Diet, Nutrition and Exercise

Posted on | January 12, 2010 | No Comments

Nebulisers

Posted on | July 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

You might be wondering what the subject of “Nebulisers? would have to do with diets or diet information. Well it turns out they can have a lot to do with diet, especially if you are not following one. I had the privilege of needing to use one in the past 6 months and yes it was a life saver, but if I had been a little more careful I would not have needed it at all.

Why Did I need a Nebuliser?

First of all for those of you who may not know what a nebuliser is, it is a machine that pumps air through a tube to a mask that you place over your mouth and nose. When you add medicine to the reservoir in the mask the blowing air picks up some of the medicine as you breath in and out through the mask. This is on one of  the best ways for someone who has shallow breathing to get some of the medicine into their lungs and into their bronchial tubes for relief.

I was having a severe bronchitis attack, and could not breathe sufficient air into my lungs and also could not use an in haler since I could not get enough of the medicine into my lungs to obtain some relief. With the nebuliser, I was able to obtain some relief and breathe much easier as a result. In fact my oxygen level in my blood was down to 95% which is not very good. Once I finished several of these treatments with the nebuliser, I felt much better and also was able to breathe much easier. A neubliser should only be used under a doctors advice and also when your inhaler is not providing the relief you need.

How does Diet and the need for a Neubliser go hand in hand?

As you gain weight, there is more pressure on your lungs in terms of the amount of oxygen you need to live as well as the fact that the excess weight compresses your lungs and you are unable to take deep breaths or clear your lungs of pollutants or moisture. Many heavy people will also become susceptible to pollution and pollen causing chronic bronchitis attacks.

Your doctor may prescribe an in haler since you are wheezing or perhaps are experiencing difficulty breathing. While you might get some relief , it is really time to take stock and make a decision about your weight and your overall health. Many people have seen the show “The Biggest Loser” and also seen how many of these overweight people are on various medicines including inhalers. Once they begin to exercise and eat healthy food, the pounds begin to fall off and also the amount of medication they need also decreases or in some cases is eliminated. This includes anyone who needed a nebuliser because their inhaler was not working for them!

What you can do for your diet?

Let’s admit that not everyone can take 5 months off their jobs to go to the biggest loser ranch and they cannot afford to just spend their entire day exercising. What you can do is cut down on your food intake and start exercising, creating an energy deficit and losing weight as a result. Take stock of the amount of food you are eating and make a decision that  you are going to eat less and exercise more.

Make a decision and start dieting, exercising and take control of your life! Although I am not significantly over weight, even the extra weight I am carrying around impacts my breathing and hence the need for a nebuliser when I was having a severe bronchitis attack. Once you make a decision, sticking to it is the hard part. You may be motivated by a health scare, which is actually a good thing. You survived the health scare and know you have to get srious about losing weight if you want to live.

You may be also motivated by wanting to feel better, to look better and to be better accepted by society. Unfortunately we are an image based society and if you do not fit the mold, many people will reject you, make fun of you and not accept you into their idea of what a person should look like.

Some people need a rigid plan to keep them on the diet program, while others just need a bit of motivation and they can lose pounds easily. Basically you need to create an energy deficiency. i.e. the energy you take in minus the energy you burn is negative. If it is you will lose weight and the speed of losing weight will depend on how big your energy deficit is.

Go for walks, park the car further away from the door, always use a small plate, avoid sauces of all kinds, avoid deserts, avoid foods with lots of calories, walk up a flight of stairs whenever you get the chance. add these sorts of guidlines to your daily life and you will see the pounds disappear.

Try not to fool yourself. If you are now using a smaller plate, which means you cannot pile as much food on to it, but fill up your plate 3 times, you are just kidding yourself. You need to get serious and really focus on losing weight and that means eating less.

If writing things down in a diary or log book helps, do that. Record how far you walk each day, how much you eat and whatever else you are doing that contributes to losing weight. Include also the number of pounds you are losing. If you do not lose weight one week, don’t get discouraged, just redouble your efforts to lose weight and focus on more exercise as well as cutting down on the quantity you eat every day.

Good luck and if this blog post helped you, please let us know your feedback!

Low Fat Diets

Posted on | July 7, 2010 | No Comments

There are literally thousands of studies available about dieting and which one is best. Low fat, low carb, low this and low that. With so many diet plans available and most of them if not all of them waiting to take your money how is the average person to know which one is best for them. Most of these diet plans are looking to make money from you and it will cost you whether you buy a book, join a club, join a web site. It does not matter.

This post you can read for free and it is probably the only thing you can do for free so enjoy it while you can. First we will start off with an exerpt from WEBMD which follows, then after that we will add some comments of our own. At the end of the day you need to make your own decision regarding what you want to do about your weight. After all it is your body and your life, you need to decide how much you are going to spend and how it will be spent to lose weight.

Here are the study results for one study that looked at Low Fat Diets!

