Body Language | In Maine, he's transformed into a lean working machine

Philadelphia Inquirer: Those who think I'm a lightweight will be glad to know that I'm now even lighter.

The other day, while toweling off after my shower, I took a look at myself in the mirror. My middle was ripped and shredded. My abs stood out with the clarity of an anatomical chart. I resembled myself as a high school wrestler, circa age 16, after making weight.

Certain I had shed some pounds, I stepped on the scale. I weighed 174. In one week, I had lost 10 pounds. My body fat: a ridiculously low 4.6 percent.

This has happened before. In fact, every time I spend a week in the Maine woods, I come back lighter and leaner.

It's not because I diet. I consume more calories per day up there than I do at home.

It's not because I exercise, at least not formally. In Maine, I don't lift weights. When I was there recently, I ran only twice, and just a couple of miles.

The reason Maine is such a potent fat-burner? Nonstop physical activity.

This, I hope, will give you hope, assailed as you are by all manner of diet schemes and exercise gimmicks. It confirms what I've been preaching all along: functional fitness.

The idea is to incorporate physical activity into your life in a natural, seamless way. The goal is twofold: to achieve a level of fitness that enables you to function; and to get your exercise while performing a function, while accomplishing something. Example: cutting the grass with an old-fashioned push mower.

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Baker Turns Diet Sage to Counter Atkins

A baker who lost nearly half of his customers to the low-carb craze has tapped Dan Brown's best-selling novel for an Atkins alternative called the "Da Vinci Diet" that he hopes will bring people back to bread.

A little math theory kneaded with biblical lore from "The Da Vinci Code" has transformed Stephen Lanzalotta into a dietary sage, answering the "carbohydrate question" with a series of lectures propounding a diet he has followed for decades to maintain a muscular 160 pounds into middle age.

Admittedly, he is neither a nutritionist nor a scholar -- his background is in biology and biochemistry -- but Lanzalotta argues you don't have to look far to see a worldwide problem with obesity, and people have been eating bread for too long for it to suddenly be what is making everyone fat.

"Human civilization and grain have ties that go way back. No municipal society evolved without grain, no matter what it was," said Lanzalotta, who kneads his dough by hand like ancient breadmakers. "Not that I believe bread is one of the most sacred foods, but it is one of the most important things we can eat."

Bread forms the building blocks of the body and, in moderation, can lead people to more stable moods, clearer thoughts, and a rock hard body, right down to the washboard stomach of a Renaissance statue, Lanzalotta said.

The Da Vinci Diet he created consists mostly of Mediterranean foods -- the foods ancient thinkers and artists ate. Fish, cheese, vegetables, meat, nuts and wine, in addition to bread -- none are taboo at Da Vinci's table.

Based on mathematic values used to build the pyramids -- a value called Phi that scientists have since found existing everywhere in nature -- the Da Vinci diet doesn't seek to change biochemistry the way the Atkins diet does.

Instead, a person can use the ratio and tailor the principles to a diet fitted perfectly to the body you want, Lanzalotta said.

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Video games: The next big fitness trend?

Video game fans dance off extra pounds

Forget the image of paunchy video gamers holed up in a dark room, surrounded by sticky Twinkie wrappers and empty soda cans. Dance Dance Revolution players burn extra pounds along with their quarters. Weight loss is an unexpected benefit of a game designed for dance music.

Natalie Henry, 14, was drawn to the pulsing techno songs, and didn't realize she had slimmed down until she went clothes shopping.

"I went to go buy pants and the 14s were too big. The more I played, I gradually had to get smaller size pants," said Natalie, who now buys size 8 baggy cargoes.

The premise of DDR is simple: Players stand on a 3-foot square platform with an arrow on each side of the square_ pointing up, down, left and right. The player faces a video screen that has arrows scrolling upward to the beat of a song chosen by the player. As an arrow reaches the top of the screen, the player steps on the corresponding arrow on the platform.

Sound easy? Throw in combinations of multiple arrows and speed up the pace, and the game is as challenging and vigorous as a high impact aerobics class.

Most beginners look like they're stomping on ants and are flushed in the face after one or two songs.

"At first I was playing it for fun, but when you see results you're like, 'Yeah!'" said Matt Keene, a 19-year-old from Charleston, S.C., who used to weigh more than 350 pounds and wear pants with a 48-inch waist.

Also aided by better eating habits, the 6-foot-5 Keene explained in a phone interview he had dropped to about 200 pounds. Now he works out on a weight bench to bulk up because he thinks he's too skinny.

More than 1 million copies of DDR's home version have been sold in the United States, said Jason Enos, product manager at Konami Digital Entertainment-America, which distributes the Japanese game in the United States. About 6.5 million copies have been sold worldwide.

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Carb Comeback

As always, when it comes to carbs the bottom line is this: eat the right types of carbs and you'll lose weight and be healthy...eat the wrong types of carbs and you'll be fat and sick. And what about low-carb diets? They're only healthy and effective long-term if you eat lots of fruits and vegetables with some whole-grains...

May 25, 2004 NY Post

THE low-carb craze shows no sign of slowing, but if you've begun to sneak grains back into your diet, don't despair.

The new trend is to be smart about carbs - not to avoid them altogether, a July article in Fitness Magazine reveals. Here, a sneak peek at the magazine's "New Carb Rules," by Peter Jaret:

1. If you work out, carbs are your friend.

"Low-carb diets aren't appropriate for women who exercise even a few times a week," says Chris Carmichael, author of "Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness." "Carbohydrates supply the quick-burning fuel you need for energy."

Eliminate carbs from your diet, and you will feel sluggish and unable to exercise at your maximum intensity - thus you'll burn fewer calories per session.

Popular low-carb diets start you off at a daily intake as low as 20 grams. "But you need 30 to 60 grams in just one post-workout meal to replenish glucose stores," says Carmichael.

