Lost and Found – a Novel by Ron Rink

Something that has been on my mind once again, is the subject of childhood obesity. As someone who actively promotes the use of a good nutrition and weight loss program, witnessing this epidemic is distressing to me.

I was in a local mall recently and this problem really struck me right between the eyes — I could see it immediately — our children in the United States are gaining alarming amounts of weight.

I did a little research on this today and found that during the past 20 years the number of overweight children in the United States has more than doubled. The American Obesity Association points out that 26 percent of all children are overweight — and 12 percent of them are obese. If you put those percentages against the total population you discover that 10 million American kids are suffering the consequences of being overweight.

It wasn’t that long ago that the problems of type 2 diabetes and heart disease were primarily adult problems. Not any more — those diseases are now just as prevalent in our kids. If you think about it — if we allow this to continue, those children we see at your local mall may actually live shorter lives than their parents. Interestingly, these same diseases are becoming a problem to kids who are not overweight, but who are living lifestyles similar to those who are.

So what’s causing this?

The answer is right in front of us — the children today are eating the wrong foods. They’re overeating — they’re getting fast food meals instead of home-cooked, healthy meals — and they’re not getting enough exercise. Our kids are living on sodas, burgers, and french fries — all of which are loaded with sugar and bad fats. These are the primary food choices that can cause diabetes and heart disease — yes — in our children too!

Dr. Agatston, the author of The South Beach Diet®, has this to say….

I’ll write more on this over the next few days.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined — and they could also help your children. I’m not kidding. I urge you to click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great and healthy day. I’ll be back soon with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts to help you AND your children and grandchildren.

And give the South Beach program a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. It will also work for the children in your lives. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
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Oh yes, it’s that time of year again. That time when the flu season is rapidly approaching — here it comes — ready or not!

The flu — such an awful ailment and one of the worst illnesses to avoid or get rid of. It throws your body completely out of balance. Of course, one good way to avoid the flu is to make sure you’re on a good nutrition and weight loss program.

It can be a toss-up when it comes to determining if you have a common cold or the flu. Unlike a cold, the flu will take over your body quickly rather than gradually, like a cold. Like a cold, the flu can include coughing, fever, sniffing and aching. It might also include some nausea. The symptoms are usually worse than those for a cold. The good news is that once the current strain of the flu has run its course, you will be immune to it returning. It’s never the same virus twice in a row.

If you get the flu, there are a wide variety of over-the-counter medications to help you get some relief from the symptoms. These include products to reduce pain and fever, help you to stop coughing, thin out mucus and reduce congestion that has built up in your body.

Generally, I would recommend that you check with your doctor about getting a flu shot. Of course, the experience of the past couple of years, with the lack of availablity of the vaccine, leads me to hold back on that even though I’m hopeful there won’t be a repeat performance. If vaccines are available, you need to remember that you need to get the shot each year, as the virus is different each year. Be sure to check with your doctor to see if this is something that you should do.

If you are more interested in holistic remedies, there are also several things that you can take. Eucalyptus is known to help in treating the flu. Echinacea is another substance that is used widely for both the flu and colds. Black elderberry is also helpful, both by itself and with a tea.

I highly recommend that you be on a good nutrition and weight loss program all year long. Supplementing your nutrition with well-proven vitamins and minerals all year long is also high on my list of recommendations. Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined, and they sure have kept me from the flu bug for several years. I’m not kidding. I urge you to click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

The time to be building up your body — and at the same time building up your resistance to these viruses — is now. Don’t wait until the flu season begins — get on your nutrition and weight loss program today.

Have a great and healthy day. I’ll be back soon with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach program a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
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There has been quite an increased interest in an exercise program called Pilates. I have to admit that I’ve never tried Pilates, but my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to look into what this is all about and see why it has developed so much of a following. I also wanted to see how it would help those of you following a nutrition and weight loss program.

In order to determine if Pilates will work for you in your own goals requires that you learn what it will and won’t do for you. Pilates has several concepts and ideals that help in building an effective exercise routine for all who want to lose weight or build tone and muscle.

Pilates primary focus is on the core areas of the body, the stomach, hips and buttocks. The idea of the exercise is to strengthen these areas by getting the mind and the body to work together to accomplish this. The goal of the program is to lose weight, get in better overall shape and begin to feel good about how you look.

If you happen to suffer from chronic back problems, you might want to take a good look at Pilates. You probably already know this, but if you’re working on strengthening your core areas, you are also going to be strengthening your back.

I had always associated Pilates with yoga. I guess it was because they both focus on using good breathing techniques while doing the movements. If you breathe correctly while you are going through the routines, you will build strength in your muscles faster than if you don’t.

