How to lose your man boobs

Here is a great article from Craig (creator of the Men’s Health Belly Off! 2008 program and the Turbulence Training program I just started) about losing your man boobs, or moobies as I like to call mine. I can say, and you can see, that the training Craig recommend really works. Over the last 7 1/2 weeks, my chest has shrunk a few inches and I no longer look like I need a manzier. This is no magic remedy, there are no pills you can take, it will require work and change on your part. But if you are fed up with your moobies like I was, you’ll need to put in some effort. Don’t let anyone tell you differently, they’re just kidding themselves and you.

Body composition calculators

Well, I was going to create my own scripts that would help you calculate your BMR and then help you figure out how many calories you needed for a day, but I found a really good site that does all this already. I’ve taken the formulas and put them into a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of my weight each week. Now I can see my weight loss, but also my body fat % and lean body mass changes.

Visualize a slimmer you

I just came across this new service, and it looks pretty cool. You submit a picture of yourself, say how much you want to lose and within 48 hours a digitally enhanced picture is ready for you that shows what you may look like at that goal weight.

I haven’t tried it yet, but what a powerful motivator. Now, since I was a skinny twig at one time, I think I’ll just use one of my wedding pictures as a visualization of what I can look like (again).

If anyone tries this service out, let me know and it would be fun to see the before & after pics that you get back.

Artificial sweeteners = weight gain?

A new study from Purdue University has come up with some interesting results of tests on artificial sweeteners. I’ve seen some of this info around the web before, but this is the most recent study and seems to confirm what other studies have found.

I’ve tried to remove all artificial sweeteners from my diet since the beginning of the year. I have noticed a huge change in my cravings and health. Looking back on it now, I can say with 100% confidence, there was definitely a link between me drinking Diet Pepsi and my junk food cravings.

Great article on eating more to lose weight

Here is a great article by Matthew McNutt from Season 3 of The Biggest Loser. Just a refresher, Matthew was one of the contestants who lost his weight at home, not on the Ranch. He lost a total of 176 pounds from start to finish (8 months). His blog has tons of great information, I recommend you check it out (linked in my blog roll).

Jillian Michaels radio show

Hey all! I just wanted to let you know that Jillian Michaels, from The Biggest Loser, has her own health & fitness radio talk show. It is on KFI AM 640 out of LA. I’ve just started listening to it and i”m enjoying it so far.

Check it out, follow this link to get to the page where you can download each weeks (Sunday morning show) show or listen to it at your computer. If you want to add the show to your iPod, you’ll have to download each individual show and manually add it to iTunes because I cannot find any iTunes feed for this show anywhere.

What does 200 calories look like?

Here is a good site that helps you visualize what 200 calories looks like in different foods. It’s a pretty good reminder of why we should be eating more fruits and veggies. Thanks to Stanimal’s site for this link.

A few minor annoyances

I just wanted to take a quick moment to vent about the Men’s Health Belly Off! web site. Overall, it’s been a great tool to keep me motivated and connected with others in the program. My beef is with the site itself.

What do I think is wrong with the site? Here are a few issues I have;

• It’s SLOW
• Lack of integration between forums and profiles
• It’s SLOW
• Right now it’s down – I cannot login after a few minutes of trying
• Did I mention, it’s SLOW?

I know, these are minor issues, but I thought I’d just point them out and see if anyone else feels the same way?

Of the three issues, the integration (or lack there of) between the forums and the member’s pages is the biggest annoyance to me. I would think a large media company could figure out how create a social network site that is completely integrated and fast. There are tons of open source (free) software packages that could provide a better integrated experience than the cobbled together package in use now.

OK, I’m done. Anyone else have any issues with the site or is it just me?

A new Belly Off! 2008 personal journal

I just wanted to let everyone know that Slosh (sloshbg) has started is own Belly Off! 2008 journal. Click the image below to jump to his page and lend him some support.

Focus vs willpower

I just read a great post over at the “Back in Skinny Jeans” blog. I really think Steph has the right attitude about this and I will adjust my mindset to be more focused over using willpower to win this fight.

How can you look at this and think it’s the answer???

I was just tag surfing on WordPress and came across this press release. I have to admire what the guy is doing. He’s getting other people at work motivated to lose weight with him AND earning money for a worthy cause for each pound he loses. That’s pretty motivating, I’ll have to look into that idea and see if there are other options.

The big problem I have with what he is doing is his “Cabbage Soup” diet for the first two weeks before moving to Weight Watchers.