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

Fantasy Healthball 2009 Season – DAY ONE!

And so it begins!!  NFL 2009.  Fantasy Healthball 2009.  As you may know from reading our website or this blog, we start our Healthball weeks on Mondays.   We track our health scores through Saturday and then watch the games on Sunday.  Did you do enough to rack up the win?  Did your NFL fantasy opponent take you this week?  Certainly your opponents threw well, ran well, kicked well, defended well, and scored some TDs.  But did you do enough during the week to take them?  To pound them into submission?  

Today is Labor Day and the first day of the 2009 Fantasy Healthball season.  I’ve chosen my 7 health challenges for the week and I’ll record Monday’s scores at the end of today.  By Sunday morning, I’ll know my score for the week.  

Not coincidentally, it is also draft day for Fantasy Healthball.  We just finished our draft and I ended up with these starters:

QB:  Aaron Rodgers

RB:  Matt Forte

RB:  Clinton Portis

WR:  Marques Colston

WR:  Terrell Owens

WR:  Vincent Jackson

TE:  Tony Gonzalez

D/ST:  Chicago Bears

K:  Ryan Longwell

These are the guys I’ll be marching out each week to take on my weekly opponent.  My opponent will try to crush them with his/her own fantasy team AND with his/her Healthball score.  Good luck on that, these guys mean business!  

There is still time to play Fantasy Healthball starting this week – OR, take this as a tune up week and start in earnest next Monday.  If you love football and want to improve your health, eat smarter, learn about health, lose some weight, etc, you will be very glad you found Fantasy Healthball!  – 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

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

From Mini-Camp to Training Camp

In cities all over America, NFL teams are conducting Mini-camps this month.  What are Mini-Camps?  They are an official opportunity for NFL teams to start preparing for the upcoming season, prior to the official Training Camp which will begin in July.  The Mini-camp is essentially a long weekend whereby both team veterans and newly drafted players can meet with coaches and begin learning new plays and strategies to be used in the upcoming season.  They take small steps, one-by-one to prepare for the weekly grind that is the NFL season.  They don’t just show up in September without any practice and expect to perform at peak level right away.

This pattern makes good sense for all of us as we prepare to play Fantasy Healthball in the upcoming season.  If you have been taking time away from recording your Health Points, perhaps allowing yourself some slack in your daily health habits, consider conducting a one week Mini-Camp to get back into the swing of it.   Perhaps you’ve been considering a new health challenge?  A mini-camp is just the ticket you need to try it out before we start up for good in September.  

Take next week and the first week of July to run as Mini-Camps for Fantasy Healthball.  Get yourself re-acclimated to scoring yourself every day.  Then during July and August, string together 3 or 4 consecutive weeks as a Training Camp or Pre-Season effort.  By the time Season Kickoff rolls around on Monday, September 7th, you will be ready to roll and you can expect to perform with good consistency right from Week 1! — Jeff Hagen

Guest Blog Post – Why Fantasy Healthball Works for me (Part 2 of 2)

And now, part II of Duff Beach’s post: 

The tools are more important than the game.  The great thing about Fantasy Healthball is that the lessons you learn in battle stay with you after the season ends.  I haven’t counted calories in a long time, but daily I think about what I’m eating and how it affects me.  When I eat ice cream (I won’t ever give it up), I think about it and understand its effects.  When I have that third beer while watching the game, I think about it.  When I’m traveling on business, I make sure I take a walk before I go to bed and I eat a salad rather than a cheeseburger.  There’s no rocket science here.  Instead there’s habit and understanding, two things Fantasy Healthball instills.

Fantasy Healthball is only part of the equation; it’s my offense.  A looming health insurance physical became my special teams.  Not because I really wanted the lower rates (I did), but because insurance companies base their rates (their risk) on odds.  It’s not unlike baseball.  Sure, the career minor leaguer, called up for two weeks who’s batting below the Mendoza line could hit the game-winning homerun in the bottom of the ninth.  It could happen.  And a guy my height, weight and cholesterol level could live to be 90.  But it’s not likely.  Just like you want the career .300 hitter who averages 40 home runs stepping into the batters box when it matters, the insurance company wants to insure someone who’s fit.  I looked at the odds (and the rates) and realized they weren’t good.  Caring about being there for my family is my special teams.

