Geek’s Guide to Getting in Shape: 13 Surefire Tips

Posted on November 18th, 2006 in Discount Dental Plan by Dental Geek

So you spend all day confined in a dungeon in front of a couple glowing computer screens, coding C++ and eating McDonald’s for lunch? You definitely need to lose a few pounds and put on some muscle, but don’t know where to start? All of us computer geeks could stand some exercise. This guide will give you some practical tips on how to get started getting in shape!

1. Set Goals

Just as with anything else in life, you’ll go nowhere without goals. Set short-term, and long-term goals for yourself. Make them reasonable and attainable. Don’t get discouraged if you’re behind. Simply rededicate yourself to your goals and keep plugging away.

2. Get out of the office!

I know what it’s like sitting in front of a computer all day at work, then coming home and working on your own projects. Its hard to get away from it, but you need to make some time for yourself and get away from the computer and T.V.
You don’t necessarily need to go to the gym, just try to get 30 min of (strenuous) physical activity every day. Whether its power walking with your dog, or running on a treadmill, or lifting weights, get up and get moving!

I suggest doing something that you love for exercise. If you force yourself to start jogging or lifting weights and you hate it, you’ll quit within in weeks or months. Instead find something you like doing and force yourself to do it on a regular basis. (Sex doesn’t count. Come on, I know you’re not getting laid).

I’m a huge proponent of martial arts for getting in shape. Not only are they fun, they are great for burning calories, learning balance, self-discipline, etc. Boxing and kickboxing are great cardio workouts. You may also want to look at Kempo (Chinese Karate), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Submission wrestling), or Tae-Kwon-Do (Korean Martial Art).

3. 20% exercise, 80% diet

You have to exercise to lose weight, so get over it. But let’s be clear about this: it is mostly about diet. If you’re not getting the results your looking for you have to adjust your diet.

I suggest seeing a dietitian and explaining your goals to them. Also you may want to check out eDiets. They put together a diet for you and give you a grocery list so you know what to buy.

4. Pack your lunch / cook

An easy way to start losing weight immediately is start packing your lunch. Fast-food is a big no-no. Start brown-bagging something everyday.

5. Get a partner

A good way to stay motivated, and to really push yourself is to find a workout and/ or diet partner. There is strength in numbers.

Don’t get a lazy workout buddy. That could backfire, because they drag you into their laziness.

6. Set a time that’s right for you

My philosophy is not to do anything out of the ordinary when starting a new workout program. If your new schedule change or workload is too radical you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Hence, don’t commit to wake up a 4:30 in the morning to workout because its not likely to happen. Make time during the day to workout. You don’t need to dedicate more than 30 – 40 minutes, but find sometime in your current day to get some exercise in! Try to be consistent and go at the same time everyday.
I already know what you’re thinking: “I’m too busy.” And I know that is just an excuse not to exercise. Make it a priority and make time to work out. I know your kids need your attention too, but they also want to see their parents live longer and with less stress, right?

7. No fad diets - EVER

I hate fad diets (Atkins, Southbeach, etc.). These may work temporarily, but they are not long term solutions!

The golden rule I use is: calories spent > calories taken in.

Burn more calories than you eat and you’ll be on your way to losing weight.

8. The right way and the wrong way

To safely lose weight and keep muscle you only want to lose 1-2 pounds per week. I know this doesn’t sound like a lot but it really is a much better way to lose weight. It also encourages continued success through a longer period of time, rather than not eating for a week, losing 10 pounds, and then putting it right back on.

For those who are more than 30 pounds over weight you may to consider somewhere around an 1800 calorie diet to get started. See a dietitian for a diet that suits your needs.

If you’re trying to bulk up you should increase your calories by about 500 a day in order to gain 1 – 2 pounds per week. Again, you don’t want to gain anymore than this because you’ll be gaining fat rather than muscle.

9. Drink lots of water throughout the day

You can burn calories just by drinking water. A Calorie is actually a measure of heat that your body uses. When you drink water your body heats the fluid up to 98.6 degrees, causing you to burn heat / calories.

10. Don’t eat before bed

This is another weight loss tip. When you go to sleep your body slows down metabolizing. If you eat right before bed this metabolic slowing may cause extra weight gain.

