Saturday, February 25, 2012

New Treatment for Obesity

This headline (from many sources) this week struck me:

"FDA Panel Backs Approval for Obesity Pill"

Umm.....

The best treatment for obesity is not FDA approved; it's available without a prescription; and it costs you nothing.

IT'S DIET AND EXERICSE, PEOPLE!

Weight loss is actually simple - you can even boil it down to an easy formula:

Calorie Intake < Calorie Expenditure

That's it.  Burn more than you take in.  Sure, a bunch of different ways to do it - exercise more, eat less, eat cleanly, cut out carbs/fats/protein/sweets/milk/soda/you get the idea.  Most people would never need a pill if they just followed the equation above.

But as a friend pointed out, that takes effort and self control; american consumers will never go for it.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

40 is the new....Championship Age?

A few (20+) years ago, I remember listening to Jimmy Buffett sing about how he was an over 40 victim of fate - and 40 seemed like it was so far away.

Now I'm 40, and it seems really young!

And look at a few recent examples of how young 40-ish can be:

--  The last 2 guys to win Kona - Macca and Crowie -  were the oldest ever to win (38+).
--  Lance Armstrong takes second in Panama 70.3 at 40 after 20 years away from triathlon.
--  And it's not just the blokes:  Dara Torres won 3 silvers in swimming at 41, and is talking about going back to the olympics in 2012 - at 45 - and Janet Evans at 40 is booked in the Olympic Trials this summer.

And just so you think it's only about 40 - this guy decided at 100 he was going to do something fun - like set a record in cycling 

Gives hope for those of us who used to think that 40 was old...

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Australia, mate!

Just got back from a few weeks Down Under - going back to where I lived for 3.5 years. It still amazes me how clean the capital cities (Sydney, Adelaide) are. In Sydney, it seemed like there were a lot more bike lanes then when I was last there 7 years ago, and a lot of commuters using them. In Adelaide (where I lived), the cycling culture seems to have really picked up. People of all shapes and sizes, some cruising, some hard core; more bike shops than I recall, too. I wonder if this is an effect of the Tour Down Under becoming more prominent on the Pro Tour.

While I didn't get a chance to bike, I did some running and swimming in; tried to find a tri or running race to jump into, but no luck.

Oh well - I guess sometimes a vacation can be just for fun...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Australia, Mate!

Just got back from a few weeks Down Under - going back to where I lived for 3.5 years.  It still amazes me how clean the capital cities (Sydney, Adelaide) are.  In Sydney, it seemed like there were a lot more bike lanes then when I was last there 7 years ago, and a lot of commuters using them.  In Adelaide (where I lived), the cycling culture seems to have really picked up.  People of all shapes and sizes, some cruising, some hard core; more bike shops than I recall, too.  I wonder if this is an effect of the Tour Down Under becoming more prominent on the Pro Tour.

While I didn't get a chance to bike, I did some running and swimming in; tried to find a tri or running race to jump into, but no luck.

Oh well - I guess sometimes a vacation can be just for fun...