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

When Food Kills, or At Least Gets You Fired

Here in 2009, we are bombarded each day with marketing and advertising and sound bytes.  Think of how many commercials you hear on radio or television, ads you see on-line, over your phone, in your email, your mailbox, or in the paper, everywhere we turn we run into someone or something trying to make us buy something, do something, or have a certain opinion.  We’ve long been at the point where it is tough to tell truth from fiction.  So how do you reach people who have trained themselves to tune out most of those messages?   Well, you could use a big electronic reader board!

Former Bay County (Florida) Health Department Director Dr. Jason Newsom had 1) an important message, and 2) a big electronic reader board and even THAT fortuitous combination may not get you noticed until you start taking on major American businesses like Dunkin’ Donuts and KFC.    Dr. Newsom, fed up with diet habits of average Americans, launched his campaign with gusto and wit.  And, as the old saying goes, “the electronic reader board is mightier than the sword.”  Scrolling across the board were his sayings, “Sweet Tea (equals) Liquid Sugar,” “Hamburger (equals) Spare Tire,” “French Fries (equals) Thunder Thighs,” and he parodied the “America Runs on Dunkin’” campaign with, “America Dies on Dunkin’.

He was given the choice of resigning or getting fired after “a county commissioner who owns a doughnut shop” and “two lawyers who own a new Dunkin’ Donuts” were less than amused.  It is a good thing too, before he came up with more such as:  “Eat a double fudge sundae and meet your maker,” or “Six cookies (equals) six feet under,” or even, “Hot dogs are kinda gross when you think about it.”  But, alas, we can only wonder what that reader board would have led to. 

Just so you don’t think Dunkin’ Donuts doesn’t have a sense of humor, you can even buy a “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink Starbucks” pre-shrunk, cotton, t-shirt on their website.   We’ve checked and they offer other t-shirt sizes besides triple extra large. 

At Fantasy Healthball, we don’t have an electronic reader board, but you can check out our nifty slogans on our website.  And though linking major companies to a certain death may not have been Dr. Newsom’s brightest idea, if you read our nutrition section you won’t find us advocating for donuts or fried chicken.  Okay, well maybe on special occasions.  Yes, our lawyers made us say that.  — 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

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

Fantasy Healthball Recipes – Red Victory Soup

Best for:  Fans of teams with red in team colors.  Calling all Texans, Patriots, Bills, Chiefs, Bucs, ‘Skins, Cardinals, and 49ers!  This magic Fantasy Healthball brew is for you!
Where to Eat it:  Watching the game at home with friends (cold weather games best) or in a thermos at the stadium parking lot.
Servings: 3 (double the below to make 6)
What is in it: 
4 tomatoes, medium
1 carrot
half red bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
4 tbsp (tablespoon) small red lentil
1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp curry
2 tbsp vegetable broth
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
½ cup milk (optional)
A dash of kosher salt and pepper to taste

How to do it:
Okay, first, grow all the vegetables in your garden in the backyard.  Okay, forget that, that would take too long.  Go get them at your local Farmers’ Market.  Don’t have one?  Okay, fine, just go to your local grocery store.  If they give you an organic choice, go with those.  Your body will thank you.  Okay, got all the stuff together?  Let’s move on:
1. Chop roughly all vegetables and put them together with the lentils in a deep pan with 3 cups water; cover and bring to a boil
2. Cook at medium heat until all vegetables are soft (about 15-20 minutes).
3. Mix with an immersion blender (a.k.a hand blender) – if you don’t have one of those, you can use the puree setting on your blender (careful pouring in the hot liquid)
4. if you prefer more liquidy soup, add some water
5. Add the spices, broth, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for few minutes.  If you prefer a creamier soup, add the milk.  If you are olive oil hounds, add that.  As it is simmering, stir it slowly repeating your team’s fight song.  Don’t know the fight song?  Shame on you, maybe you want Martha Stewart’s recipe website?  Go immediately to You Tube and search for your favorite teams fight song, memorize it, and return.