If you're on a low-carb diet, modify it to include at least 130 grams of carbohydrates a day - the minimum amount you need to stay healthy, according to the National Academy of Sciences.

2. Calories count, not carbs.

When it comes to weight, calories, not carbs, are the pivotal factor. This was shown in a comprehensive review of 107 studies on low-carbohydrate diets published last year and in a recent long-term University of Pennsylvania study.

Researchers put volunteers on either a low-carb or a low-fat diet for a year. At the six-month mark, the low-carb group had dropped an average of 22 pounds while the low-fat group had lost 11. By the end of the study, however, the average weight loss in the two groups was just about the same: 11 to 15 pounds.

"Diets that tell you exactly what you can and can't eat are easy to follow, and that may be why the low-carb group ate less and lost more weight at first," says study author Gary Foster, clinical director of the university's Weight and Eating Disorders program. "In the long run, it's calories that matter."

3. The right carbs fight disease and prevent weight gain.

Fruit, vegetables, whole grains and beans are the high-carbohydrate foods to emphasize in any diet plan. The fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in carb-rich plant foods also protect against heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Harvard researchers examined the diets and health status of more than 75,000 women and found that those who ate at least 21/2 servings of whole grains a day were 30 percent less likely to develop heart disease over 10 years than those who ate less.

Several studies show that people who center their meals on these foods have an easier time managing their weight.

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Water sports boost fitness, mental outlook

Anyone who has ever swam a long distance or spent a day surfing knows that water sports provide some of the most taxing workouts you can imagine. But, fortunately, they're also some of the most enjoyable!

The Sun News: If you're looking for an exhilarating, refreshing and beneficial workout, consider trying an aquatic activity in one of the Grand Strand's many watery amenities.

With the rolling ocean and its tranquil inlet waters on one side, the tea-colored Intracoastal Waterway and rivers meandering through its midsection and the hundreds of crystal clear swimming pools dotting its landscape, there are plenty of places to get in some water exercise.

Surfing, kayaking, canoeing, swimming and water aerobics are a few ways to get the body in motion and promote good mental health, the experts say.

"It's very peaceful and beautiful just past the breakers," said Jon Gibson, director of Conway Medical Center's Wellness and Fitness Center and a surfer and kayaker. "[Activities such as surfing and kayaking] can be therapeutic and physical."

Water exercise is an all-around, good low-impact activity that can encompass all aspects of fitness, including cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, flexibility and endurance, Gibson said.

Here are a few ideas that allow you a good workout while you also enjoy the scenery:

Swimming

What it does for the body | Ideal for people with arthritis or other joint and back problems, swimming offers a total body workout with very little impact. For those new to swimming, expect to feel a slight impact, Gibson said.

"You're using muscles you don't typically use," he said. "You have to build on that."

The main benefits, provided by www.pushplay.org.nz, include stimulating circulation to help the heart perform more efficiently; increasing muscle strength as a result of the resistance water provides; improving flexibility; and burning fat.

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Jack La Lanne: Still crazy (about fitness) after all these years

Whether you like him or not, Jack La Lanne is definitely one of the most important fitness innovators of all time. He's also a great role model for many aging Americans...

Watch out. Jack La Lanne is coming.

Even though he'll soon turn 90, he hasn't lost any of the unbridled enthusiasm for physical fitness that made him a celebrity during the 34-year run of his nationally televised workout show.

He rolls out of bed every morning at 5 a.m., lifts weights for an hour, then swims for an hour.

"It's a big pain in the butt," he said. "I've never liked to work out. To leave a hot woman and a hot bed in the morning, why would you do it? I want to live. I work at living. Most people work at dying. Dying's easy. Living's hard.

"I can't afford to get sick or die. It'll ruin my image."

Having just finished his two-hour workout, he was getting worked up.

"I do things to help Jack La Lanne," he was saying. "You gotta believe in a supreme being. How else can you explain the human body? But I've never heard him knocking on my gym door at 5 a.m. 'Jack, this is Jesus. Time to work out.' God helps those who help themselves."

La Lanne, often called the "godfather of fitness," will unleash some of that exuberance at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center. The lecture, followed by a question and answer session, is open to adults of all ages.

In the more than 50 years his wife, Elaine, has known him, La Lanne always has been -- well -- fervent about fitness, she said. She met him around 1950 while she was co-hosting a television show on KGO, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco.

"I was a junk-food junkie," she said.

"He used to come in, and I'd be eating my chocolate doughnut and smoking cigarettes, and he would say, 'You should be eating apples and bananas and oranges, and if I didn't like you, I wouldn't be telling you this.' I decided to try it out and became a convert."

La Lanne, reached at his California home, said he, too, was a junk-food junkie. "I was sick all the time," he said. "It was all this sugar. I was constipated. I had headaches."

When he was 15, he attended a nutrition lecture that changed his life. He began lifting weights at the Berkeley YMCA and, while still in high school, opened his own fitness center in his back yard. He eventually earned the title of Mr. America.

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Pepper Spray for Weight Loss?

OK, hot peppers may boost the metabolism a bit but this might be going a little far. Why not just eat some jalapenos? Or, better yet, spray yourself in the face with 'normal' pepper spray and then run around screaming until you burn off a couple pounds of flab! (just kidding....please don't do that!)

New Capsaicin Food Spray Boosts The Metabolism & Burns Calories With The Power Of Hot Peppers

SiCap Industries, makers of the world’s first hot pepper nasal spray has launched another innovative natural health product based on the medicinal power of hot peppers. “Pepper Boost” is a liquid nutritional supplement made with a special hot pepper extract, and it may be the next big thing in weight loss management. The formula uses a combination of “all natural” herbal ingredients (including feverfew & green tea extract), aimed at boosting your metabolism, increasing circulation, and preventing a host of circulatory related diseases. Unlike other liquid nutritional supplements, Pepper Boost is delivered in a spray form that’s applied directly to the tongue, or on foods that go well with lime and pepper such as salads, fish, and chicken.

