Fuel costs are 40 percent higher than even a year ago, meaning that many airlines are struggling to make a profit. Many carriers are responding by attempting to lighten the weight of the planes and cargo so that they use less fuel. Measures have ranged from removing ovens from planes that no longer serve meals to charging extra for heavy bags.
Costing As Much As Labor
Fuel expenditures for most airlines are now on a par with labor costs, traditionally the highest expense for airlines. Planes are now flown so many times a day, according to an airline efficiency expert, that losing 100 pounds off each flight can save a company millions of dollars every year.
Ticket Prices Likely To Rise As Well
Considering the industry burns about 19 billion gallons of jet fuel annually and the per cost of barrel spiraling to more than $100 in September (right now prices have dropped to $70), chances are good that ticket prices will rise along with the introduction of cost-cutting measures many have already noticed.
With the obesity epidemic taking a heavy toll on the US health and bank accounts, it's no big surprise US hobbled airlines are feeling the fiscal crunch in their spreadsheets when it comes extra fuel costs, especially with all that extra weight they're lugging around.
Between 1990 and 2000, the prevalence of morbid obesity in the United States nearly tripled, leaping to roughly 5 million morbidly obese adults in the year 2000.
Folks, you may not affect the price of a plane ticket to some far away and warmer locale, but you can make an impact to optimize your health naturally and safely, and in ways that will save you many dollars over the long haul. Diet and exercise are the keys and both are equally important.
The important thing to remember about exercise is to view it like a drug that needs to be prescribed precisely to achieve the maximum benefit. Additionally, the best means to maintain a healthy weight and achieve good health is to retool your diet based on your body's unique nutritional type.
How to Exercise Efficiently
The key to exercising is to keep in mind three important variables: length of time, frequency and intensity. By doing so, you will ensure all your hard efforts are not wasted and are having a positive effect on your body.
I encourage my patients to gradually increase the amount of time they are exercising to 60 to 90 minutes a day. Initially the frequency is daily. This is a treatment dose until they normalize their weight or insulin levels. Once normalized, they will only need to exercise three to four times a week.
Also, you should exercise hard enough so that it is difficult to talk to someone next to you. When you are exercising that hard your cardiovascular system is under such a significant amount of stress that the mere act of talking makes you unable to provide your body with enough oxygen. However, if you cannot carry on a conversation at all, then you have gone too far and need to decrease the intensity.
I urge you to review my exercise guidelines that can help you get started on the right track. I've devoted many pages on my Web site to the wonderful benefits exercise will do for your health. If you need some direction to get started, I urge you to review my beginner's exercise page that includes links to other pages and a free table you can download to keep track of your progress.
Please Remember -- Eating Right is Important Too!
Aside from keeping active, another important factor in helping you achieve good health and maintain a healthy weight is to have a diet based on eating the right foods for your specific genetic and biochemistry. One of the ways you can determine this is through nutritional typing.
Discovering your nutritional type is simple: You can take my free online test or you can read my book, Total Health Program for a more in-depth understanding.
Remember, the foods that may be healthy for others are not necessarily healthy for you, and vice-versa. Thus, eating according to your specific type is the proven way to ascertain which foods work best for you.
For most individuals the emotional element is a major factor contributing to impairments in the ability to lose weight and to maintain that loss. There are various approaches for dealing with these challenges, but the one I most highly recommend, and have found to be most highly successful, is the psychological energy tool Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). You can view the free EFT report and learn how to overcome your food cravings and get on the path to better health.