WOW!

What a productive weekend!

My wife had a party for her real estate office, so we had a "date" together. My daughter stayed with her grandparents. She watched Harry Potter, helped bake and made ornaments. The next day, we went to her school and helped the students decorate a Christmas tree and had brunch. What fun!

I've been working diligently to improve the site. This means updating the look and feel, improving the navigation (I kept hearing that it was not easy at all to get around) and consolidating everything (for example, we had three different sites that looked completely different). I hope you enjoy the changes. We're still updating and improving and your opinion is valuable, so don't hesitate to share it.

I relocated our Weight Loss the Healthy Way podcast to our own website. The old format wasn't the most attractive site in the world (here is a snapshot from the past). I had taken down our feeds for bandwidth reasons. It was costing me an arm and a leg to serve the downloads. I was toying with the idea of charging at least to recoup the cost of bandwidth but then decided everyone deserves to have access to these audios. So, they are back online and available to download through iTunes, iPodder, or any other podcast software you might have! I'll also be setting up a schedule to bring guests back online and resume our interviews.

We can use your help! These podcasts are for you to listen to. If there's a topic you'd like me to cover, let us know. If there is someone you know who would make a great interview guest (including you) then tell us. We want to book a solid schedule for 2006 and provide a full year of completely free quality audio related to health and wellness.

Now, in addition to updating the main site, navigation, and other elements, about the most exciting update has been to our online nutrition plan. WOW! I'm blown away, and I'm not just saying that because it's our own software. We've had online nutrition for months now, but I used to refer people to DietPower instead. This is because there were some limitations, such as not being able to add custom foods. I can say all of my requests to my development team have been met ... and I am very pleased! I know you will be, too.

In fact, I'm using the nutrition software myself. You can click on the thumbnail to see a bigger view:



You can see I got bad grades for being low on potassium and fiber. The fiber I take responsibility for. Potassium is tougher because a lot of the foods I eat are high in potassium, but they don't report it on the nutrition facts so it's hard to track. I don't worry too much as long as the reported amount matches the sodium, because all foods must report sodium. If you would like to crack the code of reading labels, check out our Food Labels 101.

I also had some marks for nutrients being too high. This is something I'll also look into updating in the software: editable tolerance levels. This is based on guidelines. There is actually a difference between high level of certain nutrients that are supplements versus what comes naturally in foods, so a high level may not really reflect a dangerous level. I balance my menu first without my multivitamins logged, then I add them last and sometimes some values go over.

That's what is great about the multivitamin my family uses ... you can take F's and turn almost all of them into A's just by adding it to the mix.

Two more exciting facts about the nutrition ... first, it's included with any Gold or Platinum package (here are the pricing details). Second, the Gold Package gives you 14 free days before the card is charged so you can "try before you buy" — you've basically got nothing to lose but fat!

What if your goal isn't to shed fat, but to gain muscle instead? This article discusses how to bulk up safely. Basically, as with all things, there is no magic pill. Protein shakes won't automatically put the muscle on for you!

So, L-Carnitine may not burn fat after all ... but studies show it can help
increase energy and improve heart and lung function.

So what recent weight loss study is known by millions around the world? Just watch the reality show Survivor to see weight loss based on exercise and restricting calories.

If you're "watching what you eat" this holiday season, don't get too bummed out. After all, restricted diet doesn't mean restricted flavor. Use our online nutrition system to build balanced meals using foods you enjoy.

My book, Lose Fat, Not Faith begins not with a diet plan or exercise program, but a call to action. I ask you to make a decision and commit to a better life. I'm happy to see this view is shared by others — why not gain control by intention potential?

During the holidays, be sure to focus on family fitness. A lot hot apple cider can be nice, too.

In Daytona Beach, Florida, children are staying healthy by participating in a
fitness Friday.

In cast you're struggling to decide what goals to set for the coming year, here are 9 New Year's Resolutions to help you get and stay lean.

For all of the debate over what exercise is best to lose fat, it turns out that simply walking several days out of the week can be very effective.

Coming to us all the way from Nigeria is this bit on five ways to feel full and eat less.

Just when you thought obesity has been linked to just about everything under the sun, something new: a link between obesity and eye disease. Are you ready to fire those extra pounds?

Online personal training must be getting more popular ... because now even Time Magazine is writing about it.

Finally, I'll conclude with this excerpt about the religion of weight loss. An excerpt:

"Her transformation was complete before it was reflected in a smaller pant size. It was a dramatic mind shift, she says, that enabled her to do it."

I could agree more ... that's why the last CD in my Lose Fat, Not Faith Audio Program (5 CDs total) is called Threedom / Zen of Fat Loss ... because it's about mind, body, and soul.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time,

Blessed be,