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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Cardio Swag Week 4 - (almost) 30 days & still going strong...

A special shout-out to all of you who have made it to this point of the year without slacking in your pursuit of Cardio Swag. How good does it feel to have come this far?  You should feel proud of yourselves! Whatever you have been doing, you should stay the course, and in February think about stepping it up.

By committing to personal changes, and getting to week 4 of 2012 with a few workouts under your belt, you have made a statement.  You are saying that you want something badly enough that you are willing to make some changes to achieve it.  You are making moves and watched the barriers to your success disappear.  With time, this workout thing will become second nature to you.  You'll want to do it, because it'll make you feel good...that's Cardio Swag, and it will spread like mustard into other parts of your life.

I understand that there are circumstances that make it hard to get over some hurdles, so what I am saying may not resonate with you right now. But if you are reading this, then you might be thinking about some changes.  That's the first step, and it's something to feel good about. Now make something good happen with what remains of this half-hour, or hour, or day.  Just make sure some of it is physical, and all of it's good.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Cardio Swag Week Three - Getting Grinchy on Girl Scout Cookies.

It's the end of week three, and you have made it through at least six workouts.  The end of January is coming, and you have not let up.  That's something to be proud of, so congrats!

This week's commentary is more a warning than a set of tips. It's a bit Grinchy, but given the topic,  and the "that just ain't right" pressure that was given to the likes of Burger King this week, it is both necessary and timely.

Late February marks the start of Girl Scout Cookie (GSC) season.  You know, those delectable treats that you can only buy from girl scouts or their close relatives.  It's like a special security clearance is required to be able to sell the things, and if you are not in the network, you search for someone who is.   After watching an SNL segment about the cookies and doing a little research, I was struck that besides being an exclusive, best-selling product, GSCs are like kryptonite for some people.  They are also like Paula Deen in that they are no good for you when you are trying to stay out of your local hospital's intensive care unit. (Please do not comment on her new pharma spokes-person role.)

For some of you, this post will be a reminder of your need to buy and store some GSCs.  You know who you are..."cookie freezers".  Telling me they are delicious will only get a single head-nod from me. Buying one box instead of three, will get you some dap, and not buying any will get you applause.  Here's what else it will get you:

1 - The same tax break that buying the cookies gets.  I know that's why you buy them in the first place, right?

2 - Knowledge that you have the discipline to resist annual temptations (particularly ones that promote non-family setting mindless eating).  This power can be applied to other things that make you drool. 

3 - The taste of those cookies will be long gone when you try to put that swim-suit on.

We all have our weaknesses, and I did say that you get a cheat day each week. You may be taking more than one, but that's your business.  If you can (and I know you can), treat delicacies like cookies with the utmost caution.  Almost as if they were a weaponized biological agent. Extreme? Perhaps, but you are reading this for your health, aren't you?

Stay positive and stay on course, Cardio Swag is on it's way, I promise.

Peace,

PV  



C-SPAN Live

Keep an eye out for me on C-SPAN's Washington Journal with Dr. Edward Sondik, Director of the National Center for Health Statistics to discuss, "How Americans Maintain Their Health". 9:15am, Friday, January 20th, 2012.