Being January 1st I thought that it would be very important to remind people about how to join a gym. I was listening to some sports radio guy on ESPN this morning and he was telling people:

“If you are thinking about getting in shape, don’t. Don’t go and join a gym or get in shape it’s too much trouble. One of your friends probably convinced you it was a good iea and you don’t need to do that anyway. Keep doing what you are doing”

I was a little offended by the guy until he continued:

“My workouts that take 50 minutes always take 2 hours in January when so many people join a gym. Don’t bother getting in shpae, who wants to feel better about themselves, who wnat to get complements abouot how great they look, who want to look years younger, no just stay at home in front of the TV and eat fried food, someone has to to keep the economy going buying too much bad food.”

What a great rant. Anyway, last year I wrote a series of articles aboout what to look at when you are joining a gym. Here are the links to the articles:

Joining a Health Club – The how and why of joining a gym

Joining a Health Club – The Tour – The guys at the gym put on a little dog and pony whow and it is almost worthless unless you know your priorities and ask the right questions

Choosing a health Club – Distance from Home – Where would your gym be? Close to home? Close to work?

Health Club Staff – How to know what to look for in the staff at the gym itself. Your membership si paying for the staff you should get your moneys worth.

If you are going out in the next couple of days to join a gym I think that it will really help you make a better decision to read these articles.

Good luck with the gym shopping.

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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.

Thanks to Christine here at work. Here is a list from Divine Caroline of the worst fast foods to eat.

Dennys smoked sausage slam has 88 grams of fat? That is more than I probably get in a couple of days, and some people in a week.

Chilis Awesome Blossom was an appetizer that I had when I was in Hawaii. It is a broken up onion that is breaded and then deep fried. It was free with a coupon that we had and everyone in the family had a piece or two and then it sat. I tasted like crap and I tend to like a couple of onion rings. The bottom of the plate is just completely full of the dripped off oil.

Check the list, not before lunch or dinner. Makes me more aware of foods that you have to watch out for but we should all know that frying food is never good for you.

Everyone likes to have shortcuts to losing weight. Although as we all know the important things really are to have a good diet and to get exercise.

Having said this though there are times that you can make a real difference quite easily. Some people make such incredibly poor decisions that they can turn things around pretty easily. So for these people here we go.

1. Stop smoking – Smoking lowers the amount of oxygen that your body can get to your muscles. In fact if you quit smoking the amount of oxygen in your system will increase even within the first day. Some people smoke in the bizzare thought that by smoking you will eat less and although it is hard to eat with a smoke in your mouth, this will be counteracted by the fact that you will not have the energy to exercise and keep yourself healthy.

2. Don’t drink – Drinking alcohol will lower your metabolism and force your body to store more fat. I do not know the details of this but if you go about having a couple of beers every night then cutting these beers out will make a huge difference to how you feel, your outlook on life, and your chance to be motivated to workout in the evening. Read the rest of this entry »