Yesterday (11/01/11) Joakim took on the fitness test.  It was his first time and he really handled business.  He got through 5 rounds, and then fell flat on his back for 10 minutes. Not being able to get up for 10 minutes is a good sign that you worked to your limit!!

Check out this cool article on the New York Times site about the crazy stuff that goes on food labels.  If you don't know how to read and understand food labels, it's time to learn.  

So, there's this multi-billion dollar industry that uses tricks, the guise of scientific objectivity, marketing ploys, your own insecurity, and concern for your health to get you to purchase a products that do nothing for you.  It is called the dietary supplement industry.  For the most part, their products do not elevate the average human above that which the average human was already capable.  And in the cases when they do, they are most likely to be spiked with an actual drug.  Drugs actually do change what the average human is capable of on there own, just take a look at the current Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, he did not get there with exercise and diet alone.

Drugs, in certain sense, are great.  They work, you are not wasting your money buying a drug.  However, if you buy a supplement that is spiked with a drug to make it effective, you are at risk of a host of drug-related problems.  Supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  That is so important I will repeat it, supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  The FDA only takes action on a supplement company if the supplement turns out to be dangerous or contain a regulated substance (drug).  So, when you take a spiked supplement you could be taking an unregulated dose of an unknown drug.  Check out these to articles on the supplment industry to get an idea of the kind of thing that goes on:

This New York Times article goes into drug spiking and supplements.

This Men's Health article goes into how supplements vendors sell you crap you don't need.

Enjoy, and remember, if it seems to good to be true, it probably (most certainly, definately, surely) is...

Elliott beat his personal best on the fitness test.  It took me ages to post this because I thought I was setting up a new website.  That didn't happen, so here it is, Elliott is now at number 3 with 8.5 rounds of the exercises in 30 minutes...

Eating at the restaurant chain Islands while trying to eat a moderate diet is effectively impossible.  Yesterday, I ate lunch there with a friend and the calorie count on their Cheddar Fries literally took my breath away.  2750 calories for one menu item.  That's most people's calories needs for two days!!  And if you feel like the cheddar fries alone will not be enough food you can add chili for a grand caloric total of 3190!!!!!  This is another island you will lucky to escape with your life.

Btw, I got the half Ceasar salad with chicken and escaped the apocalypso at just under 600 calories!! :-)  Keep up the clean eating everyone!!

Another low-calorie and healthy dinner choice.  I have made this a few times and it tastes really good.  If you dip the chicken in some flour and then some whisked up egg before adding the bread crumbs they stick much better:-)

If you take fish oil, a one-a-day, glucosamine and chondroitin, GNC's phyto-estrogen, protein shakes, weightgainers, Clenbutrex, or any of the other products provided by the multi-billion dollar supplement industry you should care about this.  Supplements are not regulated by the FDA.  If you look on the side of your supplement bottle, you will invariably find a little asterisk.  If you follow that little asterisk you will find this statement, "This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease".  This means that, at best, what you are taking will have no effect on your body, only on your bank balance.  At worst, you could be ingesting an unknown dosage of a most-likely-illegal, potentially-harmful, certainly-unregulated drug. 
 
Read this article and possibly rethink your next Jack3d purchase.  Remember, there is no secret.  Diet and exercise combined with almost anything will result in weight loss:-)

I always like the diet plans and recipes that appear in the pages of Men's Health.  They always keep an eye toward lower calorie foods with the best flavor payoff.  They usually include a variety of foods so that you can keep your veggie intake pretty high and offer vegetarian options.  The recipes are super easy to make.  And, above all, they don't require 12 ounces of some kind of animal protein with every meal like some other publications.

Enjoy this quick two page article:-)  comment on the facebook link if you tried it and liked it...