OUCH!

“Hey, have a safe 4th.”  “Hey, have a safe one.”  What is it about the 4th of July that compels people to always tell you to be safe?  Do they really think without their helpful reminder, that you might accidentally set off some bottle rockets in your shorts?  Or perhaps they are talking about that other 4th of July staple – BBQ grilling.  Are they telling you to make sure you grill the burger thoroughly on both sides so you can avoid the nasty E Coli or even this mad cow?

Really Mad Cow

 Whatever it is, I was told by several people to have a safe 4th.  And you know what?  I should have listened.  But more on that later.

At Fantasy Healthball, we are all about good health and the well-being of our Fantasy Healthball community (which you are one of since you are reading this blog!).  As you can read on our website, we think good health leads to happiness in all parts of life.  We care about our readers, the readers of our site, our blog, the Fantasy Healthball devotees who play our game, and the whole Fantasy Healthball community.  A few posts back, we reminded you to figure out ways to decrease stress in your life during these difficult economic times.  In this post, we have a quick word about safety. 

There is a reason NFL players wear pads.  Think of the meanest, nastiest, current NFL player you know and I can guarantee he wears big pads just like everyone else.  Safety doesn’t mean wimpy, safety means thinking about what you intend to accomplish and then putting some things in place that will help you get there.  Couple things happened this week that made me dwell on safety.  First, I bought my first great pair of running shoes ever.  For running shoes, I typically go down to the big box mart and buy whatever is on the best sale.  I usually wear them until they fall off me in shreds and long past when it feels like I have no foot protection left in them.   This week, as I turn 41 years old, I realized it was time to get smarter.  I went to our local specialty shoe store and had the crackerjack owner dissect my feet and running style until I walked out with the perfect running shoes for me.  If you have one of these places within 100 miles of where you live, it is worth it.  You can find a shoe basically made for your specific foot and running mechanics.  I hope my knees and joints thank me and continue to perform for many decades to come.  I make a Fantasy Healthball pledge to replace them once a year and show some respect to this aging machine I live in (my body). 

Okay, second safety episode this week.  While mountain biking near my house, I tried for the first time an extremely steep section of trail full of long ruts and covered in slippery gravel and rock.  I made it up with a series of small bursts like a blue painted Mel Gibson screaming “freeeedooom!!” while charging the opposing army.  On the way down, I did a “full on endo” which is an over-the-handle-bars- end-over-end-flying-flip where my bike landed on me and ultimately stopped 10 yards further down slope.  It looked exactly like:

  

So here is the point.  We care about your body, you should too.  If you are injured, your ability to exercise and burn calories is greatly reduced.  Today, I have a wrist injury, bruised ribs, and a pretty shoulder rash that looks like someone ran out of red ink on their Spirograph.  I won’t have a decent exercise anytime really soon.  So I’m going to pay even more attention to what I put in my mouth, keep control of my calorie intake, and go for some non-body-jarring walks.  A public service announcement from Fantasy Healthball:  exercise, eat right, and take good care of your body, it is aging and deserves it.  Oh, and one more thing, “have a safe one!”  — Jim Ballard

Congrats To Steelers and Congrats to Fantasy Healthballers

A great victory for the Steelers over a team that challenged them every step of the way.  Congrats also to all of you who participated in the 2008 Fantasy Healthball season.  Just like the Cardinals did for the Steelers, life has a way of putting hurdles in your way as you try to live a healthy lifestyle.  You can’t phone it in and expect to win/be healthy.  You have to keep pushing, keep focused, and try even harder when it appears you are down or lost momentum.  The trials of a good football game are the perfect analogy for the trials of losing weight and/or having the body you want to have.  As Big Ben just said with the Lombardi in his hand, “Anything is possible.”  Sometimes it just takes the focus and drive that leads to a toes dragging, sideline, end zone touchdown catch.

My playoff fantasy team ended with 69 points for the game led by Larry Fitzgerald.  My healthpoints for the week top Jeff’s fantasy team today so I finish this wonderful season 19-1.  

We can’t help but get a little emotional and nostalgic.  One year ago, at the Superbowl halftime, as Tom Petty rocked the crowd, we launched our website and blog.  This year, as Bruuuuce rocked the crowd, we had an amazing year to look back on.  The miles jogged, the weights lifted, the calories burned, the countless fruit and veggies, the portion sizes that finally got under control, the water, the fiber, all of it combined to have a huge impact on our health.  If you joined us, you know exactly what we mean.  I leave the 2008 season in the best shape of my life and as committed as ever to stay that way.  Jeff is getting great reports from his doctor and has made substantial progress this year.  