Study Shows People on Low-Fat Diet More Likely to Keep Weight Off

By Jennifer Warner, WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

March 1, 2010 — A low-carb diet may offer quick results, but a new study suggests that a low-fat diet may be best for long-term weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight.

Researchers found obese people who followed a low-fat diet may be more likely to keep the weight off three years later after starting the diet than those who followed a low-carbohydrate diet.

“Although participants in the low-carbohydrate group lost more weight at 12 months, they regained more weight during the next 24 months,” write researcher Marion L. Vetter, MD, RD of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues in the Annals of Internal Medicine. “In contrast, participants in the low-fat group maintained their weight loss.”

In the study, researchers started with a group of 132 obese people who weighed an average of 289 pounds before starting either a low-fat diet, a calorie- restricted diet with less than 30% of daily calories from fat, or a low-carb diet with fewer than 30 grams of fat per day for 12 months.

After six months on the diets, the group on the low-carb diet experienced the greatest weight loss, but by 12 months there was no significant difference in weight loss between the two groups.

Three years after the study began and two years after the diets ended, researchers followed up with 40 people in the low-carb diet group and 48 in the low-fat diet group.

They found people in the low-carb diet group weighed an average of 4.9 pounds less than before they started dieting while those in the low-fat diet group weighed an average of 9.5 pounds less than they did at the start of the study.

Researchers say while both diets appear to offer weight loss benefits, the pattern of weight change was different between the low-carb and low-fat diet groups.

“The differences in weight regain between the two groups probably reflects initial weight loss,” write the researchers. “Participants who lost more weight during the first 12 months tended to regain more weight by month 36.”

End of article from WEBMD

So what do we think about this particular study. All they are saying is that one diet was slightly better than another diet! That’s it and these people appeared to not lose very much weight either.

So what should you do? Should you chose one diet over another? Should you buy the book on low fat diets or low carb diets?

The sad result in our opinion is neither! Get hold of your life and seriously limit your portion size, decrease your salt intake, eat well balanced meals  and start exercising!  There is no easy way to lose weight, it takes hard work and it takes discipline.  Forget the deserts, the second helpings, the buffets and whatever else you indulge in. Go for walks, go to the gym, reduce your intake and lose weight!

The equation is simple. Energy into your body less energy burned for the day = plus or minus weight gain. Nothing else. Forget all of these fancy weight loss programs. Eat sensibly and eat carefully, in restaurants share meals – it will cost you less, dring water instead of soft drinks and forget the deserts.

As you can see we are not fans of these diet plans.  If you have comments or would like to add to the comments please feel free to do so.

Vitamin D Levels & Asthma

Posted on | June 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

Anyone who suffers from asthma, bronchitis or COPD knows how scary it is  to suffer from any of these diseases and to struggle to be able to breath. When you are gasping for breath and wondering if you are going to be able to take the next breath you are truly petrified. Sometimes when you suffer from chronic bronchitis and are susceptible to coughing fits, you are coughing so much that you cannot get a breath. When these events are occurring, sometimes panic can set in which can make the situation even worse.

It takes a lot of self control to focus on breathing and controlling your coughing to get that breath of air into your lungs so you do not pass out. If you can do this and get it under control with your self control mechanisms and emergency puffers, this scary situation will pass.

This is one of the reasons that many doctors and researchers continue to look for solutions and now some think there may be a link between vitamin D and asthma.

May we suggest you read the following excerpt from WEBMD and then we will follow up with some more comments about our opinion about this study and asthma.

Study Shows Asthmatic Kids With Vitamin D Insufficiency Have Poorer Lung Function

By Charlene Laino, WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

March 3, 2010 (New Orleans) — Many children with asthma have low blood levels of vitamin D, and the insufficiency seems to place them at risk for more severe disease.

In a study of 99 kids with asthma, 47% had vitamin D insufficiency. Compared with children with normal levels of vitamin D levels, those with vitamin D insufficiency:

Had poorer lung function

Had higher levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE), an immune system protein the body makes in response to allergens that tells you the likelihood that you’re allergic

Were more likely to need inhaled and oral steroid medications to reduce airway inflammation and mucus production

Were more likely to need long-acting beta-agonist drugs that relax muscles in the lung’s airways, improving a patient’s ability to breathe freely and reducing asthma symptoms.

Further studies in the lab showed that vitamin D has an anti-inflammatory effect on cells and enhances the activity of inhaled steroids.

About 21 million Americans suffer from asthma, which is caused by inflammation and swelling of the airways. The inflammation, in turn, can cause excessive mucus production and narrowing of the airways, resulting in asthma symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing.

The findings were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting.

The study doesn’t prove cause and effect. And it’s not clear whether low vitamin D causes more severe asthma that requires treatment or whether more severe asthma lowers vitamin D levels, says study researcher Daniel A. Searing, MD, of National Jewish Health in Denver.

Also still unknown is whether vitamin D supplements would improve asthma control and lower the need for medication, he tells WebMD.

