Sources: fat burning

Whenever a defense such as our 2009 team loses nine starters, the first thing many would think would be, “OMG, we have a huge rebuilding project in front of us!” I'm sure that many non-Bama fans and sportswriters are thinking the same thing.

NOT SO FAST, my friends!

Although the Alabama secondary took a huge hit with the loss of three starters, the front seven's situation is not near as dire. Thanks to rotation play, the DL/LB crew will have five returning players with extensive playing/starting experience in DE Marcell Dareus, NT Josh Chapman, ILB's Nico Johnson and Dont'a Hightower, and OLB Courtney Upshaw. Our depth in the front seven is as deep and talented as any prior Bama squad. (*denotes returning starter)

 

Defensive end

Marcell Dareus 6-3 280 Jr, Chris Bonds 6-4 285 RFR, Luther Davis 6-4 280 Sr, William Ming 6-3 275 RFR, Brandon Moore 6-5 310 RFR (possible move to OL), Darrington Sentimore 6-3 285 RFR, Damion Square 6-3 290 Soph, Milton Talbert 6-3 270 Sr, Adrian Hubbard 6-7 230 Fr, Wilson Love 6-4 270 Fr. 

Dareus is a blooming star and soon-to-be All American. He will start at one DE. Damion Square was a rising star before being felled with a knee injury. If he comes back at full strength, look for him to battle Luther Davis for the other starting position.

Bonds and Sentimore are two highly recruited redshirts that will be in the rotation. There have been rumors that Moore will move over to the OL. If he doesn't, look for him to be in the mix at either DE or NT.

Talbert lends experience while Ming has been putting on needed weight and learning the defense. Look for all the true freshman to red shirt. Another area that is deeply talented.

 

Nose Tackle

Josh Chapman 6-1 305 Jr, Kerry Murphy 6-5 320 Soph, Brandon Lewis 6-3 280 Jr, Brandon Ivory 6-3 330 Fr.

Chapman had about as many snaps in 2009 as Mount Cody. He is one of, if not the strongest player on the team. He may not command the attention that Cody did, but he can clog up the middle effectively, is MUCH quicker, can get in the backfield, and can play every down if needed. Look for him to start, with a much improved Murphy playing extensively behind him.

Junior college transfer Lewis is not as big as a conventional NT, but he is strong and fast and can provide needed depth. Ivory is a very big guy who will redshirt to learn the system (again, unless something unexpected happens).

 

Inside Linebacker

Losing Rolondo McClain hurts more than losing just his physical abilities. He was the quarterback of the defense, such as Rashad Johnson was in 2008. I expect Hightower (or Barron) to step up and become the vocal leader and defensive QB in 2010.

*Nico Johnson 6-3 235 Sophomore

Nico came in after Hightower was injured, and played beyond expectations. Expect continued improvement in 2010 and honors down the road.

*Dont'a Hightower 6-4 255 Junior

I am placing Dont'a here because he was a starter before his injury. Expect him to step into Rolondo's old spot. Reports are that he will be as good as new to begin the season, and if that is the case, opposing offenses will be trying to find ways to avoid him.

Chris Jordan 6-2 235 Jr, Mike Marrow 6-2 245 RFR (possible move from RB), Tana Patrick 6-3 240 RFR, Petey Smith 6-0 248 Fr, C.J. Mosley 6-3 225 Fr.

Although not a lot of experience backs up the two starters, this is a very talented group. Look for Jordan, Smith, and Patrick to get valuable playing time. Marrow may transfer from RB, where we really don't have a FB position anymore. He is a beast who just needs some experience. I think Mosley will be placed here and redshirted to learn the defense.

 

Outside Linebacker

No “starters” return here, but as on our DL there are some real players here that will step in and do the job. This is another area that is so deep and talented it's almost embarrassing. Although losing Anders and Reamer will sting, the incoming players are truly more talented. 

Courtney Upshaw 6-2 245 Jr, Jonathan Atchison 6-2 230 RFR, Glenn Harbin 6-6 250 RFR, Jerrell Harris 6-3 220 Jr, Ed Stinson 6-4 240 RFR, Chavis Williams 6-4 225 SR, Alfy Hill 6-4 245 Fr.

Upshaw will man the Jack position. He played an important part in our NC season, and can be a terror coming off the edge.

I expect Harris to win the Sam spot. He probably is the most talented of all of the OLB's, and this is his time to shine. If he has his head on straight, he will be one to watch.

Stinson is highly thought of and will certainly contribute. Atchison, Williams, Harbin, and Hill should all see playing time in rotation and/or on special teams. Experience is lacking behind Upshaw and Harris so I don't expect any redshirts.

 

Cornerback

Losing Arenas, Jackson, Johnson, and Rogers certainly hurts but the cupboard is hardly bare. This is one of two areas that will be closely watched (the other being punter and kicker) going into spring and fall. Experience is all that is lacking, for the talent is bursting at the seams. 

Dre Kirkpatrick 6-3 185 Soph, B.J. Scott 6-0 195 Jr, Phelon Jones 5-11 195 Jr, John Fulton 6-0 175 Fr, Deion Belue 6-0 170 Fr, Demarcus Milliner 6-1 185 Fr (possibly Dequan Menzie 6-0 180 JUCO if he chooses Bama).

