Mike Giannulis Loses 255 Pounds on 'Extreme Makeover'

Mike Giannulis Loses 255 Pounds on 'Extreme Makeover' - At 28 years old, Mike Giannulis was 493 pounds and so obese that he missed out on things others might take for granted, like kissing a girl or even experiencing a first date.

The only time he would step foot outside the house was to visit nearby family.

"I don't have a full-length mirror anywhere in the whole entire house, and if I can just avoid seeing myself … out of sight out of mind," Giannulis said. "I mean, who would want to see this? I just feel like no girl deserves this."

Giannulis' brother, Mark, feared for his life. "I really think he can't get up off the couch sometimes because of his weight," he said.

That's when Chris Powell and " Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" entered his life and set a goal for Giannulis to lose half his body weight - 246 pounds - in the next year.

Powell was with Giannulis through the tough workouts and at the 90-day mark, he lost a staggering 129 pounds. By the six-month mark, Giannulis was a brand new man with a new lady in his life.

"I've got a brand new girlfriend and things are going awesome," Giannulis said.

Giannulis had lost so much weight that he was not only off the couch but was able to compete in a triathlon, a feat that would have been impossible just a few months before.

"I know how hard Michael has worked at this triathlon. You don't find many people like him," said Giannulis' girlfriend, Meghan. "I love him so much. I'm just so proud of everything he's done."

At the final weigh-in, 12 months after Powell came into Giannulis' life, he weighed 238 pounds, down more than half his original weight.

"In all the 29 years I have lived," Giannulis said, "this has been the best year of my life."

After the show concluded, however, he found himself giving into temptations and slipping back into old habits. Refusing to let that happen, Giannulis made a drastic move: He left his home in Tarpon Springs, Fla., to move closer to Powell in Phoenix, Ariz.

“He caught himself,” Powell said. “He realized that he what he was doing, especially after he lost his purpose, he fell back into some of his old patterns and some of those triggers he was experiencing. Those social triggers. They were feeding the addiction again. So he picked up from Florida and moved and he’s actually living down the street from me now.”

Powell also believes it’s important to realize one is never on the weight-loss journey alone.

“You have to realize that no man is an island,” he said. “You can’t do it alone. As we go through this process, real life happens, and we need to talk about it. We need to share in order to heal. It’s really important to reach out to those different people or there are incredible online sites as well.”

Powell recommends one key tip for maintaining weight loss.

“We all create what we call a ‘smart goal.’ It’s specific, it’s measurable, it’s attainable, realistic and time-sensitive,” he said. “And it’s so important that we live with that purpose, that we’re always reaching toward that goal.” ( ABC News Blogs )

Blog : Heartbreaks
Post : Mike Giannulis Loses 255 Pounds on 'Extreme Makeover'

READ MORE - Mike Giannulis Loses 255 Pounds on 'Extreme Makeover'

Of men and muscles

Of men and muscles - Men are more obsessed with their looks and physique than women, a study reveals - More men worry about their body shape and appearance — potbellies, "man boobs" or going bald — than women do about how they look, according to research.

More than four in five men (80.7 per cent) talk in ways that promote anxiety about their body image by referring to perceived flaws and imperfections, compared with 75 per cent of women. Similarly, 38 per cent of men would sacrifice at least a year of their life in exchange for a perfect body — again, a higher proportion than women.

"These findings show men are concerned about body image, just like women. We knew that ‘body talk' affected women and young people and now we know that it affects men too," said Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, from the centre of appearance research at the University of the West of England. She conducted the study, of 394 British men, which was commissioned by Central YMCA and the Succeed Foundation, an eating disorders charity.

The survey revealed that men have high levels of anxiety about their bodies. At least 80.7 per cent talked about their own or others' appearance in ways that draw attention to weight, lack of hair or slim frame; 30 per cent have heard someone refer to their potbelly; 19 per cent have overheard talk about their "man boobs" or "moobs".

Around 23 per cent said concerns about their appearance had deterred them from going to the gym; 63 per cent thought their arms or chests were not muscular enough; 29 per cent thought about their appearance at least five times a day. Interestingly, 18 per cent of the men were on a high-protein diet to increase muscle mass and 16 per cent were on a calorie-controlled diet to slim down.