We hope 2008 saw your healthy lifestyle improve as well.  If not, it is time to hit it at training camp and it is never too early to start getting ready for the 2009 season!  We have big plans for 2009, come along with us.  Anything is Possible.  – Jim Ballard

Happy New Year from Fantasy Healthball!

Welcome to 2009 and the first day of your new year.  If your holidays were anything like mine, you struggled to keep up or establish any healthy practices.  My family and I traveled over the holidays and stayed a week at my parents.   Their kitchen counter was cluttered with chocolates (caramel turtles), pies (pumpkin), cakes (lemon and chocolate), homemade snowball cookies, fudge, crackers and dip, and a variety of other treats.  I found myself slipping out of routine to the point that I was eating again as soon as I stopped feeling sick from over-eating the prior meal.   I just HAD to do multiple whipped cream towers on my microwave heated pumpkin pie because the cream closest to the pie would quickly melt, so the towers got taller and taller.  I started feeling lethargic, slow, out of shape, and unhealthy. 

Because of Fantasy Healthball, I had established a rock solid routine through the football season that kept my head on straight doing the right things for my body/me.  But I was out of my routine and spiraling out of control.  The day after the long drive home, I knew I needed a “Transformation Moment” to get back on track.  I kept thinking of the countless times over the holidays I set the electric train back on the track after it derailed (bumped by a kid or a present or the dog).  I needed to get back on the rails.  So I got on my mountain bike and rode a good long time until I felt strong and powerful.  Exercise sets off a reaction in your body, I think the correct medical term is “happy cells” and the happy cells get to celebrating and you can feel them when you exercise.  It was my “Transformation Moment.”

Now I’m back playing Fantasy Healthball into the playoffs to keep me on track through these more difficult (colder, rainy, snowy, etc.) months.  Jeff and I are competing in the NFL.com fantasy playoffs.  Each week, I will track my fantasy football team but also pit my Fantasy Healthball score against Jeff’s fantasy football team score.  I know I’ll have to play my “A” game (health-wise) because he knows how to pick the best NFL players who will score big in the playoffs.  I’ve picked my health challenges and have been tracking this week since Monday.  It is not too late for you to sign up at NFL.com and play against your brother, buddy, wife, partner, whatever.  We’ll let you know how we did.

The word “routine” is not nearly as sexy as “huge weight loss!” or “lose weight fast!” or some sort of magic diet.  But it is the reality of what works and lasts.  A healthy routine like you can read about here and here.  What better day than January 1 for your Transformation Moment!  We are with you.  — Jim Ballard

Fantasy Football Season Over?

So as I’ve mentioned here many times, Jeff has been playing fantasy football since George Halas was his starting wide receiver, but 2008 was my first year.  Of course, I found it to be very addictive and a great way to keep me to my health goals while simultaneously playing Fantasy Healthball.  As a rookie,  I made plenty of rookie mistakes like starting players who ended up sitting out at the last minute with an injury.  It also took me a long time to figure out that my Yahoo! league was generous awarding kick and punt return points.  I noticed my competition with a defensive back that got one tackle but 20 points!  A-ha, the defensive back is also the kick returner!  Anyway, I got a lot smarter as the year went on. 

My league, a total points league rather than head to head, had twelve teams and I stayed the same or moved up each week.  I went from something like 12th to 9th to 8th to 6th to 5th to 4th and stayed in fourth for several weeks.  I ended up finishing fourth in the league which I was pretty proud of for my first year.   Congrats to “Go Bengals Go” who won our league.  My greatest “unknown” find was Joshua Cribbs who seems to play every position for the Clevelend Browns.  In my league, Cribbs scored plenty of points.  Unfortunately, my big name QB, Carson Palmer, was out pretty much all season with an injury but I discovered “unknown” Tyler Thigpen and Thiggy is my new hero.    

From now on, I’m playing in head to head leagues which is more common and much more compatible with Fantasy Healthball.   Jeff was in a head to head league and will write about his experience.  As I was in a fantasy football points league, for Fantasy Healthball purposes I competed each week against the average score.  That was fun, but not as fun as it would have been to go up head to head against a weekly opponent, which I’ll highly recommend from now on and I’ll certainly do in the 2009 NFL season. 

In Fantasy Healthball, I finished 15-1, a great season by any measure.  And I sure worked my butt off (literally and figuratively, of course!) to finish with that record.  I lost about 10 pounds of body fat through the season and still feel in the best shape of my life at 40 years old.  This morning, I rode my mountain bike up about a 2,250 foot elevation in a short period of time, something I COULD NOT have done before I started playing Fantasy Healthball.