I expect Kirkpatrick and Scott to win the starter's jobs. Both were highly rated CB's coming out of HS, and while B.J. spent 2008 on offense, he did have the luxury of spending 2009 re-learning his old position.

Kirkpatrick spent 2009 playing mostly on special teams. His talent and desire to be the best will be on display come spring. Jones transferred from LSU where he started a few games and played extensively. He could replace Johnson as the nickel back.

Fulton and Milliner have already enrolled which will help them tremendously in learning Coach Saban's complicated defensive schemes. Look for one or both to contribute heavily, either in the rotation or on special teams.

Belue may take some extra time to learn the defense, but he may be able to step in and take over Javy's return positions. He was excellent doing so in high school, and I expect he will be given the chance right off the bat when he hits the Capstone.

 

Safety

As in 2008 when Rashad Johnson left, we lose a wonderful safety in Justin Woodall. But unlike 2008, we have an experienced backup ready to step in and fill his shoes. Also on hand are several players aching to make a name for themselves plus an incoming freshman group that is fast, hard-hitting, and talented.

*SS-Mark Barron 6-2 220 Junior

Barron came out of spring practice behind Robbie Green on the depth chart, but by fall practice had wrestled the starting job away and never let it go. Barron was chosen 3rd team All American, had seven interceptions and one pick-six—all AS A SOPHOMORE! Expect continued improvement and possibly a vocal role in Coach Saban's defense.

Robbie Green 6-0 180 Jr, Robert Lester 6-2 210 RFR, Rod Woodson 5-11 200 Soph, Nick Perry 6-2 190 Fr, Jarrick Williams 6-2 205 Fr, (possibly Keenan Allen Fr is he signs).

Look for Green to win the starting FS spot. Woodson gained experience on special teams in 2008, and is ready to contribute. Lester has had a year to learn the system and he can lay the wood.

Incoming freshmen Perry and Williams are highly rated recruits who will be expected to fight for PT in the rotation and on special teams. Allen is the wild card. IF he signs, he will start out on offense but he gained High School AA honors as a safety. We'l see.

 

As one can see, the talent and experience returning on the 2010 defense will more than make up for the losses suffered. As with any new year, practice and time will jell this unit.

This defense has the potential to be as fine as any that Alabama has ever fielded. I expect that by the fifth game of the year, they will begin to hit their stride and become as formidable as the 2009 unit. 

Losing weight and getting fit preoccupied Americans in 2009:

• Nearly one out of two American women, including high school girls, were on a diet.

• Over 40 billion was spent on branded diet plans.

• Children as young as 9 to 11 years old were sometimes or very often dieting.

Yet an epidemic of obesity continues to affect more people than ever before:

• Less than a third of adults enjoyed normal weight.

• Children were two to three times more likely to be overweight today than they were 30 years ago.

Can we begin to reverse these worrisome trends in 2010?
We can if we update our old views with new ways to look at fitness in the coming year.

Old View: It's hopeless! Efforts to lose weight are inevitably doomed to fail. Even if a person manages to lose weight, he or she will eventually regain the weight and add back even more.

New View: You can do it! Strategies for making healthier choices involving diet, physical conditioning and improved self-care are available to you and can be learned. Championing this view is Kelly Brownell, Ph. D., who heads the LEARN Program for Weight Management at Yale University. And thanks to widespread access to the Internet, peer counseling in online communities is expanding. Internet support may include food and exercise diaries, weekly counseling, online weight-loss lessons and motivational phone calls.

Old View: Thin is in! Most individuals, especially women, seek to lose weight because they have internalized the media's ultrathin ideal.

New View: Healthy is in! Health is replacing vanity as the primary reason for pursuing fitness and weight loss. In 2009, researchers reported that four healthy habits could reduce or eliminate 80 percent of major medical problems: eating a healthy diet, not smoking, exercising regularly and maintaining a normal body weight. This insight, combined with rising medical costs, is triggering a focus on fitness.

Old View: If you are fat, you are a bad person. Obesity is a personal problem caused by a lack of willpower.

New View: Obesity is a disease that is treatable. The cost of providing medical care per person has skyrocketed from $356 in 1970 to $8,160 in 2009. Moreover, in 2009, the cost of treating obesity-related medical problems reached $147 billion. Given these costs, obesity has become a public health concern requiring a multifaceted community-based approach. In response, community leaders in Albert Lea, Minnesota, implemented a comprehensive lifestyle program to improve the health and longevity of the city's residents. To increase employee productivity and reduce health insurance costs and absenteeism, corporate wellness programs are proliferating.

Old View: Low-fat diets are required to lose weight. Eating fat makes a person fat. To lose weight, a dieter needs to stick with low- or no-fat foods.

