Body-for-Life Challenge 2

Week 1 Day 2 (7-12-10)

Week 12 Day 4 (9-30-10)

Body-for-Life Challenge 2

Quote of the Day

"One great reason for getting healthy overrides a dozen excuses. / when you give up your excuses, you take responsibility for your own life." - Bill Phillips

Quote of the Day

"It's about eating real food, not food products."

Quote of the Day

"It takes more energy to start a motion than to keep it going."

I ordered pics

I ordered pictures from Saturday's rainy 5k.
Here are the samples from Jerry Glover Photography

Nice Weekend

I had a really great weekend. It was nice watching old home videos. I never knew about my mom's old home movies from her childhood and look forward to seeing the rest of it. Saturday's 5k was a fun experience. Over 1200 people signed up and 745 participants ran and finished. I finished 320th with a time of 30:58 (a ten min mile). Only a minute longer than my time of the treadmill. Jen took pictures and I look forward to seeing them.
Fry St Oktoberfest was fun. Lot's of people from the British Isles trip were there. We enjoyed some good food and music. I saw a guy who I don't know in person but I recognized from a Denton group on flickr. I talked to him for a while and he asked to take my picture for a project he is doing called 100 Strangers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thorpeland/5025278756/
Yesterday we used a gift card from our engagement party to eat breakfast at Fuzzys. Then we rented 3 movies and relaxed all day. The weather was beautiful and we opened the windows. I am excited about fall. Ellen left this morning but I will go visit her in 3 weeks.
I hope your weekend was enjoyable too.

First 5K

Today I am running (jogging) my first 5K. I am excited about it. It something new and I had disliked running since Field Day in Elementary School. I hope the rain lets up.

Week 11 BFL

Leg Progress

Fast Fact

A study calculated that nearly 1 billion additional gallons of gasoline (3.8 billion liters) are used every years because of increase of passengers' weight since 1960. - George Washington University

HCG the new (actually old) diet fad.

Weight loss

A controversial usage of hCG is as an adjunct to the British endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons' ultra-low-calorie weight-loss diet (less than 500 calories). Simeons, while studying pregnant women in India on a calorie-deficient diet, and “fat boys” with pituitary problems (Frölich's syndrome) treated with low-dose hCG, claimed that both lost fat rather than lean (muscle) tissue. He reasoned that hCG must be programming the hypothalamus to do this in the former cases in order to protect the developing fetus by promoting mobilization and consumption of abnormal, excessive adipose deposits. Simeons, practicing at Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome, Italy, recommended low-dose daily hCG injections (125 IU) in combination with a customized ultra-low-calorie (500 cal/day, high-protein, low-carbohydrate/fat) diet loss of adipose tissue without loss of lean tissue. After Simeons’ death, the diet started to spread to specialized centers and via popularization by individuals, such as the controversial author Kevin Trudeau, famous for promotion of alternative therapies and treatments.

The controversy proceeds from warnings by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition^[14] that hCG is neither safe, nor effective as a weight-loss aid.

Controversy about and shortages of injected hCG for weight loss have led to substantial internet promotion of "homeopathic hCG" for weight control. The ingredients in these products are often obscure, but if prepared from true hCG via homeopathic dilution, they contain either no hCG at all or only trace amounts. These preparations are generally advertised for oral use. Proponents of injected hCG for weight control have objected to homeopathic hCG as ineffective.

In 2007 The Weight-Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau was published and the diet was in the public attention again.

Kevin Trudeau served prison time for fraud in the early 1990s, Trudeau and a fellow inmate whom he met in prison joined Nutrition for Life, a multi-level marketing firm, where they were successful. He and his partner were sued by the Illinois Attorney General for running a pyramid scheme. Trudeau and his company entered into a settlement with Illinois and seven other states for US$185,000.

