Lisa & Family Group Shoot

http://www.ryanhenderfilms.com

Can I Go Crazy Yet?

I remember when I was younger, we'd hop in the car because mom said we were going somewhere. We'd all take our turns asking "where are we going?", "crazy" my mom would reply. I often wondered where crazy was, well as of the last few days I think I have officially found it.

I am a videographer, and I often shoot weddings. I have been in the process of putting together a wedding video for Maria and Oscar for the last few weeks. Generally speaking, I can put together the first minute or two within the first weekend at least, I like to know that I have a good starting point before I lose sight of what my plan was when I shot it.

Well, this particular video has been extremely difficult! The ceremony was not your typical ceremony, it was actually a vow renewal ceremony where dozens of couples participated. I didn't get my typical shots with them because there were lots of other camera operators there trying to get theirs too. The ceremony itself was about 2 hours long, so how do I choose what to keep and what to cut out? The final product usually only ends up being 7-15 minutes, I can't very well keep 2+ hours of content right?

Since there was a LOT of footage to pour through, I had to choose the right footage to keep. This process has been so tedious. I would get it to the point where my storyline was working, or so I thought. I would get a minute or two edited, have to leave the computer for one reason or another, then when I got back to it my mind was in a different place, and I wasn't feeling the editing that I had already done.

I literally threw away 3 separate edited pieces because it simply didn't feel right.

This is what you are paying for! I want to make sure that the wedding video that I deliver is the absolute best that I can put together. It is not only a reflection on me, but it is a reflection on the couple.

Today I finally got into a groove and busted out the last few minutes of the video and I can say that I am very happy with the results. One thing I do often is watch other wedding videos that local Utah videographers produce. I also spend dozens of hours weekly learning new techniques to be able to produce better videos.

One thing for sure is that Music plays a HUGE role in my ability to complete a project. I absolutely need to be IN LOVE with the project. I need to be in tune with the song, beat, up beat and down beat of the song, pace of the video footage itself, and more. I take inspiration from music all the time, in fact, that is the single biggest defining factor for how the video flows, it takes hours, in some cases, tens of hours just to find the right song for a piece.

I am excited to have finished the Maria + Oscar project (found below) and now I will be moving onto a new project that I shot a few weeks back "My Turn On Earth". Please watch the video, and share it if you like it!


This week my little ones decided that they wanted to throw magnets at each other resulting in a nice crack in my 59" TV which has now made the TV absolutely useless. Go my team! Can I go crazy yet?

If It's Worth Doing, It's Worth Doing Right

Now that my body is starting to show noticeable change, I am getting asked more and more lately what I am doing to lose my weight. My typical response "diet and exercise". It seems that most people are expecting a different answer, as if I invented some magical pill that is melting away my fat. I need to stop using the word "diet" in my response though, because I always follow it up with an explanation of how I am eating right.

The thing is, most people like the thought of being 50 pounds skinnier, and because of the huge movement towards "dieting" they assume that weight loss is achieved by following a "diet" which is typically associated with a "fad" diet. There is no magic weight loss pill. Some weight loss supplements or programs offer a guarantee to lose weight or your money back. If you start any weight loss regimen and hold onto it for a week or longer, you are pretty much guaranteed to lose weight. Juice diets, cabbage soup, cleans diets are excellent proof that your body holds onto waste. For the first week or so your body is cleansing, which is why you lose the ten pounds so quickly. We all have 10 pounds of waste in our system that can be cleansed by any sort of drastic diet change. It is not a magic trick. Making changes in your body will take a while, but you can't travel down the road without preparation.

If you really want to lose weight, find out what you should be eating prior to starting any sort of diet.
Recognize that what you NEED and what your body thinks it wants are two very different things. You NEED several servings of clean veggies and fruits daily. I say Veggies first because that is more important than fruit. Go to your favorite grocery store or farmer's market and pick out as MANY fresh veggie and fruit options that you can find. You will need to make a habit of going 2-3 times weekly because fresh fruit and veggies spoil rapidly, unlike the boxed foods we are all used to eating. Pick as many options as you can, that is so important! Even if Carrots are your favorite and you think you can eat them 6 meals a day 24 days a week, I PROMISE there will come a day when they sound terrible. By allowing yourself other options, you will minimize your desire to deviate from the meal plan.

Once you have your supply of fresh produce, it is time to pick some sort of lean protein. I personally like frozen chicken breast from Costco. If you are into fish, it is an ideal choice. Once again, get as many options as you can.

You should be having a small portion of lean protein along with 2 cups of fresh produce each meal.
The nice thing about produce is it is very low in calories, so you can basically eat what you want and it doesn't throw off your day. One thing to remember, always eat more volume of veggies than fruit, or at equal parts fruit and veggies. Your body still needs carbohydrates, just not nearly as much as you once were taught. If you remember the food guide pyramid, it suggested 8-10 servings of carbohydrates daily, that is way WAY off!.

I have found some excellent low carb, low calorie whole wheat tortillas at Trader Joe's that I always keep in the fridge. Some days I am in the mood for a chicken breast and some asparagus, other days I may choose to eat a chicken taco with lettuce, tomato, jalapeño, olive, yellow pepper, bell pepper, and some clean fresh made salsa. We personally removed bread from our shopping list so we don't overload on the carbs. Noodles is another place that some people have a tendency to over carb and over eat period. Look for low carb, natural options. If it's colorful, you are generally on the right path. Whole wheat, organic stuff is excellent and tastes the same!

Once you have the "staples" of your daily meal plan, you can mix it up. Eat what tasted good to you or you won't eat it!

When we got started in our whole foods eating, we literally threw out everything in our cupboards and fridge and started over. You NEED to be that serious. If you are reading this, I assume that you sincerely want to make a change in your life. I watched a movie last night, Home Run. It was an excellent movie about addiction. Believe it or not, your inability to lose the weight that you want to is an absolute addiction to food. I used to literally not be able to say NO to a drive thru. If I was the least bit hungry and I drove past a McDonald's I absolutely had to hit it. My wife used to make me lunch every day, but I would throw it away and get fast food. Your addiction needs to be taken as seriously as a cocaine addiction, absolutely serious!

For me, I knew that I didn't have the willpower to cook for myself every meal of the day, so I opted for smoothies for breakfast and lunch. At first, we did Body By Vi protein powder mixed with fresh fruit. That did help me lose a few pounds, but when I realized that I wasn't losing weight like I thought I should I made some adjustments, and fine tuned my smoothies until I got where I am today. My smoothies used to consist of 2 scoops of protein powder, 8 ounces of Almond Milk, and the rest fresh fruit. I had some veggies throughout the day, but not as much as I should have. Now I make 7 smoothies at a time, so we have enough for a full day, plus breakfast for the following day.

