We all love watching X-Weighted and one of the real highlights of the show is not just the transformations in just a few months but also the no nonsense way in which Paul Plakas helps, pushes and fights against what people want to do in order to make them that much better.

I just saw on a comment from Paul on my X-Weighted post that Paul has his own website now which is great!

Paul’s fans as well as many people that want to be on the X-Weighted show email me and comment quite often so now people can go straight to the source. I am not sure how much Paul has to do with getting people onto the X-Weighted show but perhaps if you visit his website you will be able to find this out.

Also, if you live in the Edmonton area Paul Plakas is a personal trainer as well as a fitness show trainer and I am sure would be a fantastic one. Visit the new site and find out more about Paul and send him an email.

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: edmonton, paul plakas, personal trainer

X-Weighted is a TV show that is shown on the life network here in Canada. The idea of X-Weighted is that the story of regular people losing weight would be interesting to watch and in fact it is. The host of X-weighted is a trainer from Edmonton by the name of Paul Plakas. Paul is a great host for a weight loss show because he goes into peoples houses and is not afraid of offending them with his tips and is really great for giving workout ideas. Also, as a Canadian Paul is never an ass but he doesn’t give anyone much of a chance to make any excuses either.

I watched X-Weighted a couple of times last season but earlier this week was a standard episode that I thought was great to watch especially for the lack of hype that this show uses to bring across the idea of weight loss over a longer period of time. The structure of X-Weighted is that you will have an intro where you see the life situation of someone that wants to lose weight, then Paul Plakas measures and weighs the person, looks in their kitchen and does a fitness assessment. Later in the show you have workouts and a a weight in and finally at the end there is an official X-Weighted final weigh in. Great drama and great info all in an hour

Anatomy of an X Weighted Episode

The X-Weighted episode that I saw started with Michelle, a lady that was over weight and would like to lose 50 pounds. She had problems with one of her three children being Autistic and becoming a problem and her whole family leaned on her for support in various parts of their lives. Because of Michelle’s work schedule and early mornings she would eat out at fast food places once or twice EVERY day. Now we know this ladies background.

First things first for the meeting with her trainer . Michelle laid out her situation and then told her trainer that she wanted to lose 50 pounds in the next six months. Her trainer talked to her about her exercise requirements, eating requirements, tested her current level of fitness and then followed her around for a day. A couple of day later Michelle met with her trainer for a training session and then we get to see how Michelle reacts over the next few months to life, changes and weight loss.

In the end Michelle lost I believe 44 pounds and was really happy with how things went for her weight loss. Her life was a series of traumatic events over the time of her weight loss and it really makes you feel for her and her family.

X-Weighted is a great show in that it really walks you through how real people lose weight while living their regular lives, this is a classic idea of a reality show where the people are in their own surrounding much like our own and every great result is hard fought. X-Weighted is on in Canada on many nights of the week on the Slice Network (formerly the Life Network).

Tags: Canada, edmonton, exercise requirements, food places, life network, life situation, losing weight, paul plakas, Weight Loss, workouts, x-weighted

In Edmonton at least one place, Alberta Milk, is helping it’s employees to get in better shape by offering fitness programs in the workplace. This is a trend that people are seeing in many places as companies realize that fit and healthy employees are more productive and and have less sick time.

Some employers are embracing the idea that a fit worker is a happy one that may, in the long run, take fewer sick days. After attending a workshop on bringing fitness into the workplace, Joanne Barwise of Alberta Milk in Edmonton talked to her employer and soon the office had various ways for folks to fit activity into their workday.

“The key to success is having management onside,” she said.

Since the spring, the 35 staff at the non-profit organization have had access to two bicycles to ride outside anytime during the work day, and to walking paths near the building.

When that took off, they bought a set of bocce balls. Now every Tuesday and Thursday the staff head to the back of the building and have a game after work.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alberta Milk, Canada, edmonton, fit worker, Joanne Barwise, Kathleen Dugas, project officer in the healthy living unit, Public Health Agency of Canada, staff head, Toronto, USD, www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/pau-uap/fitness/work/trends e.html

With cold and flu season right around the corner I just read an article or two about a product called Cold-fx which is supposed to be a great cold remedy. There is a study taking place seeing if there are any good health benefits with Cold-fx. I myself never have taken cold-fx but know many people that do and the kicker is that they never seem to get sick!

With savvy marketing and the help of some high-profile sports figures, an Alberta company has propelled a natural health product to known-quantity status as something that may boost the immune system’s ability to stave off colds and influenza.

But to date only small studies support CV Technologies’ assertions that Cold-fX can help one stay healthy through Canada’s long cold-and-flu season.
Now the company is putting the claims to the test. It announced yesterday it will conduct a study of 720 healthy senior citizens in Edmonton, Vancouver and Toronto to see if those who take the product over six months – at either standard or high dose – are less likely to contract respiratory infections than those not receiving the supplement.

“At the end of the day the outcome will be: Did Cold-fX prevent infections in this population or not?” one of the researchers, Dr. Andrew Simor of Toronto’s Sunnybrook and Women’s Health Sciences Centre, said.

“The company has some preliminary data, in elderly nursing home residents and also in some younger adults to suggest that it might actually work in preventing respiratory tract infections. It’s very exciting preliminary data, but that’s all it is. These data need to be confirmed in good, rigorous scientific studies.” said Simor, an infectious disease expert.

One alternative to Cold FX is Immunitril.

Immunitril is made to give the same kinds of benefits as Cold FX and includes many minerals as well as Arabinogalactan, Echinacea Purpuria Leaf, Elderberry and more. Its prime qualities are:

Promotes Healthy Immune System Function
Supports the Function of White Blood Cells
Increases Healthy Digestive Microflora
Anti-oxidant Protection Against Cellular Damage
NEVER GET SICK AGAIN!!!

And it is to be used IMMEDIATELY when first signs of sickness occur to prevent onset of common cold or flu.

Drugs aren’t allowed on the market without that rigorous efficacy testing. But Cold-fX is a natural health product, an extract of North American ginseng. Natural health products can be brought to market without the type of efficacy testing the company is now in the process of doing.

For the study, only seniors living in the community – in other words, not those in nursing homes – will be enrolled. All must have had a flu shot, because influenza vaccinations are recommended for people in this age group, the researchers said. Participants will be monitored closely for respiratory infections.

Tags: Alberta, Andrew Simor, Canada, common cold, CV Technologies, edmonton, high-profile sports figures, infectious disease, influenza, kicker, natural health product, Natural health products, respiratory infections, respiratory tract infections, Toronto, Toronto's Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre, vaccinations, Vancouver