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Losing Weight During the Holidays, Diet vs Exercise and Walkstation – Multitask – Fight Obesity, Exercise while Working

easy eco blog — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:00:39 +0000

The holidays are here! The media has reported that the average person gains 7 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ouch. Big dinners, more alcohol, more snacks, more finger foods, tempting desserts, and appetizers. How can we work to combat those pounds?

Exercise and keep going. Do not abandon your exercise routine during the holidays. Work out longer or just start to exercise. Shoot for 30-45 minutes, three to five times a week. Having someone push you to exercise works.

A recent Time Magazine article raised eyebrows with the proclamation “Why Exercise Won’t Make you Thin”. The article sums it up with: “In short, it’s what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain”

So we need to focus on eating less and eating right.

1) Fill up your stomach with low calorie healthy foods including fruits and vegetables. Shoot for 7 servings or more a day. Fill up BEFORE you head to a party.

2) Avoid areas with temptations. Do not hang out by the buffet table or dining table.

3) Splurge on that fatty item, but limit it. Be a picky eater, do not waste your calories on items that are not worth it.

4) Drink low calorie drinks that will fill you up. Mineral water anyone?

5) Use a small plate, avoid sauces, load up on low cal salads, and focus on socializing not eating.

6) Visualize the party or holiday dinner ahead of time, and think about how you are going to attack the situation.

7) Learn to override your cravings. A thought is just a thought that doesn’t require a rush to action. Think before you put something in your mouth. Will putting this item in your mouth make you that much happier.

Drinking cold water helps the body burn more calories, so skip all those calorie filled drinks.

Get a dog? Average dog owners exercise up to 6 hours more a week than those who work out at a gym. Beware, some dog owners are obese and typically mirror the appearance of their dogs.

Walkstation – Multitask – Fight Obesity, Exercise while Working

Details from Steelcase just introduce the new $4199 Walkstation.

“The Walkstation is the combination of a fully integrated electric Height-Adjustable Work surface with an exclusively engineered, low speed commercial grade treadmill. At a maximum speed of 2mph the Walkstation lets you walk comfortably, burn calories, feel healthier and more energized…all while accomplishing the work you’d normally do while seated.”

Multitask! Fight obesity, improve your health, and exercise while Working. Or spend more time working and less time outside the office.

Somehow this product reminds us of this:

photo credit: lorda

Green EcoMill Treadmill

Woodway has a new EcoMill green manually powered treadmill that uses zero electricity. It has a battery that recharges as the user exercises. Many treadmills uses almost 1000 watts of power. Wow, that is one major step forward.

These guys even make a Desk Mill Desk Treadmill

How to have a Green Thanksgiving

easy eco blog — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:00:41 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Thanksgiving is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Thanksgiving?

Buy your pumpkins, squash, and other vegetables from a local farmers market or from local sources. Some even carry special Heritage turkeys
Buy organic when possible, except for product on the Clean 15 list
Buy a locally raised organic turkey with no antibiotics, no hormones, free range, raised on vegetarian feed, and no added flavor enhancers or salt
Utilize reusable bags to hold groceries
Don’t over cook or serve too much food
Rent or buy your decorations from used clothing stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
Donate extra food, money, clothing to those in need
Compost the leftovers, pumpkin, squash, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, repurposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Thanksgiving.

Donating Food to the Hungry

The Food Runners are an organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that helps business, organizations and people donate excess food. You call them at 415-929-1866, tell them what you have, and they match you with a party in need.

They work with restaurants, hotels, schools, food services, and private individuals. They are also looking for volunteers.

If you know similar organizations in your area, leave a note with the region and contact information.

Pollution and Wood Burning Fireplaces

easy eco blog — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:00:33 +0000

It was another Spare the air night in the San Francisco area, where it is illegal to burn wood, pellets, or manufactured fire logs. The Spare the Air winter season runs from November 1, 2011, through February 28, 2012.

An article showing how bad wood smoke pollutes during bad air days in the San Francisco Bay Area was surprising. Pretty shocking that 1/3 of fine particulate matter is from wood smoke.

How harmful is smoke from burning wood?

According to Sparetheair.org, “In the wintertime, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) becomes the pollutant with the greatest impact on air quality. Fine particulates can bypass the body’s natural defenses, penetrating deeply into the lungs and even passing into the bloodstream. Prolonged exposure to the fine particulates in wood smoke has been linked with aggravated asthma, lung and heart disease, and increased mortality rates.”

According to a UCSF professor of environmental science, wood smoke releases a lot of bad chemicals, chemicals not that far away from tobacco smoke and smoke from fossil fuel combustion engines. It is also harmful to your DNA. A Vancouver, Canada study found that children were 32% more likely to get ear infections in the areas polluted with wood smoke. Keep in mind that this is a neighborhood problem with the smoke you emit possibly hurting others located downwind of your area.

Wood burning fireplaces emit many times more pollutions than EPA-certified woodstoves or Pellet stoves. If you need to use one, try to improve your fireplace efficiency. Make sure that any fireplace you use has a good updrafts that doesn’t expose people sitting nearby. Also consider a HEPA air filter to clean the air inside your house.

Still want to start a fire?

Really into burning the fire? Consider Enviro-Log instead of wood for your fireplace. It is made from 100% recycled waxed cardboard boxes. No additional petroleum added. The ash can be used as fertilizer or potting soil.

If it is time to upgrade for the upcoming winter season, keep these figures in mind. You can be green and buy a more efficient stove or fireplace. Take advantage of the Federal Tax Rebate too.

EPA has information on Cleaner Burning Wood Stoves.

Artificial Grass – Artificial Turf Synthetic Grass

easy eco blog — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:00:32 +0000

Many of us spend a lot of water, mowing, and hence money, keeping their grass green. We decided to see if moving to artificial grass would be a cheaper proposition. Some of the newer ones look pretty good.