For 7 smoothies I juice 14 carrots, 14 celery sticks, 2 apples, 1 pear, 3 oranges (peel included), then I mix it with about 3 cups of baby Kale, 3 cups of water, 2 cups fresh pineapple, and 2 cups 3 berry blend from Costco. For my protein, I use Flaxseed which is excellent for helping curb cravings, and it makes you feel full longer. I drink a smoothie for breakfast around 8, then another one at around 10-11am, then my third I drink at lunch. The smoothies are around 250-300 calories each, so by eating them at 2 hour intervals I am constantly feeding my body nutrients that it craves. I really enjoy my smoothies, and that is critical with any diet choices that you make.

I am now down 36 pounds from about 3.5 months ago, and it feels great! Now that I am eating 95% whole foods, I find it difficult to eat the crap that I used to. If I try to eat a greasy hamburger, I literally get sick to my stomach. I feel sick, tired, I feel like I have the flu. I even get debilitating headaches when I choose to eat like crap. Sometimes when we go out with friends, I look at the menu and think "mmm that looks good" so I get it, but then I regret it later, that has taught me to pay attention to what I know my body actually needs, and not what it wants.

I am glad to answer questions if anyone has any, I am not perfect by any means. I struggle with my addiction each and every day, but I will tell you that it DOES get easier.

If you want to find out if you are a food addict, click here to take a quiz. 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to subscribe and leave comments!

Looking Back At The Road Travelled

Today I was going through my phone looking at old photos that I took when I came across an image of me in one of my favorite blue shirts. I love the shirt, but for months I felt uncomfortable wearing it. Today I tried it on again and took another picture to compare the two, one from February 13th and the other from today, May 9th. I'm quite amazed at how different I look. Not just my belly, but my neck and face, even my arms look different.

This weight loss journey has been interesting to say the least. Losing weight is only a small piece of
the pie. Being able to fit into clothes that were once on their way to the trash heap is liberating to say the least. Losing weight is a daily struggle, it is important to have ways to demotivate, and recommit you each and every day. I get asked all the time is "is it worth it" and "does it get easier". The answer to both of those is absolutely YES! The feeling of having more energy and a desire to do MORE than I ever used to desire to do is astonishing.

At first you will have doubts, you will have huge struggles keeping away from the sweets, fast food, and other junk that caused you to gain weight. It does get easier! To make your way down any road, you must take enough steps to get you down the road. Although the road looks long, it is possible to make it to the finish line. All you have to do is take enough steps to get you there. Each and every step is a choice. Make more good choices than bad choices every day. If you fall down, get back up and recommit to doing better next time. Hang in there, it is possible!

I am still on my journey. I am nowhere near being finished with my weight loss. I have lost 36 pounds as of today, and I plan on losing another 64 by the end of the year. I can now see the finish line. I love the ride that I am on, each and every day is like a new HIGH. I used to dread the thought of going to the gym, we hesitated even starting a gym membership, but once I got started, I fell in love with the way that I felt afterwards. Now that I work out daily, I can actually see and feel my body changing. I am building muscle mass and losing fat.

The road we are on is not a sprint to the finish, this is a marathon. Slow and steady wins the race.

If The Pants Fit

It's so amazing to be able to fit into a pair of jeans that I've never been able to fit into. Katy bought me a new pair of jeans several months ago that she thought I'd like, come to find out they didn't fit. We decided to hold onto them and hope that some day I'd be able to squeeze into them. 

Lately I've been feeling like my pants and shorts were drowning me. The shorts that I held into last year are loose to the point that they're falling off me without a belt, and with a belt they're bunching up. Last year I popped several buttons on my favorite pairs of shorts, only to have the button sewn back in farther back so that I'd have more room. I also tore the crotch out of several pairs of shorts. My wedding ring is also fitting very loose, many times it's fallen off without me realiZing it. 

Yesterday I decided that I'd try to put a pair of pants on that I used to not fit into. I actually fit! There was plenty of

room to spare too! Not the laying down on the bed while you suck in your gut and hurry to zip it up kind of for either. The pants fit for real. 

I have about half a dozen pairs of pants that I used to love to wear that have been hanging in my closet for years, waiting for the day that I might actually fit into them again. Well, the day has come! 

I've been working my tail off for a very long time to get to this point. Fruit and veggie shakes for breakfast and lunch, healthy dinners, and daily trips to the gym. As of this morning I'm down a total of 35 pounds from mid January 2014. My goal is to be below 200 which is a number that I haven't seen since high school. 65 more pounds to go, hopefully I'll see that happen within the next 6-8 months. 

If you also struggle with your weight like so many of us do, remember two things. 

1) Every step is a choice, if you make more good choices with your eating and exercise than bad choices, it WILL add up and you will lose weight. 

2) It takes a while to change your body, it takes a split second to change your mind. 

As with any addiction, there will always be temptation. If you prepare yourself in every aspect of your life, you can win the battle! Make sure you only have healthy options at home. If you normally have lots of snacks and treats in your cupboard, try picking up  a bag of trail mix the next time you're at the grocery store. 

I used to not even be able to drive past a McDonald's drive thru without caving, now I can hit the drive thru for someone else in the car without thinking twice about getting something for myself. 

It gets easier. It really does. Every good choice that you make will make the next set of choices easier. 

Love What You Do!

The wind storm yesterday was something else! I helped a friend relocate a swing set from West Jordan to Orem in the nasty storm, I thought I was going to blow off the road at one point, I was glad to get back home. 

At about 2:30 this morning, I woke up randomly. I quickly realized that our power was out when I noticed my fan was not on. Don't judge me because I use a fan to sleep! I haven't been able to rid myself of it since I was an infant. 

While I was lying there awake, trying to get back to sleep, I started thinking about my busy weekend. Friday morning I have a wedding to be to at 11am, that will last about 3 hours. Right after filming the wedding I will head home to switch my camera gear for camping gear so that I can go on the trip with the scouts in Utah County. Bright and early Saturday morning I will wake up and head to Ogden for a wedding that I'll be at all day. Last night while lying awake, I was trying to plan everything out so that I would have my camping gear already packed and ready to go. Then, when I get back from the wedding on Friday afternoon, I will have to make sure to that the batteries are put on the charger in preparation for the Saturday wedding. "Remember to bring enough memory cards" I tell myself. 

Being that it is now officially wedding season, I have been losing a lot of sleep thinking about everything that I need to remember so that I don't have issues while at the shoot. I am in the middle of editing a wedding video for a wedding from last weekend. I am feeling the pressure to get the existing video completed and sent off before the weekend, because if I don't, I will be working on 3 videos at the same time. I generally work best under pressure, but I don't want to test my limits. 

Every wedding that I am involved with makes me remember my own wedding. I remember how special it was to have so many loved ones come and show their support. The other day I realized something, think back to your wedding  day. Can you remember everyone that was there? You most likely can't remember everyone because you most likely don't interact with everyone that showed up to YOUR wedding on an ongoing basis. Think about it. Your wedding day is probably the first, and most likely the LAST day that all of those people will be in one place at the same time. Uncles and aunts from great distances, cousins that you may or may not get along with. Wedding days are such an amazing occasion, not just for the couple, but for everyone. 

If you're not married yet, remember what you just read. Your wedding day is most likely the first, and the last day that all of those people will be in the same place at the same time. Make the most of it. 

