Big Guys Dressing Well & Establishing Rapport With Your Clothier

I’ve always enjoyed dressing well – however when I was younger, it was usually jeans and t-shirt or something similar because I didn’t really know about clothes for big men.  As I got older, I had to refine my clothing but always shied away from buying the latest because of cost.

However as I built rapport with the various clothiers I’ve used over the years, I’ve been given bigger and better discounts.  Typically I get 10% off (as does EVERYONE) because I gave the company my e-mail address – however whenever the manager is in he’ll go one step further and see when the items I’ve purchased are set to go on sale and if it’s going to be on sale within 3 months time he’ll give me the discount then instead.

Most recently I purchased three pairs of dress pants, very good quality and priced at over $175.00 per pair.  There was a 25% discount but the manager bumped that to just around 50% after adding in my 10% plus what appeared to be a “loyalty” discount – so I paid around $90.00 for $175.00 pants — and these are not end-of-season items either!  It’s regular stock.

The same with shirt – I purchased 15 new shirts that would have cost me about $1,000 for around $300 – some were end-of-season and a few were meant for the cooler months but all were brand new, were heavily discounted and when they added my 10% discount — well, the deal was great.

I managed to buy pants, great dress shirts and dress shoes (the latest styles from Stacey Adams) all for under $1,000.00.  This included lots of socks, plus accessories like a ties and belts.

One thing that I’ve found is that when you purchase from a clothier — whether they are independent or large national chain, they appreciate your repeat business and when you combine that with getting to know the staff that work there the shopping experience is that much better plus you get in on special deals.

When I bought the pants, there was someone in front of me that bought the same pair and he paid the sale price which was around $131.00.  I managed to score an additional $25.00 discount.

I still see too many b-i-g and large-ish guys that don’t know how to dress well and the clothes that they do wear are clearly too tight…

If you are a professional – whether that means someone that sits at a cubicle all day or you’re out and about working in Sales or something similar if you are a big guy it is VERY important to dress well and look the part otherwise you will be discounted by your peers and the public.

Take care!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: clothes for big guys, dress clothes for the big man

H1N1 (Swine Flu) Statistics

Swine Flu H1N1 Statistics – shown below are the swine flu statistics (also known as H1N1 from the Center for Disease Control (US) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

NOTE: Verify ALL data with your countries respective disease control center. This data is based on information found on the Internet.

H1N1 Symptoms

The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with novel H1N1 flu virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. The high risk groups for novel H1N1 flu are not known at this time, but it’s possible that they may be the same as for seasonal influenza. People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu include people age 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are immunosuppressed (e.g., taking immunosuppressive medications, infected with HIV).

Emergency Warning Signs

If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish or gray skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

US Reported Cases of Swine Flu

Table. U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection
Data reported to CDC by July 17, 2009, 11:00 AM ET

States and Territories*	Confirmed and Probable Cases	Deaths
States
Alabama	477 cases	0 deaths
Alaska	218 cases	0 deaths
Arizona	762 cases	11 deaths
Arkansas	47 cases	0 deaths
California	3161 cases	52 deaths
Colorado	155 cases	0 deaths
Connecticut	1581 cases	7 deaths
Delaware	364 cases	0 deaths
Florida	2188 cases	12 deaths
Georgia	174 cases	1 death
Hawaii	722 cases	1 death
Idaho	143 cases	0 deaths
Illinois	3357 cases	15 deaths
Indiana	282 cases	1 death
Iowa	165 cases	0 deaths
Kansas	186 cases	0 deaths
Kentucky	143 cases	0 deaths
Louisiana	232 cases	0 deaths
Maine	133 cases	0 deaths
Maryland	732 cases	3 deaths
Massachusetts	1343 cases	5 deaths
Michigan	515 cases	8 deaths
Minnesota	660 cases	3 deaths
Mississippi	219 cases	0 deaths
Missouri	70 cases	1 death
Montana	94 cases	0 deaths
Nebraska	264 cases	1 death
Nevada	406 cases	0 deaths
New Hampshire	247 cases	0 deaths
New Jersey	1350 cases	14 deaths
New Mexico	232 cases	0 deaths
New York	2670 cases	57 deaths
North Carolina	395 cases	4 deaths
North Dakota	61 cases	0 deaths
Ohio	161 cases	1 death
Oklahoma	176 cases	1 death
Oregon	465 cases	5 deaths
Pennsylvania	1914 cases	8 deaths
Rhode Island	188 cases	2 deaths
South Carolina	244 cases	0 deaths
South Dakota	39 cases	0 deaths
Tennessee	247 cases	1 death
Texas	4975 cases	24 deaths
Utah	966 cases	14 deaths
Vermont	59 cases	0 deaths
Virginia	319 cases	2 deaths
Washington	636 cases	4 deaths
Washington, D.C.	45 cases	0 deaths
West Virginia	227 cases	0 deaths
Wisconsin	6031 cases	5 deaths
Wyoming	106 cases	0 deaths
Territories
American Samoa	8 cases	0 deaths
Guam	1 case	0 deaths
Puerto Rico	18 cases	0 deaths
Virgin Islands	44 cases	0 deaths
TOTAL (55)*	40,617 cases	263 deaths
*Includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For International Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection, see World Health Organization.

