Here are some links from the fitness health network that I didn’t get to share over the weekend while I getting my stink on:

• J.D. from Get Fit Slowly has lost his way with his health, but now he has found it. It’s a great personal story that I highly recommend.
• Fat Man Unleashed had a similar drop and rebound. After some disappointing news last week, he manned up and lost two pounds.
• No Credit Needed probably knows himself better than anyone I know. He’s worked his way out of debt by budgeting his money. This time he’s working to create a food budget. It’s a little like a money budget, but adapted for his health.
• Weight Loss Journal has dropped 62 pounds in 100 days. I saw him before he started his journey and in a lot of ways it’s hard to recognize him now.
• Journal of Health Living investigates omega 3 fatty acids. I definitely need to get more in my diet, but I don’t like to eat a lot of fish (plus it’s expensive). I should invest in the supplements.

• Reward Systems Work – The Key to Successful Weight Loss – Weight Ladder breaks down how a reward system can work for you. I personally like the beer diet as a reward system.
• Guide To Conscious Eating – No. Calories Needed taps into our conscious. My conscious ends when I put the food on the plate. It’s engrained in me to finish what’s on my plate.
• Worst Drink Ever: Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake – I can’t believe that it has more than 2,300 calories. Pair it Outback’s Aussie Cheese Fries w/ Ranch and you can have three days worth of calories in one meal… yum!
• Vacations: I’ll Take The Bad With The Good – Mac is willing to own up that vacations often derail him. They derail me quite a bit as well. I have to fight through and refocus when I get back.
• Burning Fat 4…Dummies – Fat Man Unleashed reviews a weight loss ebook. Is it right for you? Click through and find out.
• I’d like to introduce you to Andrew is Getting Fit. He’s lost more than 100 pounds and is an inspiration to all of us. I’m curious to follow his journey as he gets the last few pounds…
• Another blogger that I think you’ll like is MizFit. She’s a recent commenter on Lazy Man and Health. Because I’m addicted to my Wii Fit, I liked her Wii Fit poem
• Nutrition Fitness Life went skydiving. That’s one thing that I’ve never had a desire to do. However, I would like to try hang gliding someday. I don’t know why it is different, it just is.

The other thing that came out this week is the distinct possibility that the Patriots didn’t break the NFLs at all. For the first time we finally heard Bill Belichick’s side of the story and though I recognize that I’m completely biased, it seems that the Patriots’ actions were within the rules.

Here are a few facts that I found had been overlooked:

• Ambiguous Rule – The rule the Patriots are accused of breaking is detailed in the 4th paragraph here. I can see how Bill Belichick interpreted the “during the playing of a game” to mean the same game. This is clearly a bad modifier leading to an unclear rule in the NFL Constitution.
• Rules vs. Memos – I don’t buy the NFL’s explanation that sending a memo can change the NFL Constitution (and it seems that neither did Bill Belichick). Maybe I’m not interpreting constitution right, but it would seem to me that you’d have to amend it if you want to change what it means. I think the NFL took a shortcut here because we know it’s easier to send out a memo than get representatives of all teams and league officials together to change the Constitution.
• Practical Matter of Taping Signals – It’s worth noting that the signals are relayed in the open without expectation of privacy. This is why teams use wristbands and change signals. Stealing of signals and using them is not illegal in sports. The Patriots could have accomplished the same record keeping quite legally with a good dictator and stenographer. The Patriots simply thought it was legal to do it an easier way. In the end, the same information would have been gathered (and is by all teams).
• Nothing to Hide – I’ve never heard of anyone trying to purposely break rules or laws in front of 55,000 fans and a few dozen television cameras. No one would go to the movies with a five course meal and start chomping away – they’d sneak in a candy bar. If you do see such a think it’s because they are not aware of the rule. The proper course of action is to give a warning, explain the issue to the violator, and sanction them on further violations. It’s clear that the NFL never explained the issue to Bill Belichick.
• Admitting to Wrong Doing – Bill Belichick admitted to the wrong-doing in the end. Some may say that this closes the book and proves that he was guilty. I think it proves that he’s smart enough to know that a long-drawn out legal battle against the organization that keeps him employed (the NFL) is not in his, his team’s, or the NFL’s, best interest.

So while I believe it’s a terrible waste of our nation’s resources for Congress to look into the matter further, I hope they do. I think the NFL’s ambiguous rules and shortcut memos will be picked apart to the point where they find that Bill Belichick just took what the league gave him license to do. I wouldn’t be surprised for a Patriots fan to put together a class action lawsuit against the NFL.

Enough of my billion word rant, let’s get to some links that I liked this week:

• Getting Ahead of Myself: The Consequences of Trying Too Much at Once – J.D. gets a little down on himself for not following his diet more often. Maybe he needs to plan a cheat day in or keep around five healthy snacks.
• Don’t Eat Outback’s Aussie Cheese Fries w/ Ranch – I was at Outback this past week and not only are these fries bad, the blooming onion is extremely unhealthy as well.
• NCN is Fully Back On Track – It’s great to have you back… Remember that getting out of debt wasn’t easy either.
• One Month and 34 Pounds Lost – If NCN hasn’t been inspired, he should read WeightLadder. That’s an amazing amount of weight to lose in a month.
• Health Magazines Sorta Suck: Video Blog – I disagree and think that Health magazines are pretty good. They often have too many ads – I’m talking about you Men’s Health.

I would like to thank FitBuff for including me in his mind and body fitness carnival.