* BlipsFit *

Making progress in getting fit. When I started running on the treadmill in September of 2007 I had a routine of doing 1 minute running and 1 minute walking. I gradually expanded the running time without changing the walking time. End of December 2007 I was walking 1 minute and running 4 minutes. As of yesterday I run 16 minutes straight and feel I can do more. My hearth rate was 124 after I stopped running, pretty good I think. I run in a pace of 6 miles/hr and walk 3.6 miles/hr for a total time of 18 minutes. This gives me a 250 calorie burn.

Then after the treadmill I do about 8 to 10 minutes eliptical burning about 100 calories. In between weight training but I do not know how many calories I burn with that. All I know is that my shirt is wet on front and back. I’m getting there.

Two years ago my doctor prescribed me statins to lower my cholesterol. I asked him what the alternative would be and he said it needs a complete life change, eat better and exercise. Altough I did not take the statins, I did not do a life change either untill September 2007 nevertheless I’m so glad I never got on statins and will never do so either. If you are using statins you might want to read this and decide for yourself what to do.

One more thing before you start reading; I’m not saying that high LDL (bad cholesterol) is a good thing, but the way how to treat it and the levels doctors want you to have is up for discussion.

The hype about statin drugs is relentless these days. Physicians are urging patients to take statins even when they don’t have high cholesterol. The American Diabetes Association, for its part, ridiculously suggests that all diabetic patients should be on statins just in case scientists one day discover some benefit to diabetics. The hype surrounding statins is the con job of the decade, and statin manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank. But all this begs the question: is there really any health benefit to taking statins? If so many doctors and drug companies are pushing this drug, it must be saving lives or improving peoples’ health, right?

Nope. A critical review of thirteen clinical trials, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reveals some startling facts about statins:

• Statin drugs save zero lives.
• Statins are utterly useless as prevention.
• Even in people with high cholesterol, statins don’t reduce the risk of death one iota.
• There has never been a single study that demonstrated statins extend life for women.

So much for the hype surrounding statins. These pharmaceuticals are utterly useless, even for their intended patients. And yet they’re hyped up like some sort of miracle drug.

To make matters worse, statins actually cause an alarming assortment of side effects, including alterations in sex drive, nutritional deficiencies, muscular disorders, sudden death and widespread hormonal imbalances. Statins actually cause disease while preventing nothing! (That’s one reason why the FDA has already banned some statin drugs from the market.)

If statins are so bad for you, then how can modern medicine promote them so obediently? I’ve always been amazed at the chasm between modern medicine and real scientific thought. Modern medicine parades as science, but it’s really nothing more than a medical religion where anything is considered true if the right people say so. Scientific merit is thrown out the window. Simply put, drugs don’t have to be useful at all to be heralded as breakthrough pharmaceutical that will save tens of millions of lives. Even if the claim is a lie, it gets airtime, and both doctors and their patients buy into the lies.

The current hype about statins is a lie. These drugs are utterly useless and serve no purpose other than to extract billions of dollars in profits from the general public. Even people with high cholesterol don’t benefit from statins, the research now shows. But of course statin manufacturers don’t talk much about the real science. These studies are all swept under the rug. Why? Because they’d be interfering with a windfall scam: the great statin con of the 21st century!

SOURCE;
Medical fraud alert: cholesterol lowering statin drugs save zero lives, says comprehensive research published in JAMA

A more extensive article here; (From the place where I buy my vitamines and protein)

Considering that tens of millions of Americans now take statins to lower cholesterol, the following headline was conspicuously absent from the major media this month: “Statins Found to Turn On Gene that Causes Muscle Damage.” It’s now a fact of science; a new study shows that taking statins destroys your muscle to a greater or lesser degree. And let’s not forget that the heart is a muscle.

Place this study juxtaposed to another rather interesting recent finding: the more fit you are the longer you will live – and the two just don’t add up. How can you destroy muscle and be more fit? You can’t. Sure you can drug your cholesterol number lower, but will you be healthier, fit, and live longer? read more: www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron44.htm

And if you still need more proof search for “statin scam” on google for a result of another 50.000 articles

LATEST UPDATE
Study Reveals Doubt on Drug for Cholesterol (The New York Times) Jan 15 2008

ANOTHER UPDATE

Over at Dr. Mike R. Eades MD website;

The Vytorin trial that finally came to light late last week kicked off the cascade of bad news. It appears that the combination of a statin and Zetia, despite lowering cholesterol levels by 40 percent more than a statin, was no more effective than the statin alone in preventing problems. Which would lead anyone with critical thinking skills to wonder about the hypothesis that LDL-cholesterol is really a problem.

www.proteinpower.com/drmike/page/2/

Oatmeal

If you had to eat one and only one type of complex carbohydrate to burn fat than oatmeal should become your #1 choice for losing weight. Oatmeal is practically the only complex carbohydrate source bodybuilders and fitness professionals eat when they are burning fat for their competition.

Even though it is a starchy carbohydrate, oatmeal has an excellent balance of carbs, proteins, and fats in it as a half of cup has 3 grams of fats, 27 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of protein. With the combinations of macro nutrients, oatmeal is a healthy choice for its low glycemic rate for slow digestion.