Defense wins championships.  Playing Fantasy Healthball by itself won’t make you healthy.  Caring about the outcome will.  I used the good offense to create my best defense; I got the tools I needed from Fantasy Healthball.  My defense is the will power: knowing that I needed to walk past the jar of candy on my co-worker’s desk, make the oatmeal instead of grabbing the donut, have tea at night rather than a brownie with ice cream.  It’s not always easy, but it’s working.

I’m not there yet, but for the first time in 6 years I’m closer to 190 than 200, and still moving in the right direction, marching down the field slowly, steadily, and without any gimmicks.  I’m insurable, I’m a little quicker on my bike and hockey skates, and on top of it all, I feel better about myself.  Thanks Fantasy Healthball: you showed me the way with a good, fundamental offense.  — Duff Beach

The Fall-Back Workout – Use it

On Monday, the Fantasy Healthball week begins leading up the the Superbowl.  Our scores Monday through Saturday will be pitted against the fantasy players’ Superbowl scores in our own SuperHealthBowl.  I had a good week keeping to my health routine this week and expect to ramp it up next week so I can pull off a SuperHealthBowl victory. 

I managed to work out 5 of the 6 days this week, missing one day due to lunch and evening meetings.  One of the workouts was what I’ve been calling my “fall-back workout.”  That is when you are tired and just don’t have the time to work out.  It could be those or any other of a thousand excuses.  It is too cold out.  It is too dark out.  My shoes are wet.  The dog ate my weight gloves.  My ear muffs are at the cleaners.  I’m just too busy.

Whenever the excuses start piling up, I tell myself “fine, just do the fall-back today.”  The fall-back is the minimum workout so you can feel like you’ve done SOMETHING but not so much that it is overwhelming for you.  As we talk about on the website, the Surgeon General recommends 20 minutes of vigorous or 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.  Depending on who you are and your current condition, that 30 minutes can be almost anything.  Take the dog around the block a few times.  Do a quick little routine in the basement of running in place for 5 minutes, sets of sit ups for 5 minutes, some jumping jacks, some stretching, etc.  Whatever it is, you need to have your fall-back workout.  One that, when you think of it, makes you feel like, “well I can squeeze that in, that is not so hard.”

My personal fall-back workout is a walk up the hill behind our house.  If I go to the top and back, it takes in the ballpark of 30 minutes – maybe a little less but I have never seen the Surgeon General there with a stopwatch!  What is your fall-back?  What could you squeeze in even in a very busy day?  Figure out what it is and then do it when you need to.  On other days, you might be able to do a good hard exercise, but on those days that you just can’t, then fit something in.  Even something small is going to make you feel better about yourself, the world, and keep you on track on your health goals.  Now go do it!  — Jim Ballard

Diabetes Only Affects the Other Guy

Diabetes only affects the other guy, right?  Right.  Problem is, there are over 23 million other guys.  Take this quick little Fantasy Healthball quiz to find out if you might be next:  1)  Are you getting any younger?  2)  Do you get daily moderate to vigorous exercise?  3)  Is your diet full of fruits, vegetables, and the healthiest foods?  If you answered no to these questions….well, you know. 
 
Recently, I was trying to figure out the number of Americans with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.  It was no easy task because I kept finding different numbers.  I quickly figured out that the reason for the discrepancy was that the number is constantly growing.  Over a million and a half new cases were diagnosed last year bringing the total to over 23 million.  Only 5-10% of those are type 1 diabetes.
 
Michael Krasny at KQED did a great show in diabetes this month which, if you missed, you can HEAR by clicking HERE.  By the way, Krasny is diabetic.

