Share your weight away

Individuals who share a plate with a love one have a better chance of losing more weight, then people who don't. You eat less, and you still can enjoy food you love. Plus eating together will bring you closer!! #girgit

MCS Taking Nutrition to the Kids

I had the chance to read the Commercial Appeal and read the article "Steering back to good health," and was very excited to see that the younger generations will get a chance to learn more about healthy eating here in Memphis.  The Memphis City School, hired Tony Geraci, who's a national leader in nutrition. His previous post was in Baltimore, where he taught kids the importance of fresh, and nutritious food.  I think this is a great step for Memphis City Schools, to help our younger generations become more knowledgeable about eating right, before they're to old and learn bad eating habits.  The next step for Memphis City Schools, in my opinion, is to implement resistance training at least 2 days a week for 4th thru 12th grade.  Just playing dodge-ball, kickball, and/or not participating at all can't teach kids the benefit of healthy living.  Resistance training gives kids the ability to learn how to exercise properly too, and gain a healthy lifestyle.  Just like math, and reading, the earlier you learn it  the better you retain it.  The same goes for fitness, and that gives kids a better chance of not being obese, or becoming obese as an adult.  One thing I can say from this article is, Memphis isn't going to be the fattest city in the future, if we keep making steps to change our community.  Read the article & help make a change.

 

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/oct/24/editorials-steering-back-to-good-health/?partner=RSS

What's your number? Do you know your BMI?

Everyone should know his or her BMI. Why, you ask? What is BMI?  BMI is short for "Body Mass Index;"  This number will signal if you're overweight, obese or in a healthy percentage.  When you go to the doctor do you ever get your BMI from him or her?  A government panel met Monday and decided that all adult should be screened for obesity when they are doing check ups.  That mean more physicians should be calculating BMI for every adult that come in for a check-up.  In 2010 survey was done of the American   Academy  of Family Physicians that show only 40 percent of primary care doctors discuss patient's BMI.  

Yes, when doctors see that someone is in the category of obese they're not going to just suggest the patient go on a diet.  They're going to offer the patient  intensive nutrition-and-fitness help, because this is not only go to help the individual change his or her life but also help bring down the high obesity percentage.    

A normal BMI is less then 25, and obesity begins at 30.  In between these numbers you’re consider overweight.  Two thirds of American adults are overweight, and 17 percent of children and teens are overweight.    This makes children and teens more susceptible to having diabetes, heart disease and other overweight diseases before they turn 18 years old.  In the Academy of Family Physicians survey only a third of obese patients remember their doctor even talking about weight loss.  

I know people think if they offer BMI and talked about losing weight a lot of the doctors business will go away.  This is totally true, but I'm sure doctors aren't skipping this process because they want to keep patients.   My suggestion is don't rely on the doctor.  Instead ask him for your BMI when you go for your check up and make sure you know your number.  

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57460336/know-your-bmi-docs-urged-to-screen-for-obesity/

Jamie's Wednesday Spin Class

Are you filling your spare tire every weekend? Then come to JAMIE's WEDNESDAY spin class 6:15 to 7:15 & burn 500+ calories!! I'm there to GIRGIT you should too!!! Come out sweating as if you just took a swim!!

Supermarket Sweep: Does SNAP = Obesity

We've all been to the grocery store on the first of the month when people receive their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program check (SNAP check).    No, this blog isn't about having the government stop giving assistance, but it's about how individuals shop who are on government assistance.  I've gone to the grocery store multiple times during this period of people getting their SNAP check with my one hand carry basket with all my healthy items, but then I see people with two push baskets with a mountain of unhealthy food.  We've all seen the mountain baskets filled to the tip top with soda, chips, snack cakes, sugary cereals, and other bad processed foods.  The first thing that comes to my mind is,"I'm paying for them to eat bad and then I have to pay for healthcare because they have obesity-related disease from unhealthy food and sedentary living".  Smacks me twice and call me stupid.  Research has been done on this group of people and it shows that SNAP

participation may actually cause an increase in the likelihood of obesity for low-income women. My opinion on this statement is the likelihood that if the mothers are obese it's a good chance the family is too.  It's not guaranteed for every family....just let me say that.   I feel the government should monitor the SNAP check situation by making it a requirement that individuals buy certain food with SNAP checks. Why should I have to pay for someone to eat items that I myself  wouldn't buy or put on my kitchen table?  I feel we need to stop this obesity epidemic by controlling what individuals by with SNAP.  We may need to specify what people can & can't buy or just  monitor how much they buy of a certain item - kind of like they do with WIC - and make sure they are buying healthy food that will help the baby.  Also, we need to have more supermarkets in low-income areas.  With better markets come better & healthier food choices.  This will also help local farmers sell more of their stock of vegetables and other non-processed food, which will bring more money into cities & towns.

