Update 10-30-07

Hi,

Several notes, a reminder, some health filler, and best wishes for a Happy Halloween.

From Evelyn Roedel Read:  I don't mean to scare you, but when I had skin cancer on my face, florescent lighting was cited as a possible cause, along with open fires.  At the time, I had spent years in my classroom working extra long hours under florescent lighting and was tending to our wood stove at home in the basement.  Check into it -- especially with lighting that will be close to where you are working.
   
    [Rich -- As I wrote Evelyn, the florescent bulb on my desk is in a small banker's lamp with a heavy green glass shade, and the light is focused down at the desk, three feet away from me.]
   
    From Emily Kleinman Schreiber, in answer to my question:  Denise Austen is on TV, and even though there are too many commercials, her exercise show gets me stretching and jumping around.  She's been around a long time, starting out back in the days of Jack LaLanne.
   
    [Rich -- I think I remember Jack LaLanne.  Isn't he the old guy who swims every year on his birthday while pulling a rowboat by a rope held in his teeth?  Sure makes me want to work out.]
   
    From Robert Fiveson:  Denise Austen is a famous video workout diva.
   
    [Rich -- And when I asked Robert why he knew that, whether it was as a producer or a spectator, he politely replied that he was married to a woman who took her workouts seriously.]
   
    Robert also added:  This past year has been my best and probably last in the TV business.  My company has just delivered its seventh show in the last eleven months to the new Smithsonian Channel.  You can watch clips at http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/smithsonian/home.do   My shows are all aviation themed.
        It also looks like I am retiring early, or, at least, if I do any more work, it will be from Panama.  Oddly enough, Jay Tuerk has also bought property there.  Go figure.  If you look for me, I'll be the one wearing the bee keepers outfit and covered in deet.
   
    [Rich -- Forget about florescent lights, didn't Rachel Carson warn us about the dangers of deet?  Okay, maybe that was DDT.  But who'd trust a product with such a similar name?]
   
    A quick reminder that the next Alumni Association meeting is at South on Thursday, November 1st, probably in the library.
   
    Finally, fittingly, some health and fitness filler, found on AOL and written by Chris Sparling, who may be another workout expert.  From the Internet, I can't even find out if Chris is a man or a woman.
        Misconceptions about how to get fit -- there are plenty. By now, most people realize that the old school food pyramid (carb heavy with minimal fat and protein) is a joke, as is the concept of eating 3 squares a day. But, there still are some questions that remain unanswered, mainly because people have been misinformed for so many years. Here are just a few that spring to mind:
        Lifting weights will make you bulky. This is both true and false -- and here's why. If your goal is bulk up -- that is, to increase muscularity -- lifting weights is absolutely what you need to do. But, if your goal is to slim down and lose weight -- guess what? Lifting weights can help you do that, too. The amount of weight you lift, the number of repetitions and sets you perform, the number of calories/carbs/protein you consume, the amount of break time you take in between sets -- all these factors play into how lifting weights will effect your body. The important thing to remember is that you are always in control of your desired results.
        Long cardio sessions are the only way to lose weight. This clearly ties in with #1, as it again touches upon the significant role that resistance training plays in weight loss. Your body is extremely adaptive; it will quickly become accustomed to whichever way it is challenged. To that end, performing the same -- or even close to the same -- aerobics workout will only get you so far in terms of your weight loss. If you don't believe me, watch The Biggest Loser the next time it's on. Are the contestants only doing cardio to lose weight, or are they also incorporating resistance training into their routines? They key: the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Your body burns calories by sustaining the life of these muscles.
        If you workout every day, you can eat whatever you want. I wish this one were true, but I'm afraid it's not. Whoever laid this one on you was either a) genetically gifted, b) 22 years old, or 3) an idiot. Or, perhaps even a combination of all three. Maybe this logic seemed to fly while you were younger -- and your body burned calories like a furnace -- but as you get older, this natural calorie burning process isn't quite as ravenous. Can you workout every day and eat whatever you want? Of course you can. You just open your mouth, insert food, chew and then swallow. There, you just did it. The better question is: can you workout every day, eat what you want, but still not gain weight? The answer to that better question is a resounding No. Half of the battle is what you're eating, so unfortunately sweating it out at the gym just isn't enough by itself.