Trudeau then produced and appeared in infomercials, broadcast frequently on late night TV in North America and promoted a range of products, including health aids, dietary supplements (such as coral calcium), real estate investment strategies, memory-improvement courses, baldness remedies, addiction breaking strategies, and reading improvement programs, among others. The claims made resulted in regulatory actions by the FTC, based on his alleged misrepresentations and unsubstantiated claims. In 1998, he was fined, and in 2004 Trudeau settled an FTC contempt-of-court action by agreeing to a settlement that banned him from using infomercials to promote products, except for those publications protected by the First Amendment. He also agreed to pay a $2 million settlement.

In April 2007, Trudeau released The Weight Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About. The book describes a three-phase multi-month plan originally made famous by British endocrinologist A.T.W. Simeons in the 1950s. The first phase involves switching to all organic foods with repeated colonic and liver cleansing. This is followed by a second-phase period of daily hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) injections under the direction of a health care provider. In phase three, use of hCG stops, but food must continue to be 100 percent organic. Other recommended activities include walking an hour a day or more and doing breathing exercises.

Critics say that as early as 1962, the Journal of the American Medical Association warned against the Simeons Diet. In 1976, the FTC ordered clinics and promoters of the Simeons Diet and hCG to inform prospective patients that there had not been "substantial evidence" to conclude hCG offered any benefit above that achieved on a restricted calorie diet. Clinical research trials published by the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have shown that hCG is ineffective as a weight-loss aid, citing "no statistically significant difference in the means of the two groups" and that "HCG does not appear to enhance the effectiveness of a rigidly imposed regimen for weight reduction."

The FTC has filed a contempt-of-court action against Trudeau alleging that the alleged misrepresentations in the book violate a 2004 consent order.

In 2007, the FTC charged Kevin Trudeau with violating a court order by misrepresenting the contents of the book. In infomercials, Trudeau falsely claimed that the book's weight-loss plan is easy to do, can be done at home, and ultimately allows readers to eat whatever they want. Previous FTC action had led to a court order banning from using infomercials to sell any product, service, or program except for books and other publications The order specified that he not misrepresent the content of the books. In 2008, the Court ruled that Trudeau had violated the previous order and ordered him to pay more than $37 million.

On February 11, 2010, Trudeau was arrested and appeared in U.S. District Court before Gettleman for criminal contempt of court after he "asked his supporters to email the federal judge overseeing a pending civil case brought against him by the Federal Trade Commission." He was forced to turn over his passport, pay a $50,000 bond and was warned he could face future prison time for interfering with the direct process of the court. On February 17, Gettleman sentenced Trudeau to 30 days in jail and forfeiture of the $50,000 bond. Well-known critic of Trudeau, Stephen Barrett, the creator of Quackwatch.org, "has for years labeled Trudeau a fraud" and was quoted: "He struck me as somebody who (believes he) is omnipotent. That is, no one can touch him," Barrett said. "That’s almost been the case." Trudeau appealed the ruling and on May 20 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted his motion, dismissing the contempt citation.

In the world of performance enhancing drugs, hCG is increasingly used in combination with various anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) cycles. As a result, hCG is included in some sports' illegal drug lists.

When AAS are put into a male body, the body's natural negative-feedback loops cause the body to shut down its own production of testosterone via shutdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA). This causes testicular atrophy, among other things. hCG is commonly used during and after steroid cycles to maintain and restore testicular size as well as normal testosterone production.

High levels of AASs, that mimic the body's natural testosterone, trigger the hypothalamus to shut down its production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus. Without GnRH, the pituitary gland stops releasing luteinizing hormone (LH). LH normally travels from the pituitary via the blood stream to the testes, where it triggers the production and release of testosterone. Without LH, the testes shut down their production of testosterone. In males, hCG helps restore and maintain testosterone production in the testes by mimicking LH and triggering the production and release of testosterone.

If hCG is used for too long and in too high a dose, the resulting rise in natural testosterone will eventually inhibit its own production via negative feedback on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

Professional athletes who have been caught using hCG have been temporarily banned from their sport, including a 50-game ban from MLB for Manny Ramirez in 2009 and a 4-game ban from the NFL for Brian Cushing for a positive urine test for hCG.

The use of hCG has been found for men to increase testosterone linked to muscle growth, for burning fat; however, in some clinical studies with women, testosterone levels did not rise, leaving the possibility that hCG would be in a diet plan for men only, and taking hCG could be inappropriate for women.