Rosi Prescott, Central YMCA's chief executive, said: "Historically, conversation about your body has been perceived as something women do, but it is clear from this research that men are also guilty of commenting on one another's bodies and, in many cases, this is having a damaging effect." Men's high levels of body talk were symptomatic of a growing obsession with appearance, she added.

Three in five men (58.6 per cent) said body talk affected them negatively and 12 per cent said they would trade a year of life if they could have their ideal body weight and shape. Around 4 per cent said they had made themselves sick to control their weight, while 3.4 per cent used laxatives for the same purpose. Almost a third (31.9 per cent) had "exercised compulsively" in pursuit of that goal, although that might have been partly due to 52 per cent of the respondents being gym members, when the average is 12 per cent.

Respondents blamed the media for reinforcing unrealistic ideals of physical perfection. "Men want to be big and lean. It isn't a bad thing for people to want to look better, but it has become more like a competition, which has a bad effect on mental health", said one respondent.

Alan White, a professor of men's health at Leeds Metropolitan University, said: "There has been a rise in the number of men having cosmetic procedures such as a nose job or removal of breast tissue; that has gone from almost nothing to a significant industry over the past ten years. All this fuels the idea of the body beautiful and encourages a quick fix rather than appropriate diet and physical fitness levels." ( gulfnews.com )

READ MORE - Of men and muscles

Is your girlfriend your mother?

Is your girlfriend your mother? - Do men like being mothered by their girlfriends? We ask around.

Are you one of those guys who are caught off guard by the devoted and persistent mommying from your girlfriend? Love it or loathe it, you cannot ignore it.

Among the many intricacies in a relationship, the putative, protective and tender nature of women plays an important role in making or breaking a relationship. But in some cases, it crosses the fine boundaries of protectiveness into the precarious territory of possessiveness where concern or affection transforms into irksome nagging or control, barring that, who would not like tender care, love, affection and warmth?

Is your girlfriend your mother?(Getty Images)

Actor Mazhar Syed who is dating actress Moulli Ganguly, has no qualms being mommied by his girlfriend. In fact, he thinks it only strengthens their relationship. "All women have an innate quality of being caring and protective and guys do like to be pampered and taken care of. It is a sign of concern and love. My girlfriend is always there for me and takes care of me like a mother. I have no reason to mind it. It's like a cherry on the cake. A little mommying here and there keeps the relationship going and makes it strong, but it shouldn't be overdone," says Syed.

And he's not alone. Television actor Raj Singh Arora seconds that and feels that it is an essential element of any relationship. He shares his idea of being 'cared for'; "It is difficult to find people who care so much these days. A guy should be lucky to find someone who cares for him like family. That kind of thoughtfulness and affection becomes really important for people who stay away from their families especially at times when you are unwell or feeling low and it is important that the other partner reciprocates the feeling," he explains.

So did any of his girlfriends 'mommy' him around? "Well, in all the relationships I've had so far, I think I've been the more caring partner," he laughs.

But not all men take too kindly to their women acting like their mothers. Actor Ali Merchant feels that there is a 'certain extent' to which a guy would like to be 'extremely cared for' by his girl. Keeping in mind the practical considerations of the present lives, Merchant feels sometimes this behaviour could be uncalled for. "An over caring girlfriend is fine at times; it could even be cute. But I wouldn't like that everytime and definitely not in public. Being protective is fine, but over-protectiveness weighs down on personal space and individuality," he explains.

Well, that was for the guys. The question now is; do women like to be 'taken care of 'as well? "Of course they do, girls need a lot of loving and caring," says Mazhar, adding, "It's a part and parcel of a relationship. People care excessively for their partners, and then for their kids after a certain age." ( indiatimes.com )

READ MORE - Is your girlfriend your mother?

Seven Things men are perfect at

Seven Things men are perfect at - There are some things that men can do and women can't. There are many other things that women can do and men can't.

Like giving birth for instance. But, aside that, here's a compilation of seven things that men are so perfect at, that they can be really annoying. Enjoy!

The seven deadly sins

1. Sexy morning voices:

This one is definitely tops the list. Men have such seductive baritones when they wake up in the morning, while we women end up croaking like frogs. Although we are quite sure that the sexy 'morning voice' is directly proportional to the sexiness quotient of their normal voices, unofficial research has shown that men with reasonable voices end up with super sexy morning voices as well. Let's also imagine a George Clooney like face to go with that voice. Sigh.

