Razflections » Exercise

Health Care Savings Could Start in the Cafeteria

Raz — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:30:54 +0000

A great article about how we can manage our own health care more effectively, and not only drive down the costs but also change the paradigm of what healthcare is…Starts in the Cafeteria (though it might start in the Cafeteria the week after the Holidays, not during! ).

Steven Burd isn’t a doctor or a medical specialist. But he sure can talk like one.

“I can take any standard diagnostic procedure and there’s typically a five- to tenfold difference in the cost of that identical procedure, whether it’s an M.R.I., CT scan, a diagnostic catheterization, a colonoscopy, you name it,” says Mr. Burd, the chief executive of Safeway.

Four years ago, Mr. Burd, whose grocery chain is the nation’s third largest, became something of health care expert when his company saw a looming financial crisis. In 2005, Safeway was forking over $1 billion a year to provide health insurance for its workers, and the cost was rising 10 percent a year. It was Mr. Burd’s moment of truth: he realized he could no longer stand by as health care costs ballooned.

Click here to read the whole story.

The Fun Theory

Raz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:33:44 +0000

Contrary to the title of this entry, I don’t think it’s a very deep or profound concept at all that people like to do things that are fun. When you’re able to take onerous chores and tasks and make them fun, everyone wins.

I found this contest that the Volkswagen company is running called ‘The Fun Theory.’ The award goes to the idea that best illustrates that fun is the best way to change our behaviors for the better. Whether it’s for the environment, for our health, or something else, entirely.

Check out this fun little idea:

10 Tips from Happy People

Raz — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:25:40 +0000

This one requires little intro or explanation.

10 Tips from Happy People

Are you happy? It’s a simple question, but with numerous variables underlying it. What makes someone happy? Is there more than one route to happiness and more than one way to measure it?

If you’re an economist or a social scientist, you may conduct scientific surveys that try to gauge levels of contentment or satisfaction. If you’re a religious leader, you may wonder if someone feels spiritually fulfilled, connected to a community and in touch with his or her chosen deity. Being married often boosts happiness, as does a genetic basis for a sunnier disposition. Older women become less happy than their male counterparts, who report increased levels of happiness as they age

Click here to read the whole story.

Dogged Pursuit

Raz — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:38:10 +0000

Can we agree on a few simple premises?

1. There’s a huge need for secondary or replacement primary income right now? More than ever in the past three decades, perhaps longer? Everybody is faced with the prospect of layoffs, 401k matches missing, salary reductions, and on. Not to say that everyone is going through it–but everybody to some degree is faced with the prospect. Heck, I just read that even Sesame Street is laying off 20% of it’s workforce–including some of the letters of the alphabet, such as Q, K, Z, K, and the semicolon! (the latter is pulled from a funny piece of online satire, but the former is apparently true and not so funny).

2. That there’s nothing wrong with pushing a hotdog cart (though I wouldn’t recommend eating one everyday). People do what they need to do. No judgment here.

3. That an opportunity in Univera makes vastly more sense in terms of a) lower initial investment, b) time factor of money, c) income potential, d) capitalizing on a growing marketplace, e) feeling better physically, and f) intersecting what you do with what you love–or in other words, finding purpose in work?

Check this recent article from the Wall Street Journal, and tell me it doesn’t motivate you to go and find that extra person to give them a shot at what they might never have known but for your contributions and enthusiasm…The best advice probably comes at the very end of the story, where Mr. Mottola says “I’m creating my own stimulus plan…I’m not waiting for the President.”

Dogged Pursuit: Professionals Find New Livelihood Selling Frankfurters

BANDERA, Texas — In hard times, some small-town Americans are turning to a new livelihood with relish.

Among them are Andrea and Ben Guajardo. They began selling hot dogs from a pushcart on Main Street in November.

Ms. Guajardo is a grant administrator for a health-care system. Her husband, Ben, is a pipeline operator. Theirs is the first hot-dog stand in Bandera, pop. 957, that anybody here can remember.

Click here to read the full story.

Rockin’ Reno

Raz — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:00:57 +0000

What happens when you pull together 500 people who…

Have high energy?

Great leadership?

Are excited about a new paradigm to feeling great?

And ready to take hold of their own financial future?