For me, as a Videographer, I get to be part of that for many couples. Preserving that special day for a family is such a treat, and a tremendous blessing. Every time I book a Wedding I get goosebumps. Not because of the money, but because it is another opportunity for me to insert myself into someone else's life for a day, or two. I have such a great passion for storytelling. 

The best feeling for me is to hear a Bride say "The video made me cry"after receiving her DVDs. 

Whatever you do, love it or leave it. If you don't love your job, you won't be any good at it. Find your passion, reach for your dreams. If you love what you do for a living, you'll never work a day in your life!

How Does Fat Leave The Body After "Burning" It Off?

While on this journey of mine I have often wondered about the physical changes that happen internally that equate to "weight loss". In other words, how does fat actually leave your body? Anyone who has changed their diet drastically from junk food to mostly or only whole foods can attest to a drastic change in bowel movements. I know it's gross to talk about it, but I am sure many of YOU have wondered this same thing at least once in your life.

Does the fat get broken down and passed through your digestive system somehow? No. It does not.

After weeks of trimming a few calories here, exercising a little more there, you put on a pair of jeans,

and like magic, the waist has grown. You button them up to behold a welcome space between your belly and the fabric. How did that happen?
With 66 percent of the adult American population either overweight or obese [source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], a lot of people are trying to drop some pounds. Through dieting, exercise, surgery or a host of other alternatives, they hope to reach the goal of a smaller body. But to where does that weight disappear when the hard work pays off?
The short answer is that our bodies convert molecules in fat cells to usable forms of energy, thus shrinking the cells. But getting this to happen isn't just about sweat bands and short shorts. Understanding how our bodies perform this tummy-trimming trick requires a little more detail.
We know that weight loss hinges on burning calories. Calories measure the potential energy in food you eat in the form of fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
If our bodies were cars, energy would be the gas to keep everything running. Lounging in front of the television is like cruising the strip, while sprinting around a track is more like drag racing at maximum speeds. In short, more work means more energy.

The body uses some of those calories to digest food. Once the food is broken down into its respective parts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, it either uses the remaining energy or converts it to fat for storage in fat cells. Fat cells live in adipose tissue, which basically acts like an internal gas station, storing away fuel reserves.
To lose weight, you must burn more calories, or energy, than you consume to start using up that fuel reserve. Essentially, you're not ingesting enough calories to fuel your additional exercise, so your body must pull from fat stores.

How We Burn Fat
According to the Law of Conservation of Mass, matter is neither created nor destroyed, but it may alter its form through chemical reaction. Essentially, that tells us that while we lose mass in our bodies by burning up fat, it does not just disappear. It simply changes form, like water and steam.
When we eat, the glucose and sugar harnessed from carbohydrates are the first fuel sources. The liver stores the glucose in the form of glycogen and releases it into the bloodstream as necessary to keep our body trucking along. Think of your bloodstream as an interconnected conveyor belt that takes necessary nutrients to the body parts that need them. Once that glucose runs out, fat takes over. Harnessing energy by burning fat is referred to as ketosis.
Hormones regulating our blood sugar levels activate an enzyme in the blood vessels of fat tissue called lipase. Lipase ignites fat cells to release macromolecules called triglycerides, which are what make fat cells fat. Triglycerides are made of glycerol and three fatty acid chains. When they receive the signal from lipase to exit the fat cells, the triglycerides break up into their respective components and enter the bloodstream for use. The liver snatches up the glycerol to break it down for energy, and some of the fatty acids move to the muscles that can farm them for energy as well.
This action of breaking down triglycerides into usable energy is called lipolysis. Once inside the mitochrondia, or power source, or muscle or liver cells, the components of the glycerol and fatty acids are shuffled and reshuffled to harness their energy potential, producing heat, water, carbon dioxide and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP hauls potential energy in its molecular bonds for use when we exercise like cellular carb loading. The water exits our bodies as sweat and urine, and we exhale the carbon dioxide.
Now that the body has relieved fat cells of some glycerol and fatty acids, they get smaller. But if the fat tissue shrinks, what happens to our skin?

Lost Weight = Loose Skin
If our jeans hang loose when we lose weight, it would make sense that our skin would as well. In cases of moderate weight loss, our skin shrinks back to fit the body's new size, thanks to its elasticity. A protein called collagen in the skin gives it this special property, which helps explain how we don't outgrow our skin as we get older. As we age, these collagen fibers in the skin weaken, leading to wrinkles.
Collagen does have its limits. Rapid growth or weight gain can outpace collagen production in the skin, causing areas to overstretch. This can lead to striations called stretch marks. These are particularly common with pregnancy and adolescents going through puberty. Although a number of lotions and creams on the market claim to get rid of stretch marks, most naturally go away on their own.
Sometimes in cases of massive weight loss, people have folds of extra skin left over from their heavier days. Their skin had become so outstretched that it hangs limply from the thinner body, like worn out elastic.
As the number of obese people undergoing gastric bypass surgery increases, so do corrective surgeries for the unwanted and often uncomfortable loose skin. Although it may seem purely cosmetic, extra skin can actually cause infections, rashes and back problems. Since it's a highly invasive procedure, plastic surgeons may space out skin tucks and removals over months or a year, costing up to $100,000.
Even after the work is done, patients wear lifelong scars from the surgeries. Also, this type of body recontouring comes with risks. Since it's a relatively new procedure, doctors only know anecdotal evidence of complications, including dead skin, infection and open wounds [source: Singer]. But as beltlines continue to bulge, the numbers of patients will likely increase as it has the past decade.

Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com

West Valley City Utah STINK - What Is It?

If you are like me and live in Salt Lake City you may be smelling a nasty odor in the air this week. I hear people ask all the time what the odor is. Years ago there was an article in the Deseret News about this very issue. I just thought I would share the article to hopefully answer the question if any of you have wondered what it was. 

SALT LAKE CITY — Scott Woodruff sometimes bikes from his West Valley City home to his job at a downtown Salt Lake City architectural firm. He not only gets great exercise, but does his part for the environment.

But sometimes, he’s found, the environment in West Valley City doesn’t return the favor. If the day’s right and the wind’s right, he can be hit by a “horrific stench,” Woodruff says.

Once, “I had to stop and pull over and get off my bike," he said. "It was so bad I thought I was going to throw up.”

He’s also encountered the smell in other parts of West Valley City, he says — at Rocky Mountain Raceway or at his sister’s house near 5600 West, even at West Valley’s Centennial Park and the Costco parking lot.

Calling himself a “proud resident of West Valley City,” where he moved over two years ago, Woodruff has taken on the task of solving the problem. About a year ago, he spoke at a West Valley City Council meeting — but despite promises no one ever got back with him, he says.

Woodruff said he will make another attempt at the council's Tuesday meeting.

“Everyone I’ve talked to smells it, too,” Woodruff said.

Mostly, he smells it in the lower part of West Valley City when the wind blows from the northwest—from the direction of the Salt Lake Valley Landfill. He asked a worker there, who told him it's not the landfill, but a nearby company recently set up to process waste from portable outhouses.