Altamont, NY (PR Web) May 24, 2004 -- There’s no doubt two of the most important keys to living a long life include having a healthy metabolism and good circulation, and now there’s a new product on the market designed to turn both these keys with a real boost. It’s the world’s first liquid capsaicin supplement known as “Pepper Boost,” and it’s being touted as a breakthrough in promoting natural weight loss by suppressing the appetite and boosting the metabolism.

Pepper Boost uses “Oleoresin Capsicum,” a natural chili pepper extract as one of its’ main active ingredients. Used primarily in the food industry, liquid capsicum is a powerful concentrated form of pepper with the active ingredient being capsaicin. Capsaicin is the natural chemical that puts the “Hot” in hot peppers.

The Pepper Boost formula uses a combination of natural herbal extracts to create a powerful cocktail that’s applied in the form of a spray. The product comes in a 2 ounce bottle that can be sprayed directly on the tongue, or on foods that go well with lime and pepper.

“Pepper Boost is designed for people who want to get their daily supply of capsaicin, but may not want to eat piles of peppers to do it. It doesn’t mean you should cut out eating hot peppers. Instead it’s designed to be a supplement that puts a concentrated amount of capsaicin into your system quickly and efficiently,” says Joyce Newman, creator of the website (www.pepperhealth.com).

Newman’s website focuses on the health benefits of peppers, (especially the hot stuff) and she believes Pepper Boost could be the next big thing in weight loss and circulatory health.

“It’s really powerful stuff. I like to spray it on my salads and it’s great on any kind of grilled food, even steak. It has a nice lime aroma and taste, and when you spray it on your tongue it gives you a fast boost sensation. I usually take 5 sprays five times a day, and it really wakes me up especially in the afternoon around that 4 O’clock hour. In fact, I like it so much it’s become part of my daily regimen. The company that makes it sent me a sample about three weeks ago, and I’m already running out. Guess I’ll have to buy it now,” adds Newman.

The folks at (pepperhealth.com) might be on the right track since there are some very well regarded studies that show capsaicin can increase metabolic activity dramatically while simultaneously suppressing the appetite.

One such study was conducted at the Oxford Polytechnic Institute in England. The 1986 “small case” study used twelve volunteers from various backgrounds who ingested capsaicin through various food sources. Their data showed that digestion of spicy foods did boost the metabolism in all the volunteers. According to this article, ingestion of capsaicin triggers a thermodynamic burn that can last up to five hours thus speeding up the metabolism and melting calories. It’s this thermal heat action that makes capsaicin so unique.

“It’s been proven that capsaicin definitely boosts your metabolism, but the medicinal benefits go way beyond that. Capsaicin has also been shown to prevent abnormal blood clotting that can lead to stroke and heart attack, and it absolutely can help with circulatory disorders,” says Wayne Perry, President of SiCap Industries, makers of Pepper Boost.

Pepper Boost may also be beneficial for diabetics who face a host of circulatory problems. Although Pepper Boost does contain a small amount of honey, the manufacturer claims it’s not enough to adversely effect the average diabetic under a doctor’s direct supervision.

“We do warn users on the label that pepper boost isn't meant for diabetics. We do this as a general warning, but truthfully as long as they monitor their sugar and follow the directions, most diabetics can use this formula. The amount of honey is so low. Less than one half of a milliliter, or one eighth of a teaspoon per bottle. At 60 servings per bottle we’re talking only about one five hundredth of a teaspoon of honey per serving -- so it’s safe for most diabetics as long as they watch their sugar and do it under the direct supervision of their doctors. The honey is really just in there to take the edge off the tanginess, and we find it’s necessary in the formula,” adds Perry.

Diabetics aside, the real intent of Pepper Boost is to aide in boosting the metabolism and helping the body burn fat and calories more efficiently. A recent article in “A.A.R.P. Magazine” touted capsaicin as “an effective weight loss tool that revs up your metabolism so you can burn more calories even when you’re not exercising.”

One of the first Pepper Boost users who was included in a local focus group claims he gets a real boost from the product when it’s sprayed directly on the tongue, but he also likes the fact that he can spray it on so many foods.

“I’ll tell you what. It tastes great on pizza. I got some of my friends doing it, and now every time we get a pizza, I bring out the pepper boost along with the parmesan cheese. It adds a real smooth lime and pepper taste to the pizza. Pizza shops ought to carry the stuff. They’d probably make a killing on it,” says Steve Fellows of Delmar, New York.

Officials at SiCap Industries are already hip to the idea of getting Pepper Boost into the restaurant industry. They’ve already been approached by several restaurant chains looking to cash in on the popularity of hot peppers by including Pepper Boost on their tables and at their salad bars as a condiment.

“It makes sense that Pepper Boost would be a great gimmick for any restaurant because it’s really terrific on any food. It gives both fresh and grilled foods a real extra tangy spice, but it’s not too hot for even the mildest pallet. The great thing about the formula is the more you use, the hotter it gets -- so pepper boost fits every appetite. It's got a very refreshing taste, and I even know a lot of locals spraying it in their Coronas,” says Bob Haines, VP of Manufacturing for SiCap Industries.

As far as getting into restaurants, SiCap Industries does see a future for Pepper Boost, but the company's management is taking a cautious approach to how they expose their new product.

