A reflection of 2008

It is said that the older you get, the quicker the years seem to go by.  I can't believe today is the last day of 2008.  This year had several highlights (Obama's ascension to presidency) and some low-lights (being laid off) but all in all, it was a good year.  

1.  What is everybody planning on doing for New Year's tonight?  It's a gopher basketball game and a gopher bowl game in the afternoon before I head over to Mike's at around 9 or 10ish.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to stay out too late tonight as I am picking up my Grandma from the airport tomorrow at 5:51 am.  That means I have to get up at about 4:15!

2.  I read an interesting article on foxnews.com about one of Obama's plans for the future.  It is no secret that many many of our nation's public schools are in dire need of repair.  Many are too small, have inadequate facilities, and need a lot of repair.  Obama would like the federal government to hire thousands of construction workers to repair the school system.  This is not only a good investment in the future education of our youth, but also will put thousands of people to work.  It is misleading to suggest that President FDR fixed the economy solely by creating the New Deal.  Let's not forget that World War II was really the main reason that the economy was fixed.  However, the New Deal did help and at this point, I'm all ears.  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/31/obama-infrastructure-plan-jumpstart-student-achievement-supporters-say/.  

3.  I have always been interested in nutrition, even when I choose not to practice what I know.  There is no secret to losing weight.  If you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight.  It's that simple.  An average 150 lb man should consume about 2200 calories a day.  If you eat less than that, you lose weight.  3500 calories equals one pound.  So if you cut out 250 calories a day from eating and exercise 250 calories a day, you will lose a pound a week (which is considered healthy.)  I have been reading the book The Fat Flush Plan and I find it really interesting.  Even though losing weight, in theory, is simple, I love reading about all the little tips.  This book highlights the liver as the key to losing weight.  One of the main purposes of the liver is to decide what to do with consumed fat.  Do you burn it, store it, et cetera.  A clean liver can increase your metabolism by 20% a day.  The book highlights all of these foods (lemon, cranberries, et cetera) that help cleanse your liver, thus increasing your metabolism so that instead of burning 2200 calories a day, you are really burning 24 or 2500 calories.  I am about 50 pages into the book and it is really interesting.