Fat isn't Complicated! It's an Excuse!

I read Chris Peck's article Fat Memphis –It’s Complicated, and I almost had to take a run at 12:00am from being so angry. His article is a big reason people in Memphis feel the way they do about health in Memphis. Comments like this, “Memphis doesn’t care about being the fattest city in America” made me stop reading his whole article, but it was the first sentence. As I got more into his reading I had to stop from being so angry, and he tried to end his article with some positive information, but it was really mostly excuses. He’s totally ok to have his opinion, but I think his opinion is the reason other cities are so much ahead of Memphis in everything.

“The I don’t care attitude” is how this city looks at everything from social groups, the school system, crime and everything else around this city. Chris Peck should care about the health of Memphis and everyone around Memphis should too. Yes, people can go to BBQ fest, Music Fest, and all the rest of the big foodie events we have here, but if you're going to eat make sure you get a good workout before or the next couple days after. Chris, you may feel that nobody in Memphis cares about being the fattest city, but buddy I’m somebody who cares about the health & fitness in Memphis. Like Chris said, the Greenline has come to Memphis, and more people are getting involved with health. More gyms & outside group actives are being done. Memphis base magazine’s like Fitness+Health is teaching Memphians about health. It’s not going to change over night, but one day at a time things will get better.

Read the article and tell me how you feel. Being poor isn’t a good excuse for being obese…..being uneducated is.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/13/inside-the-newsroom-fat-memphis-its-complicated/

The Biggest Donor: To Fat To Donate

I read this article today from Mail Online about people being too obese to donate. In the article it states that a quarter of willing Americans who would like to donate are to large to be donors.  Out of those individuals only a small amount are able to lose the weight needed to donate. This is a sad situation for anyone who's trying to save a love one’s life, and for individuals who are waiting on their lives to be saved.   Most centers exclude living donors who have a body mass index(BMI) of 35 or above, according to MedPage. This exclusion cuts out a lot of Americans from even being considered to be a donor.

Right now 92,000 people are waiting on a kidney transplant, out of that amount 7,000 die each year waiting on a donor. As you can see, people's eating habits and sedentary lifestyles are becoming an impact on our shortage of donors, along with our future medical cost increasing from this epidemic.  I know a lot of individuals who say that change is hard and everyone cannot be skinny.  It’s not about being skinny it's about being healthy, living a long life, and being there to help family and friends. Read this article and give me your thoughts.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2144015/U-S-obesity-crisis-set-cause-organ-shortage-Americans-fat-donate.html

Facts from the article:

Sachdeva and colleagues analyzed 104 potential living kidney donors seen at their institution between 2008 and 2011. Out of the 104 only 18% had a BMI within the normal range(25 or below), while most fell into the overweight-to-obese category: 37% had a BMI between 25 and 30, and 45% had BMI of 30 or above(obese).

People need to start looking at how they are living their lives, because when one of their family members or friends need an organ most of them who want to help can’t because of how they are treating their body.

HBO's weight of the Nation

This is something that need to be on ABC, CBS, NBC or any other basic channel so all Americans can see this. If you don't have HBO I will try to watch & blog about it.


http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/hbos-weight-nation-solution-problem/story?id=16341598

?ING GIRGIT

I was asked when did I get into this health kick! My answer was when are you going to join me!! #GIRGIT

Get it Right! Get it Tight! Summer shirt off plan

Summer is coming and I know everyone will be in their little bikinis & board shorts with no shirt on. I’ve been fortunate to learn how to get the stomach that turn heads. I work my abs as if it’s like my bi’s, tri’s, or chest muscles hard and with weights. Doing 100 crunches can be boring, and not affective. I tend to do some crazy thing in the gym for abdominals, but I want show you those. I will show you some effective an affective abs workout that will work. When you do this workout I want you to think “What would Ryan Reynolds do”? Yes, we all dropped our jaw when we say Ryan’s stomach on Blade Trinity. Ryan had a personal trainer to assist him at getting his abs in tip top shape. I can’t guarantee your going to get abs like Ryan or myself, but I will show you some of my favorite abdominal boosting sets & some from Mr. Abenomenal Reynolds workout.

Like Ryan I do my abs “FIRST” why you ask because it gives me energy & motivation for my workout. Plus my workout partner get in late sometime….GIT it GIT it!!!

First thing I do to warm up my abs is to do some type of cardio for 5-10 minutes. Always warm-up cold muscles, because if you don’t you can hurt something.

Decline Crunch: Targets Upper Abs- 3 sets to failure Rest 30 seconds

Set-Up- Set up a adjustable decline bench. Sit with you feet secure under the ankle pad.