Serve hot in deep bowl (or go the thermos route if in the cold outdoors).  You can sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil or spices on top to make it look like you cook for the Food Network.  Dip some toasted whole wheat pita (for the white in your team colors) into it, or some whole wheat bread. 

Health Thoughts:  This recipe is loaded with healthy veggies providing large doses of vitamins E, A, C, B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, and fiber.  Most canned soups are LOADED with sodium but in this recipe, you control the sodium as 90% of it is just in how much salt you add.  We added ½ tsp of kosher salt which is 560mg.  It was plenty salty with that, so you could try less.  Overdoing salt is linked to high blood pressure.  This recipe is full of happy goodness and low in fat, calories, and cholesterol.  Thanks to Fantasy Healthball Fan Cinzia for sending it in to us! 

Enjoy, and on to victory.  – Jim Ballard

Fantasy Healthball: The Recipes

Go to your local bookstore and check out the diet/health books and you will find a million and one recipes to blindly follow.  At Fantasy Healthball, we are lovers of food so we use recipes all the time.  But people who frequent our site, people like you, like to think about what you put in your mouth.  You want to know what you are eating.  Is it loaded with saturated fat and sodium?  Is it loaded with sugar, or worse yet, artificial sweeteners?  Is it going to put a bulge in your belly or in your muscles? 

Food can do wondrous things.  It can build up a defense against cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses.  It can help your eyesight, give you more energy, flatten your stomach.  The wrong foods can clog your arteries, raise your cholesterol, slow you down, and generally make you look like the Pillsbury dough boy after a few too many sweet rolls. 

Oo oo Poppin' Fresh!

Here is what is different about our recipes.  We are going to give you a recipe, but also talk about what is in it.  How many calories, what types of vitamins and minerals, what substitutions you might make to make it healthier or avoid a food you are allergic to, whether it is best for tailgating or watching the game on TV with friends, those sorts of things.  We also prefer foods that are simple, fresh, letting the wonderful tastes present themselves without a lot of extra foo foo (a technical culinary term meaning glop glop). 

Ooops, now I’ve gone on too long to present our first recipe in this post.  You will have to stay tuned.  Meanwhile, to whet your appetite, take a look at the recipes from one of our own, a Fantasy Healthball player (Cinzia) with her own food site.  We will be posting special Fantasy Healthball recipes from Cinzia, an original Fantasy Healthball player Jen (in features called “Jen’s Fantasy Kitchen”), and others.  In fact, got an idea for a recipe and some thoughts on the healthfulness?  Send it our way and you may be featured as well!  My stomach is growling already.  – Jim Ballard

Fans headed wrong way

Psssst, hey fantasy footballers, hey NFL fans, hey America , we are going the wrong direction.  Our American athletes are getting stronger and stronger.  World records are falling right and left.  Athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, and leaner than they used to be, but wait, what about us fans?  Us fans, we are getting weaker, slower, and fatter than cheering crowds of old.  Oh, you want proof?  I have indisputable, scientific proof, but, as they say, a picture is worth 1,000 bits of indisputable, scientific proof.

Exhibit A. Sports fans of yore

 

Exhibit B: Sports fans of today

If that doesn’t say it all, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month reported that Americans are getting heavier and heavier and now 26% of us are now fully obese.  That is not the “overweight or obese” stat but the fully obese, 26%, wow. 

 That means you get any two American couples together, let’s say Bob and Cathy stop by Ken and Lisa’s house, one of those people, let’s say Bob, is obese.  The overweight OR obese stat also rose and is about two-thirds.  That means, Cathy and Lisa are most likely overweight.  That just leaves Ken.  In this little scenario, you want to be Ken. 

Bob, and to a lesser extent Cathy and Lisa, have higher risks for chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. 

If you want to find out where you fit in all this, you can calculate your body mass index at lots of websites like this one.  Or, you can take just look at the photos above.  Whether you identify more with the first or second photo, we encourage you to check out our nutrition info. and our exercise info. and we welcome you to the Fantasy Healthball family.  If you love football, we can help you turn this around and get back going the right direction.  – Jim Ballard