“We’re definitely planning on going in the restaurant direction, but we may want to do something exclusive with one chain instead of making Pepper Boost available everywhere. I don’t want to see it in just any eatery. Like I wouldn’t think Burger King would be the right place for our product, but it would definitely fit in a chain like Chili’s. That would make sense to me. A lot of restaurants are just trying to cash in on the hot pepper health craze, but this product is the real deal and we don’t want to exploit it. It’s a natural health supplement that’s meant to be sprayed on food, and it tastes great too. But most importantly, it’s a natural metabolic booster so it can help you lose weight. It’s an innovative idea for restaurants, but right now we're concentrating on the internet sales. Stores and resaurants will definitely follow,” says Wayne Perry.

Perry wouldn’t say which restaurants have inquired about carrying Pepper Boost, but he did say there were a couple major chains interested. Furthermore, he says Pepper Boost does not have to be refrigerated although it can be.

“Just like any liquid herbal based product, I wouldn’t leave it in the direct 100 degree sun for 20 hours, but it doesn’t go bad. We use natural preservatives such as rosemary extract and ascorbic acid which is pure vitamin-c. The essential lime oil is also a super antiseptic along with the capsaicin itself. We’ve put the product under every test imaginable and it lasts for months and months with no change in the structural make up. This was an important aspect of the product for us because we wanted people to be able to carry it with them so they can use it regularly and when they’re eating on the road. Of course you don’t have to just spray it on food. Pepper Boost will give you a real noticeable energy boost when you apply five sprays to the tongue,” adds Perry.

Pepper Boost does not contain any stimulants although the manufacturer warns that there is an insignificant trace amount of natural caffeine due to the use of “Green Tea Extract”.

“We’re talking about nearly untraceable amounts of caffeine. Not even enough to be listed on our label, but we let people know anyway because we believe in giving the customer every detail concerning our products. After all, your health is number one – especially when it goes bad on you,” says Perry.

The Pepper Boost label also warns that pregnant women and nursing women shouldn’t take this product only because it does contain feverfew. Feverfew is a natural extract from a certain variety of Chrysanthemum plant. It's known as a powerful circulation booster that can thin the blood somewhat. So as far as people who are on anti-coagulant drugs, they need to take this product under a doctor’s supervision and many of them may be able to reduce their intake of prescription blood thinners by replacing them with the capsaicin supplement, but again – only under their doctor’s supervision

But if you’re basically in good health, and you’re not pregnant, nursing, or on anti-coagulant drugs, Pepper Boost is a safe and more effective alternative to all those “so-called” metabolic fat burner pills and powders on the market. Many studies show dried pulverized plant compounds are far less potent than the natural resins they are made from, and SiCap’s Pepper Boost spray uses only the natural herbal extracts and resins cultivated and extracted from plants in their natural organic state.

“We’re launching pepper boost just like we did our first product the sinus buster. With the sinus buster we took great pains in creating the most potent and most effective sinus and headache reliever ever made, and there are thousands of folks out there who’ll tell you we've succeeded. And now we’ve got the most effective metabolic booster in the weight loss business. Along with the SiCap reputation, that really means something. This is another breakthrough for us,” adds Bob Haines.

Interestingly enough, SiCap Industries stands for “The Science Of Capsaicin,” and with the launch of Pepper Boost, the company now has two “one of a kind” natural capsaicin health products – the first being the world’s first hot pepper nasal spray known as “The Sinus Buster”.

Next the company plans on releasing its’ own version of the infamous “Master Cleanser” made famous by the self titled book, and Robin Quivers of the Howard Stern Show. Quivers drinks a cocktail of cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and lemon juice daily, and she credits it with her new found health and incredible weight loss. SiCap officials are still very secretive about their new master cleanser, but Wayne Perry told me the product is ready to launch, and he even leaked the name, “Pepper Clean”. Perry said this product will be the first daily drinkable capsaicin supplement aimed at cleansing your system of toxins and promoting natural metabolic wellness. MMMM -- Is there a pattern here? I guess the only way to end is to say “SiCap’s their name, and pepper’s their game.”

If you’d like more information about peppers and health: go to (www.pepperhealth.com)

If you’d like more information about Pepper Boost: go to (www.pepperboost.com)

For more information on The Sinus Buster or other SiCap products: go to (www.sinusbuster.com)

Top 10 Reasons To Exercise In The Morning

If I had to pick a single factor that I thought was most important in a successful exercise or weight loss program, it would be to exercise first thing in the morning -every morning! Some mornings, you may just be able to fit in a 10 minute walk, but it's important to try to do something every morning.

So why mornings?...

1. Over 90% of people who exercise *consistently*, exercise in the morning. If you want to exercise consistently, odds are in your favor if you exercise first thing in the morning.

2. When you exercise early in the morning, it "jump starts" your metabolism and keeps it elevated for hours, sometimes up to 24 hours! That means you're burning more calories all day long just because you exercised in the morning!

3. When you exercise in the morning you'll be *energized* for the day! Personally, I feel dramatically different on days when I have and haven't exercised in the morning.

4. Many people find that morning exercise "regulates" their appetite for the day - that they aren't as hungry and that they make better food choices. Several people have told me that it puts them in a "healthy mindset."

5. If you exercise at about the same time every morning, and ideally wake-up at about the same time on a regular basis, your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms adjust to that. Physiologically, some wonderful things begin to happen; A couple of hours *before* you awaken, your body begins to prepare for waking and exercise because it "knows" it's about to happen. Why? Because it "knows" you do the same thing just about everyday. You benefit from that in several ways..

a) It's MUCH easier to wake-up. When you wake-up at different times everyday, it confuses your body and thus it's never really "prepared" to awaken.

b) Your metabolism and all the hormones involved in activity and exercise begin to elevate while you're sleeping. Thus, you feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake-up.

c) Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.

6. For many people, that appointed time every morning becomes something they look forward to. It's time they've set aside to do something good for themselves - to take care of their body, mind, and soul. Many find that it's a great time to think clearly, pray, plan their day, or just relax mentally.