Still, a number of studies now suggest that low vitamin D levels are associated with allergies and asthma, says James Gern, MD, vice chair of the committee that chose which studies to highlight at the meeting and professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

If a person has vitamin D insufficiency, “we need to correct it anyway. So it will be interesting to see if the supplements help improve asthma symptoms,” he tells WebMD. Gern was not involved with the work.

In the study, vitamin D insufficiency was defined as levels below 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood.

End of Article

Our personal interpretation about the results of this study is that they still really do not know if this is the link. They conclude that whether it is or is not a link, it is always a good idea to achieve the right balance of Vitamin D in your blood

So I guess the conclusion is  that you should have your blood tested for vitamin D and then if it needs correction, start taking vitamin D or get outdoors in the sun to help the body generate natural vitamin D. Makes sense and just maybe your asthma will improve!

Unfortunately this is the way it is for many studies and testing. The average person is left wondering what to do and if you are an asthma sufferer, you are willing to do pretty much anything to reduce or eliminate the effects of asthma.

Some people think that multi vitamins are the best approach to ensure that you have a good mix of vitamins and maintain the proper levels.  Eating a well balanced diet is another excellent approach with 3 meals a day and following the Food Guide which helps you make sure that you have a balanced diet.

Is Occasional High Blood Pressure Risky

Posted on | June 7, 2010 | No Comments

Many people suffer from high blood pressure and take medication to control their pressure, yet they still have episodes where their blood pressure goes through the roof.  Up until the following study was completed there was little focus or concern about this occasional phenomenon.

The following is an excerpt from WEBMD sheds some light on the issue, but does not conclude with solid advice for someone suffering from this condition.  The message the reader got from this article was that you should be aggressive about treating occasional high blood pressure even if it is under control at all other times. Talk to your doctor about this issue if you are one of these people who suffers from occasional high blood pressure.

The article follows:

Study Finds Episodes of High Blood Pressure, Often Ignored, Boost Stroke Risk

By Kathleen Doheny, WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

March 11, 2010 — Occasional high blood pressure readings are often dismissed as nothing to worry about, but a new study suggests this episodic high blood pressure is a strong predictor of strokes.

”We have shown that it is variations in people’s blood pressure rather than the average level that predicts stroke most powerfully,” says study lead author Peter Rothwell, MD, professor of clinical neurology at the Stroke Prevention Research Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England.

The study, published in The Lancet, followed more than 2,000 patients who had a transient ischemic attack or TIA, a ”mini-stroke” predictive of a larger stroke, and validated the results with results from three other studies, in finding the link between occasional high blood pressure and stroke risk.

The researchers focused on the systolic blood pressure reading, the top number in the measurement, reflecting the pressure when the heart contracts while pumping blood. Normal blood pressure readings are below 120/80 millimeters of mercury, or mmHg.

How much variability predicts stroke risk? ”One certainly sees an increased risk of stroke when the systolic blood pressure fluctuates 40 mmHg or more (say between 120 mmHg and 160 mmHg) even when mean [or average] blood pressure is very well controlled,” Rothwell tells WebMD in an email interview.

Occasional High Blood Pressure and Stroke Risk: Study Details

Rothwell and his colleagues evaluated data from 2,435 patients who had been enrolled in the UK-TIA aspirin trial, which assigned patients with a recent TIA or ischemic stroke to take aspirin or a placebo. Rothwell’s team evaluated only the 2,006 patients from this study who had TIAs but no strokes, to avoid compromising the results due to the effect of a recent stroke on blood pressure.

Blood pressure in these patients was measured once at every four-month follow-up visit during the study, which ran from 1979 to 1985.

The results from this study were validated by Rothwell’s team with results from three other large studies, each involving more than 2,000 patients.

Occasional High Blood Pressure Predicts Stroke

Patients with the most variation in their systolic blood pressure over seven clinic visits were found six times more likely to have a stroke, Rothwell found.

The highest blood pressure readings were also associated with higher stroke risk. Those with the highest readings over the seven visits were 15 times more likely to have a stroke during the follow-up period.

Not all the patients were being treated for hypertension, Rothwell tells WebMD. “Variability was predictive of stroke in both groups,” he says, treated and untreated. “Some had stable hypertension, some had episodic hypertension and some had stable normal blood pressure. The episodic hypertension group had the highest risk of stroke.”

In one of the studies, variability in blood pressure also predicted the risk of heart attacks.

Blood Pressure Study Findings: Implications

The new research isn’t the first to evaluate the risks of episodic high blood pressure, Rothwell notes. Although some variability in blood pressure is normal, the new research, he says, should inspire a change in thinking.

“I think that the risk associations, and other evidence, are sufficiently strong for us to stop reassuring patients with variable blood pressure that they don’t have hypertension and don’t need treatment, which is what current guidelines argue if their [average] blood pressure is OK,” Rothwell says. ” We should be concerned about episodic hypertension in patients who are not on treatment and about residual variability in patients who are already on treatment.”

