Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Congratulations to the Giants (I will always think of them as the NY Giants, no matter where they play) for the big win last night…and to the Patriots for a game well played…Hats off to Madonna, who, though I thought she started off just “OK,” built into a wonderfully explosive finale and as promised, did not disappoint…Congratulations to Carol for finishing her first 5K, yesterday morning at The Butterfly Run.  I am so proud of you, Carol.  What an awesome feeling to not only run through the finish line, but to accomplish the goal and burn off some Superbowl calories AHEAD of time!  Good thinking….Thanks to Jeff and JJR Photography for giving of their hearts and time to take photos at the soup kitchen this past weekend.  With your attention to detail and perfection, I am certain the photos will well tell the story of the clients served.  You are very much appreciated…while so many of us were overindulging in food and drink this weekend, there are so many, right in our own backyards, who were going hungry.  Congratulations to my nephew, David, who is living proof that we are not who we used to be.  We are so proud of you for all you have accomplished.

If you are anything like much of the rest of the country, you either ate too many wings, drank too much beer, or both, last night.  If first you play, than after, you must pay!  With  a full day of fitness ahead of me, even with  hamstrings and glutes that are still screaming from Friday/Saturday workouts, I will hit the trifecta of fitness…cardio/strength and flexibility…personally, I am burning off deconstructed guacamole and stuffed mushrooms…relatively harmless, but still the scale is not my friend, this morning.  It’s all good, as we will make up by tomorrow.  If you, like me,  were lucky enough to have more than enough this weekend, lets not just work on burning it off, but also on being thankful.  And speaking of more than enough, thanks to Erica and Jeff for cleaning out their pantry and filling a big box to go to the soup kitchen today or tomorrow and make some hungry tummies, very happy.

“Winning isn’t everything, but it beats anything that comes in second.”

–Paul “Bear” Bryant

Exercise: you don’t have time NOT to.

-Unknown (but apparently, right on the money!)

Thanks, Carole, for always having an answer to my questions!  So while I knew it’s Spam, when making reference to the brand name of canned meat, (which was derived from SPiced HAM)  and learned yesterday it’s spam when writing about generic brands of canned meat and SPAM when referring to the stuff that shows up on my site or in your mailbox and is an acronym for “Sales Promotion and Marketing.”  I think Mitch works hard to make sure the Sales and Promotion Marketing he sells, doesn’t end up in one’s SPAM file.  Hmmmmm.  What a conundrum.

Thanks, Suzanne, for a great article called The Only Exercise You’ll Ever Need:  Walking.  It’s focus is a 51 year old Rick Genter who lost 186 pounds by changing his eating and getting started on a walking program.  Once unable to walk very far, he built up to a 30 minute walk every day during his lunch break and found that he LOVED it in the way a runner gets a high.  He now actually walks 7 miles to work each morning, and 7 miles back home!  He lives, by the way, in Boston, so like the mailman, weather is no excuse for him.  Just another example of how we don’t need to join a gym, buy a treadmill or hire a trainer to get fit.  We just have to put one foot in front of the other and repeat most every day!  At 195 pounds, Rick has maintained his weight goal for 9 years and says the biggest reason is walking.

I’ll end today’s entry with a quote the article began with.

“I have two doctors, my left leg and my right leg.”

–George Trevelyan, in 1913 about the benefits of walking

I just deleted hundreds and hundreds of comments in the form of  spam.  You can’t believe how much the site gets and it knows NO boundaries.  ANYTHING you can think of, from somewhat appropriate things like diet pills and supplements to every male enhancement drug (I realize I should never say the word FOOTBALL on here…whoops, I just said it again) to coupon sites, celebrity (and not so celebrity) sex videos and  I get spam about….and it causes way too much wasted time!  But why do we call it spam?  How did it end up with the same name as that funny meat in can, which I can honestly say, I have never personally tasted, but is a staple for many, as it is subsidized by the U.S. government and is common food on Indian reservations (and many people’s pantry).