His guest Dr. Ed Gregg said the reason for spike in type 2 diabetes is in part due to increased awareness and detection.  Another huge part of it, though, has to do with weight and obesity trends.  Diabetes trends parallel trends in obesity.  Other factors include:  age, diet, ethnicity, poverty, and related cultural influences of these that affect what people eat and how active they are.  The above map shows the highest risk in the south.  And though I have raved about the healthiness of California in past blog posts, California has a huge increase due to increasing numbers of people in all the above categories.

Type 1 diabetes has increased as well, but the real spike in the US is fueled by the increase to type 2.  Dr. Gregg summarized the difference in type 1 (Jay Leeuwenburg and Jay Cutler) and type 2 like this:  the pancreas of people with type 1 diabetes is not producing any insulin and they need insulin from other sources to survive.  Type 2 is a mixture of body not using its own efficiently and then over time not secreting as much insulin.  Type 1 diabetes is in part an auto-immune response whereas type 2 diabetes has a number of causes but obesity and weight gain over the course of life has greater impact on body’s ability to use insulin efficiently.

What to Do:   First, you can get tested to detect as early as possible.  You should get tested if you are overweight, obese, elderly, others in your family have been diabetic, or you have other medical conditions such as high cholesterol.  One test screens fasting blood sugar.  If the numerical result is between 100 and 125, you are pre-diabetic and already have an increased risk for stroke or heart attack.  Over 125 is diabetic which increases the risk for those, and also kidney failure, blindness, and other things that can ruin your day. 

How to avoid type 2:  If you are pre-diabetic or you think you might be at risk, the doctors recommend losing some weight (starting with 5-10%), go on a lower calorie diet, and increase physical activity.  The CDC recommends a structured program to increase physical activity.  Imagine that, a structured program keeps your head in the game.  Well, we’ve got the game for you.  Hut one, hut two…..  – 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

Week One Calorie Counting

Welcome to the first Sunday of the 2008 NFL season!  If you are playing Fantasy Healthball, you just finished your first week (we keep track of healthpoints Monday through Saturday).  In my household, we had a great week.  Both my wife’s score and mine, should be enough to put us over the top for a win this week, but you never know!  Those NFL pros have been hungry for week one, there could be a lot of scoring…we’ll see when the results of the games come in. 

One of the challenges I picked to track this week was calorie counting.  If you haven’t done it once, I strongly recommend it.  You will be amazed how quickly you get in touch with your body just by tracking one simple statistic.  To maintain your weight, calories consumed and calories burned must be equal.  To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume.  We’d be the last people to say you only have to watch calories, but tracking them gives you a lot of information about that little calorie factory – your body. 

Okay, so I chose calorie counting off the challenge scorecard as one of my seven challenges for the week.  And since I am an over-achiever and a known Excel freak, I decided I was also going to track saturated and trans fats, sodium, fiber, sugar, protein, water, and servings of fruits and vegetables!  I track EVERY bit of anything that passed through my lips.  One onion ring?  I wrote it down.  Some chips and salsa?  I wrote it down.  Then I went through the arduous process of tracking the nutrition.  Most things I ate came with a nutrition label on the package.  Other things I looked up at this website.  Still others, I had to Google and make an educated guess. 

If you have the time, this is a GREAT exercise to do.  But I warn you, it is very time consuming.  That is why we just recommend tracking calories alone for a week – which is time consuming enough and paints a pretty clear picture.  Here is an example of a single day last week.  It was Labor Day.  Holidays are ALWAYS the hardest for me because they get me out of my routine.  Plus, we had friends over and we barbecued.  But here is how my day looked, counting every single thing I put in my mouth:

Click Here to See My Labor Day Tracking

My biggest issues that day were fat, sodium, and sugar.   Luckily, I ate a lot of things that day I don’t normally have as part of my diet.  For example, can you believe how much sodium is in ketchup.  Jeez, it is just red sodium paste!  I could go on forever here, but I’ll just say – for Fantasy Healthball purposes I was just tracking calories, and I stayed under my goal 6 out of 6 days!  Jeff and I hope you had a great healthy week.  And now it is time to enjoy a Sunday off.  Bowl of pretzels, turn on the game….I’ve got LT on my fantasy football team.  Run, LT, run.  — Jim Ballard.