Some variability is normal, he tells WebMD. How much depends on age (typically increasing with age) and gender, with women more likely to have more variability. African-American people, too, tend to have more variability, he says. And other factors, such as the stiffness of the arteries, can affect the amount of variability, he says.

For patients who have high blood pressure and take their pressure at home to monitor it, Rothwell offers this advice based on his findings: “I think that they should consult their doctor if the systolic blood pressure is variable, particularly if they find that it is sometimes 150 mmHg or higher, even if it is well controlled at other times.”

Blood Pressure Study: Second Opinion

The suspected link between episodes of high blood pressure and stroke risk is not new, says Patrick Lyden, MD, chair of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a 30-year stroke researcher who reviewed the new research for WebMD.

But the new findings, he says, are ”the most important demonstration … that the attacks of high blood pressure really are bad for you.”

Lyden says he is aggressive about treating high blood pressure in his patients, whether the pressure is up some time or all the time. But not all physicians are as aggressive, he suspects. “I would say there is a widespread practice on both continents (UK and here) that occasional high blood pressure is ignored.”

“This data teaches us how foolish that is,” he says.

“This is still a hypothesis,” Lyden tells WebMD. But “I think he’s showing us it’s critically important to pay attention to this.”

Can Belly Fat Cause Strokes

Posted on | May 21, 2010 | No Comments

Can belly fat cause strokes? The answer is yes,  a higher number of people with belly fat or the rubber tire around the waist will experience a stroke prematurely. This situation affects both women and men, which is a surprising data point, since previously it was thought that women did not succumb to strokes at the same level as men do.

The following are excerpts from an article written by Charlene Laino and reviewed by Louise Chang, MD at WebMD Health News. We will continue our portion of this post after the article from Charlene Laino.

Quote ” Feb. 25, 2010 (San Antonio) — The midlife gender gap in stroke rates continues to widen, with women aged 45 to 54 now three times more likely than men in that age group to report having had a stroke.

Several years ago, the same researchers reported that between 1999 and 2004, women aged 45 to 54 were more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to have had a stroke.

The findings created a stir in the medical community as middle-aged women before menopause have long been thought to be protected against heart disease.

So what’s driving this disturbing trend? Then, like now, tummy fat appears to be to blame, says Amytis Towfighi, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

In the current analysis, stroke risk factors were worse in men than in women — all, that is, except weight gain around the waist, she says.

“Our hypothesis is abdominal obesity increases the risk of other risk factors — diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. Together, they drive up the risk of stroke,” Towfighi tells WebMD.

The study was presented at the American Stroke Association’s (ASA) International Stroke Conference.

Middle-Aged Stroke Gap Real

The new analysis was conducted to determine if the gender gap observed in the earlier study was a real phenomenon or a fluke, Towfighi says. So she and colleagues analyzed data on 2,136 men and women aged 35 to 64 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey done from 2005 to 2006.

It was real, Towfighi says. Nearly 3% of women in that age group reported having suffered a stroke, compared with only 1% of men.

The disparity appeared to be driven mainly by differences in the 45 to 54 age group, where women had 3.12 times the odds of having a stroke compared to men, she says.

Seeking to find out why, the researchers then looked at a host of factors that can affect risk, including smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

“We found that in general, men were more likely to have conventional cardiovascular risk factors,” Towfighi says.

But 62% of women suffered from abdominal obesity vs. 50% of men. In women, abdominal obesity is defined as a waist circumference of 35 inches or more; in men, it’s 40 inches or more.

Towfighi notes that the absolute risk of a middle-aged woman having had a stroke is still quite low — only about a three-in-100 risk. ” End of Quote.

So armed with this information, we now know that both men and women are susceptible to strokes especially if they are carrying extra weight around their middle. While this may not be a surprise to some people who look at the world from a common sense perspective, to many people who feel they are mildly overweight, they may feel that this is new information. They may be a little scared since no one wants to have a stroke and suffer some of the side effects from a stroke.

Side effects of strokes can include, partial  paralysis, lack of coordination, loss of speech, total paralysis and of course death. Sounds pretty scary because it is scary.

Another article we recently read suggested that if you walk at a brisk rate of speed a minimum of 2 hours a week you can cut the risk of a stroke by over 30%.  Brisk walking a couple times a week also will strengthen your heart, your lungs and your overall health. You might even loose weight if you also manage your calorie intake and all you need to do is go for a brisk walk a couple times a week.

It cannot be that hard to do. Get out there after supper and walk around the block a few times, or walk down to the mall, walk up the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator etc. You can do it. And by the way that belly fat that we told you about that could cause a stroke, will start to melt away which is another excellent benefit.

We hope that this post helps a few people. If you would like to add your comments please do. We appreciate your thoughts and support.