11. Don’t listen to your parents

I hated when my parents told me I couldn’t leave the table until i cleared my plate. Sure enough it came back to haunt me. Its a bad habit that most people have to this day. Eat only you are semi-full to full. Don’t gorge yourself and don’t feel like you have to finish everything on your plate. This can save your from eating many, many extra calories.

12. Do your homework

There are plenty of resources out there about diet and exercise. Educate yourself. Also remember to take everything you read or hear with a grain of salt. Just because somebody is a bodybuilder doesn’t mean they know what they are talking about, or that what they are doing will work for you.

13. Be committed

This is the toughest one by far. But remember nothing good comes without hard work. Commit yourself to your goals, and achieve them. I know you can do it.

(Bonus tip: I write my goal weight on a Post-It note and stick it on the bathroom mirror. That way achieving my goal is the first thing on my mind every day. )

More diet and exercise resources:

• http://bodybuilding.com/fun/index.html (Don’t be turned off by the name. This site has a lot of articles that apply to getting in shape not just bodybuilding.)

• http://www.thinkmuscle.com/articles/index.htm (Bryan Haycock does a great job of explaining diet and exercise in a scientific manner.)

• http://www.everydiet.org/ (Diet Encyclopedia)

• http://www.drgourmet.com/health/fastfood/ (Eating healthy at fast food restaurants)

Prescribing Prayer For Health Care

(AP)

Quote

"It's not a fringe thing. I think very mainstream Americans are using prayer in their daily lives."
Dr. Anne McCaffrey,
Harvard Medical School

---

(CBS) To treat her arthritis and her thyroid condition, 63-year-old Elizabeth Allendorf sees her doctor every few months, but she prays everyday.

"Without faith, without meditation, without God, I am telling you, it wouldn't be," says Allendorf. "It would be just awful, it would be just terrible."

It turns out, as CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports, a lot of people feel the same way when it comes to prescribing prayer for health care.

One-third of Americans are using prayer for healing.

Dr. Anne McCaffrey of the Harvard Medical School conducted the survey of 2,000 Americans and found that faith is a critical part of health care for many and something most doctors don't consider.

"It's not a fringe thing," she says. "I think very mainstream Americans are using prayer in their daily lives."

The survey found that of the one-third using prayer to address health concerns, 75 percent pray for general wellness, 22 percent pray for help with a specific medical condition like cancer and 69 percent said prayer was helpful.

There is no clinical evidence that prayer improves health, but that's not the point of the study, says McCaffrey. She's not advocating that doctors include prayer in practice, she just wants them to wake up to the reality that it's a big part of many patient's lives.

"Doctors need to realize that we don't have the market on what people are doing to make themselves feel better," she says.

Doctors now recognize that acupuncture, massage and even some herbal treatments can be useful when combined with traditional medicine. This survey suggests that prayer may be another powerful tool that can't be ignored.

Source

Friday, November 11, 2006

Got up 630a

breakfast
coffee
leftover noodles

500 mg calcium
1000 mg C
1 garlic capsule

snack
none

lunch
bowl of beef soup

snack
none

dinner
2 pieces chicken
2 bisquits
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
12 oz coke

30 mg Cymbalta (doctor increased dosage a bit, so let's see if I start feeling better.)

went to be 1230a

Some small improvement in irritability. One of my agents commented that it was good to hear me humming again. Of course, I was humming Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton.

Thursday, November 9, 2006

Out of bed 630a

BP 118/80

Breakfast
2 mini bagels
coffee

500 mg calcium
1000 mg C
garlic capsule

snack
none

Lunch (1230p)
clam chowder
sourdough roll

400 mg ibuprofen
40 mg Cymbalta

snack
green tea

Dinner
chicken noodles

evening snack
nachoes
ice tea


Still feeling quite taut and hostile. Been going on all week. Thought maybe it was the election, but it has not eased up at all. Thought maybe it was because I had a couple of beers earlier in the week, but that should be out of my system by now. So I have no clue why I'm so angry and ready to cry.