7. Research has demonstrated that exercise increases mental acuity. On average it lasts four to ten hours after exercise! No sense in wasting that brain power while you're sleeping. :)

8. Exercise first thing in the morning is really the only way to assure that something else won't crowd exercise out of your schedule. When your days get hectic, exercise usually takes a back seat!

9. If finding time to exercise is difficult, anyone can get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier to exercise (if it's a priority in your life). If necessary, you can go to sleep a little earlier. Also, research has demonstrated that people who exercise on a regular basis have a higher quality of sleep and thus require less sleep!

10. You'll feel GREAT! DO IT! :)

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, offers FREE weight loss success stories and his "Fast, Healthy Weight Loss" newsletter at his site: Aggressive Weight Loss

Quest for perfect pecs sends men to gym, plastic surgeon

We all know that big chest and bicep muscles are the goal of just about every man who lifts weights. The ironic thing is that, in reality, most men use these muscle groups much less often than those of the back, legs, and triceps. Here's an interesting article that explains why every man wants to look like Brad Pitt in the movie Troy...

Nice rack, pal.

Hoist the barbells, tailor those T-shirts, and drop and give me 20.

For today's man, it's perfect pecs — or bust.

"The man's obtainable calling card is the chest," said Gregory Joujon-Roche, owner of Holistic Fitness in Los Angeles, who trained Brad Pitt for the movie Troy. "We're the roosters. Chest you can get. A six-pack stomach takes work. It's a guy's muscle."

Male cleavage is all the rage. Not a bloated bodybuilder's bosom, necessarily, but a chiseled sheath of armored flesh that raises eyebrows and not laughter during the bare-chested days of summer.

The army of greased-up, golden pecs is perhaps Troy's most notable achievement. The landscape and swordplay in last weekend's top-grossing film merely set the shirtless scene. Hordes of reviewers — apparently unmoved by the epic plot — peppered their assessment as much on the cast-iron cleavage as the action or cinematography:

"Pitt is rippled (even his hair looks muscular), yet also seems right," from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

" The god he worships would seem to be Nautilus the Machine instead of Zeus the All-Powerful," from the Washington Post.

The 40-year-old Pitt achieved the look through hours of weightlifting and sword-training to portray the warrior Achilles.

Speaking of ancient Greece, Narcissus and Adonis have nothing on today's pec-crazy consumers.

Those desperate to escape the confines of their size "S" T-shirts aren't just pounding the bench press. They're doling out thousands for pec implants, which allow the chicken-chested — or obsessively vain and insecure — to nab a few fake inches on their upper torso.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, more than 1,700 men had silicone sacs voluntarily shoved into their chests last year, a 158 percent increase from 2002.

Apparently, there are no lengths some men won't go in their hunt for a chiseled look. But is it a trend or a peccadillo of the psyche?

"We're becoming a much more image-obsessed culture," said Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Roberto Olivardia, author of the book The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession.

"A lot of the issues we've seen with women over the years we're seeing with men. Men are having to respond to the cultural pressure of having to look a certain way."

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Diet Pills Promise Rapid Weight Loss, With Faulty Tactics

Wondering if that weight loss product you see advertised in magazines and/or TV really works as well as they say? There's a very, very good chance that it does not:

ABC News: Diet pill commercials often make it seem so easy to lose weight; an overweight person is shown photographed with their flab and then pictured with a new fit physique. How do they do it?

In a special report, 20/20 investigated such claims and found three common gimmicks used to play with the truth from manipulating photos and quoting experts who aren't what they seem to ads that hype up claims without valid scientific support.
Take this for example: in one ad for an old formula of Hydroxycut, Marla Duncan claims she lost 35 pounds. It was "so easy," she said. Missouri attorney general Jay Nixon found one very good reason why — when she took the before picture Duncan had recently been pregnant and given birth.

Is this just downright deceptive?

"We wouldn't be suing people if we didn't think that they were deceptive," Nixon told ABCNEWS.

Hydroxycut said many of their ads did disclose Duncan's recent pregnancy and said their pills are proven to work. But Nixon has his own view. "They care more about their bottom line than your waistline," he said. He is suing the company for misrepresentation, which they deny.


Bulking Up to Slim Down

There's nothing like gaining weight before going on a diet.

In 2001, Mike Piacentino was featured in before and after pictures for Xenadrine. He started out as a competitive bodybuilder, but Todd Macaluso, an attorney who is fighting Xenadrine's appeal of a case he brought over weight loss claims says Piacentino testified that the company paid him to eat.

"They gave him a food allowance and they said, you know, you've got to fatten up," said Macaluso. "Eat like a pig, gain as much weight as you can, stop working out."

Piacentino put on the pounds by skipping his workouts and then gorging on endless boxes of doughnuts and gallons of ice cream. Soon it was time to take the before picture.

"They told him to stick his stomach out. They told him to have a frown on his face. They told him to wear baggy shorts," said Macaluso. "They told him to pull his shorts down below his belly button and they told him to stand there like he was a slob."

When it was time to lose the weight, Macaluso said the company had the former weight lifter take Xenadrine. He also used his bodybuilding expertise and worked out hours at a time, sometimes twice a day, to get back into shape.

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Is Your Fitness Instructor Certified?

Lots of people claim to be 'trainers'....but many aren't actually certified by a major accredited fitness organization. Make sure any personal trainer you hire has the proper credentials...

After the birth of her daughter, Rebecca Pratt wanted to teach stroller fitness classes to other new moms. So she set the wheels in motion.

Her first stop was the American Council on Exercise, ACE.

"The company that I chose to work with required that you are certified," Pratt said. ACE is nationally accredited to certify fitness instructors, personal trainers, and other fitness specialists.

