Smoking and Drinking

You know smoking is stupid. You know you're gambling with cancer, stroke, and other health issues. But did you know you're also sabotaging your strength training?
"Smoking places carbon monoxide in your system, which prevents your muscles from getting as much oxygen to use for energy," says Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D., a clinical professor of medical psychology at Duke University. "The less oxygen your muscles have to draw from, the less efficient they are at contracting, which can limit their capacity for work."
As for alcohol, it can cover your abs with a layer of lard and interfere with hormones that help build them. "Drinking alcohol on a regular basis can also keep your testosterone levels lower than usual and decrease muscle mass," says Swartzwelder. 
Fix it: Quit smoking, and don't worry about becoming a cold-turkey butterball. "Getting in at least 30 minutes of exercise three or four times a week not only helps control body weight, but can also produce positive psychological effects that might diminish the need to smoke," says Swartzwelder. Drinking moderately (two drinks or less per day) won't harm testosterone levels and can actually improve your cardiovascular health, he says. Sourced By: Yahoo Health

Weight Disorders

Consuming more calories than you burn leads to being overweight and, eventually, obesity. The body stores unused calories as fat. Obesity can be the result of:

• Eating more food than your body can use
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Not getting enough exercise

An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) may lead to weight gain, but usually only 5 - 10 pounds of weight. Some antidepressants and antipsychotic medicines may also contribute to weight gain and obesity. Genetic factors play some part in the development of obesity -- children of obese parents are 10 times more likely to be obese than children with parents of normal weight.
People who are at higher risk for obesity include:

• Lower income groups
• Former smokers
• People with chronic mental illness
• People with disabilities
• People with a sedentary lifestyle

More....Yahoohealth.com

Why We Need to Get Motivated When It Comes to Exercise

No matter how much you may want to hear otherwise, the chance that researchers will ever come up with any of these findings is slim to none:
• Smoking is a good source of vitamins and minerals.
• Cake, when eaten in unlimited amounts, is good for weight control and heart health.
• Exercise isn't really important after all.
Researchers have, instead, just come out with even more evidence that we need to be doing plenty of exercise -- and we need to be doing it often. The American College of Sports Medicine sent out a news release last week touting the organization's new stand on the importance of exercise for healthy adults, saying that it "definitively answer(s) the age-old question of how much exercise is actually enough."  More....Huffpost aol news