The Week From...

Thanks for the post from Lynn Guy

All I wanted was to forget the week had ever happened. Forget all the deadlines, the emails and the missed calls that I had yet to return.

 I had worked so hard and I realized I was no longer any good for my business or my family. Suddenly, it hit me like a brick. It was time for a personal day. I needed to recharge my batteries at home in the comfort of my family room.

I made the necessary calls and sent the important emails and spent the next 36 hours hiding from the world knowing in my heart it would all be waiting on me tomorrow.

 I flipped on direct tv and treated myself to a few PPV movies that fit my current state of mind. I finally caught up on my favorite comedy all in the comfort of my pajamas. 

I had to stop and wonder…Why did I have to be pushed to my breaking point before taking some me time? Is it just the American way to work one’s self to death? I slept a long and hard 10 hours and was ready to face whatever the day had to offer. Rest is just as important as hard work.

Fall Allergies Aren't A Flattering Look On Me

Guest post written by Emma Kinder

I always worry about exactly how long my eye makeup is going to stay intact in the fall because I have such bad fall allergies. It makes me sad every time but I take a bathroom break around lunch and realized I've rubbed most of my eye makeup off because of my itchy eyes.

That's seriously no way to live, so I decided that I would do something a little differently this year as far as my allergies go. I'm going to see a specialist and take some extra measures so that I'm not miserable 24/7 this fall season again.

I used my Clear Portland Internet to find some contact info on allergy specialists in my area because I've never really visited one before.

As for my looks, I'm going to stock up on some serious concealer that has light-reflecting stuff in it so that my allergies won't be oh so obvious.

Besides, I've always found that with the right makeup products and application, you can fake a good night of rest quite well, or a lack of allergies in this case.

Checking A Checkers Set Off My List

Written by Caroline Burns

When my ex-boyfriend and I parted ways and split up all of our stuff, one thing that I didn't get was the checkers set that we used to play all of the time. Granted, it was a cheap set that only cost a couple of dollars, but we had a lot of good times playing chess and I genuinely love the game. So I thought that a great way to celebrate my new independence and singlehood would be to buy a really great checkers set for myself.

I spent a good bit of time looking up checkers sets that I could buy. I even looked through some that were way out of my budget, just for fun. As I was looking through some of those set, I ran across the site wirelessinternetPROVIDERS.net After I read through it a bit, I decided to sign up for the new internet service for my new apartment.

I ended up buying a little checkers game table that I thought would be a really great addition to my mostly new living room furniture.

Veterinarian makes House Calls

Authored by Raymond Whitney

As a vet, animals are my number one priority. Their health is so fragile, and many people feel a lot of anxiety when it comes to dealing with their pets.

One of my favorite things to do as a vet is to make house calls, which are sometimes required when an animal is immobilized or too big to be moved, which is the case with horses.

Equine animals are usually my favorite, but they require the most work and expertise! I keep a lot of supplies in my truck at any given time so I can call on a patient whenever they need me.

I’ve got a bag of different medicines and splints as well as some files and books on rare diseases. I recently signed up for mobile internet ThroughClearwirelessinternetservice.com which has really been a blessing as I now have internet access wherever I am.

It’s easy to email a pharmacy or ask my other vet friends for a second opinion on a tough case, so I’m pretty much set wherever I am!

Just What Is A Phytonutrient?

Just so we're all on the same page in understanding what a phytonutrient is simply means a "nutrient from a plant".

The base word phyto comes from the greek word phyton meaning plant hence append nutrient to it and now you have the latest innovation on our health.

So now we're past the semantics on getting healthy these days. It wasn't so long ago that the common belief was that we should get all our nutrients from fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Not to say that we don't need them as part of our essential diet to stay healthy.

But there is a growing trend that is going natural. Natural in the fact that we can get the same essential vitamins organically.

Are we realizing going back to nature? There's been a lot of research and discovery in the arena of finding out that we can get the same essential vitamin structure from plants to keep us healthy.

There are websites starting to promote phytonutrients that are worth the effort to investigate and see what they have to offer.

Instead of taking supplements to insure that we have the right dosages we can opt to color mix our food from each of the color groups.

Just as an example these color groups can be categorized as follows:

Orange - squash and carrots
Green - avocado, lettuce, spinach
Red - tomatoes, watermelon

I think you get the idea about the color scheme of things. Think organic and you'll be able to think color and understand the basic concept here.

One of the ways that phytonutrients work is providing antioxidants to our body. Most phytotrients help insulate the body cells from oxidative damage which in turn decreases the risk of some cancer types.

It's been a long time fact that vegetables and fruits play an important role in our diet in reucing the risk for heart disease. Research in the phytonutrient arena will only grow and discoveries will be made to reaffirm the fact that phytonutrients will be the new wave of providing our bodies with the nutrients that it needs in order to keep it as healthy as we can.

The Incredible Shrinking Fat Cell

What Really Happens When Body Fat is Burned?
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com

Earlier this week someone in our discussion forum wrote, "I haven't "LOST" any fat... I know EXACTLY where it went! I got a chuckle out of that because I "got" the joke, but truth is, most people really don't know how fat cells work, how the fat burning process takes place or where the fat goes when it's burned. It's actually quite a complex biochemical process, but I'll explain it as simply as possible, so by the end of this article, you'll be a "fat burning" expert!

When you "lose" body fat, the fat cell (also called an adipocyte) does not go anywhere or "move into the muscle cell to be burned. The fat cell itself, (unfortunately) stays right where it was - under the skin in your thighs, stomach, hips, arms, etc., and on top of the muscles - which is why you can't see muscle "definition" when your body fat is high.