Published on Science Blog (http://www.scienceblog.com/cms)

Oatmeal’s health claims strongly reaffirmed

By BJS

Created 01/08/2008 - 10:17

A new scientific review of the most current research shows the link between eating oatmeal and cholesterol reduction to be stronger than when the FDA initially approved the health claim’s appearance on food labels in 1997.

Dr. James W. Anderson, professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, co-authors “The Oatmeal-Cholesterol Connection: 10 Years Later” in the January/February 2008 issue of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

Anderson presents a contemporary analysis to determine if newer studies are consistent with the original conclusion reached by the FDA. His report says studies conducted during the past 15 years have, without exception, shown:

* total cholesterol levels are lowered through oat consumption;

* low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the “bad” cholesterol) is reduced without adverse effects on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL, the “good” cholesterol), or triglyceride concentrations.

“Whole-grain products like oatmeal are among some of the best foods one can eat to improve cholesterol levels, in addition to other lifestyle choices,” Anderson said. “Lifestyle choices, such as diet, should be the first line of therapy for most patients with moderate cholesterol risk given the expense, safety concerns, and intolerance related to cholesterol lowering drugs.”

More recent data indicate that whole-grain oats, as part of a lifestyle management program, may confer health benefits that extend beyond total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol reduction, Anderson said.

Recent studies suggest eating oatmeal may:

* Reduce the risk for elevated blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and weight gain

* Reduce LDL cholesterol during weight-loss

* Provide favorable changes in the physical characteristics of LDL cholesterol particles, making them less susceptible to oxidation (oxidation is thought to lead to hardening of the arteries.)

* Supply unique compounds that may lead to reducing early hardening of the arteries

“Since the 80’s, oatmeal has been scientifically recognized for its heart health benefits, and the latest research shows this evidence endures the test of time and should be embraced as a lifestyle option for the millions of Americans at-risk for heart disease,” said Anderson.

Yes it is a fact the first time since September last year I have gained weight and that for sure are no muscles added. Bummer, well I knew it already before I got onto the scale, 3 pound in 4 day’s wow that’s a lot and that was easy.

Also a wakeup call to keep concentrating on eating the right food. Sure it was not the lack of exercise as I did that every night except Thursday. Weight gain was because of the beer and the Tiramisu cake and other goodies.

So this week I need to double my effort to get that straighten out, cry and get over it.

UPDATE:

After this post we went to the gym. I had a nice long workout, 10 minutes on the bike, some free weights training, 18 minutes treadmill (did 10 minutes 6 miles/hour) and then 12 minutes elliptical slider then some stretching and back home. That was great and I’m really feel good about it.

This week I was in Seatle for a seminar about Microsoft virtual server. We were staying in a nice hotel, Hilton in Bellevue. To keep up with my weight-lost I had to do several things, eating healthy an do exercise. I do not know yet if I succeeded in any weight lost but I did exercise every night. They had a nice fitness-room with a bike, 4 treadmills, 3 elliptical machines, free weights and a machine with weights it was a small room but very neat.

And there is was in a bowl, a nice and shiny wrapped kit-kat;

Only two left so I grabbed it, opened the package took a bite and realized this was not the right thing to do. Coming to my senses again I tossed it there and then and just seen another guy (with a big belly) take the last one. Later I learned the whole package would be 210 calories and to no suprise very high in sugar woow what a bad thing to do, I’m glad I came to my senses.

Darned just found out a Amstel Light beer has 95 callories, I had a few every night, now I’m afraid I gained some weight.

I really did try to eat healthy every day but that was difficult, they served the greatest deserts like pumkin cheesecake, mocha cake and so on. Well we will see the damage Saturday.

Ok not to bad but no gain no lost. Had some good workouts last week but skipped some days due to work and private matters, Not really serious things but you know sometimes you get carried away. It is also friggin cold here, -6 around 8pm so walking the dog is not really a good option either. That makes burning callories more difficult.

Next week in Bellevue WA for a work related seminar, the hotel has an exercise room so I must and keep on track with workouts. Food will be the biggest challenge.

Yes a whole 2 pounds lost, maybe because of the fact I had a cold I drained a lot of fluids but I’m happy with it, feeling great and still liking the workouts. More weight exercises maybe helps too.

From: www.mensjournal.com/healthFitness/0701/workout_weight.html

Intense lifting — sets of 6-8 reps with heavy weight — adds size (and weight). You, on the other hand, want to do sets of 10-15 reps with moderate weight; you’ll burn calories and build muscle by going longer.

Weight machines are great for isolating muscles and helping beginners learn proper technique, but lifting with free weights lets you incorporate more muscle groups and expend more calories.

For a 180-pound guy, an hour of moderate lifting burns a modest 350 or so calories. That said, lifting is almost mandatory if you want to lose weight. Adding lean muscle increases caloric burn throughout the day.

Use free weights, not machines. Lift moderate weight in sets of 10-15 reps. Emphasize big muscle groups, like those in the legs.

The size of my pants is now 36 before it was 38, old pants are donated to goodwill already so no way I’m going back to that size. It feels as a great reward to have new pants that fit and most important a new size. I’m still XL but not for long.

Januari 2nd 2008 Weight 191

Some small changes are starting to be visible. And I need a decent flash on my camera, the shadows are to harsh but that is a whole different story.