2. Ability to give comforting hugs:

There's no denying it. Embracing a man is like hugging a life size teddy bear. Only warmer. And human. Not only does everything feel like it will be OK, the world seems so much safer in that embrace. Know what's even better? The hug comes with a surplus - don't you just love the way they smell your hair?

3. Their uncanny knack of pissing you off and making you feel good at the same time:

Alright, moving on. Only a man can achieve that impossible task of pissing you off and making you feel great at the same time. A classic example would be when a man watching a woman give birth says, "Does it really hurt that bad?" and then looks at your annoyed expression and immediately chirps, "But, I am sure you'll be brave honey." Well, at least he's thinking about having kids with you right?

4. Saying something completely inappropriate and still is charming :

This one is a classic. And no, we're not talking about the cheesy pick up lines that go something along the lines of "do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again." We're referring to the smooth talkers here.

5. Ability to eat like a pig and not feel guilty about it:

Ever seen a teenage boy wolf down an entire pizza by himself? Or a fully grown man helping himself onto a fourth helping of biryani? Heck, have you ever heard a man say he's "full"? Maybe they are blessed with excellent metabolism or maybe they are just built that way, they can eat gigantic quantities of food, and still work it off. We envy you for not having to worry about cellulite on your hips and thighs.

6. Their ability to fix things:

We're not just talking about your feelings here ladies, we're referring to everything from light bulbs and fuse wires to your personal computer and your mobile phone. Can you imagine what would have happened if they thought the 'chip' referred to Lays?

7. Gods of gaming:

This one is again a given. They can beat women hands down in most videogames (unless we're talking about something that involves too much pink and needless to say a Barbie). In the words of one very wise man, "Men can destroy women at video games. Destroy!" ( indiatimes.com )

READ MORE - Seven Things men are perfect at

How to Buy an Engagement Ring

How to Buy an Engagement Ring - How to buy the right ring for your girl. Read before entering a jewelry store - After many dates, meeting her parents, and too many apple-picking festivals to count, you decide that you have found the right girl and you want to pop the question. The next step is finding the engagement ring.

And it has to be the right engagement ring, because everyone she knows is going to ogle it, comment on it, and secretly judge you as a man based on it.

But how do you get started? How do you buy an engagement ring? Getting engaged is the first formal step toward marriage — something you have been working toward since you met that special girl.

Your engagement, and the ring, symbolizes this, says second-generation goldsmith Brian Lewis. As you get ready to purchase an engagement ring, Lewis suggests looking at your budget, her preferences and quality.

Budget. An engagement ring is an investment. Do your due diligence.

In his 14 years in the jewelry industry, Lewis said he has often seen men struggle with how much to spend. He says a good rule of thumb is about two months of income. Their own income. Before taxes. Plan for that. Save for that.

Once you know your budget, go to several stores and price match, says Lewis. Explain your budget and what you’re looking for; then go back to the ring that stood out.

Eric, a recently engaged man in Colorado, said his biggest concern was how much it was going to cost. After establishing a budget, he was surprised at how many options he was able to find. In other words, pretend the ring is something you are buying for yourself (a motorcycle?) and shop appropriately.

Do not use Craigslist.

Her Preference. “Ultimately you have to figure it out on your own,” said Eric of his ring-shopping experience. “But you have to keep her in mind, and not yourself, when you’re looking for a ring.”

While you are making the tough budgetary decisions, the ring really is about her preferences. Eric took his fiancée with him when he first started shopping and let her choose her favorite ring. Then he went back and got it. While this dulled the surprise, it did prevent him from getting yelled at, which is the key to any good relationship, really.

“I didn’t want to get her a ring that she would be pretending she liked,” said Comstock. “I let her choose the ring because I wanted her to be happy with it. I want her to want to wear it.”

Lewis says that is a good strategy. However, if you want more of a surprise, he says the most important thing is to know whether she prefers white or yellow gold. “Design matters less than color,” Lewis said. “But, get an idea of what her jewelry looks like. Are they solid, simple pieces or very intricate and detailed? Her ring preferences will likely mirror her other jewelry tastes.”

Consider custom design if you’d like to incorporate two designs or if she has very specific likes, Lewis said.

Quality. When it comes to engagement rings, size is not all that matters. Most women are not going to complain if you want to slip a two-carat rock on her left hand, but the quality of the diamond is determined by its color, cut and clarity, not just carat.