That’s close, but not quite the case, said Salt Lake County recycling coordinator, Ashlee Yoder, who has an office out there. She agrees the smell is “definitely not the landfill,” but it's not a port-a-potty company either. Rather, the smell emanates from a nearby company known as ET Technologies, Yoder said.

“It’s pretty obvious.”

If so, the smell is hardly new. The company set up operations in 1984 to process wastes that then-new federal regulations had prohibited from going directly into landfills.

ET Technologies is a for-profit company, but it operates on 40 acres at the western end of the landfill’s property under agreement with its co-owners, Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County. And both the landfill and ET’s operation are within the boundaries of Salt Lake City — not West Valley City, according to a county map.

Company vice-president Ted Sonnenburg acknowledges that ET's operation produces its share of odor, but it’s doing all it can to alleviate it, he says. And other nearby facilities may contribute as well, he added — such as the landfill itself, a water treatment plant and a composting operation.

ET processes bio-solid waste from area water treatment facilities, petroleum waste from automotive shop sumps and other forms of waste, Sonnenburg said.

The material is treated, dried, laid out into long piles, or windrows, and periodically turned in order to leaven the brew with oxygen. Bacteria within the waste break down its hazardous chemicals — a process that takes several months.

And all of the company’s end product then goes to the county landfill free of charge, Sonnenburg said. ET makes its money by charging fees to its “incoming waste stream” producers.

“The processing that ET does has to take place some way,” Yoder noted. Besides processing such waste so it can be safely disposed, the landfill needs the product to help grow erosion-preventing vegetation in its clay-heavy soil.   

The company spends tens of thousands of dollars a year on odor reduction, Sonnenburg said, including mixing odor-reducing chemicals into the waste and an odor control system around its perimeter.

Additionally, they try not to “push out” material in windy conditions, and an odor-reduction consultant visits every three months to tweak the odor-reduction system, Sonnenburg added.

“Unfortunately with bio-solid waste, it’s a material that inherently has an odor.”

The problem now is that with encroaching development there are more residents nearby who notice, and complain, about the smell, Yoder said.

“We put these things a ways away from people purposefully.”

A similar smell issue arose for the Trans-Jordan landfill in South Jordan about three years ago, when housing developments began sprouting nearby, says that landfill’s general manager, Dwayne Woolley.

New move-ins to Kennecott Land’s Daybreak and other residential developments began complaining of the smell caused by Trans-Jordan drying and mixing waste treatment sludge into the compost it sells to homeowners and others.

“It’s a little like moving by a horse barn and then complaining about the smell of horses,” Woolley said.

But to keep peace in the neighborhood, Trans-Jordan quit using the sludge, which it had been getting from the South Valley Water Reclamation Center in West Jordan, Woolley said. Instead, the landfill began making a non bio-solid compost, with no effect on its bottom line. And while the quality is not quite “premium,” as it was before, it is still good, he said.

But the water treatment facility had to add additional processing steps to its operation, and install additional equipment, which may have put upward pressure on sewage rates, Woolley said.

The Trans-Jordan Landfill is a joint operation of seven cities in south Salt Lake Valley.

We Will Stand Up and Never Let Anyone Get The Best Of Us

It is amazing to look back and see the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings just a year ago.
When it first happened, many speculated that it was another 9/11 type of attack. Today, thousands of Americans flooded the streets to show their support for loved ones and complete strangers. Together they stood together and refused to let last year's actions affect the outcome of today's events. It goes to show how strong we are as a people. We can unite and become great together.

(Reuters) - Meb Keflezighi on Monday became the first U.S. male athlete to win the Boston Marathon in three decades as onlookers chanted "USA! USA!," an emotional performance in a city still recovering from last year's fatal bombing attack.

Keflezighi, who was born in Eritrea but is now a U.S. citizen, pulled ahead of a pack of elite African runners a little more than halfway into the race and held off a late challenge by Kenya's Wilson Chebet to finish in two hours, eight minutes and 37 seconds.

Among the women, Kenya's Rita Jeptoo notched her second consecutive win of the race, smashing a 12-year course record with a blistering time of two hours, 18 minutes and 57 seconds, reeling in American Shalane Flanagan, who had set a punishing pace as she led the women for the first 20 miles of the 26.2-mile (42.2-km) race.

 
"This is probably the most meaningful victory for an American, just because of what happened here last year," Keflezighi told reporters after his win. "Up till now I'd say my career was 99.9 percent fulfilled. Today I'd say it is 110 percent fulfilled."

Noting that the Boston Red Sox's World Series championship last year had lifted the city's spirits, he added that he wanted to provide a similar boost: "When the Red Sox did it, I said, 'I want to do it for Boston.'"

Flanagan, who finished seventh, said she had decided to run this year's race immediately after last year's attack.

"I just wanted to send a message that I was not afraid to be back here and I was not afraid to be a part of this day," said Flanagan, who vowed to return next year, and to keep returning until she notched a victory.

Last year, three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and 264 were hurt when, prosecutors say, a pair of ethnic Chechen brothers left homemade bombs at the crowded finish line, tearing through the crowd.

'SYMBOLIC' VICTORY

Fans had packed the course, waving American flags and wearing T-shirts bearing the "Boston Strong" motto the city adopted as a rallying cry after last year's attack. Their screams grew deafening as Keflezighi tore through the final miles.

"It is very symbolic that an American won this race today one year after the bombing, said Veronica Carroll, who had traveled from New Jersey to watch her husband run. "It represents the strength of our country."

Some 35,755 runners from 96 countries competed in the second-largest field in history for the 118th running of the Boston Marathon.

Among the women runners, Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia was second and compatriot Mare Dibaba third. They too turned in faster performances than the previous course record of 2:20:43 set in 2002 by Margaret Okayno of Kenya.

Among the male runners, Wilson Chebet of Kenya finished second and Frankline Chepkwony, also of Kenya, was third.

Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa, last year's winner, did not finish, race officials said.

No American athlete has stood atop the podium on Boston's Boylston Street, not far from the site of last year's bombing, since 1985 when Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach of Michigan won the women's race. The drought has been longer for U.S. men: Greg Meyer of Massachusetts won in 1983.

Race organizers expanded the field by some 9,000 runners this year, to allow the roughly 5,000 athletes who had been left on the course last year when the twin pressure-cooker bombs went off near the finish line another chance to compete.

One of the two brothers who are accused of the bombing died after a shootout with police a few days after the blasts while the other, 20-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is awaiting trial. If convicted, he may face execution.

Utah Jazz FINALLY Let Coach Tyrone Corbin Go

I grew up watching Jerry Sloan lead the Utah Jazz to NBA Finals over and over. Sloan's win/loss record is third highest in NBA history. The untimely retirement caused a broad array of speculation. I had a deep love for Coach Sloan and how he was able to lead the team to so many wins with such opposition over his career. I was deeply saddened when Sloan was replaced by Tyrone Corbin, even though Corbin was said to have been trained under the wing of Sloan which was supposed to translate to a similar coaching style on the court. Coach Corbin has done nothing but disappoint, game after game lost.

