Winner and Green Living!

Hi-
Here's the results. You need to have your numbers to me by 12 noon Monday in order to place.

1. Mike and Midge 98%
2. Annette 99.2%
3. John 99.534%
4. Megan and Bill 100%
5. Dan 100.8%
6. Mary 101%
7. Aileen ?????

All right people, we have to ramp it up! Our numbers should be WAY lower than these. We all need to lose weight--not gaining is not enough. Here's the challenge so you can plan for it. Stock up on your healthy foods, plan your workout schedules, so that by next Monday we are all at 97%. We can do it-- make it happen.

Here's some food for thought:


Green Living

Go Organic!

Everyone has heard about the pesticides that are on fruits and vegetables, and why we should avoid them, but how about in your dairy and meat? What do you think the animals are eating before they’re milked or they reach their untimely deaths? Not organic grains, unless you buy certified organic dairy or meat. Pesticides are especially concentrated in meats. Here are some numbers from meats that were tested in a lab for pesticide residues: bacon 48 pesticide residues (PR), lunch meat 102 (PR), hamburger meat 113 (PR), hot dogs 123 (PR). The only way to protect you and your kids from ingesting pesticides is to buy organically grown products.

“Organically grown products are so expensive!” You say. Well, they aren’t like they used to be, and the prices keep coming down. The more people who buy them, the lower the prices will get. There is no excuse not to buy organic these days. Every store you go to sells organically grown products, even Wal-mart for goodness sakes. It is also important to support organic farmers, so that they can continue to practice sustainability to keep the Earth a healthier place for our kids and their kids, too.

My local fruit market has great prices on organically grown produce and meats. You can buy bagged apples, pears and oranges for cheaper than conventionally grown at the regular grocery store. The Marketplace on Oakton near Skokie Blvd. also has a very nice section of organically grown produce at good prices.

Don’t forget packaged products, like juices, juice boxes, milk, cheeses, wines, beers, etc. All of these products can be bought organic from you local grocer. You don’t have to rely on Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck). Jewel sells their own organic label, Wild Harvest. Dominick’s has O Organics, and Target sells Archer Farms which has great organic coffee, fruit strips, and frozen pizza. But, don’t forget Trader Joe’s. If you’ve never been to Trader Joe’s—you have to check it out. It is a treat to shop there. They have tons of organically grown products at affordable prices. There is one in Park Ridge, which is really quick to get to, and there is another in Glenview. I’m not sure about what Happy Foods has—haven’t checked it out…..
Here’s a list of foods you should absolutely buy organic because of pesticide residues:
1. meat, dairy and eggs
2. coffee
3. peaches and nectarines
4. apples
5. bell peppers
6. celery
7. berries
8. lettuce
9. grapes
10. any foods you eat very frequently

Winner and Exercise

I wish we had all put money in, so that I could give some to Mike Bell. He is my diet hero, coming in at #1 with 97%--wow!!!!

Here's the list:
1. Mike Bell 97%
2. Annette O'Donnell 98.41%
3. Dan O'Donnell 98.71%
4. Midge O'Donnell 99.00%
5. Aileen O'D 99.18%
6. Bill Jeske 99.42%
7. John O'D 99.534%
8. Mary Jeske 101.00%
9. Megan O'D 102.00%

Here some very brief diet tips... you do have to move it to loose it, you really do.

Exercise

It’s unavoidable-- you have to do it, and a little is better than none. The recommendation is 30-60 minutes every day, if your schedule allows. I know that most schedules don’t, but shoot for as many days as you can, with a minimum of 3X a week. Also, consider what it is that you are doing that makes you think that you don’t have time. We are all busy, but if you have time to watch TV, you have time to work out. If you have time to go out to eat, you have time to work out, etc.
Your workouts should include cardio and strength training, not just one or the other.
It’s helpful to pick a workout schedule and stick to it. If you say, “Oh, I’ll fit it in when I can,” you’re less likely to fit it in. You have to view its importance like anything else in your day: work, school, hair appt, doctor appt—don’t miss it unless you’re sick.
People who combine dieting and exercise have 9X better results than if they just did one or the other.