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUV-QV_jp0w

Well, when you combine all of those things in the dynamic city of Reno, and a huge portion of those 500 are guests leaning forward in their seats during the presentations, you’ve got an event that absolutely rocked this past Tuesday night.

I can’t say enough great things about the event.

And, with our Road Tour every city was really good–many were great and even exceptional. But, Reno was off the charts. Just totally off the charts. Of course Stephen and Regan were fantastic, but so were all of the hosts and participants and people and guests and…

So much of the success of an event is decided before anyone first sets foot in the door. And, what I mean by that is it’s often pre-determined by the leaders in the room and their spirit and excitement coming into the activity that helps drive to a successful event.

That, coupled with bringing lots of qualified people to hear some great news.

This past week, that’s exactly what happened as we wrapped up the Road Tour in Reno–there’s no hyperbole there when I saw it’s the best event we’ve had in a long time. It was absolutely electric by the end of the night.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0G5U84Iq0M

And hangin’ with the Reno leaders was a hoot as well.

Stay tuned for a Road Tour highlights video, for now enjoy this stuff from the Rockin’ Reno team.

I don’t have any good stories from the event–only great ones, and the leadership there is fantastic. There is no way I can give credit to all the names of people who made such an impact.

Congrats, team, on such a great event. And, thanks for making the final stop among the best events we’ve ever held.

The Phoenix VLOG

Raz — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:05:33 +0000

This is one of my first-ever predominantly video-blogs (vlogs), but it’ll tell the better story comprised of a few different clips from a great evening. Thanks to all the Phoenix leadership, including Barry and Connie Lucas, Kenny and Esmerelda Rossi, Ron Faunce, Dr. Jack Burns, and many many others who participated and helped. Thanks to all the first-timers who showed up to check out Univera, the products and the business.

In short, this was my favorite trip to Phoenix so far–I loved the time at the event, meeting all the new people (probably 70% guests), and the great socialization with the leaders post event at Los Alevios! So, enough writing–onto the VLOG…

Lose It!

Raz — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:55:00 +0000

There are all sorts of gizmos, gadgets, and fads as it relates to weight loss. We all know that and each of us probably has a story or two of some purchase we either regret, or are embarrassed to admit, because it was one of those too-good-to-be-true panaceas.

So often we enjoy a bit of comedy about those of us who try different things and approaches, especially Americans who are among the most overweight of world citizens yet spend millions and millions upon exercise equipment that often gets used more by the owners closets than the actual owners themselves. But I’m never one to criticize to trial.

Here’s why.

Different things work for different people. And, sometimes, it just takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what is going to work for you.

I don’t particularly like fad diets or fad equipment with unmanageable claims and unrealistic testimonials, however much we want to believe the “I can get rich and gorgeous overnight” shticks. I think we can all agree that the simple and effective premise is burn more calories than you consume and over time you’ll lose weight, feel better, gain greater levels of energy, and just feel better.

Certainly, much has been learned over the past few years about nutrition and this has a bearing on success. My personal belief and what I TRY (try!) to adhere to is a whole foods diet, comprised as much as possible of locally grown produce (organic whenever possible) with lean meats while focusing on foods that also carry a low glycemic index (though I’m sure someone will catch me from time to time sneaking a Top Pot donut). I just know this approach works for me, and it’s nutritionally sound (BTW, let me recommend a great book: Michael Pollan “In Defense of Food”).

The eating plan I’ve used with the greatest amount of success is the South Beach Diet–despite

the name, I don’t think it’s fad-ish at all, in fact it’s a really simple concept and its biggest downsides are probably time and expense (it takes time in preparation and it does costs considerably more than a $1 box of Mac and Cheese to eat fresh whole foods, though it’s also not cost prohibitive).

So I’m a big fan of finding the tool that works for you–I don’t think people can be pushed into a specific corner and must rigidly adhere to this exact style of meal plan, and endure this specific a workout. Part of this is about finding out what works for you. Then, of course, the other part, is simply doing it.

Which is exactly what I’m trying to do personally. My physical goal for the year is to have 15% bodyfat by the end of June of this year. I started out QUITE a ways away from this, far enough away that I’m embarrassed to share the number, and while I’m much closer today I still have a good ways to go. So I’m trying to kick it into higher gear so I make my target with some time to spare and so it doesn’t require a binge of sorts (which isn’t good either).