What will happen to the Jazz now?



SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz have let go of head coach Tyrone Corbin, announcing Monday its decision to not renew his contract.
The Jazz front office and Corbin met Monday morning to discuss the team’s future, upon which, Corbin was informed his contract would not be renewed after his four-year tenure as the team’s head coach.
"I would like to thank Ty and his staff for all of their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the last three-plus seasons," Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey said in a prepared statement. "This has not been an easy decision, but after a thorough review process, we as an organization feel that this is the best decision for our franchise moving forward."
Corbin’s overall record as the team’s coach was 112-146, with a record of 25-57 this season for the worst record in the Western Conference.
At Thursday’s locker room cleanout, Corbin addressed his pending future to the media, saying his role as head coach was difficult based on the roster he was given.
“Anything can happen in this league. I’ve been in it a long time,” Corbin said. “You want to have a fair shake. You want the best opportunity you can have to win. We just, the organization just decided to go in a different direction from the guys we had the year before.
“I knew it would be difficult from the beginning,” he added. “In no way when you change the roster like we changed is it good for the coaching staff, especially in the last year of a contract. It brings a lot of questions in everything you do with young guys.”

I would like to thank Ty and his staff for all of their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the last three-plus seasons. This has not been an easy decision, but after a thorough review process, we as an organization feel that this is the best decision for our franchise moving forward.

–Dennis Lindsey

Lindsey said on Thursday the coaching decision would be made after a short “decompression” period for both parties to consider its options.
“When we spoke to Ty and his representation during the year, we laid out that we wanted to take the full season,” Lindsey said. “We wanted to take a small period for all of us — Ty included — to decompress, so we aren’t making a decision based on the last possession, the last game, and make an emotional decision.”
Corbin is the third head coach to be let go this season. The Pistons fired Maurice Cheeks in February and New York fired its head coach Mike Woodson Monday morning. Minnesota’s Rick Adelman announced his retirement Monday.
The Jazz coaching search will begin immediately; however, the hiring of a new head coach is expected to come early in the offseason.
"Ty represented himself and the Utah Jazz organization with great class and dignity, and he and his family have been an important part of our team and community for many years," Jazz President Randy Rigby said in a prepared statement. "I want to thank them for their numerous contributions to this franchise and wish them well in the future. They will always remain a part of the Jazz family."
Corbin took over for Hall of Fame head coach Jerry Sloan on Feb. 10, 2011, finishing the season with a 39-43 record, 8-20 as interim head coach. Corbin would then coach his team to an NBA playoff appearance the next year in a shortened lockout season, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round 4-0.

Corbin was an assistant under Sloan from 2004-2011 before assuming the head coaching job. Corbin was also a member of the Jazz team as a player from 1991-1994.

KSL Utah

No Distractions No Excuses

Most of my life I have heard again and again the phrase "you can do anything that you put your mind to". I would let it go in one ear and out the other. Those sayings are JUST for Olympic athletes and professional sports stars right? WRONG!

Many of us use excuses to justify why or how we can't accomplish a certain task. For years I have used one excuse after another like many of you out there. I have people in my life that would like to quit smoking. As far as they're concerned, they WANT TO quit smoking. I disagree.

If you really WANT to do something, you DO IT! If you fail at quitting one day, you start again the next, and the next, and the next. Think of any famous inventor in the history of the world. Einstein, Walt Disney, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton. One thing they all have in common, they never gave up! For every victory, they each had dozens, and maybe hundreds of losses. Which ever addiction you are battling with today can be won. You are on the road to victory, but one thing is true, you must take the first step. You will fall down, you will have struggles.

I hear it all the time "I want to quit". No you don't! You like the idea of what life would be like if you didn't have to answer to your caffeine addiction, or your cigarette addiction. Put that desire for change to work. You may find several ways that things don't work for you until you finally find one way that does.

I have been on my own weight loss journey for over a year now. For about 11 months, I thought I was doing everything right but I was not losing weight. It wasn't until I was talking to my father in law about how much fruit he was eating, and how he was having to adjust his food intake to continue losing weight that I finally realized what my problem was. I was eating fruit smoothies for breakfast and lunch. I was having some veggies, but not nearly enough. All of the work that I was putting myself through was being wasted because I was ingesting so much sugar from the fruit. Since making the adjustment to mostly veggie smoothies about 3 months ago, I have lost 33 pounds and continue losing weight.

The thing about losing weight is it is NOT about losing weight. It is about everything else that comes along with it! The last few days have been amazing because my pants are getting too big. My wedding ring is starting to fall off as well. It is titanium, so I guess when here in a little while I'll get to buy a new wedding band. We went shopping saturday. I really wanted to buy some clothes because mine are starting to fall off me, but I decided to wait a while until I really needed them.

Back to the topic.

I am a stay-at-home parent with 3 boys. 2 of them are 4, the other is 5. I am a videographer, so sometimes I am out on a shoot, but when I am not, I am at home editing videos so that I can book more work. I juggle school, laundry, dishes, lawn mowing, cleaning the house, and everything that comes with raising children. I don't get 8 dedicated hours in a day to get my work done. I get 8 minutes here, 14 minutes there, all interrupted by "Daddy can you wipe my bum" and "Parker bit me". Some days we spend hours at a time in the car, other times we are at home working. My day never ends. That being said, I could use any of that as an excuse. My former fat self would.

 When I look in the mirror I see a fat guy. I don't see myself. I see the symptom of my actions over the last ten+ years. I feel so different inside. I feel strong, like I can overcome anything. Like I can accomplish ANYTHING, because I CAN. And YOU can too.

No matter how busy you are, no matter what your excuses are, don't let your excuses dictate how you
live your life. You have a choice as to how you react. Isaac Newton's law of motion "An object at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by an outside force". You are that object! You don't have to remain at rest. Put a reminder on your phone that repeats every day at the time of day that you are currently making that choice to continue sitting to watch TV. The reminder should read "GET UP AND GET MOVING". If you remember that every day, and you do something to get moving you will see results. Some days I take my kids to the park and kick around a soccer ball. Other times I walk laps around the playground while they play.

Take your youth back, just because you're in your thirties, forties, or fifties doesn't mean you have to feel like it.

Every win is a win, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem

Today I am off to shoot another wedding. I love being a videographer because it means that I get to be part of an important day in several peoples lives. In order to prepare for a wedding, I generally get up very early and run through a checklist to make sure that I have everything I need for the day. I then eat a hearty breakfast, in order to prepare my body for the beating I am about to put it through.

This morning I left home without eating breakfast because I planned on eating out on my way to the shoot. When I pulled out of the driveway, my first thought was to drive to McDonald's and get myself a value meal for breakfast with orange juice to drink. I justified it in my mind because typically on any given wedding shoot I end up burning enough calories that I lose 2 to 3 pounds in a single day.