Costco even sells artificial turf. 15′ x 25′ costs $1399. Not exactly cheap but a lot cheaper than before. It comes with upto an 8 year warranty and is pet friendly. Many are made of recycled tires or water bottles. No more weeding, watering, or mowing. Costco surprisingly has a link to a MSDS sheet that shows it is Heavy Metal free (lead free) and is primarily made of polypropylene.

Dupont has added Forever lawn that has a 12-15 year lifetime, 8yr warranty.

There has been some controversy with regards to hazardous substances in some faux grass, primarily lead in older astroturf. It does help people with pets tearing up grass or grass allergies.

Morningstarturf has analysis showing that synthetic grass pays for itself in 4 years. Of course the analysis assumes you are installing new real grass. Without installing new real grass, the cost savings is faster.

We decided to stick with our lawn for now, but will be moving to something more native and water thrifty soon.

Our Water savings tips also help you reduce your water bill.

How to have a Green Father’s Day

easy eco blog — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:00:29 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Father’s Day is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Father’s Day.

Buy your meats to be barbecued, vegetables, and other food from a local farmers market or from local sources
Carpool or take public transportation to picnics or events
Rent or buy your gifts, decorations, and picnic items from used stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
Compost any waste, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, re-purposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Father’s Day.

Etón American Red Cross ARCFR160R Microlink Self-Powered Weather Radio

easy eco blog — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:00:28 +0000

Etón American Red Cross ARCFR160R Microlink Self-Powered Weather Radio is a fully functional gadget that also has a Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger. Be ready for those storm related power outages.

It comes with a USB cell phone charger to keep your mobile phones running when the power is out or when going camping.

Generate energy to power this sleek radio by simply setting it under the sun or with a few turns of the hand crank. Free yourself and ease your mind with self-powered radio broadcasts anytime anywhere.

It costs about $30 and has good reviews. The bigger and fancier Eton FR600 costs $80 and has poor reviews.

Tuning into free HDTV broadcasts

easy eco blog — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:00:23 +0000

People are trying to save money by reducing or eliminating their Cable or Satellite TV bills. Many people do not realize that all recent HDTVs have digital tuners built in designed to pull in Free TV signals with an antenna. The number of channels you will receive will vary by your location. We use a simple indoor antenna to receive many local channels in HD.

AntennaWeb is an industry website designed to help you maximize your television reception.

We have covered the Digital TV Transition in the past, so if you have an old TV, sign up for digital converter box coupons. These boxes use the same antennas to pickup free programming.

Most modern flat panel TVs have VGA computer inputs, so you can hook up your computer and view online broadcast sites like Hulu and nuke your monthly cable TV or satellite TV bills.

If you want to build your own antenna, check out this video.

Non eco Friendly Costco Effect – Rewards Card Fallacy

easy eco blog — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:00:07 +0000

The Costco Effect is defined by the Devil’s Dictionary as “..consumer enter a store planning to buy toilet paper, and end up charging $1500 on their AMEX card.”

The Wall Street Journal even had an article on this. “Michael Norton, a Harvard University marketing professor, co-authored a yet-to-be-published paper that found people buy more than they intend at Costco because they perceive that prices are better. He believes people end up throwing out food as a result.”

Knowing many Costco regulars or “addicts”, I can agree with the articles. You visit the store to buy more household items like detergent, paper towels, bread, milk but end up with books, electronics, beef jerky, clothes, and much more in your shopping cart. Shoppers assume they are getting great deals and buy until their garages are overstocked.

This overbuying problem presents itself at other warehouse clubs like Sam’s Club and even to holders of Store credit card with rewards or loyalty program like a Target Credit Card or Amazon Credit Card. You end up buying extra, often unnecessary items because of a discount, cash back, or sales goal.

We have no problem buying in bulk to save money, but when you add in a bunch of impulse items, you do not save money, you spend more. Many items are only sold in bulk, so we had first hand experience buying items, eating some, then tossing the rest. Not very eco friendly and no savings of money.

Try to restrain yourself at Costco or any other store.

Do you really need this item? Will I really finish this 12 pack?

Never shop when you are hungry! That sample tasted good, should I buy some? Eat before shopping.

Also remember that you can return anything to Costco at ANY time, even partially consumed. (Some electronics have a 90 day return period.)

One Day Sale – Consumer Reports 1 Year Subscription Sale

easy eco blog — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:23:00 +0000

18 Related posts:Consumer Reports Indoor Paint Review Consumer Reports October 2008 Exclusively Green 25% off Everything Sale Related posts:

New Amazon Green Electronics Section

easy eco blog — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:00:09 +0000

Amazon has a new Green Electronics section that features energy efficient ENERGY STAR qualified products. They feature products from Televisions to Home Theater to Computers to Office products.

It is always wise to try to wring every ounce of life out of your Electronics, before you buy new ones. Buy new energy efficient products and recycle your old electronics. Try to buy products that will last a long life, rather than just buying the cheapest product.

Among the benefits Amazon touts:

TVs that carry the ENERGY STAR label are as much as 30 percent more efficient than conventional models
If every Digital To Analog tuner sold as a result of the digital transition were ENERGY STAR qualified, Americans would save approximately $90 million in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 100,000 cars
On average, ENERGY STAR qualified battery chargers will use 30-35% less energy than conventional models.
If every home office product purchased in the U.S. this year was ENERGY STAR qualified, we would save more than $75 million in annual energy costs while preventing 1 billion pounds of greenhouse gases equivalent to emissions of 90,000 cars.
If all computers sold in the United States meet the ENERGY STAR requirements, the savings in energy costs will grow to about $2 billion each year and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions from more than 3 million vehicles.