In the battle of the bulge one of the greatest weapons that we have is the diet drink.  You see, in the past if you wanted a sweet refreshing drink you had to have sugar.  Thanks to modern science, with its unnatural and inorganic ways, this is not the case.  You can enjoy a sweet refreshing drink with little or no calories.  The same great taste with no sacrifice. It truly is the ability to have your cake and eat it too. 

The diet soda is a breakthrough in ways few problems have the ability to be solved.  Imagine if you will that it was possible to have more government spending and yet pay less in taxes.  Think of the possibilities, more programs for you and me, but not taking away our hard earned money, fantastic.  This is the gift that diet soda has given humanity.  

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Popularity: 12% [?]

Right now the tops of my thighs feel like an immense bruise. My upper arms are so sore I can barely lift them to type this article. Have I been in a fight? A car accident? No. I’m getting into shape for summer!

When I was younger, I could eat Big Macs and chase them down with a doughnut and vats of soda, then I’d hop on my bike and ride for hours. Unlike most people, when I went to college I lost 15 pounds because I walked everywhere with a twenty pound bag on my back. When I graduated in my early twenties and got a desk job, I found out I wasn’t blessed with a fast metabolism and the weight came on. About thirty-five pounds. Continue Reading

Popularity: 12% [?]

In this world of mass consumption, I think that there is a basic rule that people keep on forgetting, and it’s this: You are what you eat. This logic applies to life in many ways- from what people you choose as your friends, to what you put in your body. Statistics have proven that people who tend to hang around overweight people also tend to be overweight. People who exercise regularly tend to hang around other people who do the same.

This has really been my lesson for this week, mostly due to a happy hour conversation I had with me, my friend The Irishman and his friend Abby. We were in a bar downtown at about 4:30 in the afternoon and started discussing Abby’s past relationships and the complete lack of available men in the DFW area. She was on her second drink in less than thirty minutes, and complaining that all the men she dated were alcoholics. Continue Reading

Popularity: 12% [?]

If you're like me, you have moments when anxiety creeps up on you, jumps on your back, and tries to wrestle you to the ground. Moments when employers are evaluating the quality of your work, when you're interviewing for a job and you have to find out who thinks you are valuable and who doesn't and why. Not to mention relational mishaps and various other life situations. 

How do you handle anxiety? Everyone's different. Me? I have a very hard time shifting gears once anxiety has set in. I don't do pills or professional therapy, so that leaves me with more natural / do it yourself types of coping. Let's take a quick look at some ways I overcome anxiety:

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Two whole years now, I've been loathing myself every time I drink a Dr. Pepper. I hate it. I love it. Some days I must have it. Oh the exquisite pleasure and the pain. Just yesterday, Sesparza told me about an article she read that one soda per day = 15lbs of weight gain per year. This is seriously not good news for the man. Weight gain has been the bane of my existence since I quit smoking back in 2005. Extra snacks, sodas, and Starbucks took the place of 20 cigarettes a day.

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Mike and Mike in the Morning spoke with NFL quarterback Trent Green this morning on ESPN Radio about concussions and the affects of head injuries. Despite his horrendous performance this year as the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback, Green is an accomplished quarterback and quite the speaker. You can hear the interview via podcast here.

Golic asked Green about the most recent concussion he suffered and whether he was suffering any post trauma effects from the blow. Green claims he is fine, with no noticeable after effects, which may or may not be true. Keep in mind that a professional athlete, especially an NFL quarterback, is more vulnerable to replacement today than ever before. Now, I don't know what kind of quality replacement Miami has at the QB position right now, but it's still in the best interests of an athlete intent on starting next year to put on his best face in public to avoid any speculation on the need to replace him with a healthier version. 

Despite the possible threat to his career, Green sounds confident about the prospect of returning next season. And why shouldn't he? Even if he doesn't play again, he has a promising career ahead of him as an NFL analyst. 

Based on this one radio spot, I like Trent Green. He sounds intelligent, informed, and responsible. He's talked with a lot of veteran quarterbacks including Steve Young about their experiences with concussions. He's researched the latest developments in brain trauma treatment and sounds like a man confident in his ability to recover. 

One avenue of brain trauma treatment/recovery Trent Green may not have investigated yet is neuro-feedback. The Sams Center in Plano handles cases from coast to coast. Success rates with various types of brain trauma are better than anyone would have expected 20 years ago. Check them out online if you have a similar issue: brain trauma, ADHD, ADD, bipolar, depression, etc. The treatments seem laughable, but they work. Sometimes, you'll try anything once you've exhausted the more traditional treatments. A lifetime of medicating yourself is no way to live if there's a better way. 

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Call it ex-smoker weight gain. Call it pregnancy empathy. Call it what you will, but I gained a LOT of weight this year. I'm talking 35 pounds in extra weight I was carrying around. I'll spare your eyes and NOT show you a photo. But you could ask anyone and they'll tell you that I was getting pretty hefty. It was so bad that I had to buy larger clothes for the second time in two years just so I could go to work. 

