Three Cheers for FantasyHealthball.com – 100th post

Well, we turned 100 today with our 100th blog post.  Thanks for visiting our site and for coming back for tips, advice, news, recipes and more in the worlds of fantasy sports and health/nutrition.  We’ve had almost 20,000 visits to this blog with more and more of you checking it out each day.  In fact, our biggest day ever was in the past month.  So keep coming back for the latest on Fantasy Healthball..and tell a friend! 

You may want to check out our Top 5 most popular posts of the last 100.  They are:

Nutrients Made Easy

Calories Made Easy

What’s A Good Score

The World’s Healthiest Foods

Our Reviews

If you love fantasy sports and you want to be healthier, you WILL find what you are looking for at FantasyHealthball.com.  Thanks again for visiting us over these past 100 posts, and check back often.  — Jim Ballard

What’s For Dinner?

Dinner as the major sit down meal in our culture probably adds to our overall health problem.  Instead of skipping breakfast and gorging at lunch and dinner, we should eat all three meals in a similar way and sprinkle in healthy snacks to keep us going. 

What to eat for dinner is as varied as the types of foods in the Fantasy Healthball Food Formation.  Lean meat and poultry, beans, and fish are all good options.  Think about how they are prepared and choose accordingly:  two pieces of battered fish with tartar sauce?  Let say about 550+ calories.  Grilled trout with lemon juice? Less than half the calories.   Check out this post for the World’s Healthiest Foods.

Yum!

One way to think about dinner is to think about what you had for breakfast and lunch and what you are missing in terms of servings.  Had a ham omelet for breakfast and the meatloaf for lunch?  You may have met your meat needs and want to focus more on a bit of pasta and veggies.  If you had a piece of cake at the office birthday party, you probably would benefit by skipping sweets as a desert and have fruit instead.  In this way, you can kind of back into what to have for dinner.  Haven’t had a salad yet today?  Now’s the time!   Make sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs!

People “feel full” at different times and after eating different amounts.  It is that full feeling that tells our brain, “hey, stop with the face feeding, the belly getting crowded” or something to that effect.  If you are trying to watch portion size, try drinking a glass of water or more before you eat.  The water combines with the food to make you feel full faster.  Even if this doesn’t work for you, water is always good for you!  You can also try eating more slowly, so your body has a chance to tell your mind that it is full.  At Fantasy Healthball, we believe in listening to your body.  If it is complaining after you eat, you probably ate too much or the wrong things.  Check out our nutrition and exercise challenges, and make your body happy today!   – Jim Ballard

H1N1 or other flu in NFL, or your house

 It seems like almost everyone is sick right now and the NFL has not been spared.  The AP reported last week that Receiver Buster Davis was inactive for the Chargers game against the Chiefs due to the flu bug that hit LaDanian Tomlinson and other Chargers too.  Browns center (and former Cal standout) Alex Mack said of his performance last week that he would have liked to have more practice time before the game but that he was “out with the swine flu. I thought that kind of hurt me.”  In all, about 12 Browns missed parts of the week’s work.  The NFL Commish this month issued a new policy giving teams roster exceptions if enough players have H1N1, formerly known as swine flu. 

Also this week, the Healthball Hulks (okay, that’s me) was sick.  I had a sore throat then sinus congestion and finally a day of nausea and fever.  Probably just a virus and not H1N1, but it kept me in bed anyway some days.  So how did I score this week?  Not very well.  I racked up 72 points.  And I thought a lot about how hard it is to perform when you are under the weather.  2 points total for the week for exercise (I managed one long hilly dog walk which I counted), 0 points for my stretching/yoga challenge, 2 points for my situps challenge which I wrote in under the “other” category. 

So is diet and exercise a lost cause when you are sick.  Should it be all comfort food and television re-runs?   I watched six episodes of “The Munsters” marathon on Friday, and btw, that Herman Munster is a real softy under that hardened exterior!

Most importantly, listen to your doctor and listen to your body.  It is probably telling you to get lots of rest and lay low which you should do.  But physical exercise is only one of the seven challenges for the week.  I went six for six in the “Drink Adequate Water” category.  In fact, my doctor told me to drink plenty of fluids and I sure did.  Water and Gatorade.  Since my stomach was not feeling well, I didn’t have much trouble with “Eat adequate portion sizes” either!  Went six for six there!  So many of our challenges are things that are good for you whether you are sick or healthy. 

