Finally got a new PC, which should make this whole blog management business a bit easier

So let’s see how fast I can create this article with a few interesting posts from around the web.

From Science News we have this article which discusses how calorie restriction seems to extend the lives of monkeys.  Makes sense to me if you think about how we evolved.  I doubt our ancient ancestors managed to get enough to eat every day, so it seems logical that our bodies are meant to thrive on a diet of limited calories.
@Science News

Here’s a good one from Forbes for you parents out there.  It discusses the ability or inability of parents to influence the diets and healthy habits of their children.  Looks like parents have less influence than we think, although certainly not zero.
@Forbes

Is cane sugar better than high fructose corn syrup?  Is maple sugar better than either? You’ll hear many folks making the argument that one type of sugar is better than the other or is more “natural”.  This article from the Chicago Tribune sheds some light on this topic.  My take?  They’re all bad for you.  Focus on foods with less processed sugar of all kinds and you’ll be better off.
@The Chicago Tribune

And let’s finish this up with an interview with my favorite author, Michael Pollan.  Professor Pollan discusses the recent movie Food, Inc and the impact of our modern meat production industry.  If you haven’t seen the movie or read Pollan’s books, I recommend you do so.  You’ll never look at a hamburger the same way again.
@Newsweek

It’s the 4th of July here in the states which means a lot of food and a lot of time spent with friends. For the first time ever, I managed to focus my holiday weekend on the latter and not the former. I’m quite proud of that!

And with that, here are some articles I found useful:

From WebMD, here are 6 mistakes smart people make when dealing with health.  Good list, and #6 is especially important for weekends like the 4ht of July.
@WebMD

From Zen Habits we have an article on the simple fitness rules.  You’ve heard these before but I really like Leo’s take on this.  Yes, it really is this simple.
@Zen Habits

I usually post about people who go from fat to fit.  Well, here’s an article about the opposite, a super fit person who chose to go fat as an experiment. Not sure how smart or even real this is, but it sure is a fun read.
@The Daily Mail

And, for those of you who are wondering, this is why you’re fat!
@This Is Why You’re Fat

It’s HOT in the south bay today.  Temperature outside should hit the 90′s by mid afternoon.  Yes, that’s hot for around here, my apologies for those of you in places like Phoenix where this would be a cool spring day

Before I melt, here are some articles from this week that I thought you might find useful:

I’ve never even heard of this blog but I like the name and I like this rant!  It’s all about the methods the authors plans to use to eat better.  All stuff you’ve heard before but it’s nice to see it in one spot plus I always get inspired after reading posts like these.
@Calorie Killers

And if we’re in the mood for a good health related rant (and I always am!), here’s one from a neat little blog called Waterproofing (which normally has nothing to do with health).  It’s all about the various fallacies surrounding weight loss and diets.  I love it!
@Water Proofing

Speaking of calories, here’s an excellent guest post from Mizfit that explains what calories are in small words and short sentences.  Good for those of you who, like me, don’t have a degree in biology but still want to understand how our body works.
@Miz Fit

And hey, since we’re highlighting smaller news sources these days, how about an article from this little almost unknown source called Canada?  Eh?!?!  Sorry, couldn’t resist   However, this excellent article from Canada.com (how come we don’t have a USA.com?  Sigh.  Never mind, I just checked and we do except our site is a redirect to some advertising website) highlights the dangers of over emphasis on fitness and health.  Yes, you can overdo things, as many high end athletes will tell you.  That’s why my philosophy is to really enjoy what I’m doing when I exercise and not just do it for exercise’s sake.
@Canada.com

I’ll be making a few changes to 60 in 3 over the next few weeks, mostly in terms of content.  There will be an announcement later today of what I intend to do.  Hope you enjoy it.