New View: Total calories actually determine weight. The total calories consumed by a person, whether from carbs, fats or proteins, determines weight. Since the goal is a balanced diet, the Mediterranean diet, which includes healthy fats, is recommended by the Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association as a nutritionally sound and healthy eating plan. Nuts, which until recently were on dieters' “do not eat” lists, are making a comeback because of their health benefits, especially almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans and macadamia nuts. Momentum is growing for mandating information on the caloric content of fast foods and food products.

Photo courtesy of everystockphoto.com

Old View: Medical intervention is needed. Weight-loss drugs or bariatric surgery can solve the problem of surplus pounds for many people, and advances in medicine can address obesity-related problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.

New View: A healthy lifestyle is the best way. Prevention, rather than treatment of obesity-related medical problems, will move to the forefront because of the rising cost of medical insurance and healthcare. While the number of bariatric surgeries will continue to skyrocket, family physicians will increasingly write exercise prescriptions in lieu of drug prescriptions.

Old View: Ignore overweight children. Children who are overweight will outgrow their chubbiness, so kids' surplus pounds can be ignored.

New View: Help overweight children now! Dr. Robert Murray, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health, is alarmed that nearly half of kids and teens are overweight or obese and, as a consequence, children's life expectancies are lower than their parents'. Treating childhood obesity is a serious medical problem that if ignored will place the child at risk for heart disease, diabetes and other serious medical conditions.

Old View: Don't ask, don't tell. Asking employees to modify their unhealthful behavior is an invasion of privacy and violates employees' right to choose their own lifestyle.

New View: Offer help, incentives and access to experts. In 2008, medical insurance premiums reached a record $15,609 for a family of four. Employers are proactively seeking to reduce costs (medical insurance, workers' compensation claims and absenteeism) by restructuring benefit programs. In increasing numbers, employees are being offered incentives to quit smoking or lose weight. They face penalties if they refuse to change habits that drive up the cost of healthcare.

Old View: Hard-core exercise one hour daily. Going to a gym daily for a 60-minute workout on a treadmill and resistance equipment is the best way to exercise.

New View: Diversity, fun and enjoyment. Thanks to popular television programs, dancing for fitness is back, particularly Zumba, a one-hour workout that fuses Latin rhythms with calorie-burning dance movements. Exergaming, such as Wii and Dance Dance Revolution, continues to grow in popularity with young and old alike. Michelle Obama has made the Hula-Hoop popular once again. The use of technologically sophisticated feedback gadgets, from pedometers to heart monitors, will expand. To attract members to the gym during tough economic times, more fitness centers will offer cardio cinema so members can watch a movie while exercising.

Will we continue to get fatter until 2018 when, according to research by Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, of Emory University, 40 percent of us will be obese (and another 33 percent overweight)?

If we are to succeed in reversing the obesity trends and mounting medical care costs, we'll have to find new approaches. And the more readily we learn from the past and update our understanding of the complex nature and causes of obesity, the more quickly we can successfully move into a healthy future.

weight loss program

Many weight loss programs boast of ways to lose weight fast. However, as you well know, a lot of them do not actually work that way. The truth behind dieting is that you do not need to starve yourself like many of these fad weight loss programs would lead you to believe; you just need to learn to eat right. Here are some of the fast weight loss tips that will not only keep you slim, but also keep you healthy.

One of the best tips to lose weight loss fast would be easier than you think. And that is to simply “Drink Water.” In case you don't know, water is a very important weight loss catalyst and studies also show that drinking water regularly helps keep off weight for a long period. This is because water tends to function as an appetite suppressant and those hunger pangs that you are feeling may be false and can easily be eliminated by drinking water.

Water also helps in stored fat metabolism and lack of water in your body makes your kidneys and your liver not that effective in eliminating waste and the metabolism of body fat.

Another one of the fast weight loss tips that may seem unbelievable is this one: “Eat regularly.” This doesn't mean eating 3 meals in a day. Eating regularly means eating around 5 times daily with breakfast considered as the most important meal of the day. By eating 5 times a day, you will not feel the hunger pangs and food cravings and that would result to you not eating more than what you should eat. The key is that your meals need to be much smaller than your standard 3 per day.

Eating lots of fiber is also a way to lose weight quicker because fiber will help your body eliminate waste through regular bowel movement that would of course facilitate fat metabolism. Fiber rich foods is also similar to water because they tend to let you feel full longer, hence, you will not feel any hunger pangs that would lead you to eating a lot of food, usually those rich in calories that are major factors in gaining a lot of pounds.

Adding more fiber rich foods into your daily meals helps you lessen your calorie intake because fiber rich foods are low in calories. Fiber can be found in fruits and vegetables such as apples, potatoes, strawberries, broccoli, etc.

Eating food with good carbohydrates is also part of any healthy diet plan. Bad carbohydrates are the ones that will make you gain weight. Good carbohydrates, on the other hand, found in whole grains have only little fat and calories which would help you in losing weight. Good carbohydrates can also prevent hunger pangs because they make you feel fuller just like foods rich in fiber.

As long as you eat meals daily with a combination of food from all the food groups, and if you follow these fast weight loss tips, you will see yourself on the road to losing the fats and the pounds that you have long dreamt of eliminating. Mixing these tips with regular exercise will also help you lose weight quicker.

share videos with friends