"Anybody can say they're a trainer, but having that certification next to your name gives your club, yourself, and whoever you work for more credit," certified personal trainer Bryan Healy said.

Tony Ordas helps develop ACE's certification program which includes a tough exam.

"They have to suddenly learn anatomy and physiology and then also get experience of actually designing an exercise program whether it be for an individual or groups," Ordas said. Applicants study an average of three to six months, then pay $200 to take the test. "Currently we only have about 65 percent of the candidates passing the exam," Ordas said.

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Elle, 40, reveals fitness secret

Ever wonder how supermodels stay in shape? Here you go:

This week, [Elle] Macpherson revealed to a British newspaper her secret of having a perfect body – even after having had two children.

"There's pressure on me to look good but not so much that I had to force myself into a strict exercise regime as soon as my sons were born," she said.

"I've never been fanatical about sport but I love to run. I try to do six miles three or four times a week.

The supermodel admitted that her greatest extravagance is taking a massage therapist and trainer on holiday with her twice a year.

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Atkins Challenges Copycat Diet Claims

Apparently, the Atkins diet empire doesn't want you buying anyone else's low-carb diet books or products...

From the Atkins Health and Medical Information Services (5/21/04):

After three decades of fighting low-fat bias, Atkins, now supported by 27 scientific studies, and the low-carb consumer are facing a new set of obstacles: copycat diets that misrepresent Atkins in order to sell their diets as "unique." At the expense of consumer clarity and at odds with objective scientific findings, the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM) has been misrepresented when compared with newer entrants into the low-carb field.

"A lot of derivative low-carbohydrate programs have sprung up over the last few years," says Dr. Stuart Trager, medical director of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. "They are all trying to claim that they are the new and improved Atkins when, in truth and in fact, there is little, if any material difference between them and Atkins -- other than the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM) has been scientifically proven to work. While Atkins is busy encouraging studies on how to promote better health, others are busy misrepresenting themselves and Atkins. The result is a lot of confusion and speculation as to how to do low-carb properly. We should be rooting the discussion in science to help battle the overweight and obesity epidemic."

"The South Beach Diet is a prime example of how copycats misrepresent the 'difference' between themselves and Atkins," says Dr. Trager. "The South Beach Diet has been positioned as a 'healthier' Atkins, conjuring up fashionable images of tropical beaches and trim bodies. However, factual comparisons between Atkins For Life and The South Beach Diet reveal few differences in the published menus. Independent analysis of the menus in both books reveals that there is no statistically significant variation between levels of healthy fats and healthy carbs between the Atkins and South Beach programs. And, yes," says Dr. Trager, "that includes the amount of saturated fat included in a typical week's menu for both programs. The suggestion that the South Beach program is a 'lower or healthier fat approach' when compared to Atkins is simply wrong."

"Figuratively speaking, The South Beach Diet correctly replicates the heart of the Atkins program," says Dr. Trager. "The balance relies on trend- driven pop culture. In fact, the part that does not originate with Atkins is the same low-fat conjecture that Atkins has been battling for decades, and that science of late has shown to be questionable. South Beach also tells people they don't have to count carbs. Well, virtually all of the peer reviewed, objective science shows us that when people DO count carbs, they enjoy the weight loss and health benefits of a low-carb Atkins lifestyle."

Another copycat fabrication is the idea that Atkins lumps all carbs together. "That is pure fiction" says Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., vice president, Atkins Health and Medical Information Services. "Since Diet Revolution was published in 1972, Dr. Atkins made it clear that healthy fruits, vegetables, seeds/nuts and whole grains should be the source of a person's carbohydrates, and they should avoid the simple carbohydrates -- the flour and sugars -- that create spikes in blood sugar levels."

"The public needs a healthy approach to eating based on peer-reviewed science, not 'variations' named after stylish beaches like South Beach and The Hamptons," emphasizes Dr. Trager.

Dr. Trager sees the problem only getting worse as consumers get confused about the false "variations" among the low-carb diets. As a result, they may drop low-carb nutrition altogether in their true health battle which is the battle over obesity.

"New diets will spring up all the time, and yes, they will make small changes and create catchy terminology to make their program sound new and hip and 'evolutionary,'" he says. "But we cannot let what sounds good replace science, and we can't let fiction replace fact. Controlling carbohydrates is not about subtle differences in fat grams or exotic oils, it is about controlling carbohydrates, and when it comes to controlling carbohydrates, to date only Atkins is the time-tested and scientifically-validated time and again solution."

Consumer group seeks ban on trans fat

Now this is a very good idea:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A consumer advocacy group has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils as processed food ingredients.

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are a common source of artery-clogging trans fat. Manufacturers, though, use such oils to give their products longer shelf lives and maintain flavor.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest said in its petition there are safer alternatives to the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Among the alternatives are canola, corn and sunflower oils and new manufactured modified fats, CSPI said.

The Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, has said there is no safe amount of trans fat in the diet. Trans fat is an especially harmful type of fatty acid because it raises levels of artery-clogging cholesterol while reducing healthful cholesterol.

CSPI says that getting rid of trans fat from food could save 11,000 to 30,000 lives a year.

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A simple fitness plan should get you started

In response to the overwhelming number of e-mail, letters and calls with questions on how to get fit this spring and summer, I am giving you a "fitness wake-up call" with basic information.

A successful fitness routine should be rooted in the basics. It should be simple, straightforward and based on a system that is built on a realistic assessment of your physical condition, schedule and level of commitment.

When you take the time to assess yourself, you will have both a physical and mental framework that will help you design a format tailored specifically for you and your current level of conditioning and-or ability.

You wouldn't go into the doctor's office and say, "Hey, doc, I have a headache" and then let him perform brain surgery on you without first getting a full examination, diagnosis and careful plan of action. The same is true for determining a successful routine of fitness that will last a lifetime.