In the meantime, here are a few interesting articles I thought you might enjoy:

Every once in a while, you have to move away from the big blogs / newspapers and all their advice, and focus on the little blogs, the one with the personal success stories and the inspirational ideas.  Here’s one from Mark Olson about how he changed his lifestyle to the better.
@Mark Olson

From Strong Lifts, here’s an article about how many calories you need to eat per day.  Good information here although a lot of their calculations seem to come out a little high to me.
@Strong Lifts

From the Chicago Tribune, here’s an article on the growing suspicion of sodas.  I like the comparison to cigarettes.  As someone who has tried to quit caffeine filled sodas for several months, I can tell you it’s a pretty hard habit to break.
@Chicago Tribune

And finally, from the SF Examiner, here’s an interesting article about swapping out unhealthy food for healthier choices.  Some good ideas here.
@The Examiner

This week is amazingly busy, so you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t write as much.  I did however find a few interesting articles last week and wanted to share those with you.

From Consumer Reports, here’s a review of “light ice cream”.  If you have a subscription for CR (something I personally recommend) you’ll be able to read more but even the overview is worth it for this gem of information: “The lighter Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s we tried actually have more calories and sugars than the regular Edy’s and Breyers”.
@Consumer Reports

From Contemplative Fitness, read about Roy’s love affair with dead lifts.  Roy seems absolutely infatuated with them and who can blame him?  Luckily, he also includes a great guide for how to perform this great exercise.
@Contemplative Fitness

From the Diet Blog, are crash diets healthy? My answer, absolutely not!
@Diet Blog

And from Mark’s Daily Apple, what could be more primal than tasty internal organs!  mm… yummy kidneys!!!  Think I’m kidding?  Read the article
@Mark’s Daily Apple

Finally back home after two weeks on the road and I’m down with a cold.  No matter, I’m still having a good day!

Plus, being sick means I have more time to look for interesting articles, so enjoy:

At first glance, the following article doesn’t seem fitness related.  It talks about video game addiction and teenagers.  However, as someone who spent several years of his life behind a computer screen playing games, I can tell you that the connection between games and health is very strong.  Simply put, when you spend most of your waking hours sitting in front of the computer or game console, you’re not eating well and you’re not moving around enough.  I gained most of my weight as a direct result of lack of exercise and poor diet, both of which were related to my gaming.
@USA Today

and just to give a bit of an opposing view, here’s an article about the health benefits of some exercise related video games such as the Wii fit.  I’m not going to say that these are as good as a normal workout but if they get your butt of the couch then they’re better than nothing.
@US News and World Report

There’s A LOT of useful information in the following article from Consumer Reports.  It’s all about dieting, exercise and do-it-yourself fitness.   I’m not going to try and describe it all because it’s a big collection of information.  So just click on over there and enjoy.
@Consumer Reports

And let’s finish this off with an excellent collection of tips from MSN on how to sleep better.  Something I’ve been trying to do myself lately.
@MSN

I’m currently on a flight between San Francisco and New York and working online via the plane’s wireless network.  I love technology!

And here are a few of the articles I’m reading while flying:

I like this article from the Cleveland.  It’s a brief story on the recent fad of adding Omega 3 acids to every food there and claiming it’s healthier.  Sorry, but you’re getting more than enough Omega 3 in your diet if you just eat an occasional piece of fish.  No need for expensive supplements when you can get your nutrients through a healthy diet.
@Cleveland

From the blog called Dumb Little Man (love that name!), here’s an article filled with tips on how to get a better night’s sleep.  Remember, 7 to 9 hours of sleep is what you need.  Short changing yourself here is not something to boast about.
@Dumb Little Man

CNN usually tends to try and scare people, since this gets them more viewers.  Which is why I usually avoid them.  However, this article seems well written to me, so I added it here.  It’s about child obesity, an alarming trend among kids as young as three and four.  I was a bit of a chubby baby myself, but there’s a difference between baby fat and plain fat.
@CNN

And an article from a non US source, this time from Korea.  I like this story because it focuses on the benefits employers get from keeping employees healthy.  I’d like to point out companies like Google and others who have become really successful with this idea.  Instead of squeezing every dollar out of each employee, they’re focusing on making employees more productive through benefits such as gyms.
@The Korea Times