So don’t abandon your health challenges for the week if you are sick.  Think about which ones will help you get back to normal (most of them) and which you might need to cut back on until you are better (the physical ones).  If you just have a stuffy nose or light cold, you might feel better after a brisk walk or a little stationary bike time.  Check out this short article about exercising while sick.

Meanwhile, wash those hands with lots of soap and hot water, sneeze into your elbow, give larger personal distances to sick people, and keep thinking about your health!  Even NFL players miss some time now and then over illnesses, so you can expect to as well.  But keep following healthy habits and you will be back on top soon!  And now we’ll see if my 72 healthpoints gets me clobbered this week, I’m playing the HanStars and they (led by Adrian Peterson, Tony Romo, Steve Slaton, Andre Johnson) are predicted to score in the triple digits…… – Jim Ballard

Fantasy Healthball Update – week 7

After the first 7 weeks of NFL football, my ”Healthball Hulks” stand at 4-3 in the fantasy football standings and I stand at 5-2 for my Fantasy Healthball scores.  My most painful healthball loss was week six where I scored a very respectable 124 healthball points (surely enough to win, right?) and my fantasy opponent, the Malvern Manglers, scored 143 points.  The Manglers had Matt Schaub passing for 392 yards and FOUR touchdowns and Maurice Jones-Drew adding three more touchdowns on his 133 yards.  Oh, and two of Shaub’s TDs went to the Manglers TE Owen Daniels – WHO, by the way, only had 2 touchdowns all of last year, but he decides to go on a tear and the Manglers total 143. 

Looking back at my 124 healthpoints that week, I had an amazing Monday through Thursday and I started to fall apart on Friday and Saturday.  I got cocky and thought I had scored enough points to win.  On Friday, I only met 3 of my 7 challenges and on Saturday I met 2 of 7.  I needed to follow our health advice and our exercise advice.  This is a great reminder about consistency.  Had I finished strong, I might have even beaten the 143 points from the Manglers.  I coasted in the “4th quarter” of the week and it resulted in the “L.” 

Let this be a reminder to the Healthball Hulks and also to you.  Meeting your health goals is an everyday challenge.  You can’t coast and be as successful as you want.  You only meet 2 of your 7 challenges and you probably deserve the “L!”  Push it out, finish strong, and you are likely to record the “W” for your health. 

Am I fearsome?

Oh, and one more thing, I picked Matt Forte as the #2 pick in the entire draft and was proud to have the great Chicago Bear who I could watch with pride all season.  Now he looks like Gnat Forte as in “couldn’t hurt a gnat.”  Ugg!  – Jim Ballard

How to Join a Gym

In Fantasy Healthball, you’ll see we give the biggest bonus for consistent exercise.  You’ll get 10 extra points if you exercise three times a week and a huge 25 point bonus if you can fit in an exercise each day.  On our exercise page, you’ll see “what counts” as an exercise.  It is really not that much.  The secret is consistency.  Another tip is joining a gym.  I would be lost without mine.  Sure, it is an expense that has to be budgeted for, but it pays off in so many ways.  You might call it – your “sure thing” investment. 

Your Needs

Think about your needs before you start taking a look at gyms.  I find the closer the gym is to your house or your office the better.  But proximity is not the only factor.  What is the monthly rate, what deals do they have going on, do they have enough of the type of equipment you would like to use?  Take a look during the time period you would typically go.  Are there long lines for the things you’d want to use?  If you are motivated by a group, do they offer group exercise classes that fit your schedule (spinning class, pilates class, aerobic dance, kick boxing, yoga)?  Can you shower there?  Do they supply clean towels?  Are the bathroom/shower facilities clean or do they make you feel like you may become a host organism for some crafty fungus looking to “see the world” while attached to your foot or worse. 

Signing the Contract

One reason why you want to check it out so thoroughly is that you want to know you are sure before getting into the contract.  Most gyms will let you work out one or more times for free while you consider joining.  You should do that.  Most will give a free orientation and maybe even a free training session.  Beware, the membership coordinator is likely to be the kind of smooth operator that makes “Square Deal Sam” down at the used car lot look like Mother Teresa.  Just stick to what you want and you’ll be fine. 

