A study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine might help explain why so many dieters have trouble keeping off the pounds they lose. A team of Australian researchers found that after individuals had been subjected to sharply limited diets, their bodies' responded with biological changes that slowed their metabolism and increased their appetites -- causing them to regain weight, even when they were on maintenance regimes.
These reinforce what most of us intuitively understand: The easiest way to achieve a healthy weight is to not become overweight in the first place.
This is especially vital when we look at America's youth. According to the CDC, 17 percent of children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese -- three times the rate of a decade ago. The consequences are grim. Obese children are more likely to grow up into obese adults, putting themselves at risk for health problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes.
We need to ensure that physical activity is a daily part of our kids' lives.
Am I the only one who can’t get over the fact that it is already the end of October?! This year has flown by. We are getting ready for a fun Halloween weekend in our house. Although Halloween isn’t until Monday, we are going to start the fun early! We are going to a party at the Lake Nona clubhouse…hopefully we don’t see too many spooky ghosts and goblins. Ava is going to dress-up as a pumpkin. She has been modeling her costume all day and I must admit, she is the cutest pumpkin I have ever seen!
What are you going to dress-up as this year? Stay tuned for photos of our Spooktacular Halloween! Have a safe and fun weekend.
Far Hills, N.J. (Oct. 25) – Annika Sorenstam, universally regarded as one of the most dominant players in the history of women’s golf, has been selected as the recipient of the United States Golf Association’s 2012 Bob Jones Award. The USGA’s highest honor has been presented annually since 1955 in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. The Award seeks to recognize a person who emulates Jones’ spirit, his personal qualities and his attitude toward the game and its players. The Award will be presented Feb. 4 at the USGA’s Annual Meeting in Houston.
“Annika has consistently exhibited the specific character trait – distinguished sportsmanship – that the Bob Jones Award was established to recognize, and has done so while achieving a level of success that few have equaled,” said USGA President Jim Hyler. “It is not only the number of tournaments that she won during her incredible career, but the way she conducted herself, always gracious in victory and defeat, always respectful of her opponents and the game itself.”
I’ve had a great time in Taean, a city outside of Seoul, celebrating the First Anniversary of my course at Golden Bay and Resort. This is my first golf course design in Korea and given the importance of Korea to the golfing world, especially ladies professional golf, I am very proud. I want to say thank you to Hanwha for giving me this special opportunity. It has been such a wonderful learning experience and I am so happy with how the course looks and the feedback I have received. I was particularly glad to hear the positive feedback from the KLPGA’s biggest event, the Hanwha Finance Classic, which was held at Golden Bay last month. I want to send a special Congratulations to Na Yeon Choi; what an incredible golfer!
As I mentioned earlier this week, the goal with the 27 holes was to create 3 nine hole loops (the Ocean, Valley and Mountain) that could all be interchangeable to play 18 holes, while also being very unique. The original natural site is very special because of the gorgeous sea view, change in topography and rock outcropping so it was ideal to create a very special golf course. The course was not about using length to make it difficult but the design idea was for golfers to think by using strategy and course management to successfully get around the golf course.
I want golfers to have plenty of room in the fairway landing areas but with more accuracy required around on shots to the green. The greens are slightly smaller than what most Korean golfers are used to and we kept the bunker shapes very simple. All of the challenges you encounter on this golf course are visible with no hidden surprises or blind shots. One unique feature of the golf course is that when rock outcroppings were discovered during construction, I tried to preserve and work around them to keep as a feature of the golf course. Come visit and you will notice this on holes #1 and #2 on the Ocean and #9 on the Valley. The grass selected requires less water and allows the course to be set up hard and fast like most great seaside golf courses. Also, we chose native grasses for the Out of Play areas that do not require irrigation, which helps to reduce the water use.
Most importantly, my goal with the design was to make the golf course fun for golfers of all levels! I really am very proud of this course and I hope some of you are able to play it someday. Until then, enjoy the slideshow of pictures from my visit this week!
I am thrilled to be on my way to Seoul today! It will be a quick trip for me but a very exciting one; I am heading to the First Anniversary Celebration of my course at the Golden Bay and Resort. It's a beautiful area and I enjoyed working on this project very much. The course consists of 27 holes; 3 very distinct 9 hole loops. One of the nines plays up in the higher elevations of the site, providing eastern views of the bays and mainland. The second nine holes plays through the lower portion of the site, with many interesting valleys and water features. The third and most stunning nine holes plays along the western portion of the side, getting right down along the ocean side and beach, with virtually every hole on this nine having ocean views of the Yellow Sea. The general course conditions are similar to most other Korean golf course sites, moderately steep, with very pronounced ridges and valleys. The 3 nines are all interchangeable so that by playing any combination, golfers are playing a Par 72, Championship length golf course.
I have not been to visit the site in a little while and am very excited to get there and watch people out there on the course! Enjoy the photos - some are from the pre-construction phase and some showcase the course how it is today.
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