I would likely never have seriously attempted weight loss had it not been for the fact that weight gain is directly related to snoring. My snoring has gotten louder and more obnoxious over the past year, and my wife's concern was that she would never get any sleep once the baby was born. Either the baby would cry to be fed or I would snore and drive her insane. She's been using ear plugs, but that won't be an option while our child is an infant. She'll need to hear the baby when it's time to feed.

My wife gives me this ultimatum: figure out how to stop snoring / snore quietly or sleep in another room! And folks, she wasn't kidding. The concept of sleeping in separate bedrooms is beyond disturbing to me. It wasn't an option. But neither is a sleepless wife for six months. She had lovingly reminded me several times that weight gain/loss was known to affect snoring. I thought it was a clever ploy to get me to lose weight (it still might have been, but she wasn't lying).

I started trying Breathe Right nasal strips and that liquid you spray toward the back of your throat. They made a tiny difference, but not significant enough to rescue me from certain banishment. I looked online, but nothing other than weight loss or surgery would do the trick. I don't even like giving blood, and I'm not made out of money, so weight loss was the only answer.  

I was at my chiropractor's office in October and brought up the snoring issue, hoping for some kind of suggestion or alternative method. He tells me that they sell a cleanse that both cleanses and helps people lose weight. The weight loss aspect is especially effective with men, apparently. He told me of a guy who dropped 26 pounds in three weeks. I was skeptical, because I'd done two other cleanses before and they didn't do anything but cleanse. 

The key with this cleanse is that you change your eating habits for the duration of the cleanse. I ate only fruits and vegetables for the first week along with the cleanse capsules and shake with each meal. During week two, I added a boiled egg with each meal so I could increase my strength (I felt pretty weak during week one). I also added a little brown rice in the evenings. I drank one shake blended with a banana or two along with every meal. 

It's a 3 week program, but I'm not skipping Thanksgiving just to finish the prescribed time limit. So I've done 2.5 weeks of the cleanse, and it ends tomorrow morning.

How much weight did I lose on this cleanse?

In two and a half weeks, I lost 15 pounds. I don't know how good that is compared to the contestants on The Biggest Loser, but it's enough to drop me down from a size 42 to a 38 waist. Were it not for Thanksgiving, I'd probably drop an extra 3-5 pounds before finishing. It would have been more without the eggs, I bet, but now was not the best time for me to go around weak and starving all day long. 

So what is the name of this cleanse?

The cleanse is made by SP, which stands for Standard Process Inc. The company is in Wisconsin. They use whole food ingredients in their programs, not artificial stuff created in a lab like you'd buy at Wal-Mart. SP is sold through healthcare professionals, so you won't find it on the shelf even at your local Whole Foods Market. 

I don't know where to find it in your part of the country, but if you live in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, I can hook you up with the folks who sold it to me. It consists of a natural shake mix, gastro-fiber capsules, green food capsules, and cleanse capsules. I'm going to keep taking the gastro-fiber capsules for a while and maybe even the shake mix (though we have another very healthy shake mix made by Nature's Sunshine) and an egg for breakfast. 

Breakfast has traditionally been the ignored meal for me. If I take the shake and an egg each morning, that protein and supplement will help my metabolism start off balanced and ready to face the day. Did I mention that I haven't had caffeine or concentrated sugar in two and a half weeks? It's true. I'm not going back to caffeine unless my body can't handle processing regular meals. If I start feeling extra tired and lazy, I may have to. But for now, it's water, milk, and water to drink.

Best of luck to you as you cleanse.  

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I’m not looking forward to work tomorrow. Everyone knows that I left the office early to attend a class on the dangers of vaccinations to babies and children. I fully expect someone to try goading me into a short summary so that they may laugh their clueless and scornful laughs.

Sadly, I can speak plain, logical English and still get the same blank, prehistoric stares. The look that says “you must hate doctors, society, and America” is borne on the faces of the masses when anyone challenges traditional views of medicine, diet, energy, and possibility. People with absolutely no clue as to why they disagree except for the fact that they trust the masses who believe the same.

I have nothing to offer these people. I can’t cure stupid. You either practice critical thinking, or you don’t. You either blindly accept tradition, or you don’t. If you’re fine with tradition and feel no need to question or challenge status quo, go right ahead. Ignorance is bliss… except when it’s not.

This isn’t to slam anyone at work so much as it is to point out the critical need nationwide for some good old fashioned logic 101. You don’t have to live a perfect life. I don’t live anything remotely resembling a perfect life. I know when I’m being stupid (or I have a strong suspicion). I still choose stupid in some areas. But I give myself the room to choose stupid because I recognize my path of progress and the truth that I can’t fix everything that’s wrong with myself all at once. I give myself some slack to work on one thing at a time.

