Healthiest (and UNhealthiest) States

Forbes has produced a list of the healthiest and unhealthiest states in the United States.  Sadly, North Carolina (my home state) has landed near the bottom at 37th overall.  I find it particularly interesting that the southern states have a strong representation at the bottom of the list; 11 of the bottom 15 states are southern states (maybe 12 - is W. Virginia considered a southern state?).

It's one of those things about living here in the south - just about everything a person puts in their mouth around here is deep fried.  Add to that the fact that when virtually ANY southern church congregation gets together, there's likely to have a covered dish meal or roast pig involved.  We love to eat, we southerners, and when we do eat it's usually not the best food.

Another interesting fact is that New England is well represented in the top 10.  Vermont, Massachusettes, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island all rank way up there, with several of those states appearing in the top lists for smoking and obesity.  Looks like those New Englanders have got healthy living down to a science!

So how does your state rate?  Take a look over at Forbes and check it out.  Then come on back and let us know!

Be well!

Share your workout!

I spend a lot of time online reading the blogs that other fitness writers post.  I've discovered (and so has Alice!) that there's a lot of information out there that can really add to our gym experience.  I can't tell you the number of times we've read about a killer workout someone else devised that Alice and I thought would be worth giving a try.  (Our most recent was the 100 pull-up/200 push-up workout.  Wow!!)

My current workout is for developing mass, so I'm doing a lot of low rep/high weight exercises.  Basically my workout looks like this:

• Monday - upper body mass workout, karate class (2 hrs)
• Tuesday - AM cardio (HIIT 25 min)
• Wednesday - karate class (2 hrs)
• Thursday - AM cardio (HIIT 25 min)
• Friday - lower body mass workout, karate class (2.5 hrs)
• Saturday - random workout (like the 200/100 workout mentioned above)
• Sunday - off

Post a comment and tell us about your workout - inspire others to try something new!

Portion Control

I remember the times my mom and dad would "go on a diet" to try and trim their bulging waistlines.  Every time they wanted to eat, they'd pull out the little food scale and precisely measure out 4oz of this or cut exactly 4oz of steak.  The tedium was obvious - trim a little more, add a little, take a little out, "is that supposed to be 4 ounces of steak and 6 ounces of rice, or vice-versa?" - it took 15 minutes just to get the amounts properly measured, and that was just for the two of them.  After all that, they still had to cook for us kids.  They never stuck with their "diet" for longer than a few weeks because it was just too involved.  We want simple, not complex.

Nutrition isn't rocket science, nor does preparing a meal need to feel like you're conducting an experiment on nuclear fusion.  Let's simplify eating a bit, shall we?

When it comes to portions of meats like chicken, steak, pork, or any other cut meat, it's much easier to use the palm of your hand as a measurement tool.  A portion of cut meat will be approximately the size of your palm (not including your fingers).  Thicknesses of meat vary, of course, so stick to a portion that's about 1/2 inch in thickness.  If your meat is cut thinner, then you can add a little to the palm-sized portion.

Canned meats are easy as far as portion control is concerned - provided you buy single serving cans, that is.  If you prefer to buy in bulk, then you give up a bit of time by measuring out portions.  I personally buy my tuna and other canned meats in single-portion cans to make my life simple.  The few extra pennies I spend per pound is worth the time I save.

Carbohydrate portions are equally easy.  A portion that is about the same size as your clenched fist is recommended.  Oranges, pears, peaches, most apples, and other small fruits are easy carbohydrate portions.  When it comes to dinner, a cup of cooked brown rice or fist-sized portion of a baked potato will work nicely.

© Carioca - Wikimedia CommonsWhere most people tend to fall off the portion bandwagon is when it comes to snacking.  I can't tell you the number of times I've flopped down in front of the football game with a bag of chips only to have the whole bag polished off by halftime.  That's 1000 calories worth of mindless eating right there.

The solution is simple - pre-measure a serving of whatever snack you're eating (chips, crackers, nuts, pretzels, whatever) into a bowl and put the rest of the container back in the cabinet.  Doing this one little trick can save you hundreds of calories each time.  Calories saved = pounds lost.

I'm not advocating that we eat chips and pretzels as a normal part of our dietary intake, but there are going to be times when we feel like eating those "comfort foods" that make us feel all warm and fuzzy.  Better to eat such foods with control rather than just binging on a whole bag at once.

Most people have a tendency to underestimate the number of calories they take in over the course of a day.  By using the palm-sized and fist-sized rules of measuring your portions, you'll find it much easier to control the number of calories you're eating by controlling the size of the portions you feed yourself.

Be well!

