War Of The Billboards

Okay, technically, two aren't billboards but they belong to the same tribe. I think my favorite may very well be the Coca Cola ad because the logic that one 50 oz bottle isn't enough to finish off your meal amuses me.


The IHOP commercial really did make me chuckle but I wonder how many calories are in the quarterback scramble. There are a variety of scrambles including the following:

MVP Quarterback Scramble:

Made with diced pork sausage links, chopped bacon, diced ham, hash browns, diced jalapenos, cheddar cheese and a splash of our famous buttermilk and wheat pancake batter for an extra fluffy scramble. Served with two buttermilk pancakes.

Draft Pick Quarterback Scramble:

A first-round choice for lighter fare made with egg substitute, fresh spinach and grilled onions then topped with roasted tomatoes and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Served with a side of fresh fruit or whole wheat toast.

Out of the four scrambles, I would definitely go with the Draft Pick one.









After I posted this entry, I watched Nightline whose feature, Burgernomics, discusses the banner business of hamburger sells.

New Jones

I was strolling down the organic aisle at Dierbergs when I spotted these nacho cheese puffs on sale and I thought I would give them a try. I liked them enough to buy three additional bags. Snikiddy claims the following about these baked corn puffs:

no corn syrup

gluten & wheat free

no hydrogenated oils

no trans fat

no preservatives

low in saturated fat

If I could kick the processed food habit, I would do better with the weight loss but life would also be dull and unsatisfying.

Tiptoeing Through The Water

I was ravenous after swimming 21 laps so I had a light garlic and herb Laughing Cow wedge and some Deerfield oven crisp crackers. Still hungry after the cheese and crackers, I wondered what to eat since it wasn't quite time for dinner. I remembered that I hadn't had any fruit so I had some watermelon which was very good. As I sat down to eat my watermelon, I remembered a time when I would put salt on it. As James Brown would say, Good God! Who introduced adding salt to watermelon? And why mess with perfection?


Today, for the fifth time, I was able to swim the front crawl for 25 meters without stopping. It definitely wasn't pretty. For you veteran swimmers, the front crawl is no big deal but I struggle mightily with the breathing. I do feel like I'm making progress, though, as I continue to experiment with different ways of breathing.

And, by the way, the front crawl was not the only thing taking my breath away; the water was so freaking cold at the indoor pool that I felt like this poor creature tiptoeing through the water at 0:10.

Quote of the Day

Exercise, exercise, exercise. It's the only wonder drug we have.

Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

-from Time, June 22, 2009

Cautionary Tales

People were aghast by the Time magazine article Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin. The article was more of a cautionary tale for me and certainly didn't have any impact on my exercise regimen.

In catching up on my reading, I came across Time's Health Issue: It's All About Prevention, which has some great articles.

The Global Dispatch column, written by Coco Masters, focused on Tojinbo Cliffs in Japan where people often go to commit suicide. Yukio Shige, a trained counselor, provides the cool in this article since he is the one who arms himself with binoculars and watches out for the desperate. He is often able to talk people out of jumping off the cliffs and to provide follow-up service.

Other highlights included the article on the Cleveland Clinic which has a program for their employees called Lifestyle 180. Employees participate in stress-management, yoga and cooking classes free of charge. As a result, the clinic's insurance premiums are down because they have healthier employees.

I also benefited from the article A User's Guide To Good Health At Every Age. Dr. Katz recommends:

Start by opting for lots of single-ingredient foods - broccoli or salmon, say - instead of highly processed multi-ingredient products, with their long lists of additives and preservatives...

In addition, Katz has a "no excuse" approach to exercise:

Exercise shouldn't be something that we're "making time" for, he says. It should be a daily given, like sleep or eating...

If you get a chance, stop by your friendly neighborhood library and check out the June 22, 2009 issue of Time.

Active Challenge

Several months ago, I signed up for a 30 day challenge at About.com. I didn't do all of my challenges but one of favorites was a challenge to sit on a fitness ball for x amount of minutes.

I absolutely love my 10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workout. I seldom do all the segments but I definitely make time for the upper body workout. There's a chest fly segment where your back is supported by the fitness ball then you sort of walk back up the ball in order to do the rear chest fly portion of the program. The ball has gotten away from me before. It's also gotten away from me while doing push-ups which is why it amuses me to see exercises like this one in various fitness magazines:


If I were to do the ball pike, I would be so injured. My coordination is good but not that good.

I did think about getting a fitness ball for my office but one of my friends nixed the idea. People already think you're interesting enough.

The Cost of Losing Weight

Monday's Nightline was devoted to the story of a mother who weighed 334 pounds and her son, an 11 year-old standing at 5'8 and weighing 249 pounds.

To secure spots at Wellspring Family Camp in Pinehurst, NC, the mother put $7,900 dollars on a credit card.

I feel sorry for that mother's $7,900 dollars because what the duo did to lose weight was, basically, exercise and track food by measuring everything in addition to writing down what they ate in a journal. Participants also had organized aerobics classes, early morning walks and were provided with a pedometer to encourage getting in 10,000 steps a day.

I liked the "Uncontrolled Bar," a food bar with fruits, soups and vegetables among other things. The staff reinforced an idea that Dr. Aronne often repeated in The Skinny:

You can have an unlimited amount of vegetables.

Wellspring's uncontrolled bar is not limited to vegetables though.

On a similar note, check out New York's ad campaign. If you're squeamish, don't click.

Are You Pouring On The Pounds?