Wednesday, November 8, 2005

Woke up 6a

Breakfast
two mini bagles
coffee

Snack
chocolate coin

Lunch
bowl of beef soup
sourdough roll
(walked to WHHS to help a friend)

Snack
1/4 sandwich
strawberry
2 olives
cauliflower floret

Dinner
Pork stirfry
3/4 wh rice

Bedtime 1030 BP 79/41

Very tense and angry. Difficult to relax or s

Sexual Orgasm Increases Longevity

Having regular (and enthusiastic) sex confers a host of measurable physiological advantages to both men and women.

In one of the most credible studies tracking overall health with sexual frequency, the mortality of roughly 1,000 middle-aged men was tracked over the course of a decade.

Men who reported the highest frequency of orgasm experienced half the death rate. Other studies have correlated frequency of sex with, among other benefits:

• An improved sense of smell
• A reduced risk of heart disease
• Weight loss and overall fitness
• Reduced depression
• Pain relief
• Less-frequent colds and flu
• Better bladder control

In physiological terms, women experience no possibility of "overdosing" and experience no dangers from too much sex. Men, however, can damage their penile tissue with too much rough or forceful sex, especially now that drugs such as Viagra and Levitra can allow for more staying power.

Sex And Death, Are They Related

Just Got More Tests Back

Just got some more of the test back that were run a month or so ago. Finally, a result that might help with a diagnosis. According to the blood test, I have an large excess of DHEA. (As in my blood reading was 1031 and normal is between 130 and 980. Below I have some information about excess DHEA.

Associated Conditions & Assay Application

In women and children, excess DHEA-SO₄ can indirectly lead to virilization and hirsutism, as it is metabolized into stronger androgens such as testosterone. DHEA-SO₄ measurements are important when investigating the source of excess androgens (hyperandrogenism) in cases of hirsutism, alopecia, infertility, and amenorrhea. It is also of value in the assessment of adrenarche and delayed puberty. High levels of DHEA-SO₄ are often encountered in polycystic ovary syndrome, adrenal hyperplasia and adrenal tumors.

DHEA

is the abbreviation for a hormone named DeHydroEpiAndrosterone. DHEA is the most abundant hormone in the blood. It is the hormone produced in the greatest quantity throughout adult life. DHEA declines with aging. Many students of the aging process perceive DHEA as an important BIOMARKER of aging. DHEA has effects on all the organ systems of the body. In appropriate concentration these effects are all beneficial; supporting optimal organ function or effect. DHEA is also a pre-hormone. It is transformed into other hormones in different parts of the body.

Beneficial Androgenic effects:

• Maintaining and increasing bone density

• Increasing Muscle Mass

• Inhibition of Mammary gland, (breast) activity/growth and by inference having a preventive effect for breast cancer

• Improving Sebaceous Gland functioning, thereby improving the skin dryness that accompanies aging skin

• Improving libido

Beneficial Estrogenic effects:

• Improvement in vaginal dryness

General Metabolic effect:
1. Improvement in Insulin Resistance, (pre diabetes)

Clinical Signs that may indicate DHEA Excess:

These are signs and symptoms that I look for to suggest that given dose of DHEA is excessive: greasy hair, greasy skin, acne, new facial and body hair growth in women, excess body odor.

As you can see, if you know me, I am definitely experiencing, and have always experienced except for small breasts, the advantages. ::grin:: I've also always had very oily skin and hair and an almost masculine body odor sometimes. I'm a little confused about it's effect on insulin, since I seem to be testing high for fasting sugar. Of course, I still maintain it's because I'm used to eating around 530a and these tests don't take place until 730a.

And, you will note that polycystic ovarian disease, something I have been repeatedly diagnosed with, is one of the negative side effect of excessive DHEA in females. Except that everything I read about PCOS claims that you suffer from lack of menstruation. Honey, LACK has NEVER been a problem with me. LOL Losing half my blood supply every four weeks has been a problem for me.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Woke up: 430a

Breakfast
coffee

Snack
chips

Lunch
Beef vegetable soup
Whole grain bread.

Snack
None

Dinner
Leg quarter BBQ chicken
1.5 cup pasta roni

Genes May Help Some People Bear Pain

(HealthDay News) -- People who tolerate pain better may just be blessed with better genes.

Scientists say levels of a molecule called BH4 -- required for the production of major neurotransmitter chemicals -- influence the body's sensitivity to pain.