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm

WHO Worldwide H1N1 Stats

Country, territory and area	Cumulative total		Newly confirmed since the last reporting period
	Cases	Deaths	Cases	Deaths
Algeria	5	0	0	0
Antigua and Barbuda	2	0	0	0
Argentina	2485	60	898	34
Australia	5298	10	730	1
Austria	19	0	4	0
Bahamas	7	0	1	0
Bahrain	15	0	0	0
Bangladesh	18	0	6	0
Barbados	12	0	0	0
Belgium	54	0	5	0
Bermuda, UKOT	1	0	0	0
Bolivia	416	0	133	0
Bosnia and Hezegovina	1	0	0	0
Brazil	737	1	0	0
British Virgin Islands, UKOT	2	0	0	0
Brunei Darussalam	124	0	39	0
Bulgaria	10	0	0	0
Cambodia	7	0	0	0
Canada	7983	25	0	0
Cap Verde	3	0	0	0
Cayman Islands, UKOT	14	0	0	0
Chile	7376	14	0	0
China	2040	0	226	0
Colombia	118	2	17	0
Cook Island	1	0	1	0
Costa Rica	277	3	50	1
Cote d’Ivoire	2	0	0	0
Croatia	1	0	1	0
Cuba	85	0	12	0
Cyprus	109	0	39	0
Czech Republic	15	0	0	0
Denmark	66	0	3	0
Dominica	1	0	0	0
Dominican Republic	108	2	0	0
Ecuador	204	0	41	0
Egypt	78	0	11	0
El Salvador	319	0	66	0
Estonia	13	0	0	0
Ethiopia	3	0	0	0
Fiji	2	0	0	0
Finland	47	0	4	0
France	310	0	10	0
French Polynesia, FOC	4	0	2	0
Guadaloupe, FOC	2	0	2	0
Martinique, FOC	3	0	1	0
New Caledonia, FOC	12	0	6	0
Saint Martin, FOC	1	0	1	0
Germany	505	0	35	0
Greece	151	0	42	0
Guatemala	286	2	32	0
Guyana	2	0	2	0
Honduras	123	1	0	0
Hungary	11	0	0	0
Iceland	4	0	0	0
India	129	0	25	0
Indonesia	20	0	12	0
Iran, Islamic Republic	1	0	0	0
Iraq	12	0	1	0
Ireland	74	0	23	0
Israel	681	0	104	0
Italy	146	0	16	0
Jamaica	32	0	0	0
Japan	1790	0	344	0
Jordan	23	0	1	0
Kenya	15	0	3	0
Korea, Republic of	202	0	0	0
Kuwait	35	0	0	0
Laos	5	0	2	0
Latvia	1	0	0	0
Lebanon	49	0	2	0
Libya	1	0	1	0
Lithuania	3	0	0	0
Luxembourg	6	0	2	0
Macedonia	2	0	2	0
Malaysia	112	0	0	0
Malta	24	0	22	0
Mauritius	1	0	0	0
Mexico	10262	119	0	0
Montenegro	10	0	1	0
Morocco	17	0	0	0
Myanmar	1	0	0	0
Nepal	5	0	0	0
Netherlands	135	0	1	0
Netherlands, Aruba	5	0	0	0
Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao	8	0	0	0
Netherlands Antilles, Sint Maarten	7	0	0	0
New Zealand	1059	3	147	3
Nicaragua	321	0	13	0
Norway	41	0	0	0
Oman	4	0	1	0
Palau	1	0	0	0
Panama	417	0	0	0
Papua New Guinea	1	0	0	0
Paraguay	106	1	3	1
Peru	916	0	378	0
Philippines	1709	1	0	0
Poland	25	0	6	0
Portugal	42	0	15	0
Qatar	23	0	13	0
Romania	41	0	5	0
Russia	3	0	0	0
Saint Lucia	1	0	0	0
Samoa	1	0	0	0
Saudi Arabia	114	0	25	0
Serbia	15	0	0	0
Singapore	1055	0	177	0
Slovakia	18	0	0	0
Slovenia	14	0	9	0
South Africa	18	0	6	0
Spain	776	1	16	0
Sri Lanka	19	0	2	0
Suriname	11	0	0	0
Sweden	84	0	10	0
Switzerland	76	0	4	0
Syria	1	0	1	0
Thailand	2076	7	662	4
Trinidad and Tobago	65	0	12	0
Tunisia	5	0	2	0
Turkey	40	0	0	0
Uganda	1	0	0	0
Ukraine	1	0	0	0
United Arab Emirates	8	0	0	0
United Kingdom	7447	3	0	0
Guernsey, Crown Dependency	5	0	0	0
Isle of Man, Crown Dependency	1	0	0	0
Jersey, Crown Dependency	11	0	0	0
United States of America	33902	170	0	0
Puerto Rico	18	0	18	0
Virgin Islands	1	0	1	0
Uruguay	195	4	0	3
Vanuatu	2	0	0	0
Venezuela	206	0	2	0
Viet Nam	181	0	50	0
West Bank and Gaza Strip	60	0	30	0
Yemen	8	0	1	0
Grand Total	94512	429	4591	47