 As I sat in my car contemplating if I really should go to McDonald's for breakfast, I reflected on the last time that I ate fast food since I made a decision to get healthy for good. I remember feeling bloated, sick to my stomach, an excruciating headache that I simply could not get rid of. I felt utterly disgusting. I then realized that i could I ever eat McDonald's breakfast again.

I used to go to McDonald's sometimes twice a day. I used to think that I had no other choice. Today I made up my mind that I did not want to feel bloated and disgusting. So I found the closest subway restaurant, and got myself a ham egg and cheese sandwich on flatbread with lots of veggies.  I was very proud of myself for being able to make a decision like this. Even while standing in line waiting for my sandwich to be made, I resisted the temptation to grab a bottle of processed juice from the cooler. I was proud of myself for being able to resist the temptation that I used to think was impossible. Since I was able to make those decisions, I decided to pick egg white instead of the full yellow egg for once. It actually wasn't that bad, I really couldn't tell a difference.

Every day I learn new things about myself, I learn about my strengths. I am stronger than I give myself credit for.  I am learning more and more each day that I do have the ability to do what I want to do. I can pick what I want to pick. Even though my brain was telling me that I should go to McDonald's and get the sausage egg and cheese muffin with orange juice, I knew deep down that my body didn't need that. I remembered what I heard my trainer say recently, you know what your body needs, give it what it needs not what you think smells, tastes, or looks good.

You and I are capable of great things, the only thing standing in our way is a choice. You can choose to be a winner or loser. You are only restricted by what you tell yourself. Standup today and fight, you know what I'm talking about. There is something that each one of us holds onto every day that we wish we could let go. 

Join the resistance! You don't have to be a victim anymore.

USDA 'Food Pyramid' Is Wrong

With 70% of American adults now considered obese, something is obviously wrong, right? For
decades now, we have relied on the Food Guide Pyramid as our bible for daily nutrition. I remember growing up eating potatoes every week for Sunday dinner, with a thick slice of meat, and a small portion of veggies. How similar was your Sunday dinners growing up? 

As someone who is now fighting each day to eat healthy and to lose weight, the food guide pyramid for me has been turned upside down. Obesity is now considered a disease. Some don't consider it a "disease" simply because the resulting effect was caused by personal choice. That being said, is lung Disease also not considered a disease because it is also caused by a personal choice to smoke cigarettes which are widely known to cause cancer and death? 

I read recently a statistic that 90% of ailments we experience as a people are fully reversible by getting proper nutrition. That includes cancers, diabetes, heart conditions, etc. The Food Guide Pyramid was not put in place with our best interests in mind. Many of us believe that simply because the government puts something into place that it is in our best interest. 

It is common knowledge that eating lots of fruits and veggies every day, with lean proteins, and minimal breads and dairy is the right way for us to be healthy. I want to pose a question. 

The Food Guide Pyramid was installed by the USDA which only has its interests in mind. Obesity is now an epidemic which affects 70% of adults and a growing number of adolescents. Food Addiction is the root cause of obesity. Is it a coincidence that the USDA put in place a Food Guide for us to follow only to purposely addict us to the food that they oversee? Addict the general population, sell more food, make more money. Just a question. 

The article below gives more insight to the problem I just addressed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by Tom Hargrove,

PlanetRice Editor-in-Chief

The famous "food pyramid," considered almost holy by many nutritionists and dieters, is wrong and hurts both waistlines and health, claims Dr. Walter Willett, a leading U.S. nutrition researcher, in his new book Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating (Simon & Schuster, US$25).

The pyramid, developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1992, advises daily consumption of six to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta; two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts; and sparing consumption of fats, oils, and sweets.

The food pyramid is published widely across the United States. It's printed on cereal boxes and bread wrappers, posted on elementary school bulletin boards, and published in university textbooks.

It's also known globally. The USA Rice Federation distributes the food pyramid, for example, through its promotion of U.S. rice in Mexico.

But the food pyramid is outdated and doesn't reflect the latest food research, says Willett, chairman of the Nutrition Department at Harvard University, in a July 26 feature in USA Today.

Willett claims that his new food pyramid offers a longer, and better, life.

Furthermore, the USDA food pyramid serves the interests of its main client, the U.S. agricultural industry, Willett claims.

In Chapter 1 Willett, a long-time critic of the pyramid, writes, "The thing to keep in mind about the USDA Pyramid is that it comes from the [U.S.] Department of Agriculture, the agency responsible for promoting American agriculture, not from agencies established to monitor and protect our health, like the Department of Health and Human Services, or the National Institutes of Health, or the Institute of Medicine.

"And there's the root of the problem--what's good for some agricultural interests isn't necessarily good for the people who eat their products.

"Serving two masters is tricky business, especially when one of them includes persuasive and well-connected representatives of the formidable meat, dairy, and sugar industries. The end result of their tug-of-war is a set of positive, feel-good, all- inclusive recommendations that completely distort what could be the single most important tool for improving your health and the health of the nation.

"At best, the USDA Pyramid offers indecisive, scientifically unfounded advice on an absolutely vital topic--what to eat. At worst, the misinformation it offers contributes to overweight, poor health, and unnecessary early deaths."

USA Today reported that a startling 61% of U.S. citizens weigh too much, and about 26% are obese-30 pounds or more over a healthy weight.

Willett says that the USDA pyramid puts too much emphasis on red meat and lumps too many types of carbohydrates together. The pyramid gives too little emphasis to nuts, beans, and healthy oils, which have positive health effects.

Willett's alternative, the Healthy Eating Pyramid, has daily exercise and weight control at the base, and recommends eating whole grains like brown rice at most meals.

It also emphasizes eating plant oils like olive, canola, and soy, and suggests eating lots of vegetables and gives fish, poultry, and eggs a higher profile than red meat.

USDA had no comment on Willett's new book or his pyramid, USA Today reported.

USDA designed the pyramid as an easy way to show the groups of foods that make up a good diet, and how much of the different groups one needs to stay healthy.

It is in a pyramid shape, rather than a circle or square, to explain the different proportions of foods to one another. The foods that make up the base, or widest part of the pyramid, should be the largest part of a diet. As one goes up the pyramid, the amounts get smaller as the pyramid apexes.

http://www.rense.com/general12/wrong.htm

Live like you're dying - Make today count

Every morning, I wake up to one of my boys wanting to come into bed and snuggle with me before the rest of the boys wake up. This morning I was sleeping soundly when I suddenly awoke simply because I sensed a presence in my room. As I opened my eyes, there he was, not 3 inches from my face. My youngest boy, Parker. Thumb in his mouth, blanket hanging to the floor. "Good morning Daddy, I love you" he says.

I invited him into bed with me for a short while and reflected back to times before we had the pitter patter of little feet in our home. 

My wife and I were married in 2007 and made the decision that we would not wait to have children. The way I look at it, when God wants us to have children he will provide them. "In God's time".  After roughly a year of trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, we made an appointment with a fertility doctor. When the reports came back, it was clear that the both of us had issues internally that offered us little to no chance to ever conceive on our own. The doctor said we had less than .001% chance. 