The team of international researchers, based at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, say BH4 levels might also determine a person's vulnerability to chronic pain.

Reporting in the November issue of Nature Medicine, they found that a certain set of variations in a gene that's involved in producing BH4 appear to reduce a person's pain sensitivity.

"This is the first evidence of a genetic contribution to the risk of developing neuropathic pain in humans. The pain-protective gene sequence, which is carried by about 25 percent of the population, appears to be a marker both for less pain sensitivity and a reduced risk for chronic pain," study senior author Dr. Clifford Woolf, director of the Neural Plasticity Research Group at MGH, said in prepared statement.

"Identifying those at greater risk of developing chronic pain in response to medical procedures, trauma or diseases could lead to new preventive strategies and potential treatments," Woolf said.

In research involving hundreds of volunteers, the scientists concluded that people with a protective GCH1 haplotype -- a set of variations in the gene that are inherited together -- were less sensitive to pain. This GCH1 haplotype reduces production of BH4.

"Our results tell us that BH4 is a key pain-producing molecule -- when it goes up, patients experience pain, and if it is not elevated, they will have less pain," Woolf said.

"The data also suggest that individuals who say they feel less pain are not just stoics but genuinely have inherited a molecular machinery that reduces their perception of pain. The difference results not from personality or culture, but real differences in the biology of the sensory nervous system."

Source

Very Ouchy

I'm terribly cranky and very easily irritated today. My mid back is very tight. I'm continuing the hyperness that started on Tuesday afternoon. Everything aches (and Coleen says I need to up my dose of Cymbalta, but the doctor is still out of town.) Just wanted to record this here so I can see if there is a pattern, as I suspect. I THINK I'm PMS. But I've stopped tracking all that.

::sigh:: Wouldn't it just have been easier for everyone, Mike, if you could have just spent a little time and energy on me. ::sob::

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Got up 6a
BP 124/72

Breakfast
Raisin Bran
1/2 c 1% milk
Coffee

Snack
Strawberry Yogurt

Lunch
Split Pea and Ham Soup
c raw veggies

Snack
none

Dinner
way to much junk

BP 164/72
Bedtime 10p

State of the Air 2006

How did your county do?

Healt Update 10 25 06

Still feeling pretty crummy. The doctor, who got called out of the country on a family emergency while I was having a drug withdrawal crisis, says I have "pre-diabetes". Not sure it's related. Basically pretty achey, not sleeping well, and cranky.

The problem with deciding if I'm sick is that so much of my life is spent while enduring what most folks consider crisis. That pretty much describes the last month or so. Crisis. I'm hoping the next little bit will settle down and let me get some breathing space.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Woke up around 7a. BP 105/55 (it was 116/72 when I went to bed)

Exercise
Mild stretches, walked to store

Breakfast
Half a bagel, a slice of ham and cream cheese
Large coffee

Snack
Low Fat Pumpkin Muffin, medium

Lunch
1 cup seafood salad

Snack
Bagel

Dinner
Pork kabobs
Broccoli

BP 124/74 8p
Bed 8p

Why phones, keyboards and mice make me sick

from Computer World

You've got antivirus software protecting your network, PCs and workstations. Nice going! But what about the "computer viruses" Norton can't help you with?

Don't look now, but your desk and everything on it (especially your keyboard) is a horrible science project; a thriving freak show of an ecosystem teaming with nasty, microbial sea monkeys. Your cell phone is even worse.

The good news is that, in the past two years, new products have emerged that do for phones, keyboards and mice what antivirus software does for your operating system. The bad news is that you're probably not using any of them.

As an IT professional, your chances of infection -- and spreading the infection within your office -- are alarmingly high.

It's especially alarming this time of year. Flu season is upon us. Flu, or influenza, is caused by RNA viruses from the Orthomyxoviridae family. Between 5% and 20% of the U.S. population catches the flu every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu sufferers usually feel fatigue and soreness in the throat, head and elsewhere and get sick for a week or two. Most survive, but it's not fun. Some aren't so lucky. Influenza kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year unless there is a pandemic, when millions are killed. Even vaccination is no guarantee that you'll be protected.

