AN INSIDE LOOK…
Agents in the Spotlight:
Read all about Victoria Reviel and Judith Bundschuh
Coming in October: Leonard Guerrero of JB Goodwin REALTORS and Shane White of RE/MAX Town & Country
Associates In Progress:
Check us out...
Check out the scoop on United Title of Title, Legacy Homes and Gracy Title Company LAST CHANCE: Realty Round Up tickets!
IMPORTANT DATES: SEPTEMBER 13 Master Your Treo Seminar hosted by Georgetown Title
Cimarron Hills Golf Club Terrace Rm.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SEPTEMBER 19 Realty Roundup Austin Convention Center All Day Exhibits
SEPTEMBER 24 Scholarship On The Rocks
Benefiting WCAoR Scholarship Foundation
Cimarron Hills - 3 to 7 p.m. SEPTEMBER 27 WCR Network Luncheon ABoR Auditorium - 11 a.m.
OCTOBER 4 WCAoR Monthly Luncheon 1205 Sam Bass Rd. - 11:30 a.m.
SEPTEMBER 2007 • VOL. 12 • ISSUE 4
Enjoyable. Entertaining. It’s all About You.
OCTOBER 23 Annual Strike Against Hunger Bowling Tournament 300Austin Bowling Lanes - 1 p.m.
One hour of exercise equals two hours extra life span By Melinda Seifert
CONTRIBUTING WRITER You spend a lot of time in your car, driving to and from appointments. You’re always on the run, but don’t have time to run, much less walk, much less make it to the gym. You barely have time to eat, and then, up ahead, there’s that handy drive thru. It’s fast, easy, inexpensive, ready-to-eat and convenient. Smells good. Tastes good. You don’t even have to get out of the car. But, it’s a fact—almost half of our total food dollars are spent on fast food. And most of it isn’t very good for us. When you eat fast food you consume more dietary fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and cholesterol. Most of us make more than 200 food and beverage choices each day, and it’s easier than we think to let small things around us such as plate size, package size, people, distractions and “all you can eat menus” influence those 200 plus decisions. So, what do you do? Consider the following and sobering facts provided by the LoneStart Wellness Initiative. Sort of takes your appetite away. Did you know that about 40 percent of all cancers are caused by the typical American diet, lack of physical activity and obesity—and that cancer is mostly a preventable disease? Approximately 66 percent of U.S. adults are overweight, and of those, 34 percent are obese. Almost one-half of all Americans report having a chronic illness—and those illnesses account for 75 percent of our national spending on health care. Furthermore, almost 80 percent of all chronic disease is caused by three preventable health behaviors—physical inactivity, poor nutrition and overeating, and smoking. Obesity is associated with 53 health conditions and has roughly the same association with chronic health conditions as 20 years of aging. It is also
the leading contributor to our growing national epi- and 14 grams of sugar. A Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino contains 500 calories, 16 grams of fat, 9 demic of type 2 diabetes. To bring some of these statistics closer to home (as grams of saturated fat and 60 mg cholesterol. Every you reach for that bag of M&Ms in your console,) year the average American family eats half a steer, a you’ll need to walk the length of a football field to burn full pig and a hundred chickens. Have you had the calories in just one, single M&M. That McDonald’s enough “food for thought” yet? To maintain, or reach, a healthy weight, you want to Big Mac—you’ll need to walk 5 miles to burn off those calories. Romano’s Macaroni Grill Spaghetti & aim for a BMI (body mass index) of between 18.5 and Meatballs dinner—at 2,270 calories, you can count on 24.9. BMIs above 25 are considered “overweight” and walking 22 miles. And, consider that each extra pound above 30, “obese.” But here’s the good news. Adults of body weight in today’s vehicles results in the need gain two hours of life expectancy for each hour of regfor more than 39 million gallons of extra gasoline in the ular exercise. Cutting 500 calories a day will result in a U.S. each year. An overweight family may be losing 10 weight loss of about one pound per week (two soft percent of every gallon of gas they buy, spending an drinks and a donut). Eating just 100 fewer calories a additional $400 per year on gas. If you do a lot of driv- day can prevent the average American’s 2-pound annual weight gain. That’s less than a soda, or about ing, that adds up to a lot of gas. OK. So those are all daunting statistics. These are three bites of a burger, or one biscuit. Now, imagine just as bad. One 12-ounce can of non-diet soda has what would happen without the soda, chips or candy about 40 grams of sugar, or about 13 teaspoons. The bar—and a walk around the block. We’re not talking average American eats about 150 pounds of sugar a about “it’s nice to be thin.” We’re talking about “it’s year, up from 5 pounds per year in 1950. Since the nice to be healthy.” (For more information or to calculate your BMI early 1970s when it was introduced, the annual consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in please visit www.lonestartnow.com) America has gone from nothing to an average of 65 Presorted Standard U.S. Postage pounds per person. Today PAID it accounts for nearly half Austin, Texas Paid Permit #715 of all the sugar and sweeteners used in the country. P.O. Box 81366 One ounce, or 15 Lay’s Austin, Texas 78708-1366 potato chips, has as much fat as two and a half pats of butter. Many people easily eat more than 15 chips. A chocolate glazed donut from Dunkin’ Donuts has 290 calories, 16 grams of fat