ryan kennedy's blog

Not that this should be a surprise to anybody, but a 15 year scientific study has shown a strong correlation between consuming fast food, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The major takeaway from the article: “Participants who consumed fast food two or more times a week gained approximately 10 more pounds and had twice as great increase in insulin resistance in the 15-year period than participants who consumed fast food less than once per week.”

There’s no indication in the article if this takes into account some of the revamped menu items being offered at many fast food chains (i.e. salads, chicken sandwiches, etc). It would be interesting to see if the increased risk is attributable to eating fast food in general or if there’s any one item on the menu that’s more of a dealbreaker than the others. In other words, could you eat sensibly at a fast food restaurant and avoid the extra risk?

I managed to tweak my back tonight while moving some computers around. I was hunched over the computer, one hand steadying myself on a window sill while the other hand was trying to push the machine into a corner. A sudden pain shot through my lower back and hasn’t really gone away. So let this be a lesson: whether you’re lifting in the gym or just moving something around the house, proper form will help prevent you from hurting yourself.

With luck it isn’t major, I’m supposed to go snowboarding on Thursday.

I’ve started a Health and Fitness blog. Do I actually know much about health and fitness? A little, mostly what I’ve read in magazines and books. But that’s part of the point. I’m learning a bunch about health and fitness right now (in an effort to get myself back in shape) and what better way to share my newfound knowledge than to blog about it?

Update: I’ve moved all the health blog posts into my main personal blog. I’ll tag them with an appropriate category shortly.

If you’re like me, you’re fat and you hate it. About a year and a half ago I went on the South Beach Diet. I was on the diet for about 6 or 7 months and ended up dropping from 240 pounds to around 205 pounds. For various reasons, I went off the diet and have since gained back about 15 pounds.

What better time of year to get back on the fitness train than New Year’s? I was planning to go back on the South Beach Diet because I think it’s a fantastic diet. But I recently bought the February 2004 issue of Men’s Health Magazine and read about the Abs Diet. The Abs Diet is very similar to the South Beach Diet in terms of the meal plans. You eat 6 times a day (3 meals and 3 snacks) sticking to proteins, lean meats and healthy carbohydrates. Additionally, both diets aren’t really “diets” at all. When most people think of diets they think of this thing they go on to lose weight. South Beach and the Abs Diet are more ways of life. They aren’t meant to be used for short term weight loss, they are meant to become part of your everyday life for the rest of your life.

While the two diets are similar, there is a noticeable difference. The South Beach Diet was created by Dr. Agatston to help his patients with heart disease, high cholesterol and adult onset diabetes. The Abs Diet wat created by David Zinczenko to focus on abdominal health as a mechanism to promote overall health. Because of this focus on abdominal health, the Abs Diet incorporates strength training (something the South Beach Diet recommends but doesn’t actually incorporate). In short, the South Beach Diet promotes a healthy heart with an added bonus of a high probability of losing weight while the Abs Diet promotes a strong and healthy midsection that will lead to a healthy heart, a sexier body, prolonged life and more.

As an added bonus, Men’s Health Magazine is running a contest. Go on the Abs Diet for 6 weeks. Take some before and after pictures, drop 5-10% of your body weight and write an essay. You could win a 2005 Ford Mustang! The rules state that the prize is a 2005 Mustang worth $25,000…so it’s not a GT. But it may be just the inspiration you need to get yourself in shape this year.