Hear my request. Please fight against stupid. Don’t accept it. When you put anything artificially made into your body, don’t act like it’s not completely logical that on some level it will cause you harm. Yes, prescription meds are harmful. Yes, fast food is harmful. Yes, sodas are harmful. Yes, vaccinations are harmful. Yes, your favorite store brand cheese dip is harmful. Yes, your body naturally fights off disease (and succeeds WHEN YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY!). Yes, your body is designed to process natural foods (vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes). Yes, your retirement diseases depend on your current lifestyle. You control your destiny. You have the power. You might not want it, but it’s yours.
Get over it. Continue to live as you choose, but don’t accept stupid. Know what you are doing with your life. Take responsibility. Be an adult. Fight stupid everywhere you can.

That’s my soap box. ‘Nuff said.

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I’ve been thinking that this would make a good topic. Heather’s just now starting to get beyond the initial morning sickness phase. It was intense for three weeks. So here’s a list of the Top 10 foods Heather has craved during her pregnancy:

1. Green Olives - as disturbing as this may sound to you, Heather not only craved green olives, she literally ate nearly two bottles of green olives in one day. Yes, she ate them by themselves, and, wait for it….. she drank the juice. Major ick-factor.

2. Chocolate Chip Cookies - one of the more enjoyable trips to the grocery store thus far consisted of extra chocolate stuffed chocolate chip cookie dough which we baked in the oven and ate with milk….mmmmm. Sadly, this was a short lived craving.

3. Potato Chips - the days of greasy food begin! On with the show!

4. French Fries - suddenly, the uber-healthy wife transformed into the uber-junk food wife. French fries were a popular culprit.

5. Vanilla Shakes - along the same vein as #3, Heather developed a sudden need for vanilla shakes twice a day.

6. Mango & Pineapple - though this one was short lived, it was good to see her craving something that represented an actual food group

7. Limes - yes, limes. Whole limes. She ate at least two limes with salt in one sitting. She just peeled them out of the rind, added salt, and down the hatch! Yeah, I couldn’t do it either.

8. Orange Juice - we’re starting to see a theme here. What is it about citrusy / tropical fruits that her body needs so desperately? Who knows, but I’m enjoying it too. Apparently, she’s not the only one in need of a few vitamins.

9. Popcorn - what is it about salty foods? Salt is apparently more important than we realize. She’s always liked popcorn, though. Maybe she has a sodium deficiency (shrug).

There you have it! The list is complete.

Strange how many things pregnancy affects that you don’t expect. Not only has Heather had wicked morning sickness, our eating habits are worse than when I was a bachelor (is that even possible?). This is due to the fact that for three weeks, Heather couldn’t prepare a meal without getting sick at the sight of it and then being unable to take a single bite. Hence, no more food prep… hence, fast food for Daniel….. hence, slightly rounder Daniel.

One can only hope that this extra roundness will not last. To quote Scripture (with a slight twist), “She must increase, and I must decrease.” So be it, God willing.

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Amidst the uproar over Texas Governor Rick Perry’s HPV vaccine mandate, there are rumors over the causes of the virus. While news stations including WFAA Channel 8 (Dallas/Fort Worth ABC affiliate) continue to describe the human papillomavirus as a “sexually transmitted disease” (STD), there are rumors surfacing about the true origins of HPV.

Some sources claim that a form of HPV is actually transmitted via widespread chemtrails and/or pesticide sprayings. Toxins in the air both weaken the immune system and carry poisons which the human body will react to in various defensive ways. These sources believe that Merck & Co. is responsible for the STD revisionist history, with hopes to capture the state’s and eventually the nation’s approval for production and implementation of HPV vaccinations.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry is serious about mandating that every public school girl receive a vaccine for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This is the time to start worrying. Why? Every major vaccine people receive causes undesirable and even dangerous side effects. Think of several million girls in Texas all passing along some birth defect or mild retardation to their future children because they all received this experimental HPV vaccine.

First and foremost, always be concerned when government demands that the people receive a certain type of medical treatment when said treatment can only be provided by one company. This is dangerous! Merck is the giant pharmaceutical company awarded the contract of providing all of these vaccine shots. Doesn’t that make you nervous? The question each and every one of us should be asking is: What is the government getting in return from Merck?

Is it payday for Rick Perry? Are they going to fund his next political campaign? What money and/or power has been promised in return for this multi-million dollar business deal?

These are questions that need to be asked because the motivations of a government and a pharmaceutical drive them to make the decisions they make. Is Rick Perry on the take? Why are thousands upon thousands of adolescent females now the guinea pigs of a “tested” vaccine which has not been tested long enough to determine long-term side effects, especially in relation to childbirth?

Someone needs to demand answers. Don’t let Rick Perry and Merck stick a needle in your arm because they’re bigger than you.

Popularity: 12% [?]