Square Deal Sam

You can bargain.  Especially in these economic times.  Ask for no initiation fee.  Ask for a senior discount, a student discount, a Virgo discount, whatever.  Some gyms have variable rates based on how often you will use it for what time of day.  Look on-line for savings.  If you have a 24-hour Fitness near you and are considering it, Google “Costo 24-hour Fitness.”  As of this writing, you can get a $12.50 monthly rate by signing a 2-year contract.  That is a key buy if you are okay signing up for 2 years. 

DO NOT worry about your current body size when starting out at a gym.  You WILL find people there of all shapes and sizes.  You are all there to get healthier.  Talk to your doctor if you are new to an exercise program.  Gyms/health clubs are a great way to help you establish routine in your exercise.  Sure, you can walk outside or do sit-ups in the basement, but it is nice to get to a place too where you can get motivation from the people working out around you and maybe has some equipment you enjoy.  If you can’t afford it now, start saving up and reward yourself with a membership when you can. 

Remember, joining a gym isn’t the only way to exercise.  But, for many people, it offers the resources and environment that inspires them to exercise.  Also remember just being a member isn’t enough.  You have to use the gym (more tips to come) and practice the other healthy lifestyle points at our site.   Good luck, and write us a comment or email if questions.  — Jim Ballard.

Diet Beats Exercise? What’s More Important?

A reader recently sent us the “For Losing Weight, Diet Beats Exercise” article in the San Francisco Chronicle by Erin Allday.  Erin did a nice job reporting the news, it was just the news that was stupid.  In this post, we’d like to take the opportunity to debunk some of this junk with some good old fashioned common sense.  You will notice that in Fantasy Healthball, exercise is the ONLY mandatory challenge in the bunch.  We have a great many health and diet related challenges, but exercise is the only mandatory challenge.  You won’t win much at Fantasy Healthball if you don’t exercise, and we think you won’t win much at life either.  As our reader said, “Being healthy is a whole body job.”  We couldnt’ have said it better. 

The article starts out by saying exercise is not a key ingredient to weight loss.  An excerpt:  ”Is exercise good? Absolutely. But not because it burns calories,” said Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UCSF Children’s Hospital. “Diet is about weight. Exercise is about health.”

Fantasy Healthball:  Huh?  Say that again Doc?  “Diet is about weight and exercise is about health.”  Yeeeah, oookaaay, but isn’t weight about health?  Doesn’t being overweight or obese lead to tons of health problems?  We think this is less about splitting hairs and more about splitting an atom.  Diet and exercise need to go together.  Split them and bad things happen. 

An excerpt:  “Folks are getting a lot of mixed messages about exercise these days. Some studies say just 20 minutes a day of moderate exercise is fine, while others say people need an hour of vigorous exercise most days of the week.”

Fantasy Healthball:  Agreed. There are a lot of mixed messages.  We go with the Surgeon General.  But we also say do what you can.  If you do 20 minutes of moderate exercise each day that is good.  An hour of vigorous is great if you can work up to it.  You need to listen to your body and talk over your planned program with your doctor.  It is all about you and your body, not some overall standards.

An excerpt:  Exercise is great for maintaining weight, but it isn’t the best way to drop pounds. A person would have to burn off about 3,500 calories to lose just one pound.  “Running a mile is about 150 calories for a guy, so to burn a pound of fat, just with exercise, is almost running a marathon,” said Dr. Wayne Smith, co-director of the Medical Weight Management Program at Kaiser Permanente in San Jose.

Fantasy Healthball:  We are big fans of Kaiser, but we think this is a tad misleading.  Like an ocean is a tad wet.  3,500 calories is a pound.  Agreed.  But Rome was not built in a day and neither is weight loss.  Let’s talk about a week.  Losing a pound a week would be burning an extra 500 calories a day (check our math:  7 days x 500 calories/day = 3,500 calories to lose a pound).  Read this to see how it works.  And yes part of that should be exercise but part can be diet too.  You don’t have to get all 500 just in exercise.  Healthiest could be exercising and burning off 250 and reducing 250 calories from your daily intake.  Viola!  You are losing a pound a week and making your heart and body happy.  Superfast weight lost is usually not sustainable, we are going for a bit each week until you meet your goal and it becomes you new habits, your new way of life. 