That day, I think a little part of me died inside. All of my life, I had hoped of nothing more than to be a father. I knew in my heart that I would be a great father. My father was not in my life much, so I wanted nothing more than to be there more for my own kids. 

We weighed our options, adoption, foster care, or no kids at all. Both realizing that we wanted nothing more than to be parents, we felt that the third option was not an option at all, and adopting a child would take years, and tens of thousands of dollars. Adoption didn't feel right. Too many kids are born into families that cannot provide for them in one way or another. I do understand that some children are put into foster care where they wold have been better off in their own homes, but most foster care children are there seeking a second chance. They feel cast away, neglected, hopeless, and unloved. Katy and I decided that WE NEEDED to look into foster care so that we could possibly give one or more children the second chance that they needed. We knew that we had love to give, and felt that newborns have more parents lining up for them, we knew we wanted the children that had less people lining up to take one home. 

In October of 2009 we received a call asking us if we would be willing to take a child into our home. We specifically asked the Foster Care Foundation for children over the age of 5 since they were the least "wanted" by other parents. The phone call left us surprised. They were asking us to take in a 7 month old boy. At the time, we both worked full time, I owned two Pizza restaurants that ate up close to 100 hours a week. We prayed about it and knew that he was for us. 

For the first little while, I called him "The Boy". Before we were allowed to take him into our home, we were required to read about his story. What he went through, the conditions in which he was found, and so on. He wouldn't let you hold him while he ate, he wouldn't let you hold him to rock him to sleep. One day I remember him laying on the floor eating his bottle, he rolled over and left the bottle where it landed. He scooted around for a minute and when he turned to come back to the bottle, he looked at the bottle, and at us. Again and again. He went back to the bottle, picked it up, shook it up, and put it back on the floor, scooted away from it watching us every step he made, making sure we didn't take it. He would put it in different parts of the house, leave, and watch us to see if we would leave it there. It became apparent that in his old home, he didn't have adequate food. He was testing us to see if we would leave his food alone or not. It was so heartbreaking for us to witness this sort of thing. 

At our first court appearance just days afterwards, his parents relinquished their rights, asking us if we would adopt him for good. At first we were shocked,  but we knew what we had to do. This was our opportunity to be permanent parents, this was our chance to give unconditional love to someone that needed it from us. 

His mother was already pregnant with twins, and she fully expected to keep them. But as she got closer to her delivery date, she changed her mind and asked us if we would be willing to adopt them. At first we said NO, even HELL NO. How could we handle another child, let along two?! Most parents have 9 months to buy clothing, crib, stroller, diapers, etc. for a child, we had just done all that over a weekend for one child, now we would have to do it for two more? 

After spending a day pondering the reasons that we couldn't take on two more boys, I woke up the next morning and knew without a doubt that we would adopt them. The lord bore witness to me that they were born for us. 

March of 2010 our family grew by 2 more, making us a family of 5. The twins were not in the best of health, being born 12 weeks early. Jackson (our oldest) spent most of his time at "Pop Pop's" house getting to know his new grandpa, while Katy and I spent every spare hour in the NICU with our two struggling boys. 

I remember the day that one of the nurses pulled us aside at the hospital to discuss Dylan's health screening that day. They had done a brain scan and found that his brain was "mush", "swiss cheese" they called it. We were astounded to say the absolute least. How would this affect his life? How would it affect our lives? We spent more time holding him that day, pouring our hearts out to him. That night we got on our knees and asked for mercy. We prayed for Dylan's health, we prayed for patience to be able to understand and help him as he grew older with brain damage. 

The next day when we visited the boys, the nurse said that he was doing fine and that they had done another scan and that he looked fine. I don't know even today what happened back then. Maybe a miracle, maybe a mistake, but either way that day has influenced the way I think about my boys. 

We brought the boys home 12 weeks after birth, and started our crazy, complicated, busy life together. We had 3 boys all under the age of 1. Jackson is 11 months older than Parker and Dylan, so each year for 3 weeks they are the same age. 

Parker & Dylan just turned 4, and Jackson turned 5. They are full of energy, and wanting to learn as much as their little minds can soak up. People look at us like we are freaks when we go anywhere. "Are they triplets?", or "I bet your hands are full". My response, "I'd rather them be full than empty". 

I walked away from my Pizza businesses less than a year after the twins were born so we didn't have to let them be raised by daycare. I started a recycling business so that I could make a living while also caring for my boys. 

Some people tell me that I am crazy, I feel like I am lucky. I have an amazing wife that works hard so that we can have insurance and stability. I was able to start a business that makes me a decent living while not having to put my kids in daycare, and because of that I get to see my boys all day, every day. Since being at home, it has allowed me to explore my passion and build my Videography business while my recycling business paid most of the bills. I get to snuggle with my boys in the morning, feed them breakfast, and watch them learn and grow as individuals. I get to teach them things every day. Because I don't have a set schedule, and with Katy's job being so flexible, we get to travel a couple times a year. 

We started off as a depressed couple unable to bear children of our own, now we have 3 amazing, smart little boys that remind us that every day is a blessing. 

There is a famous saying "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why it is called the present". I recite this quote several times daily. When one of my boys comes to me and wants to show me something that he built, I jump at the opportunity. I remember growing up, always hearing excuses as to why my parents wouldn't or couldn't help us with something, or simply come see what we had done. I made a commitment to myself and my boys that I would NOT be THAT parent. I don't want to look back in 20 years and think to myself "I wish I would have..."

You never know if tomorrow you won't wake up. What if your spouse gets in an accident today on the way home from work. What if your child falls off the slide at school and snaps their neck and dies of his/her injuries. I know it's tough to hear, but these sort of things happen every day. Today, do something a little reckless. Don't go rob a bank or shoot the neighbor that has been driving you crazy. Do something NEW, something that you wouldn't have done yesterday. 

The next time your child comes up to you and grabs your hand because they're excited to show you something, run! You may never get this chance again! Your child will NOT be this age ever again. This day will NOT come again. 

Live today like it's your last and you'll never regret a thing!

Four Reasons to Quit Your Job

By Jack and Suzy Welch

What criteria can you use to determine if you have been with the same company too long?

A friend of ours, an investment manager at a highly regarded company in the Midwest, who drove to work one morning, parked his car in the usual spot, and then found he simply could not bring himself to get out of the car. “I guess I stayed on the farm one day too long,” he joked later. When we asked him what went wrong, he answered, “It wasn’t one thing. It was everything.” No wonder he drove home and called in his resignation.

Obviously, most people don’t decide they’ve overstayed at their companies in such a dramatic fashion. Usually, angst about work creeps in, and then builds until it consumes you. And that can happen early or late in a career. Gone are the days when, after graduation, you took the best available job and stayed for as many years as you could possibly stand, frustration be damned. These days, it is not unusual to hear of perfectly legitimate careers built on multiple job stints.

So, to your question, how can you tell when it’s time to move on? We wouldn’t set out specific criteria as much as offer four questions to help sort out an answer.

