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Summer’s nearly over, meaning that Fall is near and Winter is right around the corner. Now, as is usual, this is when the exercising and the dieting stops and you won’t pick it up until “New” Years’ resolution season starts coming around and the floodgates to the gym open. Well, to help you avoid losing zeal for the gym, we’ll list several weight loss myths to avoid taken from a list of 18 on
MSN.
Remove Fat/Carbs, Lose Weight- Usually a get-slim-quick diet revolves around this idea but it’s far from the truth. To lose weight is not to cut out essential substances your body needs. You HAVE to be calorie deficient. Eat less calories than what your
body burns throughout the day and you will start to lose weight noticeably.
Lift Less, Look Toned- To get toned you need larger muscles and less fat. To achieve this it’s key to incorporate heavy lifting into your routine. No you won’t look like a bodybuilder since acquiring that body requires a very high calorie diet and a power-lifting regimen.
Nighttime Eating Will Make You Fat- This one is interesting. I’m sure most of us have heard that eating at night is no good since our metabolism is slower than in the morning. Well, apparently, not true. An expert stated,”A calorie is a calorie no matter when you eat it.” That’s simple. So continue the calorie deficit and you’ll be fine.
Now That You’re At Goal, Its Easy To Keep It- It took a lot of work to get to that goal, so wouldn’t it be just as much to keep it? A study showed that for subjects to maintain their weight required a 40 minute exercise in addition to watching their plate.
Treadmills Accurately Show Calories Burned- Not so much. Most exercise machines including ellipticals and bikes are not accurate given the fact they dont take into consideration body fat and whether you’re using assistance. Use the screen as a barometer. If it goes up then yes, you’re reaching your goals.
Don’t be another statistic. Remain consistent in your exercise. We at CWI Underwriters wish you a happy and healthy lifestyle.
We’d like to introduce Colleen Rossano, a customer of ours who’s been with us for quite some time, but even more directly her daughter, Susan.
Susan was born at 31 weeks, roughly 7 months, due to stressful circumstances her mother Colleen had to endure during pregnancy. At three years of age, as she looked through pictures of herself in NICU(neonatal intensive care unit) she couldn’t help but wonder why, in the midst of Christmas, she lay in a empty room. “She wanted to know where her toys were,” says Colleen. Its common for a child to relate Christmas to presents. That’s how Susan saw it. In ’06 her sister Rylin was born. She too had to be place in NICU and this made Susan worry. Were these babies going to experience a giftless holiday like she did?
Susan’s mind was set. On her birthday, December 22nd, she was bringing all the babies in NICU Christmas present. That’s how it been these past five years. With hands full of stuffed animals and a heart full of kindness she pays her yearly visit to the NICU at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines. All sponsored by her hard earned, well saved allowance money.
“This is a present from me to you
Seven years ago I was in NICU too
My mom said no one filled the room with joy
So here’s a special holiday toy”
– poem left with every toy by Susan
Susan was awarded the Guardian Angel award, the youngest recipient to date as well as having raised one thousand dollars for March of Dimes and recently collected diaper for Forever Family, an organization which supports relatives raising babies. It comes to no surprise that Susan wants to become a “baby doctor” when she grows up. “I want to be the first one to touch a baby.”
You bite your nails. There are nicks and battle scars on your pencil or pen cap from constant attacks of your teeth. Your hair is holding on to dear life to your scalp as you threaten to pull it out. This…is your third cup of coffee…in the last hour. A millions problems are going through your head, not one solution. The monotone buzz of the office doesn’t help with printers, faxes, and phones ringing all day. Thursday can’t get any worse.
Stress can be found in many environments and is expressed hundreds of ways. Be it at work, home, school, or any other situation that may become stressful. A study by Northwestern National Life reports that 40% of workers feel their job is “very or extremely stressful”. Not that big of a number? That’s more than 1 out of 3 people. 10 people in the office? Three stressed. A hundred? Thirty. A thousand? Get it now? Whether it be three or three hundred, 10% of workers have stated that the work atmosphere has been witness to physical violence and 42% report yelling or other verbal abuses are common. So a person that is “extremely” stressed and also violent, well, we can imagine the dark road that leads to. We’ve seen the news.
Don’t put it aside. Manage your stress before it becomes unmanageable. Here’s a couple ways to cope with stress:
- Don’t expect perfection of yourself or others
- Set appropriate priorities
- Get regular exercise
- Take a walk and enjoy the scenery
- Make some quiet time regularly
- Allow for sufficient relaxation and sleep
- Talk to a friend/coworker about your worries
- If your workplace allows, play some easy listening music or any that will calm you and keep you leveled
Don’t allow stress to get the upper hand. CWI Underwriters wishes you to have a great day and enjoy the coming weekend!