We hope you had similar results.  Send us an email or comment on our blog to let us know.  Meanwhile, Jeff and I will be playing the NFL.com playoff challenge to continue our Healthball season.  — Jim Ballard

Yes I Can! Yes You Can!

Jeff and I are excited to announce that we now have the support of someone we are a huge fan of, Jay Leeuwenburg.  Jay Leeuwenburg started over 100 NFL games and lined up against eventual Hall of Famers Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor during his 9 years as a lineman in the NFL.  In college, he played on the greatest teams in the history of the University of Colorado football, and became a unanimous All-American center.  He played for the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Bengals, and Redskins.  He also was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just days after his 12th birthday. 

Jay partnered with Denny Dressman to write Yes I Can! Yes You Can! which is the life story of Jay’s triumph over adversity.  The book is not only inspirational in Jay’s overcoming his diabetes, but it is a great look into what it is like to be a top college and NFL player.  Jeff and I highly recommend the book, which is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about diabetes and sports, or just enjoys a great sports book.  We love Jay’s “Can Do” attitude.  As Jay learns about how to live the life he wants to, while managing his diabetes, he takes on challenges and overcomes difficulty that might crush a less motivated person.  Instead, he shows how he succeeded in the hopes that others can do the same thing. 

Jay was not drafted until the 9th round of the 1992 college draft.  His goal immediately became to play the number of years in the NFL for the round in which he was drafted.  He did it and started at every interior line position.  We love how Jay never let anything stop him.  He writes about running to the sideline for a quick soda to raise his blood sugar.  You’d think Type 1 diabetes might slow a kid down, maybe give you an excuse not to be an athlete.  But Jay, with discipline and determination, managed his own health and achieved all his goals. 

Fantasy Healthball is about the same thing.  It is about discipline and determination allowing you to achieve your goals – in our case, your health goals.  We’ll turn your passion for sports into passion for great health.  Let your love of the NFL motivate you to lose weight, get stronger, and live a longer, healthier life.  We can help you overcome adversity.  If a 12 year old diabetic kid can turn into a Monster of the Midway, you too can meet your goals.

We feel a great kinship with Jay.  As readers of Our Story know, Jeff was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and has struggled greatly with health.  We also grew up idolizing the Chicago Bears.  Even as I write this I have a Walter Payton photo on my wall.  Jay inspires Jeff to overcome his diabetes.  He inspires me to jog a little longer, swim a little further, and listen to my body so I can live a healthy life.  We hope he inspires you too.  — Jim Ballard

A Tale of Two Cities

It (week one of the NFL season) was the best of times and worst of times.  Best of times for Fantasy Healthball.  I scored big on my healthpoints last week and routed my fantasy football opponent.  I came out of the gates strong and worked hard all week to maximize my points.  My fantasy football opponent scored pretty well, but they were no match. 

Worst of times for my own fantasy football team.  While Jeff has been playing fantasy football for a very long time, I’m still a novice.  I was all excited as my team has Ladanian Tomlinson, Kellen Winslow, and Brandon Jacobs.  My QB is Carson Palmer.  Carson completed only 9 passes for 94 yards, no TDs, and one interception.  LT and Jacobs didn’t score either.   I’m near the bottom of my league.  Rather than jumping ship and changing all my players, I’m going to ride the same horse into week two and see what happens. 

On the health side, I had an amazing mountain bike ride at China Camp State Park this morning.  My friend who I used to ride with there all the time moved to Philly, so I haven’t been back recently.  It completely changed my spirits to be on the bike, on single track trails.  In the first 30 seconds I came upon about a dozen wild turkey.  I was glad I was on the bike and sailed right past them because if you have every been very near a wild turkey, you know you wouldn’t want to meet up with a dozen of them in some dark alley.  A bit later a black tailed deer pranced off the trail five yards ahead of me. 

These sorts of things happen to you when exercising – and not just at a State Park.  Your mind opens up and you think of things and see things that you might miss in a normal stressful day.  Give it a try.  You’ll be amazed.  And, if you are playing Fantasy Healthball, good luck in week 2!  — Jim Ballard

Fantasy Healthball Trailer is Here!

Watch our trailer, put up on You Tube today!  And then send the link to all your friends!

Fireworks and “Burcken” – 4th of July

Grilling on the 4th of July is as American traditional as it gets, and for my Midwest-based family it is no different.  When we gather for the summer holiday, it is expected that the host will be preparing the meal over an open flame and coals.  The only difference this year was that 5 of 11 people were playing Fantasy Healthball, and it was my turn to host.  And not only host, but host without the assistance of my wife who was traveling abroad in Europe.  I’ve rarely hosted anything larger than a football game party without her involvement, so it was an opportunity to show my stuff.  However, the key was how to satisfy everyone’s traditional craving for charred meat, and not completely fall off track towards our bigger health goals.

