Introduction to Dieting

Let's get started by saying that all the fad diets are crap. Can we agree on that? If it has a fancy name or you buy a book dedicated to this one particular diet, it's not worth your time. This means you Atkins, Caveman Diet, Glycemic Index and anyone I may be forgetting. Don't let anyone tell you what to eat. Learn what's in your food, eat what you need and cut the crap.

Now that we have that crowd out of the way, listen closely: IT IS NOT OKAY TO BE OUT OF SHAPE. What? That's right. No. We, as people, have a tendency to acquiesce to our surroundings. Most of America is fat. Our friends are fat and we are fat. Therefore it must be okay. Well, no it's not. Your friends who aren't fat who pretend it's okay are only being nice to spare your feelings. They work hard to stay in shape. We have no right to put this burden on them.

That's right, I'm one of you. I'm 5'11 and 211 pounds. I say it's not okay, but in the back of my mind I'm always saying “It's not that bad, you look alright, at least you're not as fat as they guy over there.” This kind of thinking has to end. The only time it is okay to be overweight is when you are less overweight then you were the day before. You're the same weight the next day? Time to go for a jog. This is a problem, a threat, that requires constant action. Now that we have that out of the way, let's cover the very basics.

Calories

Calories are almost a little too simple. You take in less calories then you burn and you lose weight. Unfortunately, something always seems to go wrong in the execution. We aren't going to get into the nuances of calories today. We're just going to cover the basics. Starting with the Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of calories you burn just by laying in bed all day. You calculate your BMR with this formula:

67 + (6.24*Your weight in pounds) + (12.7*Your Height in inches) – (6.9*Your age) = BMR

So for me that would be 67+(6.24*211) + (12.7*71) – (6.9*24)
Which comes out to be 2119.74

It would be extremely difficult for me to only take in 2119.74 calories, so obviously I have to exercise to increase my maintenance calories.

The real key to cutting calories is water!

Water. Water. Water. Water. Water.

Water is the basis of life for everything living on Earth. It allows your body to make full use of all the nutrients you consume and it has 0 Calories. If you start the day by drinking water and continue to sip on water all day long, drinking nothing else, you won't be as hungry when meal time comes around and you'll have more energy.

How to Eat

This is where most of us get it wrong. It's easy to say “I'm not going to be a fatass and eat 4000 calories worth of junk today” but the way we eat causes us to consume far more calories than we should. The first mistake we make is eating enough food for an entire day in one meal. The mechanisms our brain uses to tell us when we aren't hungry are slow, so we can wolf down five cheeseburgers in half an hour before we say “okay, that's enough” Instead, what we have to do is get the jump on our hunger. Eat something as soon as you get up before your stomach has time to even make a suggestion and then take in a 300-400 calorie serving every 3-4 hours. Before you know it the day is over and you have avoided gouging yourself with greasy fast food or junk.

I'll end this entry with a simple 3 step process everyone can follow
1.Drink more water
2.Eat a healthy breakfast as soon as you wake up
3.Space out short meals by 3-4 hours and keep your food far enough away that you have to burn some calories getting to it.

We'll be revisiting this subject in future entries where we will explore increasing maintenance calories with the Harris Benedict Equation, What makes nutrients so great, why breakfast tastes so good and we'll be following my progress as a strive to no longer be a gelatinous embarrassment to American culture.

Glenn Beck: A Case Study in Media Terror

He is the latest face of Republican propaganda and he is good at what he does. He does radio. He does TV. He does books. He does quasitreasonous resistance groups. Armed with nothing but a pen, a microphone and a twenty three million dollar salary, Glenn Beck does it all. He is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints and a Libertarian leaning Conservative and he is stealing the hearts of everyone in the trailer park. So, who is he and we do we care?

Glenn Beck Works for Fox News

Don't let the name fool you. They are the highest rated cable news network in America, but they have zero credibility. Everyone has heard the claims that Fox News has a conservative bias. They claim that only their commentators have a conservative bias and their news is right down the middle. Unfortunately, the right-wing propaganda machine has been caught time and time again misrepresenting the facts. You can see it in their polls that tell you 70% of Americans think Obama is doing worse than Hitler would as President. You can see it in their doctored clips of Democratic politicians and their great big headlines “IS OBAMA INDOCTRINATING OUR CHILDREN?” Fox News alone isn't enough to get you written off as a nutjob, but it's a good start.

