10 Fittest Presidents

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people make the excuse "But I don't have time to exercise."

Exercise isn't a full-time job (unless you're a personal trainer, in which case you should be in pretty good shape anyway.) All it takes is 20 or 30 minutes about three times a week and you'll start seeing major improvements.

You can't possibly be so busy that you can't afford half an hour three times a week to walk, jog, swim or play some sort of sport. If the President of the United States can find time to exercise, then you can too.

So to inspire you I found a list of the 10 Fittest Presidents:

1. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809): This dude was buff -- tall, sinewy, virile. He was an avid walker and horseman on his Monticello estate. He walked until his 83rd birthday.

2. Teddy Roosevelt (1901-1909): He wrestled, boxed, fenced, rock-climbed, engaged in jujitsu, played tennis, rode horseback and hiked. Still, he died at age 60.

3. George W. Bush (2001-present): He mountain-bikes, runs and lifts weights. His resting pulse is 44.

4. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933): He used to have Cabinet members toss a medicine ball back and forth during meetings on the South Lawn. He handled the stress of the Great Depression, living 31 years after leaving office.

5. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981): Before George W., he was the top presidential runner and tennis player. The only mar on his record was when he collapsed during a 10K.

6. John Q. Adams (1825-1829): Most mornings, he'd do his own version of a triathlon (walk several miles, ride horseback, swim in the Potomac River). Someone once stole his pants from the shore, and Mrs. Adams had to go to the White House to retrieve some trousers.

7. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865): At a wiry 6-foot-4, Lincoln won his county wrestling title in Illinois. Yes, he beat the fabled Jack Armstrong, too. Legend has it that, in his youth, he lifted a box of stones weighing 1,000 pounds.

8. John Adams (1797-1801): He awoke at 5 a.m. each day for a five-mile walk. He used to burn calories by writing standing up at a podium. He was an avid horseman into his 80s.

9. Harry Truman (1945-1953): An avid power walker, Truman would occasionally hold news conferences during his walks, leaving reporters gasping to keep up. He lived to age 88.

10. George Washington (1789-1797): The father of our country got a lot of walking in during his early career as a surveyor. He survived smallpox, dysentery and malaria because of his strong constitution (6-foot-3, 200 pounds). He used to throw a ball around with troops during the war.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)

And I bet Barack Obama will find himself on this list soon. He is a guy who takes fitness very seriously, even on the campaign trail. He apparently enjoys playing basketball and swimming and is in pretty good shape.

Salsa, The Low Calorie Condiment

Another sneaky way people ingest calories without realizing is through their condiments. It's nice to add condiments to spice up a boring dish, but before you know it you might end up turning that healthy chicken breast into a calorie laden mess.

BBQ Sauce is one of the worst offenders because it contains so much sugar. One serving of most name brand sauces contains about 60 calories. Honey has the same problem, it's all sugar, and it runs at about 45 calories a serving. And mayonnaise, forget about it. That will easily add 110 calories to your meal per serving.

Ketchup isn't too bad at about 6 calories per packet, but I've seen people use 6 packets for a serving of french fries before. That kind of defeats the purpose. A serving of Brown or Yellow mustard will only add about 10-15 calories. Stay away from the honey mustard though, that can run up to 30 or more, depending on the brand.

What's the best condiment? Salsas and hot sauces have to be way up the list. Salsa is usually made from fresh, natural ingredients like tomatoes, onions, peppers and various other vegetables, herbs and sometimes even fruits. Since salsa is mostly just vegetables it is naturally low in fat and low in calories. On average a serving of salsa has around 10 calories, and it adds some spice to your foods.

In addition, many hot sauces are just as low in calories. As long as there is no added butter (like in buffalo wings) or sugar then it's very likely your hot sauce will have 0-5 calories per serving. Just make sure you always read the label. There are salsa manufacturers that add things like sugar to their product for no good reason. But you should be able to find a salsa in your local grocery store with 10 calories per serving or less.

Myth Busting: Doing Sit-Ups Will Give You a Flat Stomach

So you've got a little bit of bulge on your tummy? Sit-ups will help kill that fat fast, right?
WRONG!

There's a common misconception that targeted exercises like sit-ups can help burn fat. Unfortunately, that's not true. Sit-ups, push-ups and other exercises like weight lifting are meant to build muscle, not burn fat. Doing sit-ups will give you a killer six-pack, but if that's all the exercise that you do your killer abs will still be obscured by fat.

The key to burning fat is cardio exercises, meaning any exercises that raise your heart rate, like running, stair climbing, bike riding, playing basketball or even walking. Those are the exercises that burn calories and fat quickly. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you get your heart rate up.

If you're a beginner you should shoot for 5 or 10 minutes of exercise at least 3 or 4 times a week. You can start off by taking the dog for a walk around the block, or walking up the stairs to your apartment instead of taking the elevator. You should try to exercise longer or more frequently every time. Before you know it you'll be exercising for 30 minutes every day. Then you'll see the pounds fly off.

Basically, it's not bad to do sit-ups. It's actually an excellent exercise for growing and toning your abdominal muscles, but unless you're also doing cardio to trim the fat then you're not going to be able to show off all your hard work. It takes a variety of different tricks do get into the shape that you want.

Gut Buster: Drinking Your Calories

If you cut back on fatty foods and sweets but you haven't noticed the difference in your waistline it might be because you're still drinking your calories.