We did serve meat, and yes, hamburgers were on the menu.  But they were intentionally made smaller-than-years-past and less than one-per-person was prepared.  The ‘main’ grilling meat of choice this year was skinless chicken breast, which was prepared simply with lemon and pepper.  It was intentional to avoid slathering them with BBQ sauce this year.  All buns were 100% whole grain wheat.

Slow-cooked Midwestern sweet corn (encouraged to be eaten with just a dash of pepper), baked beans, and tossed salad with raw carrots, sweet onions and peppers formed the sides.  Lemonade and Kool-Aid prepared with Splenda sweetener instead of sugar helped avoid all caffeine, sugar, alcohol and carbonated water.  Dessert was fresh fruit, watermelon, strawberries, and green grapes.

My brother-in-law is a tall man standing over 6′7″ and he is currently playing Fantasy Healthball with us.  Normally 2-3 hamburgers would be his choice, but this year he chose to go the Burcken route.  A hamburger and chicken breast put together on one bun.  He explained, “saves me from eating too much bread by reducing one bun and I don’t need seconds”.

It may be only baby-steps for our family, but it was a conscious effort to move towards healthier choices, even on a holiday traditionally reserved for excess.  — Jeff Hagen

Jeff Hagen Gets an “A” on his Diabetes Report Card

I’ve got excellent news to share from my doc!  Yesterday, I had my regular visit.  In order to keep my diabetes in check, every four months I have blood samples drawn and lab-tests completed.  The test results were the best they have been since I was diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes in 2002.  My blood sugar (Hemoglobin A1c) test was at 6.1%, a full point lower than 16 months ago..prior to starting our work on Fantasy Healthball.   Guidelines I’ve receive from my doctor indicate a treatment goal of < 7.0% for diabetic patients. 

My doctor commented with raised eyebrows when he looked at my scores, “Most patients I have get higher numbers as they age…but yours are going down…whatever you’re doing…keep doing it.”  As you all know, what I’m doing is playing Fantasy Healthball!  Cholesterol and Lipids Panel were also the best in over 6 years.  The life-habits I have been slowly changing are starting to kick-in with real, improved data.  I was losing about a pound a week but have fallen off that average a bit lately.  The snow melt here has me encouraged that I’ll be back on that track or better soon.  However, it is an undeniable fact that I am healthier today than I was a year ago.  Better days are certainly ahead…If you’d like to join the growing number of Fantasy Healthball players, just click here.

More Player Feedback – Hair Club for Men

“I’m not only the Hair Club for Men president, I’m also a client!”  That is the old tv commercial quote that comes to mind when I write this post.  “I didn’t just co-create Fantasy Healthball, I’m also a player!”  Sure, Jeff and I created Fantasy Healthball to help Jeff, and the millions of other Americans who are overweight and obese and love sports, but what has come as a bit of a surprise is that our program can change your life no matter your starting weight and health!  Take me for example, I take a great amount of pride in the fact that I’m fit and healthy.  If you’ve read “Our Story” you know.  So while I was 100% confident that Fantasy Healthball would help Jeff and millions of others, I didn’t expect it would have too big of an effect on me.  I wasn’t looking to lose weight and I felt my nutrition and exercise had been pretty darn good. 

So we played with “our beta testers” throughout the 2007 NFL season.  And I’ve been playing Training Camp since the season ended.  Here is what happened:  I became much leaner, dropped about 10 pounds of body fat, I’m eating more fruits and vegetables than I ever have in my life, and I feel the healthiest I’ve ever felt.  And I’ll turn 40 this year.  I’m convinced all those vegetables (at least three servings a day) has caused a chronic colon issue I had to just evaporate as if it had never existed.  I can’t prove Fantasy Healthball did it.  All I know is that I had a many year painful condition that just disappeared after I started getting serious about fiber, adequate water, limiting red meat and alcohol, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. 

 In the “Other category” (read about it here) I’ve been creating a new challenge for myself for the last month or so of 250 sit ups per day.  The first faint signs of ab muscles are starting to poke out my once undefined stomach.  If I squint and try to flex them, I can picture the Batman abdominal suit reflecting back at me.  If I keep at it, I can get there.  Since there are a bunch of other players working on their personal goals through this NFL off-season, I have the support I need to keep pushing.  I want that Batman suit by the time the 2008 NFL season starts.  I know Reggie Bush and LaDainian Tomlinson will have theirs.  So whether your goal is to drop 100 pounds or just to drink more water and eat more veggies, you are going to find it here.  We are here to help.