You don't get the flu or other infections randomly. You get sick when germs enter your body -- usually through your mouth or nose, and those germs usually are delivered there by your hands.

Germs can spread through the inhalation of infected airborne sneeze droplets or through direct contact, such as by shaking hands. But some 80% of flu cases are contracted by touching an infected object.

Most germs, including the influenza virus, can survive for only about five minutes on your hands, but they can live for up to two days on phones, keyboards, mice and other surfaces.

Most people fear germs from shaking hands, flying in airplanes or touching bathroom doorknobs. But the dirtiest objects for office workers are phones, desks, keyboards and mice, which have orders of magnitude more germs than anything else you're likely to come in contact with at work.

Several studies conducted in the past few years at the University of Arizona found that telephones are the most germ-infected objects in our lives, followed by desktops, water fountain handles, microwave door handles, keyboards and mice. (Famously, these studies, headed by microbiologist Charles Gerba, revealed that keyboards have 400 times more bacteria than an average toilet seat.) Here are the relative germ densities of frequently touched office equipment:

• Phone: 25,127 germs per square inch
• Desktop surface: 20,961 germs per square inch
• Keyboard: 3,295 germs per square inch
• Mouse: 1,676 germs per square inch
• Fax machine: 301 germs per square inch
• Copy machine: 69 germs per square inch
• Toilet seat: 49 germs per square inch.

As you can see, the easiest way to get sick in a public restroom is to use your cell phone in there.

Why phones, keyboards and mice are so dirty

The bacteria crawling all over your phone, keyboard and mouse right now may include hundreds of different types, including E. coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, streptococcus, salmonella and staphyloccus aureus (a.k.a. "staph").

Staph can cause anything from pimples, boils and cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin, to fatal diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis and toxic shock syndrome. Gerba tested 25 cell phones and found staph on almost half of them. Cell phones are extra infected because we hold them against our faces, breathe on them, touch them with our filthy mitts and keep them nice and warm in our pockets.

Keyboards and mice are disgusting mainly because we eat and drink at our desks. All that food feeds and nurtures colonies of bacteria and fungi.

Making matters worse, we move our hands from keyboard, to mouse to phone and back to keyboard all day. It's the microbial circle of life.

If you're the kind of person who reads Computerworld, you're touching phones, keyboards and mice all day. Worse, as an IT professional, you're probably using multiple keyboards and mice used by others. Not only are you more exposed to bugs, but you may be one of the main spreaders of these germs in your office.

So, Typhoid Mary, what are you going to do about it?

How to protect yourself

Sure, you can clean your phone, desk, keyboard and mouse with disinfectant once in a while (don't spray anything directly on the keyboard -- use wipes), but you're likely to forget, and most disinfectant products are mildly toxic anyway. You can also buy special condoms for your cell phone, but people will talk.

A better approach is to take advantage of a new and growing mini-industry of antimicrobial phones, keyboards and mice. Most of these new gadgets are coated with material that includes modified silver, which you'll see described as "nano sliver" or "silver ion."

(One company called Unotron bucks the antimicrobial coating trend by simply making their keyboards and mice washable.

Silver has been known for millennia for its antiseptic action. The Romans used silver to keep water and food from spoiling. Today, the water tanks of ships, airplanes and spacecraft are often coated with silver to keep the water potable for months.

(Note that the use of "colloidal silver," taken internally as an "alternative medicine" and claimed by proponents as a cure for diseases like AIDS, can be dangerous, leading to argyria, or silver poisoning, and other illnesses.)

Very recently, researchers have learned how to break silver down into smaller-than-natural particles. These nano silver particles can more easily connect with and penetrate germs. Scientists have in recent years learned to fine-tune the size and concentration of silver nano particles to more effectively kill bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Unlike antibiotics, silver doesn't promote the formation of resistant superbugs. Resistance is futile.

Antimicrobial silver is increasingly used in a wide range of products, from athletic gear to food containers to underwear to hospital bed sheets.

Silver sounds expensive. But you don't have to be Howard Hughes to afford -- or want, for that matter -- silver-based germ-killing gadgets. Here are the antimicrobial cell phones, keyboards and mice, designed for consumer or business office markets, that kill germs:

Cell Phones

Samsung SGH-E620, SGH-E640, SCH-S140, SCH-869

These phones have a finish that includes nano silver.