 

Last excerpt:  On top of that, Smith said, while many people overestimate the calories they burn when they exercise, they also underestimate the calories they eat. People often think exercise gives them the freedom to eat what they want, weight-loss experts say.

Fantasy Healthball:  Good point doc.  Some do.  But our readers know you can’t sit pedaling a stationary bike while eating a banana split and hope to lose weight and build a strong healthy body.  For that, you need both diet AND exercise.  And you need a little motivation and inspiration.  Some competition is a great motivator.  That is where we come in.  – Jim Ballard

NFL Week One – Will you be 0-1 or 1-0? And the 5-step Diet Grief Process

So your first week of Fantasy Healthball (Monday through Saturday) is now behind you.  Your Scorecard for the week should have a little “2″ written in where you met the challenge for the week and a “0″ where you did not.  Add up all your points with any bonus points and get your total score for the week.  This is the score that you will now pit against your fantasy football opponent for the week.  Did you do enough to beat them?  You’ll know soon!

Meanwhile, let’s talk about your week.  Which 7 challenges did you pick?  What did you find hard?  Easy?  If you found some things hard, that is good – getting into great health is not going to come to you on a silver platter.  You need to follow our nutrition advice and exercise input and focus yourself to keep it up.  Even if you start out this week with a loss, you can bounce back next week with a win to move your record to 1-1.  Put together another good week and you are 2-1.  Once you start stringing some victories together, it gets easier and easier.  Questions?  Let us know.  You want to make good decisions during the week so that you have a good chance of scoring higher than your fantasy opponent and winning the week. 

Most of changing your habits and losing weight and getting into great shape is mental.  Fantasy Healthball helps you change your attitude by focusing your football passion into health passion.  But we know how emotional it can be and how years of poor health habits can’t be changed overnight like flicking a switch.  Many people go through steps similar to the 5 steps of grief process. 

1.  Denial - Not a problem for me.  I like being fat and happy. I’ll work this weight off later.  Being overweight is just me.  Besides, my spouse doesn’t mind.  It is no big deal.

2. Anger - Quit pressuring me, jerk!   I eat what I want when I want.  But how did I gain so much weight?  I’m mad at that person in the mirror, who is that?  It is not fair.  My life doesn’t allow me the time to exercise or think about nutrition. 

3.  Bargaining - When I hit 40 (or 50) years old I’ll start getting serious about health.  I’ll cut down on sodas but I will not give up my double mochas with whipped cream. 

4.  Depression – What’s the point?  I’ve never going to fit into those shorts from college anyway.  Eating better isn’t going to change the fact that there is a history of health problems in my family.

5.  Acceptance – I really can do this.  I can drop some pounds and get into healthier shape.  I do feel better when I’m not filling my body with junk.  I can feel good again. 

Where are you on the above?  No matter your stage, it is time to check us out and give it a try.  — Jim Ballard

Play Fantasy Healthball with us – Get in great shape this fall/winter

Even if you weren’t one of the first to respond and join our custom league, you can still play Fantasy Healthball this 2009 NFL season with your friends or even by yourself.  Think about it.  It is easier to stay in shape in the summer time.  Days are longer, it stay light well into the evening (allowing for outdoor activities), the weather is nicer and inspiring to get outside, and the throngs of people outside in shorts and tank tops inspire you to fit into that old pair of shorts you love or that old bathing suit. 

But then winter comes.  Days are short.  It is dark by the time you get out of work.  It is cold or windy or rainy or all three.  Everyone is bundled up in layers of clothing, not a flat tummy in sight.  It is the time of year your brain might be telling you, “time to pack on some calories and get ready to hibernate until the thaw.” 

Well my friends, Fantasy Healthball is what separates us from the grizzly bears.  Our bodies do not need to pack on fat for the long winter.  Our bodies need just as much exercise and vitamins and minerals through nutrient rich food as we do in the summer time.  So play our game with us.  You are going to be watching football anyway, you might as well be getting into great shape as you are doing it!  Check out the “Start Playing” section of our website to learn all the details and then come back here for updates and advice.  By the way, this is a 2-way communication with our fans.  Send us an email or leave us a comment on our blog and we’ll get back to you. 