Lower Your Stress by Making life Simple

Posted on | May 14, 2010 | No Comments

Are you feeling stressed out these days? There are a hundred things to do every day and you just cannot seem to keep up with them or even complete some before other items are added. Some stress is good to keep us motivated, however when we go over the top, a lot of things suffer leading to even more issues to deal with. One area that suffers is diet, we go for fast food, we eat poorly and we probably gain weight and before we know it we are on the weight spiral and cannot seem to get away from it.

There are many other health issues that start to play a factor. High blood pressure, diabetes , high cholesterol and on and on. Do you think that simplifying your life would lead to an overall better life experience and allow you to focus on the things that count? We think so and have prepared an initial  list that you can draw on to begin simplifying your life.

Simplicity. How can we make things simpler, more streamlined, or more efficient?

Reducing complexity in my life has reduced stress, increased free time, and top priorities are actually top priorities. When we simplify as much as we can we are better able to slow down and enjoy each moment as opposed to rushing through it. We can focus on the items that are important such as eating properly and managing our diet. This leads to even more control over our other health issues. Believe me if you do not have health issues now, you will have soon if you do not take control of your life and manage your stress.

Here are a few ways you can simplify the various aspects of your life:

1. Turn off your cell phone at least part of the day, if you cannot do it the entire day.

2. Process email only twice a day and do not do this before you go to bed, since you will lie awake thinking about some of the email.

3. Go to bed early, at least at a reasonable time and try to get sufficient sleep.

4. Get rid of (or at least reduce) commitments that you do out of obligation.

5. Create a weekly meal plan, including preparing meals that you can heat up during the week. Not only is there less work, you will eat much better as well.

6. Automate your finances. Have bills paid automatically. Have your employer deposit your pay check.

7. Purge as much unneeded clutter as possible. Throw out anything that you have not used in 12 months.

8. Keep your paper shredder on top of your recycling bin. Shred anything that has your name and address on it to avoid identity theft

9. Add items you want to a wish list as you think of them. Later you can prioritize these items.

10. Get a label maker or write labels out by hand.

11. Set your clothes out for the next day the night before.

12. Make your lunch for the next day the night before.

13. Make time to catch up with an old friend and set a time in your schedule.

14. Just say no to things that are not important or things that cause you stress.

15. Ask for experiences not things for your birthday and Christmas this year.

16. Tell the truth. It is so liberating, even if you sugar coat it a bit

17. Keep your list of addresses and phone numbers up to date and in one place. If you must update your cell phone or computer once a month. Set a time to do this.

18. Get a handle on your debt and consolidate debt so that you have fewer payments to make.

19.Be organized and use a system that works for you.

20. Place a bag for garbage in your car. Clean your car once a week.

21. Carry a notebook, recorder or use your smart phone to keep notes where ever you go.

22. Unsubscribe from emails, newsletters or RSS feeds that don’t provide value anymore.

23.Apologize as soon as you can, preferably intermediately  when you realize you’ve done wrong.

24. We never know what is going to happen to us in the next day let alone the next hour, enjoy the present moment as much as you can.

25. Take time to reallyenjoy the little things in life.

26.If you must watch TV, watch things that make you happy or are enjoyable. Avoid the news late at night, it is too depressing.

27. Get outside and enjoy the fresh air, go for walks, bike.

28. Routines are good for many people, while for others the lack of routine is good. Create morning, daytime, and evening routines that meet your needs. Low stress.

29. When you need help, ask for help around the house, the yard or even the office.

30. Spend time at home as much as possible (eat, date nights, entertain etc.).

31. Avoid other peoples issues, don’t get caught up in other people’s problems.

32. For the perfectionists among us, relax your need to be perfect and if you cannot do this, select items that need to perfect and let the others go.

33. Develop an eating plan with an exercise plan that creates an energy deficit if you want to lose weight. Eat healthy foods.

34.  Share responsibilities with your spouse , family  members or friends.

35. Reduce your wardrobe to a few versatile items.

36. Try to be positive and look at the up side of things.

37. Compliment yourself and focus on the positive things you have accomplished.

38. Completely finish old tasks before taking on new ones.

39. Every new item you purchase get rid of at least one or if you can set two free.

40. Enjoy the life you have and the things you have.

41. Reduce what you carry with you in your purse or wallet.

42. If you are a multi-tasker and this is causing you stress, try to focus on one thing at a time.

43. Each time you start something new, ask yourself if you really need to do this? does it cause stress? does it add value to your life.

If you have other ideas about how to lower your stress, we would love to have your comments.

Casino Buffets and Your Diet

Posted on | May 7, 2010 | No Comments

Have you ever gone to one of the buffets offered by many of the casinos around the country? They are really great deals for the price and the food is usually excellent. The problem with these buffets, well not really the casino buffet, it is more with the people who go to them, myself included, is that we all tend to over eat. It is human nature and of course we want to get our money’s worth , don’t we?

If you are on a diet and you go to one of these buffets with a group it can be very difficult to maintain your diet while everyone around you is filling up on the foods available at the buffet. Some of the larger buffets will have over 100 items on display for you to chose from and let’s face it , all of the food is excellent. The selection is so great that even if you only took one table spoon of each item, your plate would be over flowing by the time you got to the end.