Motorola i870

The phone uses a silver-based AgION antimicrobial coating. AgION is the brand of AgION Technologies, which makes coatings for a wide variety of products.

LG F2300

LG claims that 99.9% of all bacteria that makes contact with the phone's silver-based coating is killed within three hours.

Keyboards

Genius SlimStar 310

This keyboard is waterproof and has been dipped in an antibacterial solution and the keys are electroplated in a silver coating.

Fellowes Microban Keyboards

A wide variety of household and industrial products are coated with Microban's antimicrobial polymers. Microban is a brand of antibacterial coating based on Triclosan, rather than silver.

Although Microban has been around for decades and is used in hundreds of products, Fellowes may be the only PC peripheral maker that uses it.

Mice

Iogear Germ Free Wireless Laser Mouse

Iogear uses a titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) nano-particle compound to kill a broad spectrum of nasty germs.

Fellowes Microban Mice

Like Fellowes Microban-coated keyboards, their mice are dipped in the stuff. The company even sells antimicrobial mouse pads.

Elecom Corporation "M-ABUR" series USB mouse

The M-ABUR mouse may be available only in Japan.

Still Feeling Crappy

Still feeling WAY below good. Symptoms are diminishing (twitching brain, pulsing eyes, and auditory hallucenations stopped sometime during a very sleepless night), but I'm still voraciously hungry, disoriented to the point I cannot multi-task at all, and have difficulty finishing thoughts and sentences. A bit of difficulty getting what I am thinking out verbally. Sometimes I've had to totally stop talking and work my way back through what I was trying to convey. This does not seem to be affecting this form of communication. Interesting.

Found an article about Reasons to Have Sex that I thought was interesting. One of the reasons supports what I have claimed all along, that sex--specifically intercourse--helps me moderate my moods. LOL You know, they just need to stop wasting money on studies and come and ask me what *I* think. ::giggle::

Tests Are Coming Back

Well, bugger. LOL Things are not as they have seemed. Oh, I'm healthy. No problem there. Mammogram came back fine. (I keep telling them my mom had breast cancer and I have taken a vow NEVER to have anything she has had--hence having fibromyaliga or some sort of enviro sensitivity for three years.

Not sure what the doctor is up to. She has ordered a lot of tests and thinks I might be "pre-diabetic". She also wants to see about my having too much testosterone -- something I have joked about for years. I'm one of the best men I know, on some levels. LOL

Okay, feeling to crappy to continue this right now. Took a break to work on the house and it involved going into the garage and opening old boxes. Found some COOL stuff, but between the increasingly bad withdrawal symptoms (YES, I'm still dealing with that), moving the cubical walls yesterday, the last few days of an astonishingly easy but still there period and who knows what else, I am in pretty bad shape. Jenni said "come play our cows". So that is what I am doing.

OWIE!

Just got bitten by a spider. Argggh. It hurts. But it looks like a pretty standard spider bite--ie, not like the black widow bite I got a decade ago that made me so sick. I DO NOT need to feel crummy right now.

Food And Exercise 10.6.6

Better Today

I lay in the middle of the empty master suite, just getting the feel of it, arranging things in my mind. Wouldn't mind doing something really radical, but will probably stick with the bed between the windows. Ironic that I have one of the biggest beds you can get and I use less than a single bed's worth of space. But that could work out. LOL If I decide to cam a lot, I can set the cam to only see the side of the bed I don't use. It will look like I make the bed.

Anyway, while laying there I decided to do a bit of stretching. Ended up with 20 leg lifts, 10 each side leg lifts and a variety of stretches and yoga positions. I hope I can keep the furniture to a minimum so I have room to do this every morning. Just feel better when I start the day with some floor exercise.

Breakfast: 730a
Jack's Sausage and Egg Bisquit

Snack:
Large Coffee and flirts

Lunch:
Subway Italian BMT, 6"

Dinner:
3 pieces chicken
1/4 cup collard greens
2 Tbs mashed potato/gravy
12 oz cola

Oh, Weight Last Night

was 310. The same weight I was when I got married. So I need to lose 60 pounds to get down to my low weight since I've been here, before I got fibro