body fat

FDA says dieters should stop using Hydroxycut now!

WASHINGTON – Government health officials warned dieters and body builders Friday to immediately stop using Hydroxycut, a widely sold supplement linked to cases of serious liver damage and at least one death.

The Food and Drug Administration said the company that makes the dietary supplement has agreed to recall 14 Hydroxycut products. Available in grocery stores and pharmacies, Hydroxycut is advertised as made from natural ingredients. At least 9 million packages were sold last year, the FDA said.

Dr. Linda Katz of the FDA’s food and nutrition division said the agency has received 23 reports of liver problems, including the death of a 19-year-old boy living in the Southwest. The teenager died in 2007, and the death was reported to the FDA this March.

Other patients experienced symptoms ranging from jaundice, or yellowing of the skin, to liver failure. One received a transplant and another was placed on a list to await a new liver. The patients were otherwise healthy and their symptoms began after they started using Hydroxycut.

Iovate Health Sciences, which makes the diet pills, said it agreed to the recall out of “an abundance of caution.” The company is based in Canada and its U.S. distributor is headquartered near Buffalo, N.Y.

“While this is a small number of reports relative to the many millions of people who have used Hydroxycut products over the years, out of an abundance of caution and because consumer safety is our top priority, we are voluntarily recalling these Hydroxycut-branded products,” the company said in a statement on its Web site. Consumers can get a refund by returning the pills to the store they purchased them from, the company said.

Dietary supplements aren’t as tightly regulated by the government as medications. Manufacturers don’t need to prove to the FDA that their products are safe and effective before they can sell them to consumers.

But regulators monitor aftermarket reports for signs of trouble, and in recent years companies have been put under stricter requirements to alert the FDA when they learn of problems. In 2004, the government banned ephedra, an ingredient in many supplements, linked to heart attacks and strokes.

Katz said it has taken so long to get a handle on the Hydroxycut problem because the cases of liver damage were rare and the FDA has no authority to review supplements before they’re marketed. “Part of the problem is that the FDA looks at dietary supplements from a post-market perspective, and an isolated incident is often difficult to follow,” she said.

The FDA relies on voluntary reports to detect such problems, and many cases are never reported, officials acknowledge.

Health officials said they have been unable to determine which Hydroxycut ingredients are potentially toxic, partially because the formulation has changed several times.

Public health researcher Ano Lobb, who has studied Hydroxycut and other dietary supplements for Consumer Reports, said the problem may be an ingredient called hydroxycitric acid. Derived from a tropical fruit, it’s been linked to liver problems in at least one medical journal study. Lobb said it’s likely that other supplements containing the same ingredient remain on the market.

“You really have to be careful about dietary supplements, especially weight-loss pills,” said Lobb. “People believe that the FDA has verified that these products are at least safe and effective, and that’s really not the case. When you see fantastic claims — that’s generally what they are.”

The New Jennifer Hudson:Weight Loss or Photoshop?

“God pulled her through.”

That was the simple statement her assistant said that explained the whirlwind ordeal that Jennifer Hudson had gone through in 2008. The American worker had a rough autumn last year; J-Hud had a heartwrenching, tragic, devastating autumn.

But now she has announced plans for a 27-city tour with Robin Thicke, the first time since the tragedy that she will be put the kind of strain on her body and mental state that tests one’s mettle.

People close to her said she’s built for this; she’s a better person; she’s stronger.

She’ll need to be.

J-Hud herself explained in a recent interview her reasons for jumping back into the limelight as such: ”I have been active for the past four or five years, and to be working like that and then to just stop and all you hear is the clock ticking…” She shook her head. ”That will drive you crazy.”

Before competing in 2004’s Idol, the 5-foot-9 Jennifer Hudson, 25, had already accomplished a major feat: losing 60 pounds!

“I used to wear size 22,” the now size-10 Season 3 finalist (who cut out fried foods and jogged to slim down) tells Us Weekly magazine.

Yet, for Dreamgirls, the Golden Globe nominee actually had regain 20 pounds, which she piled on with cakes, cookies and inactivity.

“It bothered me to not workout,” she tells Us.

As soon as filming wrapped in May, Hudson returned to her healthy habits – and her fighting weight.

Jennifer Hudson’s Diet

“It’s all about healthy living,” says Hudson, whose staples include green salads, fish, chicken and cranberry juice. Her stay-energized snacks: cashews, almonds and raisins.