Some buffets at some of the smaller casinos cost around $10.00, while the buffets at the larger casinos in Vegas can go as high as $25 per person. The food is all good, no, great and the selection is fantastic. The difference between a $10 and a $25 buffet will be a combination of  decor, presentation and at the higher end buffets, sometimes there will be more exotic foods. Either way you can fill up your plate very quickly and blow your diet plan without any trouble at all. So what is a person supposed to do when asked to go to one of these casino buffets?

Alternatives to Buffets

You could of course refuse to go to the buffet with the group or family, however for most people this is a non starter. Everyone wants to fit in and besides the family or group you are with want to enjoy the buffet as well as your company.

You already know that once you get in there, chances are you will probably over eat, but there are a few things you can do to control your over eating at a buffet and minimize the damage to your diet plan.

Discipline is one thing. You need this every day of your life while on a diet, so it is no different here, just a little more difficult to stick to it. Before you walk in, you need to tell yourself that you need to be extra strong to avoid all of the temptations.

Next, avoid looking at the desert area. This is a major source of calories, so just do not look at it. If you cannot see it and don’t know what they are offering then you will not be tempted.

We all know that it takes a while for the stomach to tell us that it is full and that is why we often feel so uncomfortable. We have over eaten and did not stop when we knew that we would be full.

So, eat slowly. Enjoy every bite and let your stomach tell you when you are full. By eating slowly your stomach will have the time to realize that it is full and communicate to your brain that it does not need any more food.

Next, the casino buffets often provide small plates and very large plates. These large plates really do hold a lot of food, more than most people can eat at one sitting. When I am trying to control how much I eat, I grab one of the small plates and use this as a natural way to limit the amount of food I put on my plate. Combined with eating slowly and having to get up for another plate naturally limits the amount of food I eat.

Lastly watch what you drink. At a casino buffet, you can have just about anything you want to drink and as many drinks as you want. Some casinos will even offer free beer and wine with their meals. You can drink chocolate milk, soft drinks or coffee or juice and as much of it as you want. If you are trying to manage your diet, stick to water. It is better for your digestion  and there are no calories when you drink water.

To summarize:

Avoid the desert area

Eat slowly

Use a small plate

Drink water with your meal

Enjoy your time with your family and friends

Casino buffets can be very tempting, however if you follow these few simple rules, you can still manage to stay within your diet plan and enjoy your time as well.

The buffets offered by the casinos have a full selection of salads and low calorie foods as well as all of the high calorie foods. Stick to the salads and low calorie foods while at the buffet. All of the food with the gravies and sauces, while they taste good, are high calorie and also are full of salt which is another health issue for many people.

Following these few simple rules and guidelines can help us all to maintain our diets and also avoid gaining weight while we are on vacation.

If you have other tips or ideas, please leave a comment on our blog.

Smoke Filled Casinos

Posted on | April 28, 2010 | No Comments

This post is about the amount of smoke, second hand smoke and chemicals from deodorizer being sprayed in US casinos. It may seem like a funny post to a diet information blog, however I am really on a roll here against situations that cause a lot of hardship and expense to otherwise healthy people.

I recently experienced a severe case of bronchitis brought on by a combination of a short cold, being in a smoked filled casino and deodorizer used heavily to combat the smell of second hand smoke. Some people may ask, why didn’t you just leave. The answer is I did , but not before this combination had done its number on my body and I was able to figure out the connection.

Once we left this contaminated environment, I immediately began to improve, but why should I have to deal with this. I have the same rights as everyone else?

The Situation In Casinos

I am sure this is not true but it seems that 80% of people who go to a casino smoke. Whenever they hit a small jackpot, they light up in celebration , take a drink and away they go again. Some ignorant folks even smoke cigars in these confined spaces. The result is a filthy ( ashes everywhere), smoky air filled environment that would turn anyone off.

The casinos compensate by increasing the air flow in some and adding deodorizer of various kinds in the  casino main area. The problem is that this bad air finds its way through and into just about everything. Your clothes, the slot machines you touch, the hallways, and yes even that non smoking room that you ordered.

The result is the casinos spray deodorizer everywhere to try to compensate for the over powering smell. When you walk into some of the really bad ones, it is like a foul smell of a corpse that has been decomposing for months.

Why Don’t the Casinos Do Something?

The answer is a combination of fear and money. Obviously the smoking patrons bring in a lot of money to the casino, they are good customers and the casinos do not want to risk losing them to other casinos. This is the fear part. Losing a casino patron means they are not spending money in their slot machines or at their tables, they are not eating in their restaurants and they are not staying in their rooms.