For men, hCG can have some potential side-effects, including: gynecomastia (growing female breasts), water retention, increase in sex drive, mood alterations, headaches, and high blood pressure.

In my opinion the HCG diet would work without taking HCG and have very similar effects. Any appetite suppressant would work. The recent popularity will only lead to it becoming a banned substance and labeled as "performance enhancing drug."
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/29/9/940.pdf

Quote of the Day

"If you have made mistakes...
there is always another chance for you...
you may have a fresh start any moment you choose,
for this thing we call 'Failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down." - Mary Pickford

First Video Blog

Quote of the Day

"If you go back to what you used to do and eat, you'll go back to what you were and the way you used to look".

Quote of the Day

"Are You Living, Or Just Existing?"

Fun Project

My parents have a bunch of VHS-C tapes from childhood. We tried showing them to my fiance but their VCR is eating tapes and no longer works. I searched "VHS-C to USB" on google and found this cool VCR. It connects to your computer via USB and you can record (digitize) from VHS to .avi. I shot the idea to my parents offering to split the cost. I would love to backup old memories to DVD/You-tube.

• VHS tape playback
• RCA and USB outputs
• NTSC Version
• Auto tracking and tape playback
• LED-backlit buttons

ION Audio continues to innovate with the all-new VCR 2 PC, which lets users rediscover their home movies and watch them anywhere. VCR 2 PC's transfer technology saves home movies, family videos, and personal tapes directly to a PC. Imagine never having to dig for tapes again or worry if they will work.

Once you save your precious memories to your computer, they will be saved forever in pristine digital format. Included EZ VHS Converter software can even export your video in MPEG4 format for compatibility with select mobile phones and portable multimedia devices!

Connect a VHS, VHS-C, or 8MM camcorder to the front panel jacks to backup your camcorder videos. When you're finished archiving your videos to your computer, VCR 2 PC is the perfect VHS player for any room in the house.

Included software lets you burn your home movies to DVD, watch on your PSP, iPod or laptop computer. Player Features RCA audio/video inputs to archive from external sources like video cameras Composite video output and audio line output Auto tracking, variable speed slow-motion, playback, and rewind Soft-touch backlit buttons PAL version features SCART output Software

VCR 2 PC FEATURES:

• Connects to Windows XP and Vista machines via USB 2.0 port
• Capture video at resolutions up to 720 x 480 (NTSC) or 720 x 576 (PAL)
• Sends video uncompressed over the USB cable
• Burn Video to DVD Export video to iPod or PSP® format
• Plug and play USB computer connection Standard RCA and composite outputs for connection to any TV or home theater system
• Standard RCA inputs for connecting video cameras
• Auto-tracking, variable speed slow motion, playback, and rewind
• Soft-touch, backlit buttons

Cool Device

If I had an HD TV then I would look into getting one of these.




WDTV Live HD Media Player - 1080p, HDMI

HD video, photos and music; they're on your computer, on your USB drives, on the Internet, but how do you enjoy them on your TV? Now it's easy! Play a whole world of Full-HD, 1080p media on your big screen TV with the WD WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN WDTV Live HD Media Player. Play content from most popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices. The WD WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN WDTV Live HD Media Player is optimized for My Passport portable hard drives.

Key Features:

• Full-HD
• Play a wide variety of file formats
• Turn your USB drive into an HD media player

Key Benefits:

• Play a world of HD media on your TV
• Full-HD, 1080p media on your big screen TV
• TV Live network-read

Full-HD video playback and navigation - up to 1080p

This is the real thing; Full-HD 1080p playback. Sit back and enjoy the spectacular picture quality of brilliant high definition video and the crystal-clear sound of digital audio. Use the included remote control to make your entertainment choices using our crisp, animated navigation menus.

Play a wide variety of file formats

WD TV Live supports a wide variety of the most popular file formats. No need to spend time transcoding.

Play videos, music and photos from the Internet on your big screen TV

Explore and watch YouTube videos and Flickr pictures on the big screen. Rock out to thousands of radio stations via Live365 and discover new music with Pandora radio.