Ironically, there is an article in today’s newspaper about the correlation between eating Spam and developing diabetes.  In a study of 2,000 Native Americans from 4 different states, those who ate the most canned meat, (Spam or spam which is the generic term for any canned, processed canned meat) developed diabetes at twice the rate of those that ate the least.  With very few ingredients in canned, processed meat, none of them sweet (though I do think potato starch is part of the mix) one might wonder why it might be related to increases in diabetes.  Me, I have my very strong suspicions and I don’t think it’s the potato starch.

Spam and spam.  They have a lot in common and seem pretty harmless, but in reality…there probably aint nothing good about either!

We will miss the “kids,” tonight, but music calls and they are answering.  Good for them!  I feel a day off from cooking and a possible visit to the Falafel Bistro where finding a good meatless meal is as easy as finding any other kind of meal…except, of course, Spam!

Related articles

• ‘Spam’ meat tied to diabetes risk in Native Americans: Study (vancouversun.com)

It took me until week 5 of the season of No Excuses to realize that each week has an “excuse” theme and this week it was “I’ll Never Reach My Goal.”  I am not exactly sure how the episode reflected that theme, but that’s what it was.  The entire season should be call “We Have an Attitude Problem.”  First we see the Aqua Team back on the ranch for their weigh in.  Adrian and Daphne had to lose a combined total of 50 pounds to return and they lost 60.  Good job.  Having to split up, but both wanting Bob, they do a little Rock Paper Scissors and Daphne “wins” Bob.  With Adrian on the Red Team, we watch the attitudes and drama unfold immediately.  Really, were those girls so pissed that they have Adrian on their team.  It’s not HIS fault that these were the rules of this season.  Conda has THE worst attitude…or maybe Kim does.  Admittedly, when Adrian told them he worked out 14 hours a day at home, I would have also jumped all over his sh*t.  14 hours a day?  Did you eat?  Did you sleep?  Who are you kidding?  And with the tension on the Black team, after almost sending Chris home last week.  Oiy.  And how awkward and weird was that”powwow” she had with my boy Chism and Jeremy?

The challenge was OK.  They basically had to bounce  balls off of a trampoline, over a wall, into a net held by others on their own team who would run the balls to their bin.  Different size balls equaled different points and the first team to get 100 points would win.  Winning team gets to pick one person from their own team who’s weight would not count at the weigh in…and one person from the opposing team.  Red team wins.  Ugh.  I don’t like the Red team at all, except for Mark, Chism’s dad.

More drama between Adrian and his team.  Conda rolls her eyes a lot.  More working out and it’s time for the weigh in.  Megan is chosen to sit out for Black and Nancy for the Red.  Choosing Megan turned out to be a wise decision but Nancy, not so wise.  Week 5 there are NO double digit losses and Adrian and Daphne both only lost 2 and 1 pound, respectively.  I wonder if they were eating at all at home…or what else they might have been doing or not doing.  In the end, Black team pulls out the win (yay!!!).  I can’t believe no one voted for Conda to go home.  They must be scared of her.  They sent G-Ma Nancy home and out went her refrigerator light.  At home we see her 39 pounds lighter, surrounded by her 13 children, 55 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.  WOW!

Next week’s excuse:  “I can’t lose weight on my own,” as one of the trainers will end up in the dunk tank and with a week off!

Related articles

• Calories Count, But Not Where They Come From (nlm.nih.gov)

On the fitness side, my animals had their yearly check-ups on Friday.  Our wonderful vet, Dr. Mike, was so quite surprised and pleased at how well Blaze is doing with his “bad” leg.  He says Blaze is bearing more weight on it than he has seen him do since his injury well over 3 years ago.  I am convinced that there is one and only one reason why he is doing as well as he is, at almost 11 and that reason is WALKING…EVERY DAY.  The doc was also impressed with his dental and general overall health.  Once again, I am reminded of not only  how important daily exercise is for all that ails us, but how great it is for gaining and maintaining general health.

How are you doing with your 10,000 steps a day?  Let’s all get moving and make it a marvelous Monday.

Carol and Nicole, hope you both had wonderful birthday weekends!

noun, verb, interjection

Often described as:

Harmonious, blissful, joyful, comforting, tranquil, calm,

hopeful, balanced, serene, loving, spiritual,

inspirational, pure, good, uplifting, quiet,

kind, friendly, clear, still, heavenly,

sublime, soothing, relaxing, restful and

beautiful.

– Paul Dudley