Although there is a big revenue income from smoking patrons, there is a downside to this situation as well for the casinos. Everything smells, there is nicotine on everything and there are all of those ashes which end up on the floor or on the machines. It all has to be cleaned and at a huge cost. In addition electronics do not like bad air and they do not like sticky nicotine building up on components. Slot machines in smoking casinos require a lot more maintenance than in non smoking casinos.

So far the casinos have been unwilling to take the risk of losing their smoking customers and saving millions of dollars in cleaning fee’s by banning smoking in casinos. This is a huge fear they have in a very competitive business!

What Will it Take to Get them To Change

First of all one casino or one casino chain is not going to make this change on their own. The world is just too competitive and they are unwilling to take the risk of losing so much business by banning smoking.

A state like Nevada might be willing to legislate the change, however the state is very dependent on revenues from gambling and probably is unwilling to do anything to rock the boat. After all almost every state has casinos running now and all of these other states would be more than happy to take some of the business from Las Vegas.

I really think that if the federal government mandated all casinos to eliminate smoking in the casinos, the casino owners would quietly embrace the notion and support such a bill. The reason would be that there still is a level playing field and everyone must play by the same rules.

Canada Did It

The casinos in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec are all non smoking casinos AND they are packed. Sure there might have been a temporary drop in business, however the gamblers could not stay away and once they found out that the smokers were still welcome under certain conditions they flocked back. Maintenance costs are way down and the air is clean and breathable in these casinos.

The Canadian casinos made 3 fundamental changes which allowed a compromise and yet meet more customer needs. First they banned smoking in the casinos which made the non smokers happy and now more of them come to the casino for their evenings entertainment.

Secondly , the Canadian casinos created smoking rooms for the smokers to go to to grab a quick puff or two. This means taking a break from the slot machine,  but at least they are in the building and spending money as usual.

Third and I think this was the most important part. The casinos support the reservation of a slot machine or a seat at a table for a short amount of time. If you are a smoker and need a brake for a quick smoke, you can reserve your slot machine and off you go to grab that quick smoke. Most people are only gone for a minute or two and then they are right back to their slot machine gambling once more.

Everyone is happy. Sure the casino might experience a slightly lower throughput of money per machine, due to the seat reservation system, however with more players in the casino their over all throughput is actually up! Maybe it will happen in the US some day!

Comments are welcome.

Weight Loss and Breathing

Posted on | April 21, 2010 | No Comments

Many posts talk about various diets and the amount of weight that you can lose if you go on one diet or another. Some diet plans will discuss the benefits of losing weight on other related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Most people find that when they lose weight, that these various problems will become less of an issue or disappear all together. In fact on the show the “Biggest loser”, many of the contestants who lose significant amounts of weight will talk about how much better they feel and how they have stopped taking medicine for various health issues that they may have had.

Another major benefit is the ability to take a deep breath without wheezing and to walk without becoming short of breath. There is a major difference between exercising and being short of breath vs. taking a short walk up and down your driveway and being short of breath.  Add to this the complications of bronchitis or asthma and you have the conditions for a major illness and possibly death due to lack of oxygen. If you have ever been short of breath and know the fear of not being able to breathe then you will know what I mean!

I am slightly over weight and in relatively good shape having exercised regularly, doing many miles on my bicycle and going to the gym about 4 times a week. Recently I had a case of severe bronchitis, needed treatments at the hospital and was very short of breath. Even though I was in good shape, nothing prepared me for the shortness of breath and gasping for air. This is a frightfully scary thing to have happen.

What If You are Also Over Weight

I am slightly over weight, however what if you are significantly over weight. If you are, chances are that your lungs are already compressed and you may even now be unable to take a deep breath. Add to this  challenge of breathing, bronchitis or asthma and you have a truly scary situation. Your lungs are already compressed and now your air ways are swollen due to a virus, a cold or environmental contaminants in the air such as smoke, deodorizer or other things that are naturally occurring.

You are in big trouble and need to see a doctor quickly because your body will shut down on you if you do not get enough oxygen to it!  Some symptoms besides being shortness of breath are:

Fever

High blood pressure

Chest pains

Swelling in the ankles

If you have any of these symptoms do not wait, get checked out immediately.

Basically the extra weight you are carrying around compresses your lungs and makes it more difficult for your diaphragm to push air out of your lungs and to also draw deep breaths of air into your lungs. All of this extra weight is hard on your heart and of course your joints as well, but we will stay focused on just taking a breath. If you cannot get air into your lungs then you are not getting enough oxygen into your blood stream and now you are in serious trouble because your heart cannot do it’s job. This is bad news.

Fix the Initial Problem , then Lose Weight

Obviously you need to get over the asthma or bronchitis or whatever is causing you to be short of breath. This is the most important near term issue, however as soon as your bronchitis attack etc is under control, start the process of losing weight and getting into shape. You just have to look at the people on the “Biggest Loser” to see the dramatic effects it has on their overall well being as well as their ability to get a full breath of air and not be short of breath or gasping for air all of the time.