Balance is also an integral part of Pilates. Again, it is the core areas of your body that help you to keep balance. It also helps with balance because of the breath work that is used in relation to the exercises. Because the breath has to be used when doing the repetitive motions, the core muscle strength increases, you develop more overall energy, thereby creating feelings of renewed balance, both physically and mentally.

One of the claims with Pilates is that your ability to focus mentally will increase as you continue the practice. When doing Pilates, you must control your breathing while you are also focusing on your body work for periods as long as thirty to sixty minutes. This form of concentration will eventually lead to better mental focus.

Pilates is an effective method for weight loss as well as for resistance training and muscle building. With the implementation of Pilates, those involved have found that they are feeling better about their lives as well as about their exercise routine.

I’m sure that learning to do Pilates would certainly benefit your nutrition and weight loss program.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. I urge you to click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great and healthy day. I’ll be back soon with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach program a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
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One of the questions that I hear a lot is how can I avoid and treat “heartburn”. Of course, that’s a hard one to answer because so many different things could be causing the “heartburn” — and most of them are NOT on a good nutrition and weight loss program.

“Heartburn” usually begins when your body is in the process of digesting food. If your body is not able to digest the food properly, you may experience severe painful discomfort in the area of your body where we visualize the heart — thus the term “heartburn”.

What we describe as “heartburn” is actually a burning sensation in the esophagus. The esophagus is located right below the breast bone. The esophagus is really a set of muscles that are used to push the food you eat down into the stomach. Those muscles need to close when you are digesting food. If they don’t close tightly enough to push the food into the stomach, you will experience pain — or a burning sensation. If the esophagus muscles stay open too long, the burning sensation could spread to other areas of the body.

When those esophagus muscles don’t close down and push the food into the stomach, acid in the stomach will move back up into the esophagus — and that causes the burning. Those acids are meant to stay in the stomach where they can help to break down the food. That’s where we get the terminology called “acid reflux”. It’s stomach acid moving into an area where it doesn’t belong — the esophagus.

You can avoid this discomfort by eliminating certain acidic foods from your diet. Things like alcohol, coffee, chocolate, cola drinks, and citrus juices or other sugar-laden drinks are examples of acidic products that could aggravate this “heartburn” problem. Another good way to avoid this problem is to drink lots of water — eight full glasses a day is a good amount. You should also avoid eating just before going to bed — allow at least two or three hours before going to sleep. Quitting smoking and losing weight are also great preventatives.

If you can’t seem to get rid of the “heartburn” symptoms, then you may need to see your doctor to investigate what’s causes it and see if medication may be the answer.

Here is some information about the nutritional supplements I add to my nutrition and weight loss program. Making these a part of your daily routine can do wonders to keep your digestion process in order. These have helped me more than I would have ever imagined. I’m not kidding. I urge you to click on the links in the box below — you won’t be sorry!

Have a great and healthy day. I’ll be back soon with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach program a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
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This is such an important question — Think about it — Are You Eating Right?

When you walk into the food store to do your shopping, you are presented with such a wide variety of choices as to be almost overwhelming (in fact, for me it is). The only way to really determine if we are making the right choices is to turn the food product over and read the label — Those labels are either on the side or on the back of the product. The labels will tell you whether the product you’re looking at has good nutrients or not.

One thing you can do to check your eating habits is to pay close attention for a week or so. We normally “just eat” without giving a lot of thought to the process. Look at the labels of the foods you’re eating, and then go do some research online to learn more about what’s going into your body. One place you can look for good, straight information is this blog. Go check out the archives. If you’re eating, then chances are I’ve covered the good and the bad in these articles.

Also, take a look at your individual needs. If you’re overweight, then you will have different needs from someone who is slim. Your needs will vary if you’re younger, pregnant, older, etc. You need to find balance in your nutrition. If you are on a good nutrition and weight loss program like the South Beach Diet® for example, you will find that balance you need. Your body will always know which foods you need for top-notch health.

If you need supplements or vitamins in order to gain back balance, this will be an easy way to start. Check at the end of this articles to see the supplements I use and recommend.

Eating right is an easy way to have more energy and balance in your body. Check the labels — spend some time reading the information on this blog and other sources of information, and you will balance out your eating habits. Eating right is so vital to your health. Everyone needs to be following a good nutrition and weight loss program.

Have a great and healthy day. I’ll be back soon with some more nutrition and weight loss thoughts for you.

And give the South Beach program a try. That’s what I follow and it sure has worked for me. Here’s where to go to learn more:

Shanti,

Ron
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