How to lose 10 pounds in 30 days!? Really?

     Ever get tired of hearing how you can lose so many pounds in so many days? I know I am. Weight loss is perhaps the most misunderstood health issue of all time. Losing weight, you see, is not all about shedding the excess weight off with the hope of achieving, or at least getting as close to as, your ideal BMI ( Body Mass Index). More on what BMI is later and how to calculate yours. Losing weight is more of changing our perspective and the way we engage food. It is first and foremost a lifestyle change before anything else. First, some key groundwork working knowledge on what nutrition is, what metabolism is, and what exercise really ought to be for you. When you are finally serious about losing weight know that it always helps to consult your doctor, nutritionist, and exercise specialist or trainer before attempting to undertake ANY program catered to your specific needs.

     Alright, what is nutrition? Understanding nutrition is key in weight loss and it is in the very sense a process and a science. It is the way we eat in order to nourish our body. Nourishment means we sustain our bodily needs in terms of tissue and cellular growth, repair, and maintaining homeostatic, metabolic , and physiologic functions. Boy, wasn't that a mouthful. The key take home point here is that we should EAT TO NOURISH our bodies ( i.e. we should eat to live and not live to eat). Of course it's also important to consider that different people, depending on what level of physical activity they do, require different amounts and levels of nutrition. What I mean by this is that the individual who partakes in arduous physical activity like say your construction worker, your body builder, or a deep sea fisherman require more than the recommended daily intake of calories and other essential nutrients. Your body burns off the macro nutrients you digest (carbs, proteins, fats) in the from of work and naturally, the more work you do the more calories you need. On the other hand, your average couch potato or sedentary patient will not require so much calories to maintain basic metabolic functions.

     Metabolism is a term referring to the set of chemical reactions that happen inside the cells of our body to convert what we ate to life giving energy for growth, reproduction, and for maintaining our body's physiologic functions. There are actually two parts to metabolism ( catabolism and anabolism) but we need not venture that far. What you need to remember, however, is that some individuals have naturally high metabolic rates ( fast conversion) while others have a slower metabolic rate (slow conversion). The BMR is what I am referring to when I speak of metabolic rate. BASAL METABOLIC RATE or BMR is actually the amount of energy required by our bodies to maintain bodily functions while at rest and this energy can be calculated from a rather complex equation we need not know of. It is suffice to say that BMR varies between individuals and between age groups. Notice that as we get older to tend to get fatter and weight loss then becomes an issue.

     So, the question is can we really lose 10 pounds within 30days? YES, WE CAN. How do we do it,you ask? We do it by sticking to a well devised plan of attack: 

1. Know how much weight you really need to lose. What's your ideal weight ( Ideal meaning for your age gender, and height).

2. Eat more of the foods you know you should be eating of in order to lose weight. I don't need to enumerate them for you because I am sure you have your personal list of nasty tasting health shakes, fruits, and vegetables, and other what-not. A point of advice though, if you are considering a rigorous exercise regiment then load up on Vitamin C and Proteins as they are essential for tissue repair.

3. Do light exercise first to get your body slowly adjusted to doing more "work". If you feel comfortable enough to increase duration and/or intensity then do is but do it in increments or sets at a time. Be wary of cardiovascular exercises if you have a heart condition,so you should consult with your doctor first.

4. Understand that as you progress you will feel hunger pangs and your mettle will be tested. Don't give in. Curb your appetite with satiety but do so with bland, low calorie foods. And always increase fluid intake. Energy drinks are fine but water is always best.

5.You need to master the art of self psychologizing ( is that even a word?). Remember that no food, no matter how delicious it is, is worth more than how fabulous you will look when you stick to it. Imagine the comments you'll be getting from friends and co-workers. The Big and Large section in your local department store will be one section you will not be going to any longer.    

     One favorite drink I have a recipe for is I would peel and cut up a cucumber and place it in a pitcher of ice cold water, let it set in the ref for about half a day, then strain the cucumber pieces out of the water, then stir in a tablespoon ( or teaspoon, depending how big or small your pitcher is) of honey. Let me tell you, that its one of the most refreshing drinks you can ever have after a workout. So, there you have it folks. Take care and, as always, JowelMD signing off.

Give Me Some Sugah

     We each have our own points of interests in our lives which occupy the rest of our time away from work, or, if you are lucky enough, what you are most passionate about might actually be your line of work. For some people their hobbies may involve the outdoors like fishing, skiing, hiking; others may prefer indoor activities like handicraft making, knitting, reading. Whatever takes up your time enough for you to devote some considerable amount of effort to sustain it is what drives you. 

     I, on the other hand, have many passions. Like all things passionate you can never stop talking and writing about what you love doing the most, right? One of my favorite past time is about cars. My favorite marque is, of course, PORSCHE. After seeing LE MANS ( a 70's film featuring Steve McQueen ) and hearing that famous 917's flat 12 wailing away down the Mulsanne Straight, I fell in love with porsches. My ideal Porsche? That would be a 1969 to 1973 911 ( pre-1969 versions were shorter in wheelbase). Take out the old and tired 2 liter flat 6 and put a 3.6 liter from the 964 911's. Update the brakes, stiffen the chassis a bit with a roll bar and some plates in key areas, change the rear torsion bars, install a bigger diameter sway bar up front and back, and finally cut out the wheel arches in the bask and install 911SC flares. Sounds like a recipe of a clone of another iconic 911, the Carrera RS, right? The funny thing is as you venture on to create your perfect 911 the more and more you tend to veer it towards the Carrera RS. That car was( and still is) that good. You see, I still adhere to the old notion that 911 means air cooled. Call me a heretic but the older 911's are my thing. Easy to work on and modify and rewarding if you know how to throw it around a corner.

     But like most of you car guys, I spend my time sitting in my garage wondering how and where to start in reviving my lowly 1979 Porsche 924, forever regretting not buying the "other" porsche when it presented itself to me in what may seem a millenia ago, a 1970 porsche 911T. I can never forget that and forever I shall regret not buying it. Alas, as fate would have it here I am in my lowly 924,lacking any luster and care. Covered in tarp and smelling like nothing you ever smelled before, I really feel sorry for it. Potential it has in plenty but the effort to extract it not to mention the cost of doing so just doesn't measure up to what I call the "Is it worth it?"  scale. But don't get me wrong, I will make my little 924 a screamer one day. Just as long as I get my head out of the clouds dreaming of that perfect  911. Oh well, maybe someday.  Yup, Someday. Give me some sugah! Mwah! 

     Ah, but enough of cars. Let's talk about the other finer things in life. We will make my little dreamscape charade above our point in case example. Why do we continually wish for things we may never have (or had but already lost them) when we fail to see what we have in front of us? In search for bigger, better, and finer things we set lofty goals in front of us unaware and perhaps even unheeding of the present, the now, the here.    

I'll say it again as I have said it numerous times in my past posts-" There are many things in life we have no power of changing and controlling, BUT of the few things we have power over, we certainly can change them". Make the moment count by being in it, immersing your totality in it, and addressing the needs that accompany it. That goes for just about every area in your life from the way you treat your body ( health), your lifestyle, your relationships, your outlook, your spirituality, etc. The biggest regret that I can think of is when one day you may ask yourself could you have done more. Were you aware at the time that there was more that needed doing? You understand now?

     Going back to my feeble life, yes my little 924 is my darling, after all, it's my first porsche. It wouldn't carry that badge if it wasn't worthy of the marque, I keep saying to myself. Ahh, the possibilities.... Until then, be passionate,love yourself and one another, keep trying to change for the better, and always fight the good fight. JowelMD signing off.