Calories from liquids are sneaky. You don't even notice when you're putting them in your body. They don't fill you up or give you the energy you need to go through your day. They truly are "empty." And if you're an average American at least one fifth of your calories come from what you drink.

One fifth! Meaning if you're on a 2,000 calorie diet you are consuming 400 calories from sodas, juices, sweetened teas or coffees, alcohol and other drinks. If you cut back on all of those and only drink water you're bound to notice a difference almost immediately.

Let's look at some of the worst offenders and healthy alternatives:

Coffee/Tea:
Everyone likes a little pep in the morning, so you stop off at the local coffee chain to grab a drink, but beware, most coffee chain drinks are crammed with calories. A Mocha Ice Blended with whipped cream from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has a whopping 310 calories! A Sarbucks Frappacino isn't much better at 210 calories with whip.
Better Alternative: A cup of unsweetened coffee or tea. An unsweetened Starbucks Tazo tea has 0 calories. A much better alternative.

Juices/Smoothies:
You shouldn't be looking to liquids for your nutrition. In a healthy diet you should get all of your essential vitamins and minerals from the food you eat. So you can ignore anything you've heard about "protein shakes to build muscle," or "one glass of this equals a serving of vegetables," etc. Popular smoothie chains may promote their drinks as healthy, when they're actually riddled with calories. A Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo’d Power Smoothie has 1,170 calories! That's over 50% of the calories an average person should consume! A Starbucks Venti Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino has 750 calories.
Better Alternative: If you have to drink juice have 100% pure fruit juice. A glass of Tropicana Orange juice still has 110 calories, but it's a far cry from 750.

Sports Drinks:
The best liquid to drink to stay hydrated, whether you're running a marathon or sitting at home on your couch is water. Sports drinks are riddled with sugars and are not going to work better than a clean, cool glass of H2O. A 20 oz. bottle of Vitamin water has 130 calories, and a bottle of Powerade has 120. A 12 oz. serving of Gatorade has 310 calories!
Better Alternative: Pure Water. It will work better at keeping you hydrated and it is a calorie free alternative.

Soda:
And don't even think about soda. It's tasty, but a, 8 oz. can of Coke will run you about 110 calories. A can of Pepsi is about 100. Let's be honest, most people don't drink only 8 oz.s of soda at a time. A large Coke at McDonalds is 310 calories.
Better Alternative: If water doesn't cut it then you can go for a diet soda, or something like Coke Zero or Pepsi One. The calorie count in diet drinks is negligible because they use artificial sweeteners. The jury is still out on the lasting health effects of artificial sweeteners, so don't overdue it. Keep in mind that too much cola can cause kidney problems.

Alcohol:
People love drinking alcohol for *ahem* various reasons. Alcohol isn't all bad, in fact, if you drink it in moderation it can actually be very beneficial to your mind and body. The key is to drink it in moderation. It's very easy to let the calories get out of hand during a night of drinking, even if you don't. Remember, the sweeter the drink, the more calories it's likely to have. A Pina Colada will add about 625 calories to your daily total, a Frozen Margarita will be about 250 and a Gin and Tonic will come in at around 200.
Better Alternative: Wine is always a good choice. A glass of dry red wine is only around 80 calories, and a glass of dry white wine is about 75. Plus wine has other positive health effects. Light beer is obviously a better choice than regular beer. Just beware, Miller Genuine Draft 64 only has 64 calories, but it also has about half the alcohol content of a 110-calorie Miller Genuine Draft Light. So if your goal is to drink to excess then it's actually better to go with the higher calorie options in some cases.

So there you have it! Beware of the calories in what you drink. If you only have a few pounds to lose you could probably drop to your desired weight in a month if you drink nothing but water. The body doesn't need any liquids except for water (and maybe a little milk, if you're adventurous, but try to keep it 2% or lower.)

How to Lose Weight

How do you lose weight?

The key to losing weight is to create a "calorie debt." That is, you have to burn more calories than you consume.

You can do that in three ways: You can drastically cut your caloric intake by not eating, you can raise the number of calories you burn by exercising more, or you can do a combination of both.

Clearly, a combination of lowering your caloric intake and raising your activity level (aka "Diet" and "Exercise") is the best way to lose weight.

If you're only overweight by 10 or 15 pounds you might be able to get away with just raising your activity level. That might help you burn the extra calories you need to drop the extra weight. If you're overweight by 20, 30 or more you're going to need to cut back on your calories and raise your activity level to see an improvement.

The process of losing weight and getting into better shape is simple, but it's not easy. You need to have commitment. You need to be willing to take the dog for a walk once a day or drink water instead of calorie-laden soda pop at lunch. These things might seem daunting at first, but they'll become second nature after only a few weeks.

Check back soon for more tips and tricks for losing weight.

First Post

Welcome to my New Blog!

I suppose I'll start by telling everyone a little bit about me. My name is Tony, I live in Los Angeles, California and I am a health nut.

I was skinny as a rail when I was a teen. I was one of those kids who could eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound. Things are different now. I'm only in my mid-twenties, but the years of bad eating caught up with me. I realized I had to change my eating and exercising habits if I wanted to stay healthy and happy.

Losing weight and staying in shape isn't hard, but it does take commitment. I'm going to share with you all some of the tips and tricks that I have learned in the last few years. And maybe I'll share some nice, healthy recipes that I have discovered. Because let's face it, everyone likes to eat.