H1N1 Swine Flu

Let's take a few minutes to examine this whole H1N1 "swine" flu situation.  We were first introduced to the virus early in 2009 when a few cases trickled into the United States from Mexico.  At the time, the virus was touted as the next likely pandemic flu (similar to claims made about avian flu [H5N1] in 2007), and citizens were warned to be vigilant in preventative care practices such as handwashing and receiving vaccine treatments.  Despite a fairly insignificant H1N1 flu event in the spring, frightened citizens have flocked to their doctors en masse this fall to receive H1N1 vaccines to stave off potential infection.

On October 23, President Obama declared a Swine Flu emergency, effectively freeing certain government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services to quickly bypass regulatory measures in order to rapidly respond to the emergency of H1N1.

According to most information I have personally read on the H1N1 virus, it is not proving itself to be any more virulent than the typical seasonal flu that affects us every fall and winter.  What I've found interesting in my reading on the matter is that the CDC stopped testing for H1N1 flu in July 2009.  The reason for the apparent proliferation of the virus is due to the fact that since July potential cases of H1N1 have been attributed to anyone exhibiting flu-like symptoms, which might include seasonal flu, allegy-reaction illness, pneumonia or the common cold.  When information is reported to CDC from individual states, those reports include all "hospitalizations and deaths (either confirmed OR probable) resulting from all types of influenza, not just those from 2009 H1N1 flu" (Source: CDC).  So it basically works like this: the swine flu scare has been embellished by the fact that almost anyone who gets sick and is hospitalized with flu-like symptoms can be counted with the H1N1 cases.

Seasonal flu accounts for some 36,000 deaths each year.  Media outlets report that there were 13,000 deaths in the US from seasonal flu alone between January and April 2009.  To date, reports of worldwide deaths from H1N1 flu come in at under 2000.  However, given the fact that there is no longer definitive testing of patients for the specific H1N1 strain, some of the deaths linked to H1N1 might actually be a result of seasonal flu and associated complications.

In other words, H1N1 is a pussycat compared to the seasonal flu we experience every year.

Call me a bit of a skeptic, but it appears to me that there is much ado about nothing with regard to H1N1.  It would appear that we have more to be concerned about with regard to seasonal flu than the H1N1 strain, yet it is the latter that seems to garner the most attention.  That millions of people are literally lining up in huge numbers to be vaccinated against both seasonal and H1N1 flus means that there's a LOT of money being pumped into the economy.  Flu vaccines generally run between $5 and $30 depending on where the shot is being administered. 

Perhaps the H1N1 scare is being used to encourage the population to get a seasonal flu vaccine - a sort of "shot in the arm" to the economy.  Current seasonal flu vaccine numbers seem to support this idea - numbers of people being vaccinated are up over last year's numbers according to an MSNBC report.  If you are so inclined to get a vaccine for H1N1 or seasonal influenza, be sure to discuss all potential benefits and risks associated with the vaccine with your physician.

Whatever the case may be, keeping yourself flu-free this winter (H1N1 or otherwise)
isn't rocket science.  Here are some prevention suggestions from the CDC:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.*
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
• Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other measures to keep our distance from each other to lessen the spread of flu.

Of course, there's a lot to be said about the immune-boosting benefits of a healthy diet and exercise routine, and that is what Wo40 is here to help you with!

Be well!

Health Checkup

One of the things about changing jobs is the fact that I have to submit myself to a physical checkup in order to assure my new employer that I am not carrying any communicable diseases.  Some of you might not be aware of the fact that I enjoy a trip to the doctor about as much as I enjoy a case of the intestinal flu.  Given the option, I'd just as soon pass if you catch my meaning.

I tried to get it over with on Friday, but I was hindered by the fact that I didn't have a little yellow piece of paper that the doctor needs to sign.  Looks like I'll be spending some of my free time on Monday PM at the doctor.  It should be an amusing time for me.

I suppose I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the importance of a checkup.  The last time I even set foot in a doctor's office was in April to have my broken foot evaluated.  Back then my doctor told me I was in "great physical shape," and I haven't exactly been sitting around just taking in the scenery since then.  I expect that my doc will tell me that everything is hunky-dory and that my 40-year-old body is good for quite some time to come.  Nevertheless, it's always a good idea to have a professional tell me these things lest some unexpected situation come up and catch me by surprise.

At 40, I'm probably due for several exams including a colonoscopy and a prostate exam.  Neither of these tests particularly enthralls me for obvious reasons, but I'd rather know I'm in good shape rather than just presuming that's the case.

Of course if you're reading this and you're looking to get started with a physical transformation, you should be talking to your doctor about potential limitations and precautions that you should be taking.  If you're a part of the 40-something-or-above crowd, take the time to have yourself examined for those physical issues that could start to rear their ugly heads as we age a bit.  Prevention is better than a cure every time, and there's nothing like an active, healthy lifestyle to aid in lowering the incidence of things like heart disease, hypertension, and type-2 diabetes.

I'll post again after this little trip to the doctor.  Be well!