Lie back on the bench and place your hands across your chest & Keep chin bent toward

your chest.

Action- Contract your abs to curl your body up to a point just short of

perpendicular to the floor (do not go all the way up). Round your back as you rise to

increase the abdominal contraction, then lower yourself slowly & with control back to the
first position.


*To make a little harder place a 5lbs wait for women & 10-15lbs for man I your hand
across your chest*

Kneeling Cable Crunches: Targets Upper Abs- 3 sets of 8-12 Rest 30 seconds

Set-Up- Attach a rope handle to the high pulley of the cable station, and kneel with your back

toward the weight stack. Drape the rope around your neck & hold an end against your chest

with each hand. Crunch your rib cage toward your pelvic. Pause and slow return to your

Action- Contract your abs and upper body, and curl toward your pelvis. Round your back as you go down to

increase the abdominal contraction and pause. Return back to the starting position slowly the eccentric pull

of the weight is what really work your abs.

*To make a little harder add 5lbs to each set. Remember as you add good to decrease reps.*

Abdominal Reverse Curl: Targets Lower Abs- 3 sets to failure Rest 30 seconds

Set-Up- Lay on a flat bench and reach back to hold on to the underside of the bench behind your head.

Bend your legs at the knee, raising your feet off the bench so that your knees are over your hip.

Action- Push spine into bench & contract your abs and bring your lower back toward your elbows. Your hips should come off the bench. Round your back on the up motion to increase the abdominal contraction and pause. Return back to the starting position slowly the return (eccentric) is the part that really work your abs.

*To make a little harder add 5lbs to each set. Remember as you add good to decrease reps.*

Hanging Knee Raise: Targets Lower Abs/ Oblique- 3 sets to failure Rest 30 seconds

Set-Up- Grasp an over head bar with an overhand grip(some machines allow for a variety of grips. Just be careful not to put any undue stress or strain on your wrist or shoulder.) Allow your legs to hang directly beneath you , with your knees bent and feet together

Action- Contract your abs and pull your legs directly toward your chest. Return to the starting position slowly and in control. Do the same thing with your legs turning to the left and to the right. That's one set....go till you can't GIRGIT.

*To make a little harder add 5-10lbs weight between your feet once you have a control movement*

Anti-Fat Movement: If you tax them the weight will go

Obesity is a big problem in the US of A. Is it true?  The answer is YES! 

Americans have a mind set of “ bigger is better” & "eat because it's there" mentality. Most people talk about fighting tobacco because of the thousands of people who die from it each year, but what Americans don’t know is cigarette addiction is getting a new challenger.

What you may ask?  OBESITY!!!

Tobacco use is No.1 cause of preventable death at 467,000 people.

Obesity or being overweight caused an estimated 261,000 deaths from heart disease, diabetes and other conditions, and climbing.

The question now is should the government do a stop the Super-Size Campaigns like they did for Stop-Tobacco Campaign?  The reason people are thinking about this is because smoking rates plummeted from 42% in 1965 to 19% today. The number of obese people out number smokers by 58% (45 million adult smokers compared to 78 million obese adults).   

Unlike tobacco people don’t see eating a large amount of food as being a gross habit or a unhealthy lifestyle. Some people think obese is someone that is very huge, and cannot control their eating.  This habit is a small population of the American people. You're considered obese if your BMI is 30 or above.  If you're 30 or above the BMI formula then your part of the obese individuals. 

I feel the government should tax restaurants that have super-size high calorie food. Also, if you don’t have a calorie count of each item of your menu then your restaurant will be taxed. Just like tobacco products, a tax needs to be added to the high calorie food products. People's thoughts are why pay $10-$15 for a healthy meal when you can by a Big Mac, order of fries, and soft drink off the $1.00 menu. With this bad economy people are looking for a deal.  We need to offer tax breaks for farmers & stores that focus more on healthy items.  I want my followers to know that making affordable meals can be done if people just take the time. That’s a whole new post and you will have to wait……LOL

Link to reading….check it out

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-05/childhood-obesity-tobacco/54745872/1 

Got Chocolate Milk?

If you workout for an hour or more your body need some protein. Pour a cup of chocolate milk. It has all the things you need to rebuild the calories you burned off!! #GIRGIT #gyming

Memphis Home Blues & Fat A@%

Just read Newsweek fattest cities in the USA, and saw Memphis as the #1 FATTEST CITY.

Am I surprised? NO!!!