Source: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_07_06/en/index.html

Technorati Tags: cdc, center for disease control, flu pandemic, h1h1 vaccine, h1n1, h1n1 flu statistics, h1n1 pandemic, h1n1 symptomps, h1n1 vaccination, h1n1 vaccine, h1n1 world statistics, swine flu, swine flu pandemic, swine flu statistics, who, world health organization

Acai Berry and Acai Berry Juice

Acai Berries and Acai Berry Juice — What Are the Health Benefits?

Have you heard about the acai berry? Do you want to know more about the health benefits of acai berries and berry juice? Acai berries are highly touted by marketers who say it’s one of the elite superfoods with anti-aging and weight loss properties. Some manufacturers use acai berries in cosmetics and beauty products. But do scientific studies support these claims of acai benefits?

What is the acai berry?

The acai berry is an inch-long reddish, purple fruit. It comes from the acai palm tree (Euterpe oleracea), which is native to Central and South America. It is a relative of the blueberry, cranberry, and other dark purple fruits.

Research on the acai berry has focused on its possible antioxidant activity. Theoretically, that activity may help prevent diseases caused by oxidative stress such as heart disease and cancer.

Is the acai berry healthy?

Acai contains several substances called anthocyanins and flavonoids.

The word anthocyanin comes from two Greek words meaning “plant” and “blue.” Anthocyanins are responsible for the red, purple, and blue hues in many fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Foods that are richest in anthocyanins — such as blueberries, red grapes, red wine, and acai — are very strongly colored, ranging from deep purple to black.

Anthocyanins and flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that help defend the body against life’s stressors. They also play a role in the body’s cell protection system. Free radicals are harmful byproducts produced by the body. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants may interfere with aging and the disease process by neutralizing free radicals.

By lessening the destructive power of free radicals, antioxidants may help reduce the risk of some diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.

Are there known health benefits of acai berries?

Some studies show that acai fruit pulp has a very high antioxidant capacity with even more antioxidant content than cranberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, or blueberry. Studies are ongoing, though, and the jury is still out.

People eat acai berries to address various health conditions. But so far, acai berries have no known health benefit that’s any different than that of other similar fruits.

Can acai berries boost weight loss?

Scientists are learning more about the functional power of superfoods, such as the acai berry. Although acai is touted in some weight loss products, few studies have tested the benefit of acai in promoting weight loss.

For now, plenty of research supports eating a diet rich in antioxidants. There’s no doubt that berries and other fruits are a key part of any healthy diet promoting weight loss. The jury’s still out on whether there is something special about acai’s ability to shed excess pounds.

Why are acai berries used in beauty products?

Some cosmetics and beauty products contain acai oil in the ingredient list. That’s because acai oil is a powerhouse of antioxidants.

Studies show that acai oil may be a safe alternative to other tropical oils used in beauty products such as facial and body creams, anti-aging skin therapies, shampoos and conditioners, and other products. When acai oil is processed and stored long-term, the antioxidant levels remain high.

Do acai berries and acai juice have any side effects?

If you have pollen allergies or have a known hypersensitivity to acai or similar berries, you may want to avoid this fruit. When eaten in moderate amounts, though, acai is likely safe.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/acai-berries-and-acai-berry-juice-what-are-the-health-benefits

Technorati Tags: acai berries, acai berry, acai berry juice

H1N1 – Swine Flu and Obesity Linked

Fight The Flab To Fend Off Swine Flu (H1N1)

15 July 2009 by Debora MacKenzie

AS IF people struggling with obesity did not have enough to worry about, they now face a new health hazard. According to statistics from the US, overweight people appear more likely to die of swine flu (H1N1).