Consistent testing and monitoring of your routine will save you time and money because there will be no wasted products or activities you don't need for your specific situation. Too many people start one program, then move on to the next thing that is in fashion. Break this cycle.

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Latest weight-loss gimmick requires you to see the dentist

It's hard enough to go on a diet. The latest dieting gimmick makes you go to the dentist, too.

An Atlanta company plans to begin selling a dental device that fits in your mouth and forces you to take smaller bites.

It could help you lose weight -- as long as you actually use it when you eat. The gadget isn't permanently attached, so you can leave it out and wolf down big bites anytime you want.

But Scientific Intake believes its DDS System is more palatable than a strict diet or surgery. The company expects to begin selling its devices Wednesday for about $400 apiece.

The company's chief executive says he lost 14 pounds simply by wearing it off and on over five months.

"Many people today ... eat so quickly their stomach doesn't have a chance to get message to the brain" to stop eating, said CEO William Longley. "This helps slow you down, so you feel satisfied on less food."

To get the device, a dentist takes a mold of your mouth and sends it to Scientific Intake, which produces the plastic retainer-like gizmo and ships it back to the dentist for fitting.

With 30 percent of U.S. adults considered to be obese, health officials, nutritionists and even entrepreneurs such as Longley have been searching for answers.

Nutritionists agree that the DDS gadget could help, but some were mystified as to why anyone would spend hundreds of dollars for this approach.

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Companionship, fitness pull Korean elders together

Wednesdays are special days for Tong Lee, 73, and Heui Kon Kim, 81.
It is the day Korean elders meet at the Lacey Senior Center for lunch and a few hours of socializing and music.

In their native land, the two gentlemen might never have met. Lee was a government bureaucrat in Seoul and Kim was a business owner and community leader in a small city north of Seoul.

At the senior center, the two nattily dressed men chat with a roomful of people who also speak their language and share their culture.

The program is one of several that Senior Services for South Sound hosts in an attempt to reach out to Thurston County's ethnic communities.

Every week, 20 to 30 Korean elders who live in north Thurston County are picked up at home and transported to the center, where they exercise for about 15 minutes before sitting down to a lunch served by volunteers.

"I wish I was younger, so I could be more active," Su Yon Lee, 83, said to Yon Clare, who translated her remarks into English.

But she enthusiastically joins in the low-impact exercises, and the sparkle in her eyes indicates a lively spirit.

Su Yon Lee, who owned a grocery store in South Korea, came to the United States 20 years ago, but most of her companions immigrated within the past 10 to 15 years.

Clare said most of the elders were brought to the United States by their children who, like her, had immigrated 30 years ago. When they got settled, many brought members of their family.

Home alone

Much of the time, the elders are home alone because their children own businesses and work long hours and their grandchildren are in school, Clare said.

Before the Lacey Senior Center opened about a year ago, the elders met at the Korean Women's Association. Volunteers went out and picked them up in a car, which required many trips.

Now the center provides transportation, a larger space for the elders to socialize and lunch served by volunteers like Shin Kyle, whose mother, Ki Kim, 80, participates.

"She is interested in coming every Wednesday here," Kyle said.

The elders enjoy the American food served at the center, Clare said.

On Wednesday, the menu included a beautifully prepared white fish, which Kim and Lee pronounced delicious.

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Hazards found in obesity surgery

By the time Linda Culpepper found her way to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, she was in an alarming state. Her hair was falling out, her skin was flaking and her muscles had wasted so much that it was hard for her to walk. She had frequent attacks of diarrhea and could rarely eat without vomiting.

"She was a shadow of a human being," said her daughter, Susan Gritton.

Gordon Jensen, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Human Nutrition in Nashville, Tennessee, diagnosed her condition as life-threatening malnutrition, admitted her to the hospital and ordered intravenous feeding immediately.

The cause of the malnutrition was complications from weight-loss surgery performed at another hospital, specifically a gastric bypass, a procedure that closes most of the stomach and shortens the small intestine, often leading to weight losses of 100 pounds, or about 45 kilograms. That is the operation that has strikingly transformed celebrities like the television weather forecaster Al Roker, the singer Carnie Wilson and the comedian Roseanne Barr.

Successful cases like theirs, combined with a growing epidemic of obesity, have led to soaring demand for the surgery. In 1995, just 20,000 weight-loss operations were performed in the United States. Last year, there were 103,000, and this year 144,000 are projected.

The surgery has become big business, and medical centers have been scrambling to start programs.

The rapid growth worries experts like Jensen, as well as some insurers and government officials, who fear that inexperienced surgeons and inadequate screening and follow-up may harm patients.

In the last year, Jensen said, he has seen a "tremendous surge" in patients like Culpepper who have complications from the surgery or have not been taught how to change their eating habits to adjust to the drastic changes in their digestive systems. Most of the patients had surgery at smaller hospitals that were not equipped for the problems, he said, adding that he sees as many as one such case a week.

A recent study suggests that the overall death rate is twice the figure of 0.5 percent to 1 percent that is usually cited, and higher still if a surgeon lacks experience.

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Slimming cream claim doubted

Experts have cast doubt over a study which claims slimming creams may actually work.

A survey carried out by a French consumer magazine showed two slimming creams were able to reduce women's thighs by 2cm in just two weeks.

But consultant dermatologist at North Middlesex Hospital, Dr Nick Mann, said the claims are dubious.

"It's impossible to see how a cream like that could affect body tissue," he said.

The French equivalent of Which? magazine, 60 million de Consommateurs, conducted a slimming cream study on 220 women.

Ten groups comprising 20 women each tested a different cream, while a further 20 were given a placebo moisturiser.

Dubious claims

Women were told to rub the cream into one thigh twice a day, and were followed up every two weeks.