With Super-Size joints on every corner, and every festival revolving around food & alcohol. (BBQ Festival, Hot Wing Festival, Beale Street Music Festival, Oktoberfest..ect) I’m surprised Memphis wasn’t #1 fattest city along time ago. I see individuals around Memphis with very unhealthy body masses eating & drinking their way to an early grave. I know Memphis government is really trying to make things healthier in the area.  They have made bike lanes in midtown, a greenline that goes from Tillman to Farm Road for bike riders & runners. In time, yes, I feel more & more Memphians are seeing how unhealthy things are around here & are changing their lifestyles, but it is a little embarrassing to be seen in a negative light. See the other cities in the rankings below!!

America’s 10 “Biggest and Beautiful” Cities (According To Science)

10. Indianapolis, IN – 27.2%
9. Baltimore, MD – 27.4%
8. Pittsburgh, PA – 27.5%
7. New Orleans, LA – 28.3%
6. Louisville, KY – 28.4%
5. Columbus, OH – 28.5%
4. Virginia Beach, VA – 28.5%
3. San Antonio, TX – 29.1%
2. Richmond, VA – 29.4%
1. Memphis, TN – 29.7%

Tropical BBQ Chicken

Wanted to make a healthy affordable meal because people always tell me cooking healthy cost to much. Here is a recipe that is tasty & easy on the wallet or purse. If you have most of the items in you cabinet it will be even more afordable.   Ingredients:   Pack of Chicken tenders(6-8 in a pack) 1 tbsp brown sugar 4 tbsp ketchup 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup of Italian crumbs 1 egg white 1 cup of raisin bran cereal(pick out raisins & crush flakes) 1 tbsp of olive oil 1 pack of dole tropical fruit pack Pinch of salt & pepper Pinch of garlic powder aluminum foil Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get a bowl & and crushed bread crumbs & Italian crumbs and garlic powder & mix them together. Take the egg & remove the yellow part of the egg & put the egg white in a separate bowl.  Get the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar & tropical fruit pack & add in a separate bowl allow this is your BBQ sauce(can make the day before & keep in refrigerator for better taste).  Turner burner on medium high heat and add the olive oil. Take the pack of chicken tenders and wash them off & dip them in egg white.  Place the tenders in the Italian cereal mix and cover both sides with flakes, and place them in the heated pan and sautéed them on both sides(2-3 minutes).  At that point place sautéed tenders in aluminum foil(which your going to try to make a bowl), and pour tropical BBQ sauce in with the tenders.  Add some of your favorite season if you like, but Close the aluminum foil like a cocoon, and place them on cookie sheet.  Place in the oven and allow it to bake for 25-30 minutes.  Service it with your favorite GIRGIT side dish(coming soon) or salad.   When I added up my calories for this meal for 2 servings it came out to be 610 calories or 305 calories per person.(Information comes from MyFitnessPal App)   Total Fat: 8.8 Saturated Fat(g) 1.6g Polyunsaturated(g) 3g Monounsaturated(g) 4.5g Trans(g) 0g Cholesterol(mg) 56.9mg Sodium(mg) 705.8mg Potassium(mg) 163.3mg Total Carbs(g) 35.9g Dietary Fiber(g) 1.9g Sugar(g) 23.2g Protein(g) 25.4g Vitamin A-14.2% Vitamin C-51.8% Calcium-2.8% Iron-10.2%   Please try this recipe and give me your feedback. Thanks

Are you on the deadly road to obesity?

I read today that 42% of Americans are going to be obese by 2030!!!!

Yes!!! That is crazy to see with all the workout material being sold 24/7, and with shows like Biggest Loser showing people how to lose weight & live a healthy life style.  This number should be decreasing not increasing.  I see the government yelling and arguing about Obama Care and everyone need to worry about themselves.  Stats show that we're starting to see health care costs will rise in the next two decades to around $550 billion just for people with obesity.

Are you asking if you're obese?

Well here is how you can tell.  An adult with a body mass index of 30 or higher is considered obese.  (Example: A person that is 5'9"[1.75 meters tall] and weighs over 203lbs is considered obese) *See my BMI calculator on my blog to see if you're considered obese*.  According to the CDC figures show 37.5%  of the population is obese & medical costs in 2008 linked to obesity were $147 billion.

What does this mean for you & me you ask?  More money out of our pocket if these individuals don't have proper insurance.  We need to start pushing ourselves and our children to start being more active.  Being active for 30 minutes a day can help sedentary individuals improve their health & decrease their ability to encounter major cardiovascular disease.

We need to stop worrying about a terrorist attack, or a disease outbreak, or mother nature killing a high number of our population.  If people continue to over eat and do not get involved in actives that will help burn off the calories we put in our body; we're going to eat ourselves into a very big death bed.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/42-percent-obese-2030-cost-gov-550-billion-article-1.1074490?localLinksEnabled=false

#GIRGIT

Building the temple

Under construction trying to get everything right & tight before I start passing my site information out.