss exercises you can do is weight training.  The goal should be to loose fat, not weight, and gain muscle. So what do you say?  Stop telling yourself you want to loose weight and instead tell yourself you want to gain some weight.  Muscle weight .

“If you don’t do what’s best for your body, you’re the one who comes up on the short end.”

Dr. J

Back in the day I was a HUGE Coke and/or Pepsi fan. At my peak I was drinking three 44oz cups a day. I was unaware of the negative impact it had on my body. Once it hit me that drinking so much was one of the reasons I was over weight, I tried to quit cold turkey. I think I ended up getting to 6 months without drinking one drop. But, sorry to say I fell off the wagon. I decided I would move over to the Diet versions of Coke and Pepsi products since the cold turkey thing did not work for me. I think we all know that Diet anything when it comes to drinks are at best, sub par compared to there counterparts. After awhile I got use to the taste. And even though I moved to diet, I still cut back on the three 44oz cups a day. I do though still enjoy a 20oz bottle every once in awhile.

Even after moving to diet Coke or Pepsi I never saw too much of a difference in my weight until I addressed my diet as a whole. Turns out this might be the reason why. Over at time.com they have an article about how sugar substitutes could possibly make you fat. The read will make you think about your eating habits after you drink your next diet beverage.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711763,00.html?cnn=yes

This evening my brother and I got into a discussion about what the benefits of flaxseed oil really are. He was under the impression that it helps with your joints. I on the other hand believed that its benefits were the omega-3 fatty acids. Once I got home I hopped on the Internet and searched for the answer. It turns out flaxseed and/or flaxseed oil has quite a few benefits.

Some studies show it helps fends off Dry Eyes
One study stats that it decreases hot flashes by 60%
Could lower the risk of breast cancer
Stops prostate cancer growth
Full of fiber
Helps control blood pressure and could lower it
Comparable to Statin drugs in lowering Cholesterol
Helps protect against Heart Disease
Helps with bone health
Has Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
Rich in alpha linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat

After all in said and done it looks like we were both right. The anti-inflammatory aspects of flaxseed would indeed help with soar joints. And although its not as good as fish oil flaxseed is a decent source of omega-3 fats. So I guess you could say its a win win.

On the following website I found a list of 10 super foods that we all should be eating. I posted the list below but I suggest heading over to the site and reading the full post to get more details. http://www.hotbodytraining.com/10-super-foods-you-should-be-eating/

Spinach
Salmon
Blueberries
Ground Flax Seeds
Olive Oil
Broccoli
Lean, Grass fed Beef
Plain Yogurt
Quinoa
Walnuts