They found two creams - L'Oreal's PerfectSlim and Elancyl's Chrono-Actif were able to reduce the circumference of women's thighs by 2cm in just two weeks.

However it is not clear whether the study looked at other influencing factors such as lifestyle or diet.

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Food Can Have Powerful Effect on Health

From fast food and soft drinks to green tea and black coffee, new research points to the powerful role foods and beverages play in our well-being.


"These studies are a first step in a long journey toward understanding the relationship between nutrition and our health," says Lee Kaplan, MD, PhD, director of the Obesity Research Center and director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center in Boston.


Understanding this relationship will allow scientists to develop appropriate preventive and therapeutic approaches for a variety of diseases, including cancer, [and] obesity, says Kaplan, who moderated a news conference to discuss the findings.


The studies were presented at an annual meeting of digestive disease experts. Among the research:


Java Slashes Risk of Liver Disease


A jolt of java may cut the risk of liver disease among high-risk people, report researchers from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, Md.


In a study of nearly 6,000 adults who were at high risk for liver damage due to either excessive drinking, having hepatitis B or hepatitis C, obesity, or other problems that may affect the liver, the greater the consumption of caffeinated beverages, the lower the chance of having elevated liver blood tests that signal liver damage, says James E. Everhart, MD, MPH, chief medical officer of the Epidemiology and Clinical Trials Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition.


For example, people who drank more than two cups of coffee a day were about half as likely to have elevated liver enzyme blood tests compared with those who consumed less than a cup a day. And when divided into five groups according to the total amount of caffeine consumed, people in the highest group had about one-third the risk of liver damage than those in the lowest group.


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Study: Small Doses of Caffeine Best to Stay Awake

Are you often too tired for your afternoon or late-night workouts? A new study shows a better way to use caffeine to maintain energy levels:

Small, frequent doses of caffeine are best for truck drivers, doctors and others who need to stay awake over a long period of time, according to a U.S. study published Tuesday.


The regular doses of caffeine build up to counteract the body's natural desire for sleep and builds up the more one stays awake, the study said.


Small, frequent doses are more effective than a large jolt of caffeine in the morning, which wears off just as the body begins to feel the need for sleep, according to the study's lead author, James Wyatt.


"Most of the population is using caffeine the wrong way by drinking a few mugs of coffee or tea in the morning, or three cups from their Starbucks grande on the way to work," Wyatt, laboratory director of the Sleep Disorder Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said in a news release.


"This means that caffeine levels in the brain will be falling as the day goes on," he said. "Unfortunately, the physiological process they need to counteract is not a major player until the latter half of the day."


That process is the system that builds up the appetite for sleep. Caffeine is thought to block the receptor for adenosine, a critical chemical messenger involved in the body's drive for sleep, the report said.


Researchers at Rush, along with others at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School (news - web sites), studied men in private suites who had no way of knowing what time it was for 29 days.


The men were scheduled to stay awake nearly 29 hours straight, simulating the amount of time some doctors, military and emergency services personnel have to up.


Those who were given a caffeine pill every hour equivalent to the caffeine in two ounces of coffee did better on tests than those who received an inert placebo, the study said. The subjects who took the caffeine pill also felt sleepier than the others when bedtime finally arrived, it said.


The research was published in the May issue of SLEEP, the journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.


"While there is no perfect substitute for sleep, our results point the way toward a much better method for using caffeine in order to maintain optimal vigilance and attention, particularly when someone has to remain awake longer than the traditional 16-hour wake episode," Wyatt said.

Coffee, Tea or Yerba Maté?

A South American wonder drink is winning over caffeine fiends

Viggo Mortensen doesn't give an interview without one; it's the beverage of choice for millions in South America; and enlightened coffee slingers from downtown Toronto to Calgary increasingly talk it up with gusto.

It's not the latest low-fat frothy concoction hatched in a Seattle boardroom -- quite the opposite. Yerba maté, the energizing, nutrient-packed nectar being lauded as a wonder beverage and the healthy alternative to coffee, has been steeping in the semi-tropical lowlands of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay for centuries.

Relegated to the back shelves of health emporiums and international food shops, where it has been appearing since the late nineties, the earthy brew similar to a potent green tea is now flowing onto shopping lists and into coffee breaks of an increasingly health-obsessed North American populace.

Dharam Bhardwaj, owner of Soma Café in Calgary, started serving yerba maté in January, and says the number of people ordering it daily is on the rise.

"More than half who try it come back," he says, adding that most new customers seek out the tea after hearing about its near-mythical nutritional values and effects.

"Yerba maté gives me a lasting buzz, without the depression of coffee," he says, echoing the praise of most of the tea's disciples. "Your awareness becomes more acute and your hunger is suppressed."

Indeed, the tea's packaging seduces with promises of elusive benefits: clarity of the mind, relaxation of the nervous system and stable energy throughout the day.

But can this "super" beverage, with its swelling praises and subsequent hype, really have no side effects? None has been reported, and some of the scientific community's claims are staggering.

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Study casts doubt on advantages of Atkins diet

Low-carb regimen no better than low-fat after a year

Like millions of Americans, James and Suzy Gelman went on the Atkins low-carbohydrate diet because they thought it was a way to lose weight quickly and eat lots of the foods they love.

“My main eating problem is portion control, and Atkins offered a way to eat a lot of steak, and chicken and that type of stuff,” says James Gelman.

Even physicians have been attracted to the diet. Dr. Linda Stern of the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Hospital liked it so much she decided to study it. What was it about the Atkins diet that appealed to her?

“I had just gotten back from a vacation where I had gained a few pounds, and I tried it," says Stern. “And I was surprised to see how quickly and easily I lost the few pounds that I had gained.”

But does the weight stay off? Stern experimented with 132 obese patients — half went on the Atkins d