Jennifer Hudson’s Workout

Chicago-based trainer La-Fonza Alston gave Hudson a plan she can do on the road: squats, pushups and abs (four sets of 25 each), plus running. “I never would have guessed I’d be up at 4 a.m. to run,” she says. “I love it!”

Take-away Tip

Lean on family. Hudson tells Us her mom encouraged and supported her weight loss. “She is just pure love,” says the singer. [source: Us Weekly]

Bartendaz Video: Movement is Medicine

Shirtless Will Smith Doing Pull Ups

So, for those that know me, I’ve been doing more dynamic workouts instead of the heavy lifting. To get a more physical body instead of a bodybuilder / muscle head type. Nothing is wrong with either the bodybuilder or muscle head  but since I don’t play sports or plan to compete …why?  I’ve done the Lebron James workout and the 300 Workout , both are giving me the results I want…leaner and athletic.

So now I’m doing 20-25 pull ups like nothing and when I’m really pumped, I’m doing pull-ups with weights 10′s and 25′s(low rep/high sets). So with my chest all swole & pumped, beating my chest like a silver back gorilla. Some guy approaches me and asked  ”Have you ever heard of BARTENDAZ?” And like the next cocky negro, I was like “yeah…yeah ..yeah!” So I go home have my protein shake, watch these guys on youtube and deflate my chest.

So I really thought I was working out….compared to these guys I was warming up!

These guys have actually started a movement that promotes physical fitness and self-empowerment through calisthentics, and they preach that “Movement is Medicine”.

They’ve done T.V., The Iron Ring, BET’s Reality MMA series, when they were working with Ludacris’s team, seminars and self improvement programs. If you’ve never seen these guys before, just be prepared to pick your jaw off the floor! 

Yasin’s Giant Thinking presentations and Bar-Tendaz demonstrations offer a powerful and inspirational self-awareness program that empowers participants to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their lives. Demonstrations and presentations leave participants with concise actions they can immediately take to work toward achieving their goals. Though most of his efforts are aimed at helping inner city youth obtain and maintain a sense of worth and positive destiny,the training transcends age and station in life

Punctuated with thought-provoking examples and exercises, Giant Thinking Inc. and Bar-Tendaz presentations and seminars are proven in enabling participants to set and achieve goals, establish values by which to live, and face challenges and opportunities in a manner that will bring about success. Giant coined the phrase “Exercise Evolution” to describe his unique blend of calisthenics, physical and mental fitness exercises.

We believe that when offered together a Giant Thinking seminar and Bar-Tendaz presentation are the unbeatable one-two combination for success!

Hassan Yasin is certainly dedicated to making sure that Giant Thinking / Bar-Tendaz becomes the premier program for those who seek to better themselves and our youth.

I’ve never attended any of their presentations and in working with children and coaching myself, I know there are techniques and principles that have to be kept in mind. I can not attest nor vouch for these guy in this arena. But if they are as intense with their workouts, as they are with their teaching priciples, a youth seminar with these guys can only be a win, win situation.

No Money, No Problem…No Motivation, No Problem. Today I give you 1-2-3 BARTENDAZ! Check ‘em out better yet give them a call!

Thanksgiving Diet

Current Stats: Weight 214, Waist 32.7, Moral OK

So in one word, this week was hectic. I had a strategy of eating “lite” prior to the big day but it doesn’t seem to be working. All containers, boxes and labels read lite, diet or low carb and I’m throwing down over 2000 calories.

When tough decisions came up in my life, my coach use to say “DO the MATH”. And in typical Mikey fashion I would say “huh”. In this case we can do the math, 3600 calories equals 1 pound of unadulterated fat. Over the span of a month that’s 4 pounds. Okay, I don’t want to over analyze or complicate things. It boils down to how strong is our motivation. I need everyone out there to help me and let me know there is a hope after Thanksgiving.

My only advice is get wasted and eat like a pig but don’t let it carryover, spill into December and make it a two month binge. Have fun! Call it a carb-reload or cheat day but don’t forget your motivation. While everyone is waiting till January to make a “resolution” and scraping the rest of the year, you and I decided to make a our motivation stronger.

My buddy Rusty from the FitnessBlackBook.com says it best:

“If you want to get lean badly enough, you will. I know this is a simple statement, but it is completely true. If you are not as lean as you would like to be, it is NOT due to lack of knowledge. If you don’t have six pack abs or are not lean, but want to be…my answer to you is that you just don’t “want to” reach that goal as much as someone who has. You will reach almost every goal you set in life if your motivation is strong enough.”

For now keep working out and maintain your habits the best you can and remember to be good to yourself cause no one else will!

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