The Tea Party Movement

Everyone is familiar with the new craze of going out and protesting against the government. Fiscal responsibility and irresponsible government spending are ostensibly the cause for the panic. But why weren't there any tea parties when the government eliminated its budget surplus and gave a $1.7 trillion entitlement to the top 1% of earners in this country? Or when we spent $1 trillion on a war with no just cause?

What's even more terrifying about these protests is the tone. The “Boston Tea Party” was an act of wanton destruction that preceded the Revolutionary War. The people who did the original Tea Party followed up by waging war and overthrowing the government. People seem to be overlooking that and the fact that these lunatics are bringing firearms to town hall meetings should be making some of us just a little bit uncomfortable.

Glenn Beck and 9-12 project not only supports these maniacs. He organized them and in many cases delivered pamphlets containing misinformation to rile up senior citizens all over the country. Glenn Beck had Chuck Norris on his show to ask the people of Texas to secede from the union. No lie, it really seems like he wants to have a second Civil War.

5 Best Selling Books

Oh yeah, surprisingly these protestors with their bullcrap and their signs bearing threats of violence against the government and racist and abhorrent messages actually read. One of these books is called “How to Argue with an Idiot.” Lunatic anarchists have no sense of irony.

Another of Glenn Beck's masterpieces is “Common Sense” a stab at Thomas Paine's monumental work. Glenn Beck's version has factual inaccuracies on every page as well as a slew of unfounded insinuations about every Democratic politician sense Franklin Roosevelt.

I'll only mention one more of these abominations: “An Inconvenient Book” which is a stab at Al Gore and the inexplicably politicized movement to end global warming. Glenn Beck has acknowledged that global warming is backed by solid science and that mankind has a hand in it, but that's not going to stop him from writing a book to help create the illusion that there are two credible sides to this very dangerous, factual matter.

Now that we've covered who Glenn Beck is and what he stands for, it's clear that something needs to be done. Glenn Beck isn't some sort of demon or antichrist, he is simply a mortal man with a cause and a 23 million dollar salary. Glenn Beck is an important enough figure that everyone, regardless of stance, should study him.

Learn the 9-12 principles, memorize the falsehoods employed by Beck and his followers and never overlook the spreading of misinformation by him and his ilk. I will be regularly revisiting the avatar of Libertarian hate speech for this blog. Remember, the only way to fight a fear-mongering liar like Glenn Beck is by staying informed.

About Me

Name: James Horner
Age: 24
Email: Renroh@gmail.com
Occupation: Tutor/Writer
Subjects I am competent with: Basic Math, English, History, Guitar, Website Content, Copywriting, Religion, Mythology, Fantasy, Nutrition, Personal Finance.
Subjects I specialize in: Information Technology, Networking, Customer Service, Politics

I graduated from Linn State Technical College in 2006 with an Associates Degree in Networking Systems Technology. The mission statement of that school is to give students the tools and knowledge they need for the working world and to prepare them for a lifetime of learning. Since High School, my education has always taken wide, unfocused paths. There are still many fields I haven't explored that are interesting to me. Writing gives me the opportunity to learn subjects I'm interested in while still pursuing financial success. I've spent the last three years working retail and developing my ability to relate to and work with other people. This has been extremely rewarding and has unexpectedly lead me down a long path of personal achievement.

When I'm not working my free time is spent exercising and reading.


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Rates are based on words requested. Allow for some articles to be longer, you will not be charged for additional content. Rates will be increased for short deadlines or large batches of very similar articles. Informative or interesting content will be given priority over sales material. For full copyright, all articles will be at least $.05/word

Future Posting Schedule

Tomorrow: Biography

Tuesday: Introduction to Dieting

Friday: Glenn Beck by Renro

Next Tuesday: Robin Carnahan by Renro

Next Friday: The Challengers!

Far off future: Methods for writing

Pretty lofty plan for the next two weeks.

Renro: The Blog

I did a blog similar to this on Geocities called "BaggerRenro." It was all about my personal life, ethics and the 2008 Missouri Governor's race. I eventually had to shut it down due to time constraints in real life. This reincarnation is going to be a little different. I've already taken the first mile in the journey started by BaggerRenro and have become a more interesting person.

This blog is going to melt away the seams of personal and professional. I've started article writing on the side and I'm gearing up for the next mile in my journey: Continuing my education. So, within the as-yet unwritten pages of this blog, you'll be able to find boring professional information.

However, this isn't going to be exposition and information. I'm also going to include a section that is fun to write. Here we will tackle the biggest problem to emerge in this country in the last two years: Militant Radical Anarchists and we'll try to put together some interesting information the Missouri 2010 Senatorial Race.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, drop them in the comment section and I will be sure to take a look.