How many times has this happened to you? You have a bag full of your favorite candy. It’s set in a drawer next to you, or your kitchen, or by the computer. When the bag is full you splurge your candy. To you it’s full and it will stay full. Then one day, you pull open your drawer, pull it out and *gasp* it’s light. Too light. Now you start to spread it out as thin as you can. You don’t grab handfuls, but instead, grab a piece or two and put it away. You become very protective of it and even stop sharing with your co-workers (they’re animals). Interestingly enough, today’s economy is having that same effect on the way we use our cars.
FIVE DOLLARS! That’s the forecast for mid this year and if you’re like me, we’re dreading the pump so much that we’ll do anything so that the needle, that devilish thing that taunts us as it drops slowly but surely, stays up and takes its time on it descent. Yet, alas, there is a silver lining behind it all. What happened with your candy as its supply ran short? You were more careful with it, right? So too will you be with the way you drive and your gas consumption.
A study done by the Mississippi States Social Research Center compared gas prices with traffic stats from April 2004 to December 2008. The study showed how there was a short term effect on young drivers and an intermediate effect on older drivers. People react by making less unimportant trips or by simply doing everything they need on the way back home to reduce traveling. There was even an effect on drunk driving and if you think about it, it makes sense. What you would spend on booze is now filling up your car to get you back home or to work.
P.S. At CWI Underwriters you don’t have to drive to us to save on you policies. That would kinda be an oxymoron. We’ll take care of you over the phone or by email…telepathy available soon.
It’s been pretty hot these past couple of days. The sun keeps beating down and the humidity rising. You walk out of the office and can’t wait to be in your car, blow the AC, and hide behind your tints. As you get to it the door handle is burning. You flick it open and as you’re about to get in, a blast of heat completely engulfs you and, if you weren’t sweating yet, you are now. Clear enough? This heat is unbearable and I can’t help thinking of another way to move around in a much “cooler” fashion. How bout a bike? Not a pedal one (it’s too hot to exercise outside and I don’t want to be held liable of someone suffering a heat stroke). A motorcycle, motorbike, a two-wheeled motor vehicle. Come on. You’ve thought about it. I have. So what to get?
Personally I’m into the adventure-touring and power cruisers. Adventure-Touring “AT” is where off-road and touring bikes meet. Touring are those big bikes like the Honda Gold Wing, Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, and the BMW K1200LT. But to me they’re too bulky. No offense to older readers but I’m not 50. If I really wanted to ride around gloriously I’d get a power cruiser; I’ll get to that in a moment. Now most of us have seen off-road bikes. Rickety, noisy, and boney is not appealing to many who want to ride around on a bike. Luckily the Adventure-Touring is a fine blend of the two. Who better to blend these two than BMW back in 1980. They’ve picked up over the years and offer great long-distance travel with some off road compliance, making it a fun ride always.
Ahh Power Cruisers. I would probably get this over the AT simply cause of its aggressive, majestic prowess. Most Harleys are classified as cruisers and they present a comfortable ride with a great sense of dignity. A Power-Cruiser kicks it up a notch. You want a hot-rod, sport bike, PO’d, attitude machine? Found it. Power Cruisers deliver in a way no other bike does and with bike like the Harley Night Rod and Suzuki Boulevard, you can tell from a distance.
So time to rock out a nice bike this summer. Oh, by the way, they’re great on gas and nowadays that’s definitely a plus. Have fun searching for your perfect ride and don’t forget, who better to insure it than us here at CWI.
Last Thursday night I attended a wine class to explore and discover the Wines of Tuscany, one of the most notable winegrowing areas in Italy. We tried eight different wines made with the same grape call Sangiovese, which is the most plated red grape in all of Italy. This magnificent grape is also called Brunello, Morellino and Nielluccio and Prugnolo Gentile.
For the first time I tasted Chianti Classico Riserva which is the best of the chiantis you can drink. The reason is that must have 24 months maturation and three months in bottle before release.
The blend is a least 80% Sangiovese, can add reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, etc. It is more intense and complex than Chianti Classico.
As the class progressed we tasted Super Tuscan, a combination of traditional Italian and French varietals aged in French oak barriques. We came to end of the class and we were delighted with the star of the wines Brunello di Montalcino (Podere Paganico Brunello di Montalcino, 91 Points), regarded as some of Italy’s best red wines. This Tuscan crown jewel requires to age for 2 years in oak and then an additional 3 years in oak, tank or bottle for a total of 5 years before release. While this process takes place you can enjoy the Rosso di Montalcino which is great to drink while aging your Brunello.