Fat is stored inside the fat cell in the form of triaglycerol. The fat is not burned right there in the fat cell, it must be liberated from the fat cell through somewhat complex hormonal/enzymatic pathways. When stimulated to do so, the fat cell simply releases its contents (triaglycerol) into the bloodstream as free fatty acids (FFA's), and they are transported through the blood to the tissues where the energy is needed.

A typical young male adult stores about 60,000 to 100,000 calories of energy in body fat cells. What triggers the release of all these stored fatty acids from the fat cell? Simple: When your body needs energy because you're consuming fewer calories than you are burning (an energy deficit), then your body releases hormones and enzymes that signal your fat cells to release your fat reserves instead of keeping them in storage.

For stored fat to be liberated from the fat cell, hydrolysis (lipolysis or fat breakdown), splits the molecule of triaglycerol into glycerol and three fatty acids. An important enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) is the catalyst for this reaction. The stored fat (energy) gets released into the bloodstream as FFA's and they are shuttled off to the muscles where the energy is needed. As blood flow increases to the active muscles, more FFA's are delivered to the muscles that need them.

An important enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL), then helps the FFA's get inside the mitochondria of the muscle cell, where the FFA's can be burned for energy. If you've ever taken a biology class, then you've probably heard of the mitochondria. This is the "cellular powerhouse" where energy production takes place and this is where the FFA's go to be burned for energy.

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When the FFA's are released from the fat cell, the fat cell shrinks and that's why you look leaner when you lose body fat - because the fat cell is now smaller. A small or "empty" fat cell is what you're after if you want the lean, defined look.

It was once believed that the number of fat cells could not increase after adulthood, only the size of the fat cells could increase (or decrease). We now know that fat cells can indeed increase both in size (hypertrophy) and in number (hyperplasia) and that they are more likely to increase in number at certain times and under certain circumstances, such as 1) during late childhood and early puberty, 2) During pregnancy, and 3) During adulthood when extreme amounts of weight are gained

Some people are genetically predisposed to have more fat cells than others and women have more fat cells than men. An infant usually has about 5 - 6 billion fat cells. This number increases during early childhood and puberty, and a healthy adult with normal body composition has about 25 to 30 billion fat cells. A typical overweight adult has around 75 billion fat cells. But in the case of severe obesity, this number can be as high as 250 to 300 billion!

The average size (weight) of an adult fat cell is about 0.6 micrograms, but they can vary in size from 0.2 micograms to 0.9 micrograms. An overweight person's fat cells can be up to three times larger than a person with ideal body composition.

Remember, body fat is basically just a reserve source of energy and fat cells are the like the storage tanks. Unlike a gas tank in your car which is fixed in size, however, fat cells can expand or shrink in size depending on how "filled" they are.

Picture a balloon that is not inflated: It's tiny when not filled with air - maybe the size of your thumb. When you blow it up with air, it can expand 10 or 12 times it's normal size, because it simply fills up. That's what happens to fat cells: They start as nearly empty fat storage "tanks" (when you are lean), and when energy intake exceeds your needs, your fat cells "fill up" and "stretch out" like balloons filling up with jelly (not a pretty picture, is it?)

So you don't actually "lose" fat cells, you "shrink" or "empty out" fat cells.

Take-home lessons:

1. Calories count!The signal that triggers your body to release adipose from fat cells is an energy deficit... you have to burn more than you eat.

2. Cut calories conservatively. Starving yourself may cause quick weightloss at first, but never works long term because it actually decreases the activity of fat burning enzymes that release fat from the cells. to avoid this "starvation mode" use exercise to BURN THE FAT, not very low calorie crash diets.

3. Get control of your weight now. If you are gaining weight, and especially if your weight is climbing upwards out of control, make a decision to STOP RIGHT NOW. Your fat cells might be multiplying, making it more difficult to burn fat in the future. NOW is the time!

4. If you've already lost weight, you must be forever diligent. Your fat cells are not gone, they have merely "shrunk" or "emptied out." Fitness is not a 12 week program, its a lifestyle. To stay lean you have to eat clean and stay active

5. Genetics are only a minor factor. You may not have control over how many fat cells you were born with, but you do control the major factors that determine how much fat you store: lifestyle, exercise, nutrition, mental attitude.

Genetics are not an excuse. The past is not an excuse. Your present condition is not an excuse. You can either make excuses or get results, but you can't do both.

So keep educating yourself about the science, read these newsletters, take action every day and go out there and make it happen!

If you need more help, Burn The Fat is the eating plan that turned it all around for thousands of others... why not you? visit:

www.burnthefat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

The Perfect Pushup And You

Just what is the perfect pushup? Pushups done incorrectly can cause more damage than good for your body. Going into a regimen of doing pushups for upper body strength is a good start but if you don't have some foundational basis of what is proper form and what is not may just stop you from doing any exercises at all associated with pushups.

Starting a pushup routine using traditional methods may be a bit over anxious in the beginning. You need to find the basis for the perfect pushup that requires you to tighten your abs in order to keep your back straight and placing your feet and hands shoulder width apart to insure maximum effectiveness of your perfect pushup routine.

There are many variations of pushups as there are routines. You can vary a pushup form using dumbells, swiss balls, a combination of dumbells and a swiss ball. You can even using decline pushups or incline pushups. Whatever you choose as your perfect pushup you can rest assured that the routine will strengthen your chest muscles, shoulders and all the muscles located in the back of your upper arms. Whether you are a professional athlete or just want to bench press 10 more pounds in the gym the perfect pushup is waiting for you to find out its rewards.