Back in the 1940s the Gemological Institute of America, GIA, created the 4 Cs as a way to objectively compare and evaluate diamonds. Any decent jeweler will educate you about the 4 Cs. If they do not, you might want to reconsider your choice of jeweler. (Is her operating out of the back of a van? Yes? Definitely reconsider.) You must have a clear understanding of the 4 Cs to ensure you are getting the best quality diamond for your money.

Color. Diamonds come in a wide variety of colors, but the closer a diamond is to colorless, the more rare and desired it is. Diamonds will be rated on a color scale from D to Z. D, E and F ratings are considered colorless and G, H, I and J near colorless. The further down the scale, the more yellow the tint of the diamond. You want a diamond with a rating as close to D as you can without having to move into a refrigerator box to afford it.

Cut. The cut of a diamond is not, as some think, the common diamond terms “princess,” “round,” etc. Those are diamond shapes and have nothing to do with the diamond’s quality. The shape will be a matter of personal preference to your bride. According to BlueNile.com, a popular Web site for diamond jewelry, the cut is a diamond’s most important characteristic, affecting the sparkle. If the diamond is cut in the proper proportions, light will return out the top of the diamond, or sparkle. If the cut is too shallow, the light leaks out of the bottom. If the cut is too deep, the light goes out the side. Your goal is that she blind everyone in her path with her ring. This will disorient her enemies and keep male suitors from getting too near.

Clarity. No two diamonds are alike. Each diamond has its own individual flaws, either internal (called inclusions), or external (called blemishes). These impact its clarity, and thus, they’re rated by the GIA. The GIA clarity scale has 11 grades from flawless (FL) to diamonds with inclusions obvious to the naked eye (I3). According to the GIA, a flawless diamond is incredibly rare and most jewelers have never seen one. (The fact that they are perfectly clear might have something to do with that…) Most diamonds fall slightly above the middle — at VS (very slightly included) or SI (slightly included). The closer your diamond is to flawless, the higher the quality.

Carat. Everyone knows the size of a diamond is measured in carats. The carat is determined by the number of points on the diamond. The GIA says a carat is divided into 100 points, just like a dollar is divided into 100 pennies. A half-carat diamond has 50 points, a three-quarter carat has 75. Two diamonds of equal carat weight can have vastly different values, depending on the diamonds’ cut, clarity and color. And while women may not discuss it in polite conversation, this is a very important C.

After the Purchase. Once you’ve found the ring, Lewis suggests one more piece of business: insurance. Lewis recommends putting an expensive diamond on your home owner’s or renter’s insurance as a back-up to the jewelry store policy. “A jewelry store won’t jump all over to replace your diamond; your insurance will likely be easier to work with,” said Lewis. But once business is done, focus again on her and that moment when you propose with the quality ring you have purchased. “I always tell guys the best part of asking her to marry you is the moment you get on your knee … never take your eyes off her face,” said Lewis. “It is something you will always remember. Men come back to me and thank me for telling them that.” ( .modernman.com )

READ MORE - How to Buy an Engagement Ring

Earth Hour Aims for Hope in Darkened World

Earth Hour Aims for Hope in Darkened World - Lights will go out around the world Saturday with hundreds of millions of people set to take part in the Earth Hour climate change campaign, which this year will also mark Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.

From across the Pacific, to Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, iconic landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, New York’s Empire State building and the Eiffel Tower in Paris will go dark.

“Earth Hour is like a New Year’s Eve,” Earth Hour co-founder and executive director Andy Ridley told AFP from the group’s Sydney office.

“It’s meant to be a celebration — it’s a bit different this year because of the Japan stuff — but it’s meant to be about hope and the future.”

The full moon rises behind the statue of Mahathma Gandhi in Hyderabad on March 19, 2011. Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moons orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee). Nearby perigee moons are about 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moons orbit. According to US Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. The full Moon of March 19 occurs less than one hour away from perigeea near-perfect coincidence that happens only 18 years or so

Ridley said in Sydney and other cities, some Earth Hour events would hold a minute’s silence to mark the devastating 9.0-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami in Japan this month that left more than 25,000 people dead or missing.

The disaster followed a deadly earthquake in New Zealand’s Christchurch and massive floods in Australia in January, which devastated thousands of homes and ruined crops and infrastructure.