The Biggest Loser’s exercise based weight loss program is truly inspired. It is the first of its kind to say, “You don’t have to lose weight before you exercise, even if you are obese.” Before the show began the medical field recommended dieting for obese people before exercise, and in extreme cases, recommended surgery before exercise. What the biggest loser proved is that obese people can safely exercise and achieve better results through exercise than diet or surgery.

There are so many forms of exercise out there-- there is one for every person's taste. You have to find what you like to do and do it. Household chores are not enough, walking around your office building is not enough, walking to the train is not enough-- all these things are great, but you need to do more if you want to lose weight.

Master Your Metabolism

Hello!
I mentioned to John that perhaps I could write a little blurb each week about diet, exercise and green living, and he thought it was a good idea. When I began writing, I became very overwhelmed, because there is just so much to say. My little blurbs were turning into pages and pages, so I decided to break it up with one topic a week. This week I’ll address diet. I hope that you find these tips helpful.

Diet
My new favorite diet plan is the Jillian Michaels’ Master Your Metabolism. It is a book which she wrote with an endocrinologist (hormone specialist) named Mariska Van Aalst. Jillian Michaels is the female trainer on The Biggest Loser (which I failed to mention, airs on Tusday nights on Ch 5 at 7PM). She is really tough and mean, but she really knows her stuff. I first learned about the program from a PBS seminar which airs on the Lakeshore channel on the weekends, also entitled, “Master Your Metabolism.” If you can catch it, it’s worth the watch, but the book is even better. It explains so many of the mysteries of diet and lifestyle from a hormone perspective. You may be thinking, this sounds like a female diet—not so. Our bodily processes, both mens’ and womens’ are ordered by hormones. This book explains how synthetic chemicals in foods talk to your cells on a DNA level. They can switch on fat-storage genes that may otherwise lay dormant. Of our 6,000 genes, about 25% or our genome helps determine weight. We can change the expression of our genes through diet and lifestyle.
She recommends a three step process of removing, restoring, and rebalancing.
Remove Anti-nutrients
1. hydrogenated fats
2. refined grains
3. high fructose corn syrup
4. artificial sweeteners (it’s true)
5. artificial colors and preservatives
6. MSG and other glutamates
Restore Power Nutrients
1. legumes (beans)
2. alliums (garlic and onions)
3. berries
4. organic meat and eggs
5. colorful fruits and veggies
6. cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage)
7. dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, collard, arugula)
8. nuts and seeds (raw is best)
9. organic dairy
10. whole grains
Rebalance
Eat every 4 hours, and eat till you’re just full, not stuffed. Do not eat after 9PM—especially no carbs before bed.

These are the basics of any good diet, and if this has peaked your interest, I recommend that you try to catch the PBS seminar or read the book.

Hello and Welcome Back!

Well, it was a truly pathetic week for weight loss in the O'Donnell family, but I know that it will get better. Perhaps like me, you totally forgot to diet last week, and in fact, had a panini and fries over the weekend?
Come on, we can do this! Let's get focused, so we will all place next week.

Here were the numbers for this week ending 1/11/10:
1. John O'Donnell 98.372% (way to go)
2. Mike Bell 99.00% (all right)
3. Everyone else 100.00% (boo)

Okay, here's what I am proposing. Let's all work really hard and have a Valentine's party to show each other how great we look after 4 weeks of dieting ( and hopefully, lifestyle change).
It will be at our house around 4PM on Sunday 2/14/2010. Everyone should bring their favorite low-fat appetizer, salad, entree, or dessert.
You have four weeks to try new low-fat recipes and share your favorite with everyone on the 14th.

I am also recommending that everyone watch the new season of The Biggest Loser. It is a very inspirational show-- not the usual trash that is reality TV. (Midge, it is even worth switching away from PBS for one night ;0.) The contestants are brave, brave people, who step outside their comfort zones to make BIG changes in their lives. And, this season there is a native Chicagoan competing. It is amazing to watch the transformation over the months, and you may learn some things about diet and exercise while watching, too.