The first is so simple it almost goes without saying, but the fact that a lot of people don’t confront it, including our friend who ended up stuck in his car—a Harvard MBA, by the way—suggests we should go ahead and put it out there: Do you want to go to work every morning?

This is not a matter to be over-brained. Does the prospect of going in each day excite you or fill you with dread? Does the work feel interesting and meaningful or are you just going through motions to pull a paycheck? Are you still learning and growing?

We know of a woman who worked in consulting for seven years. She loved her firm and had originally planned a career with it, but suddenly started noticing that she wished every weekend was five days long. “Basically, I felt like we were putting together massive books in order to make recommendations to people who knew more than we did,” she said. “Every day at the office, I felt a little bit more of a hypocrite.” She now happily works on the “front lines,” to use her phrase, in the marketing department of a retail company.

Second, do you enjoy spending time with your coworkers or do they generally bug the living daylights out of you? We’re not saying you should only stay at your company if you want to barbecue with your team every weekend, but if you don’t sincerely enjoy and respect the people you spend 10 hours a day with, you can be sure you will eventually decide to leave your organization. Why not make the break sooner rather than later and start cultivating relationships at a company where you might actually plant roots?

Third, does your company help you fulfill your personal mission? Essentially, this question asks whether your company jibes with your life’s goals and values. Does it require you, for instance, to travel more than you’d like, given your chosen work-life balance? Does it offer enough upward mobility, given your level of ambition? There are no right or wrong answers to such questions, only a sense of whether you are investing your time at the right or wrong company for you.

Fourth and finally, can you picture yourself at your company in a year? We use that time frame because that’s how long it usually takes to find a new, better job once you decide to move on. So peer, as best you can, into the future, and predict where you’ll be in the organization, what work you’ll be doing, whom you will be managing, and who will be managing you. If that scenario strikes you with anything short of excitement, then you’re spinning your wheels. Or put another way, you’re just about to stay too long.

To be clear: We’re not suggesting people quit at the first inkling of discontent. No matter where you work, at some point you will have to endure difficult times, and even a deadly dull assignment, to survive a crisis or move up. But it makes little sense to stay and stay at a company because of inertia. Unlock your door and get out.

Jack Welch is Executive Chairman of theJack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University. Through itsExecutive MBA program, the Jack Welch Management Institute provides students and organizations with the proven methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials needed to win in business.

Suzy Welch is a best-selling author, popular television commentator, and noted business journalist. Her New York Times bestselling book, 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea, presents a powerful decision-making strategy for success at work and in parenting, love and friendship. Together with her husband Jack Welch, Suzy is also co-author of the #1 international bestsellerWinning, and its companion volume, Winning: The Answers. Since 2005, they have written business columns for several publications, including Business Weekmagazine, Thomson Reuters digital platforms, Fortune magazine, and the New York Times syndicate.

A version of this column originally appeared in BusinessWeek Magazine.

How to cook moist chicken breasts and tenders Every Time

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (aka BSCBs) — is there anything more boring? They are all too often served dry, chewy and tasteless. I usuall avoid now BSCBs in favor of more succulent boneless, skinless thighs. I do have one method, however, that makes unfailingly juicy and tender boneless skinless chicken breasts. Need some chicken for a salad, or to top some pasta? This is the method. It takes some trust, but believe me — it works flawlessly every single time.

This method takes trust; you can't check them or really watch them cooking. But I promise that if you follow this method exactly you won't be disappointed. I learned it from the old Joy of Cooking, which gives this method its special label: Cockaigne, reserved for only their personal favorite and best recipes.

I usually do this with about 1 pound of chicken breasts at a time. It gives me enough chicken for a
few days of salads and lunches.

What You Need
Ingredients

1 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon freshly chopped herbs (optional)
Olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter

Equipment

10-inch sauté pan with lid

Instructions
1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness with the handle or flat of a knife.

2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken breasts.

3. Mix about a half teaspoon of salt in with the flour along with a little pepper. Chop the herbs finely, if using, and mix in as well.

4. Quickly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, so that they are just lightly dusted with flour.

5. Heat the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the olive oil and butter. Let them melt, and swirl the pan.

6. Turn the heat to medium. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for just about 1 minute to help them get a little golden on one side (you are not actually searing or browning them). Then flip each chicken breast over.

7. Turn the heat to low. Put the lid on the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. Do not lift the lid; do not peek.

8. After 10 minutes have elapsed, turn off the heat. Reset the timer for 10 minutes and leave the chicken breasts in the pan. Again, do not lift the lid; do not peek.

9. After the 10 minutes are up, take the lid off, and tada! Soft, tender, juicy chicken breasts that aren't dried out in the least. Doublecheck them to make sure there is no pink in the middle. If you want to be absolutely sure it is cooked, you can use an instant-read thermometer to check (the chicken should be at least 165°F). Slice and eat.

http://goo.gl/AOHbAq

Junk food diet causes laziness, study says

LOS ANGELES — A diet full of processed food isn't only a potential cause of obesity, it can also lead to fatigue and laziness, according to new research.

In a study, rats were split into two groups and either given a normal diet of mostly unprocessed foods, like fish and corn, or a highly processed diet with lower quality ingredients, according to researchers from the University of California Los Angeles. They said the rats on the simulated junk food diet gained a significant amount of weight and became more tired and sedentary.

The findings apply to humans because their physiological systems are similar to rats, according to lead researcher Aaron Blaisdell.

"Overweight people often get stigmatized as lazy and lacking discipline," lead researcher Aaron Blaisdell said in a statement. "We interpret our results as suggesting that the idea commonly portrayed in the media that people become fat because they are lazy is wrong. Our data suggest that diet-induced obesity is a cause, rather than an effect, of laziness. Either the highly processed diet causes fatigue or the diet causes obesity, which causes fatigue."

  Enlarge image
The rat on the left was on the "junk food" diet.
Credit: Courtesy of UCLA
Researchers measured the rats' activity levels by giving the rats tasks like pressing a lever to receive rewards of food or water. The overweight rats did not perform as well, according to the study.

"The rats on the junk food diet demonstrated impaired performance, taking substantially longer breaks than the lean rats before returning to the task," a release from UCLA reads. "In a 30-minute session, the overweight rats took breaks that were nearly twice as long as the lean ones."

Blaisdell said the study also suggests obesity and cognitive impairments are caused by a pattern of consuming junk food and not just the occasional binge. After six months, researchers switched the rat's diets for a period of nine days, but didn't see any significant change in weight or activity during that time.

There doesn't seem to be a quick fix to the problem, he said.

Researchers said other side effects of the junk food included the growth of numerous large tumors throughout the rats' bodies and an increased appetite.

On a personal note, Blaisdell said he cut processed foods out of his diet five years ago and has noticed a big improvement in his health and cognition.

"We are living in an environment with sedentary lifestyles, poor-quality diet and highly processed foods that is very different from the one we are adapted to through human evolution," he said. "It is that difference that leads to many of the chronic diseases that we see today, such as obesity and diabetes."

The research was published in the April 10 edition of the journal "Physiology and Behavior."


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