And now I must get back to preparing for our custom league draft on Monday.  You probably know Jeff is our fantasy guru, but here is how I have the top ten running backs ranked for this year’s draft as of right now.  I have Forte higher than most experts as he is going to be an even bigger catching threat with a first-year Cutler in addition to his usual awesome running.  And I have Frank Gore higher than most because he has never been more fired up in his career.  A hall of fame middle linebacker as a coach will do that for a guy. 

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Matt Forte
3. Michael Turner
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Frank Gore
6. DeAngelo Williams
7. LaDainian Tomlinson
8. Brandon Jacobs
9. Brian Westbrook
10. Steven Jackson

How will you compare with the season of these guys?  Find out now.  — Jim Ballard

It’s Here! Join Now. The Fantasy Healthball League 2009. Free this year!

Love fantasy football and want to get in shape this year?  We are here for you!!  You are invited to join the inaugural Fantasy Healthball league for the 2009 NFL fantasy season.  The commissioner is our very own Jeff Hagen, co-creator of Fantasy Healthball and avid fantasy footballer for almost 20 years!  Although a relative newcomer to fantasy football, my team is in the mix too – meaning this league is open to experienced players and also the newbies who want to make a run at them.  Ours is NOT LIKE ANY OTHER league because we will be getting healthier as the season goes on.  Your passion for football will help you to achieve your health goals.  This year, we will be using Yahoo! Fantasy Sports as our host. 

Click here for a direct link to join our league.  If that doesn’t get you there for some reason, go to the game front page, click the Free Football ‘09 “Join A League” and follow the links to “Join a Custom League”. When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.  You’ll get a confirmation with further details once you have completed the registration process.

League ID#:  777478
Password: health

There will be a live, on-line draft at 6pm PDTon Labor Day.  It is a head to head league and we will be playing the regular game along with Fantasy Healthball.  

We will be playing head to head Fantasy Healthball.  Each week, your fantasy team will be matched up against another team in the league.  At the same time, you will be tracking your health points against your opponent’s fantasy team.  Your fantasy team will get a win or a loss, but you will also get a personal win or loss when it comes to your healthy choices for the week.  That’s right, you will have to be committed to your health Monday through Saturday and your result will stack up against your fantasy opponent!  It is you against the NFL pros.  

So if you have some health goals, and want to take on some of the best at fantasy football, join our league now!  See you on Labor Day for the draft!  Email one of us if questions, or post a comment to the blog.  — Jim Ballard

Join the official Fantasy Healthball league! – Free!

This just in.  You’re reading it here first!  Our very own fantasy guru Jeff Hagen will be the commissioner of the first annual, official Fantasy Healthball league through Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.  We’ll soon be announcing the League ID and password.  Stay tuned to this blog for that information.  Then, it is first come, first served!  The first lucky Fantasy Healthball fans to sign up will be enrolled in our inaugural league. 

We will be playing head to head Fantasy Healthball.  Each week, your fantasy team will be matched up against another team in the league.  At the same time, you will be tracking your health points against your opponent’s fantasy team.  Your fantasy team will get a win or a loss, but you will also get a personal win or loss when it comes to your healthy choices for the week.  That’s right, you will have to be committed to your health Monday through Saturday and your result will stack up against your fantasy opponent!  It is you against the NFL pros.  

And a whole new element to trash talking begins.  Your friend always kick your butt at fantasy football?  It is time to crush him/her where it matters even more – your personal health.  Or maybe you are the dominant fantasy player?  If you can dominate with your health scores as well, you are the true ruler of the universe, er, I mean league. 

It will add a whole new element to watching the games on Sunday.  And a whole new element to your food, nutrition, and exercise efforts throughout the week.  You’ll need to work hard enough during the week to maximize your points.  Then, watch the NFL games to see if it was good enough.  You gotta work hard at it because those NFL players aren’t playing tiddlywinks.  They will be racking up the yardage and TDs.  Do you have what it takes to beat them?  Make it happen! 

Use your passion for football to create passion for great health!

Stay tuned and we will be releasing the ID and password at a random time.  Then be among the first to join our custom league called, “Fantasy Healthball.”  This year it is totally free.  Jeff and I will see you there.  — Jim Ballard