Last summer I posted how I started drinking a low calorie root beer to cut down on my sugar intake.  And indeed, in the process, I cut my sugar. Previously, just about every night, I was drinking about 16 ounces of sugary pop, containing about 10 packets of sugar, or about 130 calories (13 packets in 16 oz). So this new 30 calorie (per 16 oz) root beer was saving me 100 calories per day, every day! In addition, I was replacing 1+ tablespoons of sugar on my morning oatmeal (I like it sweet!) with sweet-n-low. At 45 calories per tablespoon, that amounted to around 45 calories per day, every day except Sunday. On Sunday we have pancakes and I still pour on the syrup! At any rate, I was saving 100×7 + 45×6 = 970 calories per week. Multiply by 52 and that makes 50,440 calories per year! Actually, that would amount to about 14 pounds of fat lost per year!

The key to my secret are the words every day.

You see, I was able to cut calories at a rate of over 50,000 per year without sacrificing a thing in my diet otherwise! What I also do, and have done for years now, is make a points to get 30-60 minutes of some sort of exercise daily. That can be a walk, cleaning the garage, shoveling some snow, or any of the many chores waiting to be done around the house. I get this exercise in after my evening meal. And later I have a small bowl of popcorn (with a little butter and salt) and my root beer – that’s my routine.

So what you need to do is target some foods or snacks that you routinely eat and make a substitution in that food to save calories. Do you have a piece of toast each morning? Perhaps substitute something of lower calories for the spread. Just a switch from whole milk to 1% can save you 100 calories per day (and you will hardly notice). And stick with that substitution daily. Also, make a point to get the after dinner exercise daily.

This plan works, it is easy, it is safe, and it hardly costs a dime. And it will make you healthier, probably saving you a lot in health care costs down the road.

asics running shoes

This has happened a few times now: I get to the point where my running shoes are worn to a frazzle and I find myself getting all sorts of back problems, aches and pains after running. And then, as soon as I get new shoes, the pains and back problems subside or go away completely! How soon I forget that pounding on pavement for nearly 4 miles is not the greatest for an aging back.

So I went to Athlete’s Foot and got another pair of Asics running shoes. Cost about $100, but well worth it. I have tried other shoes in the past like Nikes, New Balance, and Saucony, but Asics work the best for me. I need a fairly wide shoe to prevent tipping and uneven wear and Asics makes one of the wider running shoes.  I am thankful for the Athlete’s Foot store in our area! See The Athletes Foot for stores near you.

So if you are a jogger that is experiencing back problems (or knee problems) and your shoes are a bit worn, start by getting a new pair of quality running shoes. It might go a long way toward helping your situation. And if you have minor foot problems, many athletic shoe stores now have diagnostic machines to diagnose problems like pronation. If you are having severe foot problems, see a podiatrist.  See Foot Problems for more info.

15 ft Above Ground Pool

My wife and kids bugged and bugged me to get an above ground pool. Living in northern Wisconsin, where it routinely freezes 10 out of 12 months, I opposed the idea, but finally relented. We bought a 15 ft above ground pool and after a week or two of preparing a site and setting up (twice!), it was ready to roll. This pool has 42″ deep water and is 15 ft in diameter. There is just enough water for an adult to swim around the perimeter, yet the pool is small enough that the water heats up fairly quickly. In fact, with the solar pool cover I got, the pool is swim-able on days where the temperature only gets up to 70 degrees!

So on the days I don’t jog, I am out in the pool swimming circles for 15 minutes or so doing the breast stroke. It is a nice workout that places no additional wear and tear on my knees or back! So I am the one using this pool, more so than even some of my kids! Unfortunately, about mid September I will have to take this pool down.

• Too much computer work resulting in tightness around the eyes, neck, and shoulders.
• A lot of stress, causing overall muscle tightness.
• Getting chilled while sleeping in my neck and shoulder area, resulting in tightness.

I think you can see the pattern here. Tightness of muscles in the neck and shoulder area causes these headaches.

Treatment of Tension Headaches: Remedies
Here is what I need to do in order to (hopefully) rid myself of these tension headaches:

• Apply an analgesic rub to my neck, head, and shoulders. Icy Hot works but an even better rub is one produced by Arbonne that contains hot garden pepper.
• Get some exercise or go for a jog after applying the rub. This will often loosen everything up nicely.
• Take a few ibuprofens, as a last resort. I try to avoid this if possible as ibuprofen does a number on my stomach and can give my a stomach ache to compliment my headache!

How to Prevent Tension Headaches

• Take breaks when working on a computer to give you eyes a rest.
• Avoid having a fan blow cold air over you when sleeping. Also, cover up your head and shoulder area with a small blanket.
• Avoid excessive amounts of caffeine.

I don’t know what is going on, but I am glad. The lower back pain is gone. For now.

For that last 4 or 5 years, I have experienced mucus build up in my sinuses when I would go running.  Generally, it would manifest itself as a breathless condition, making it difficult to run on occasion. In addition, I would have mucus build up sometimes cause me to temporarily be unable to breath while sleeping.

About 6 months ago, I tried something new with my breathing while running: Instead of breathing in through my nose and exhaling out my mouth (like you are supposed to do), I started inhaling by mouth and exhaling out my nose. The result was that the mucus buildup has been virtually eliminated. And, I have been able to run at much higher levels.

In addition, I still have not had a cold for 13 months now. Part of this I attribute to my daily vitamin C that I take in almost religiously, but I think my new breathing technique could also be playing a part. It should be mentioned that besides getting 2-4 colds each year, I was also getting sinus infections almost once a year. It is very well possible that this avoidance of mucus buildup in my sinuses could be helpful in that regard.

With respect to winter jogging and running, I plan on breathing through a muffler over my mouth to preheat that air a little and exhale through my nose.  I run at temps down to -5 Deg F. We will see how that goes with this new way of inhaling and exhaling.

How To Start Jogging

If you are wondering how to start jogging, start by visiting your regular physician to get his or her recommendation. Then schedule times and days to jog and stick to it! You can’t jog one week, and then skip several. Generally, you will want to only jog every other day if you are over the age of 30. Your body needs a chance to rest and recover. Also, you need some good quality shoes. Go to a specialty shop like Athletes Foot to get a pair – plan on spending about $90. Other than that, you can jog any place there is roadway/sidewalk that is safe, or you can run laps at a health club or YMCA.