“It’s been a bad start to the year, and I guess it’s an opportunity to take a moment and think about that,” Ridley said, adding that the campaign had a different focus in every location and not all events would mention Japan’s catastrophe.

The Earth Hour movement, which aims to raise awareness about climate change by switching off lights for 60 minutes, hopes to bring people together to think about what they can do to reduce harmful carbon pollution blamed for rising temperatures.

Environmental group WWF International helped initiate Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007, and by 2010 the energy-saving event had grown to engage hundreds of millions of people in 4,616 cities and 128 countries and territories.

“We didn’t imagine right at the beginning... it would be on the scale that it is now,” said Ridley.

“And the fact that it is so cross-cultural, beyond borders and race and religion,” he added, saying the event would never have grown so successfully without social networking sites such as Facebook.

This year organisers are focussing on connecting people online so they can inspire each other to go beyond the hour and make commitments to help the environment in their daily lives.

To do this they have created an online platform connected to the 14 top social media sites around the world, including Facebook and Twitter, which people will be easily able to access from mobile phones. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard this week backed Earth Hour.

“Earth Hour has become a special symbol of the determination of so many people to make a difference,” said Gillard, who is facing stiff opposition to her plan to introduce a tax on carbon pollution in Australia.

Ridley said that despite the growth of the event, which organisers said was the largest voluntary action ever witnessed in 2010, the ideals of the global movement had not changed.

“When we first started this we were trying to effectively take the temperature, we were trying to prove or see whether, contrary to some commentators, whether or nor people cared (about climate change),” he said.

“I think there is a massive consensus for action, not just on climate change.

“The idea of this is not to engage in the ’why we can’t do anything’ debate but absolutely talk about what can be done.” The first lights going off Saturday will be in Fiji and New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, before cities and landmarks around the world follow suit.

Other iconic structures due to go dark include the Sydney Opera House, Indonesia’s National Monument, London’s Eye and Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue. ( AFP )

READ MORE - Earth Hour Aims for Hope in Darkened World

How humans got big brains, barbless penises

How humans got big brains, barbless penises - Missing chunks of DNA responsible for turning genes on and off help explain some key differences between chimpanzees and humans -- including why humans have big brains and why the human penis is not covered with prickly spines, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

The study, published in the journal Nature, reinforces the notion that genes that control the activity of other genes play a big role in what makes humans so different from other mammals.

To study this, David Kingsley of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University School of Medicine in California and colleagues compared the genetic code of humans to chimpanzees -- man's closest relative -- and other mammals.

They found 510 gene segments that are present in chimps and other mammals, but are missing in humans.

Nearly all of these were regulatory genes -- genetic switches that turn up or down the volume of nearby genes.

Then the team did a computer analysis to identify deleted DNA segments that were clustered around particular genes.

"We saw more changes than you would expect near genes involved in steroid hormone signalling," Kingsley said in a statement.

A number of deletions also appeared near genes involved in brain development.

The team kept narrowing the pool until they found a few dozen genes that they thought were involved in the evolution of particular human traits.

They found one of sections of DNA deleted in the human genome was responsible for producing sensory whiskers, such as those in mice, and prickly spines, like those found on the penises of many mammals.

"People are always surprised to hear that the penis of many organisms are covered with these spines," Kingsley said in a telephone interview.

He said penile spines, or barbs, are typically present in species that mate quickly, such as male chimpanzees who must compete to fertilise one or two receptive females.

These spines -- made from keratin, the protein found in fingernails -- often lie over sensory receptors, and some experiments suggest removing them makes copulation last longer.

For humans, losing these penile spines might have prolonged intercourse and helped make monogamous relationships a more attractive option, the team said.

Even more interesting to Kingsley, however, is that another of the DNA deletions was located near a gene that kept brain cell growth in check. The deletion of this DNA may have contributed to the development of larger brains in humans, he said.

Both of these traits may be related to meeting the reproductive needs of humans, which give birth to babies with large brains, requiring parents to mate in pairs -- at least long enough to care for their big-headed offspring.

"Pair bonding is good if you are trying to raise relatively helpless infants," Kingsley said.

More than just explaining physical differences in human evolution, however, the team hopes eventually to discover important physiological differences, including why humans are susceptible to diseases such as arthritis, cancer, malaria, HIV, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. ( yahoo.com )

READ MORE - How humans got big brains, barbless penises