Most of the people who have died from H1N1 swine flu have had an underlying health problem that weakened their ability to fight off the virus. Among the conditions recognised as increasing the risk from flu are hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung obstruction and coronary disease. Now it may be time to add obesity to the list.

Unpublished figures reported at a recent meeting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, show that of 99 people who died in the early stages of the pandemic in the US, 45 per cent were obese. As only 26 per cent of US adults are obese, this suggests that obesity doubles the risk of getting seriously ill with swine flu (H1N1).

The figures surprised most flu researchers. “In 40 years of studying flu, I have never heard anything about obesity,” says virologist John Oxford of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London. Obesity specialists, however, say it fits with what they have learned in recent years.

The only study looking directly at flu and obesity was done in 2007 by Melinda Beck and colleagues at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. It was already known that abdominal fat releases a continuous stream of chemicals that trigger inflammation, an immune response normally aimed at killing invading pathogens and infected cells. So Beck’s team wondered what effect this had on flu. They were especially interested, she says, because runaway inflammation, known as a “cytokine storm”, is what kills most flu victims.

Beck and her team found that overfed, obese mice are nearly seven times as likely to die of ordinary flu as genetically identical lean mice (The Journal of Nutrition, vol 137, p 1236).

The researchers also measured immune chemicals in the mice’s blood. Prior to infection, the obese mice had much higher levels of a hormone called leptin than the normal mice. During the initial stages of infection, they had fewer virus-killing cells and chemicals.

Leptin is released by fat cells and, among other things, triggers immune reactions. Beck thinks that obese mice become desensitised to leptin, making their immune system slow to react. “Our experiments suggest the problem is the fat itself.”

As their flu worsened, the obese mice did mount an immune response, but it was “too little too late”, says Beck. It failed to get rid of the virus and eventually triggered a runaway immune response that escalated until it killed the mice – much as the cytokine storm does in people.

We don’t know if the same series of events happen in obese people with swine flu (H1N1), Beck warns. But it is possible that, as in mice, obesity dampens our ability to fight flu by disrupting the immune response, says Jesse Roth, a diabetes specialist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “The resting level of inflammation goes up in obesity,” he says. He suspects that this disrupts the body’s immune response to viruses, making a lethal runaway reaction more likely.

During a flu pandemic, it is more important than ever to tackle obesity, Roth says. “It’s amazing how much obesity-related inflammation you can reverse with just a little diet and exercise.” He says a daily half-hour walk and losing about 5 per cent of body weight if you are overweight is enough to reduce inflammation.

David Fedson, a former flu researcher at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, has long proposed using drugs that damp down inflammation, such as statins, fibrates and glitazones, as an additional way of cutting deaths from flu. These drugs are normally prescribed for obesity-related disorders such as high cholesterol and insulin insensitivity.

The new figures on obesity and swine flu strengthen the case for stockpiling the drugs, given that shortages of vaccine and antiviral drugs are likely, Fedson says. “These drugs are safe and cheap, but they are being ignored by pandemic planners.”

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327175.000-fight-the-flab-to-fend-off-swine-flu.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

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The Calorie Delusion

Here is an interesting article I found at New Scientist entitled “The Calorie Delusion: Why Food Labels Are Wrong”.  You can read the full-story by clicking here.

Here is a summary of the article:

“STANDING in line at the coffee shop you feel a little peckish. So what will you choose to keep you going until lunchtime? Will it be that scrumptious-looking chocolate brownie or perhaps a small, nut-based muesli bar. You check the labels: the brownie contains around 250 kilocalories (kcal), while the muesli bar contains more than 300. Surprised at the higher calorie count of what looks like the healthy option, you go for the brownie.

This is the kind of decision that people watching their weight – or even just keeping a casual eye on it – make every day. As long as we keep our calorie intake at around the recommended daily values of 2000 for women and 2500 for men, and get a good mix of nutrients, surely we can eat whatever we like?”

…

In other experiments Secor tested the energy differences between cooked and raw carrots when fed to bearded dragons. Unlike pythons these lizards are omnivorous, which makes it possible to test the response of the digestive system when raised on a strictly herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivorous diet. By counting the number of chews the dragons took before swallowing the food, his preliminary findings suggest that the cooked carrots require only about half as many chews as the raw vegetable, which corresponds to more than a 40 per cent drop in the energy needed to chew.

…

The full article is definately worth the read as it will open your eyes on food labels and calories – I know it was an eye opener for me!

Technorati Tags: calorie counting, food labels

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