The class was a informative and quiet an experience thanks to our instructor Nick, from Total Wine. Also his assistance and the whole team at Total Wine.
Please check Total Wine in your area and take a tour around the world of wines.
The massive, weekend storm system that killed dozens of people, and destroyed buildings, livestock and other property as it swept east across the country, produced the most significant insured losses in North Carolina and Virginia, officials said.
The thunderstorm system — which included tornadoes, high winds and hail — formed Thursday in the Southwest and produced severe thunderstorms in rural areas of Oklahoma, Arizona Alabama and Mississippi as it moved east over the weekend.
The National Weather Service said more than 240 tornadoes were reported over three days — including one in the vicinity of Tushka, Oklahoma, that generated winds in excess of 135 miles an hour. A total of 40 counties in Arkansas and Oklahoma were under a tornado watch; in Texas, five counties saw hail the size of golf balls.
“Thousands of trees were toppled or snapped, and downed power lines cut electricity to tens of thousands of households… Roofs were ripped from homes and, in the most severe cases, homes and businesses were flattened,” said Tim Doggett, a scientist with Boston-based AIR Worldwide.
The storm moved up the East Coast on Friday and Saturday, as tornado destroyed houses in knocked down power lines in Alabama before reaching the Carolinas and Virginia where the costliest damage occurred. Over 250,000 people lost power as commercial and residential structures were pounded with hail and subjected to wind speeds in some instances exceeding 160 miles per hour.
It was the worst storm in two decades in North Carolina, where at least 21 people were killed and hundreds of homes damaged. Authorities are assessing the destruction from deadly weekend storms, as cleanup and relief efforts continue for those whose homes were damaged or destroyed. In Virginia, at least five died.
Bertie County was the hardest-hit in North Carolina, as 67 homes were destroyed along with crops. Assessed loss totals there are approximately $2.5 million.
Crews in those two states are continuing to assess damage. “We’re going to do the best we can to rush aid to people as soon as possible,” said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who toured storm-damaged areas of the state on Monday.
The effects of the tornados were felt as far away as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut, where high winds and isolated flash flooding occurred in certain locations on Saturday night.
“Our condolences go out to all Americans affected by this catastrophic tornado outbreak,” said Christopher Hackett, director of personal lines policy for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). “We know that many lost loved ones and many more suffered catastrophic property damage. Insurance adjusters are in the field now, working to help victims of this storm put their lives back together.” PCI has issued guidelines and information to help home and business owners file claims.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report
courtesy of Insurance Journal
So I just received a chain letter stating the importance of drinking water and I figured I’d share it with you. We’ve all heard how we have to drink 8 glasses of water a day to be at the top of our health game. Well first let me clarify that that is not true. It all depends on the caloric intake, age, weight, activity, and even environment. The Institute of Medicine reported that women on average should drink about 11 cups and men 15 of total water.
What is total water? Almost everything we consume has water in it. The early morning coffee, the sauce in our favorite pasta dish, and every fruit has water in it one way or another. 80% of our water intake comes from liquids and the other 20% from food. And for those dieting, drinking water boosts the number of calories burned in a day.
Some more water benefits:
- Helps carry nutrients and oxygen to cells
- Coverts food to energy
- Protects vital organs
- Removes waste
- Cushions joints
- Accounts for 22% of bones
Don’t put it off and keep saying you need to drink more water. Start reaping the benefits of a healthy lifestyle today.
I attended a wine tasting class at Total Wine in Pembroke Pines and I had an excellent experience. The class was presented in an excellent environment, the instructor was a wealth of knowledge about wine history, making process and types of wines. We visited the wines of South America; wines from Chile and Argentina were featured. The wines from Chile were the best. Chile, the Sauvignon Blanc from Veranda is the best I ever tried, it’s rated at 91 points. Chile has a great history; they imported their vineyards’ from Italy and France. Chilean millionaires went to France and imported many vines and they started to produce good wine since the weather is similar to the one in France and Italy. By the 1800 a plague came and completely devastated the vineyards in France and Italy leaving these two countries without their number one industry. Thanks to the Chileans, France and Italy were able to bring back vineyards and those are the ones that are producing the wine in those countries today.
Even when you have the best we should always share it with others.
Total Wine & More – Pembroke Pines
A recent study conducted by the National Insurance Crime Bureau has reported that from 2009 to 2010 there had been an increase of 17% in questionable auto claims, topping ’10 with 8,724. The total number increased topped to 41% in 2009 and decreased back to 35% in 2010.
Hillsborough, Broward, and Dade counties are the most affected areas in the state of Florida with fraud claims.
This could lead to higher premiums for honest policyholders.
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