One of the tools that I’ve found and used over the past month is an Apple iPhone application called “Lose It”, which also happens to be a FREE download.

And I “Love It.”

The reason is simple. It gives me daily accountability on my caloric intake, since I add all of my meals and snacks into the daily planner. It keeps tabs on me day to day, and week to week, against my targeted progress of weight loss. Beyond this, though, it also lets me log my exercise. And it offsets the calories I burned due to exercise against my daily allowance. So if I want to go for that glass of red wine, it’s an easy reminder that I’ve got to offset this somehow–either via reduction in other areas, or working out. And if I blow it one day, like I did yesterday (we went skiing and the matter exceeded my mind–before I knew it I was eating half a cheeseburger and some chili with cheese–which led me, along with a few other indulgences, to be OVER my daily allowance by 700+ calories–even after accounting for the calories I burned while skiing!!!) I can still see my progress for the week and work to offset the damage I did yesterday by eating well today and working out.

So today I “undid”, to a degree, the damage I did yesterday by being 700+ calories under my daily limit. It’s not a good practice to do this habitually for a lot of reasons, but if you have an off day like I did it really helped me figure out what I needed to do to get myself back on track again. And it’s a good reminder for me next time the consequence I have to pay by indulging at that moment of weakness.

Throughout my daily logs for the past month here’s what I’ve learned about myself personally as it relates to my wellness:

I can’t do it without exercise. It’s impossible.

At least for me it is.

EVEN IF I’m eating really well, without the exercise I’m still right around my daily allocation of calories (~2,200). But what happens is I’m usually still hungry at the end of the day and I’ll be frustrated with my progress because the results are not tangible enough–forget the fancy graphs, I can feel the lack of progress in my clothes, see it on my face, and feel it in my energy levels (despite consuming huge quantities of Xtra, it’s still not exercise in a bottle).

So I have succumbed to the very realization, which most of us already know but still sometimes need to prove to ourselves, that in order for me to achieve the level of wellness I want I simply have to work out.

Lose It is also a great reminder for me, that for some people this little tool can really help. Yet for others, this is just another worthless gadget that will go in the metaphorical closet and collect dust. But you don’t know unless you try, and then most importantly stick with it.

There’s a great exercise/fitness writer named Clarence Bass (www.cbass.com), he’s really quite talented. And I remember him stating in one of his exercise books the simple idea that if you can just get one or two ideas out of someone’s written work than that’s a victory, take what you think makes sense and leave the rest. That concept has really changed the way that I’ve read and studied, or listened to speeches or lectures, etc.

In the worst of moments, 95% of it might, indeed, be worthless and mind numbing. But amidst that time there might be 10% of something really noteworthy and a learning moment. Then, as my dad would say, “Grok the fullness”, and you’re all the better for it.

So today I’m laying claim to “Love It” for the program “Lose It”, which not only has helped get me back on track but has also given me a new appreciation for the ways that tools can help assist on the way to managing ourselves to a better, and healthier life.

Depressed? Take a walk.

Raz — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:05:00 +0000

There’s some great information in the current news about health and exercise. But you have to look carefully, it’s buried deep beneath all the financial news that’s on the forefront.

From talk about Barack Obama’s disciplined and consistent six-day-a-week workouts (similar to George W. Bush as well) to some recent information about mental health–specifically depression–and exercise.

I used to discount the importance of emotional health in life, but I suppose after personal experiences and some years of learning and wisdom I have learned how important this is for physical success but also in other areas of our lives.

Like most people, I would like to feel and look great. Or, at least better. And, like many people, I can find a bunch of reasons why not to exercise consistently–especially when I’m traveling and going through a busy season.

But these reasons are just excuses, and none of them are good. And the rational reasons to exercise continue to mound, the most recent one comes from columnist and nutritional expert Tara Parker-Pope.

Lack of Exercise Explains Depression-Heart Link
For years cardiologists and mental health experts have known that depression raises risk for heart attack by 50 percent or more.

But what hasn’t been clear is why depressed people have more heart problems. Does depression cause some biological change that increases risk? Does the inflammatory process that leads to heart disease also trigger depression?

The answer may be far simpler. A new study suggests that people who are depressed are simply less likely to exercise, a finding that explains their dramatically higher risk for heart problems.

Click here to read the full article.