Have Fun

Every day we worry about global warming, the stock market, medical insurance coverage, falling real estate values, and the wars in various parts of the world. How depressing! Life is better when we enjoy living. Sometimes, a little amusement can distract us from our problems and improve our mood. When we are happy we tend to be more optimistic and we feel better.

In the following link you will find several classic arcade games that you can play online. Pong, Tetris, various versions of Solitaire, and Pacman are non-violent, whereas Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong require you to battle aliens and monsters. Play a little and unwind!

For over 20 years, studies of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) have shown that this fatty acid may actually help to reduce abdominal body fat while preserving lean muscle.[1,2,3]  CLA is found in animal fats like cream, butter, and the fat marbling of grass-fed beef and lamb, as well as in vegetable oils such as safflower oil.

CLA acts by inhibiting lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that breaks down dietary fats and enables fat to be stored in the body.  CLA decreases the amount of fat that ends up stored in the abdomen by reducing the amount of fat that is broken down.  CLA nutritional supplements are being promoted as a magic bullet to reduce body fat, to burn calories more efficiently, and to increase the percentage of lean muscle mass.

Realistically, taking one pill per day is not likely to make you thinner and leaner.  If you are overweight, you need to evaluate your complete diet and exercise program.  You can lose one pound every 12 days simply by cutting 300 Calories per day from your diet.  Exercise will build up your muscles and increase your strength.

[1] Brown JM, McIntosh MK., Conjugated linoleic acid in humans: regulation of adiposity and insulin sensitivity. J Nutr. 2003 Oct;133(10):3041-6.  PMID: 14519781

[2] Gaullier JM, Halse J, Høye K, Kristiansen K, Fagertun H, Vik H, Gudmundsen O., Supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid for 24 months is well tolerated by and reduces body fat mass in healthy, overweight humans. J Nutr. 2005 Apr;135(4):778-84. PMID: 15795434

[3] Risérus U, Berglund L, Vessby B., Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) reduced abdominal adipose tissue in obese middle-aged men with signs of the metabolic syndrome: a randomised controlled trial. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Aug;25(8):1129-35. PMID: 11477497

Making bread is relatively easy. Mix some flour, yeast, some sugar, a pinch of salt, water, and voilà all you have to do is bake the dough after it rises.

Sourdough bread is different. Sourdough doesn’t use ordinary yeast. It uses a “sourdough starter” which is a brew of wild yeasts and acid-producing bacteria. These yeasts and bacteria are very particular. You have to coax them to come out of hiding by providing the right conditions for them to multiply and to prevent competing bacteria from gaining a foothold.

I had failed several times at making a sourdough starter by mixing flour and water. I typically ended with containers of stinking gruel which had to be discarded. Recently, through an e-mail exchange about carbohydrate chemistry, I found out that Debbie Wink had systematically studied the conditions best suited for creating a sourdough starter. It turns out that acidifying the initial culture suppresses undesirable bacteria and gives the good yeasts a chance to get started. Debbie’s solution was simple and elegant: use unsweetened pinapple juice instead of water for the first three days of incubation. The pineapple juice provides the right amount of acidity for the sourdough yeasts and bacteria to thrive.

Recently, I made my first loaf of sourdough bread. It is the accomplishment of an elusive goal.

Yoga is an ancient practice from India which tries to unify the spiritual and physical world. The word “Yoga” comes from the Sanskrit word “yuj” which means “to unite or integrate”. Hatha Yoga or Yoga of Postures is the most popular branch of Yoga in the West because it can lead to better health by stretching the muscles, increasing flexibility, and improving strength. Hatha Yoga also includes breathing techniques and meditation. Physical poses are called Asanas, and the breathing techniques are called Pranayama.

Many of the postures in yoga can only be achieved by regular practice to gradually build the required flexibility, coordination, and strength. Mayurasana, the peacock posture, requires maintaining the body horizontal while the torso is supported by the elbows. Perspiration or slippery hairy arms may prevent you from achieving this posture even when you have the necessary strength and flexibility. This can be frustrating and dangerous because if your elbows slip, you can hit your face on the floor.

The Mayurasana position may be stabilized by using a belt at the elbows as shown in the photograph below. The belt keeps the elbows from slipping on the torso.

Stomach protruding beyond rib cage before Calorie Restriction

The normal weight of a person corresponds to a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9. This means that a person who measures 5 feet 8 inches in height (173 cm) should weigh between 122 and 163 pounds (55.3 to 73.9 kg). BMI does not take the distribution of the weight into consideration. The famous body builder Ronnie Coleman, Mr. Olympia, has a BMI of over 40, but most of his weight is in his chest, arms, and leg muscles. His body weight distribution is very different from someone who carries much of the weight around the waist.

The Body Mass Index, by itself, is not enough to determine if you should lose weight. There are several other objective criteria such as the percent of body fat, the Waist-to-Height ratio, and the protrusion of the abdomen beyond the rib cage which taken together can be used to determine if you need to lose weight.

Use this diet calculator to calculate your BMI, percent body fat, and waist-to-height ratio:

Diet Calculator

Percentage of Body Fat:
A percentage of body fat above 17% for a man, or 24% for a woman, indicates that you have extra fat.

Waist-to-Height Ratio:
The Waist-to-Height ratio compares the size of your abdomen relative to your height. If the ratio exceeds 0.5, your stomach is too big.

Stomach Size Relative to Chest:
As a final check, take off your clothes and look at your profile in the mirror. Your abdomen should not protrude beyond your rib cage. Women should compare their stomach with the base of the breasts.

You should lose some weight if a combination of two or more of these objective measures (BMI, Percent Body Fat, Waist-to-Height ratio, and abdomen protrusion beyond the rib cage) indicate that you have too much fat.

At a Christmas dinner, I met a woman who would like to get married, but has not found a suitable candidate.  The clock is ticking and she is now 35 years old.  You can sense frustration and a some desperation in her attitude as she seeks advice from her friends.  Why has this happened?  The simple answer is that she has given lower priority to her personal needs than to her education and career.  This woman has fantastic credentials.  She is a noted researcher with a PhD and several publications, but her love life scores a zero.

There was a time when the social life and the destiny of a person was fairly well planned out by the parents. Times have changed.  Today, children leave the parents to go to college at an early age and they don’t have the family support to help them make wise decisions and avoid mistakes.  Young people have to take responsibility of their own life at an early age and decide what is important to them.  Here are some things that you can do to improve your chances of success:

• Make a list of what you would like to accomplish in your life.
• Don’t wait until it is too late to go after what you want.
• Improve your chances of success by participating in favorable situations.
• Meet with people who can help you.
• Don’t make hasty decisions that you may regret.
• Keep your goals and your priorities in mind.