Access media files on your home network

The Ethernet port lets you connect this player to your home network through a wired connection or an optional wireless connection.

WiFi Ready

Supports wireless network connection with optional USB wireless adapter. Click here to view compatible wireless-ready USB adapters.

Turn your USB drive into an HD media player

Play content from most popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices. Optimized for My Passport portable hard drives.

Collect without limits

There's no limit to the size of your media collection; just add more USB drives for more space.

Play media seamlessly from multiple USB drives

Two USB ports on the player let you connect multiple USB storage devices and access them simultaneously. Our media library feature collects the content on all the drives into one list sorted by media type.

Transfer files easily

Copy, move or delete files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, your camcorder, or a camera to the attached USB drive using the on-screen menus.

Show photos and movies directly from your digital camera or video camera

Works with digital cameras, digital video cameras, in fact, any digital imaging device that supports Picture Transfer Protocol.

Advanced navigation options

• Thumbnail and list views - Browse your content by filename or by thumbnails of photos, album covers and movie cover art.
• Media library - This unique feature lets you view all your media by media type in one menu regardless of its location in folders or drives. You can view your content by categories such as genre, album, artist and date.
• Search - Search by genre, title, artist, filename or partial filename.

Photo viewing

• Create custom slide shows with a variety of transitions and background music
• Zoom and pan
• Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date

Movie viewing

• Fast forward, rewind, pause, zoom, and pan
• View subtitles
• Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date

Music playback

• Fast forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat
• Search by filename, partial filename, most recently viewed and date.

File Copy

• Copy files between USB drives

HDMI 1.3, composite video and component video output

The HDMI port lets you connect to the highest quality HDTV or home theater. Additional composite (RCA), and component outputs ensure compatibility with virtually all television sets.

SPDIF digital output

The optical audio output sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surroundsound experience.

Ultra-compact design

Fits easily into your entertainment center.

System Requirements

• My Passport portable hard drive or other USB storage device with supported video or audio content stored on it.
• Standard or high definition television with HDMI or composite video connections
• Home Network and broadband connectivity for online services.

Package Contents

• HD Media Player
• Compact remote with batteries
• Composite AV cable
• Component AV cable
• AC adapter
• Quick Install Guide

Quote of the Day

"Living healthy is an every moment decision. It's all about what you do today . . . not yesterday, not tomorrow. Are you living healthy rightr now?" - Bill Phillips

Quote of the Day

"Not too many of us are walking heart attacks (we prefer to drive.)" - Beefgut220

Quote of the Day

"If it were easy, EVERYONE would be fit"- PattiOnePercent

New Shoes

After 4 years of wearing shoes that were too big I finally dropped some money on some comfortable running shoes @ Get Fit. I was wearing a 10-10.5 4E but after measuring I wear a 9 D. My feet are not as wide due to weight loss. I went for a run on Sunday and it felt great. I am use to breaking in shoes before they are comfortable but these fit great right out of the box. I did about 2 miles Sunday and Monday (Labor Day). I am looking forward to fall weather and more outdoor running on the weekend.

My horoscope for today:

Pinning your hopes on one prospect? Be careful, or the glitter might wear off, especially the more you burden it with your aspirations. Take a look at its real worth before you consider abandoning it. Dig deep within yourself and feel confident that you're someone of considerable determination and ingenuity, and you can finesse this opportunity into something invaluable. It could take a little while, so be patient, but it will pay off.

1 Year No Trainer/Week 7 BFL C2

Here are my week 7 pictures(BFL). I was going to take week 4 pictures but life got in the way. I would have waited until week 8 but today is the one year anniversary of the last session I had with a personal trainer. I am celebrating 1 year of doing it on my own. BFL has been great at helping me keep structured and staying focused. I have kept my weight under my initial goal of 190 since 9-2-2009 (pictured below). I got down to 173 and right now I am 182.

Here is a chart of my measurement for the past 52 weeks.

Here are my pictures of Week 1( 7-16-10) compared to Week 7(9-1-10) of C2

[Click here to see full size]

9 month progression