Most of us need that one big scare to get our acts together. For some people it is a heart attack, for others it is getting sick from too much alcohol, still for others it is gasping for breath because we are too heavy and our bodies just cannot deal with the extra weight. We cannot get enough air into our lungs and cannot move around the way we used to. Make the commitment now to get into shape and lose weight.

With the exception of environmental triggers, your bronchitis and asthma will occur less often and you will be stronger and more able to deal with these sudden onsets of bronchitis.

If your bronchitis is triggered by environmental issues, find out what they are and avoid them like the plague. There is no sense in exposing yourself to these triggers. Just stay away from them. Avoid people with colds and fevers, avoid people that smoke, avoid dusty situations or places with lots of contaminants in the air. In my personal situation, in addition to all of the above, I am also going to avoid hotels that do not have smoke free environments and also hotels that use deodorizer to hide the smells of cigarette smoke or other odors in the rooms. These are the worst for me and will set me off with  bronchitis attack for sure.

We would be happy to hear your comments and any other suggestions for dealing with shortness of breath. Please post a comment to our blog.

Deodorizor Spraying in Hotel Rooms

Posted on | April 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

This post is not really about diets, instead it is about a pet peeve of mine. I happened to be allergic to a lot of things and also suffer from chronic bronchitis, so I am very aware of various environmental and non-environmental agents in the air that might affect my breathing ability.

If you have ever had to struggle to breathe then you will know what I am talking about and just how scary it can be. Even to gain enough air in your lungs to avoid fainting is a pretty scary thing and to have this caused by something in the air that is really not necessary is just plain cruel.

Many people smoke and some people will smoke in hotel rooms even if they are designated as non smoking rooms. I want to emphasize several points  about this post. First although I do not support smoking at any time, this post is not about smokers. Secondly I think it is rude for people to smoke in hotel rooms when they are designated as non smoking rooms.  However the real issue for me is how the hotels deal with odors they find in the room after a guest has vacated the room.

Spraying Deodorizer Whether it is Needed or Not

Deodorizer is commonly sprayed in every hotel room immediately after the cleaning staff has cleaned the room. It is part of their routine whether the room smells or not or whether a smoker was in the room in or not. The idea is to make it smell nice and fresh and to eliminate or hide any odors that might linger from cleaning or previous guests.

For some people, myself included, the moment I walk into a room that has been sprayed with this deodorizer, I begin to cough and experience shortness of breath. I have discovered that my bronchial tubes react negatively to this chemical and begin to swell, squeezing the air way and making it very difficult to breathe. My last episode also involved recovering from a cold and being in a smoky situation for an hour or two. Basically I was hit with three bad situations at the same time and required a visit to a clinic for a breathing treatment to open up my airways, TWICE.

This is quite serious for many people. The hotel was helpful as much as they could however it is a large hotel and every room is sprayed routinely.

First of all they moved us to a new room that had not been occupied for sometime and we found this very satisfactory until the next morning. When we left for breakfast, the cleaners went in immediately, cleaned the room and sprayed!

After airing out this room, it was not too bad, however every time we stepped into the hallway, all we could smell is deodorizer from all of the other rooms. Even the main area of the hotel used this stuff to reduce the smell of smoke. In the US , they apparently are afraid to band smoking indoors. They are behind Canada in this regard.

What to Do

We have learned to request rooms that have never been smoked in for starters. Secondly we ask if deodorizer has been used or is routinely used. Sometimes you have to be patient while the hotel manager proudly explains that they use this chemical to make their rooms fresh and nice smelling for their guests.

Once he has finished, calmly and politely explain your problems with deodorizer and then request if the hotel can place a deionizer in the room for an hour to remove all of the chemical from the room.

Most hotels will gladly do this for you, once you explain the problem and it does work.  Sometimes this is better than opening the windows, since some hotels do not have windows that you can open, or the environmental issues outside may cause the same issues. The deodorizer really does work.

Why Don’t the Hotels Make Changes?

At first you might think that they do not know about the problem, however this would be incorrect. I spoke to the manager of one hotel to tell him why we were checking out early. He acknowledged that this was a common complaint by many guests, but they had to use the deodorizer to clear the smell of smokers who routinely ignored the non smoking rules for non smoking rooms.

What it comes down to in the view of the hotel management is that smoking guests carry more economic weight than non-smoking guests, so they will continue to use the deodorizer in their rooms.

Guidelines to Follow

Stay in Non Smoking Hotels if you can

Stay in non smoking rooms

Request that the room be deodorized

Ask house keeping to not spray the room if you are staying more than one day

Eliminate all other possible irritants – e.g. feather pillows

Request a new room if it is too over powering

Change  hotels

Most hotel managers will be very helpful and do everything they can to assist you so do not hesitate to ask in a polite respectful way, but at the same time do not take no for an answer. After all it is your life and your health. If you have ever experienced the raw fear of struggling to get a breath, then you will not be afraid to make some of these requests.

Readers who have experieinced this problem and have additional comments and ideas about what to do, please add your comments to this post.

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