It Really Is About Watching Your Waist

on August 30th, 2010 by Rob

Isn’t this just the greatest picture? I love it. It seems to say so much about our evolution. Seems that people are getting heavier and heavier all the time… especially here in Mississippi. According to the CDC- average waist lines have increased about an inch per decade since the 1960’s!!!! Holy Snikies!!!!

I want to link some information here. I can’t beleive that I am linking to Oprah’s site….. as if she doesn’t have enough readers already. But this is good stuff. O.K. – check it: Dr. Oz talks about fat- the worst kind. If you would like to hear this stuff in video form- check it here.

The deal is that you can be within your “normal” weight range and still be at risk for health problems with a bigger waist. Turns out that women should have a waist no larger than 35″ and men should be be no larger than 40″. Bigger than that and you risk all sorts of horrible things…. cancer, heart disease and get this—– respiratory illness. WHAT? I guess I did have sleep apnea… I’m over it thanks to losing some weight.

So, you may ask, what can I do to lose the belly fat? Same thing you do to lose any fat… eat less, move more!

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The ABC’s of Weight Loss

on August 30th, 2010 by Rob

My second son… George- Jorge as my friend Rocky calls him…. is learning his ABC’s—– this is a rudimentary exercise that all kids do- it is a building block to reading and further advancement. (I know… I sound like a teacher)- Anywho…. George is learning to talk and Beth and I have started going through his alphabet.

So, with this in mind… an idea came to me. Why not come up with an ABC’s of weight loss? I did the 31 Habits (make sure to scroll down)  not long ago and this will be more of the same…. except, you will have to tune in each day to see what is next. I will just go in and mysteriously edit the post. Funny enough… it is also the network that my show was on.

So- join me for this- Here we go!!

A- A is for APPLE (did you really think I would come up with anything else here?) Apples are good for you…. you know there is a reason that we have sayings like this one…. it is because they are at least partly true. In this case, it is all the way true…. have one each day and it keeps the doctor away. The thing is, really any fruit will do the trick. They are much better for you than Twinkies and are almost as good. Check out this information on apples.

B- B is for BEER.  If you are ANYTHING like me… the thought of not drinking beer is just simply …. NOT an option. So I had to come up with something. If I am out mowing the yard or doing something where I just want a little beer kinda sorta taste, then I go with the new Budweiser Select 55 beer- BUT- If I want a real good micro brew- I go with Sam Adams Light. It has a few more calories (o.k.- about twice as many) than the Bud, but it is well worth it. Closest thing that I have found to a “regular” beer.

I guess you could also say that A is for alcohol- So… there were two for A—- “O.K., You got the bonus plan!”- don’t get used to it!

C- C is for COFFEE or CAFFEINE- This seems to be the thing that gets me up in the morning these days. When I wake up, it is the first thing that I think of.

Well- as it turns out coffee can supercharge your workout. Check out this Article from Yahoo Health…. I have heard this before. Apparently, caffeine gives you more stamina— in other words you can run further which equals more calories burned.

D- D is for DIET. But not the diet you think. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say that I am not and have not been on a diet since I was in the People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge. The thing is…. I don’t really want to stop eating the things that I like. I just have to find some things that I can live with. What are they?

Well, for starters…. I don’t order 20 wings… I order 6. I don’t have 5 regular beers… I have 3 Light beers. I don’t have a WHOLE sandwich at the deli… I have a half- and BAKED chips. OH—- and a DIET COKE. I just had to find some alternatives and have LESS!

E- E is for EXERCISE…. of course. You need at least 5 hours a week of exercise. That is my rule… you know what- I am going to stop quoting the experts and doctors on this. According to me— you need 5 hours a week. And remember, the faster you do it, the faster you will get it over with. LOL!!

F- F is for FRUCTOSE- get it from fruit! I have said on more than one occasion… avoid the High Fructose Corn Syrup. A study by Hepatology stated that when given fructose water, rats had a tendency to become obese. AND THAT WAS JUST WATER… we eat this stuff in our bread…. it is everywhere!! Read your labels and AVOID it!

G- G is for Grapefruit. Kick off your meal with a grapefruit and you are likely to lose more weight… faster. Subjects of a study done by the Journal of Medicinal Food that ate half of a grapefruit before each meal, lost more weight at the end of 12 weeks than those that did not. On the other hand…. I HATE GRAPEFRUIT. And by the way…. I have seen commercials for some crappy diet pill based on grapefruits. They say that grapefruits are super-foods and that they take more calories to burn than they contain. THIS IS CRAP! NOT TRUE! Don’t buy into this!!!!! G- G is for GOOD!!! Like GOOD food—- NOT GRAPEFRUIT! Or G- G is for God. He helps you lose weight!!!

H- H is for High Fructose Corn Syrup- Just don’t eat it. I can not tell you how many times I have been asked over the last couple of years about my diet… what did I follow? How did I make food decisions. If you can lay off of the HFCS…. you are WAY ahead of the game! Not only is this stuff NOT exactly like sugar, but your body does not metabolize it the same way. IT WILL MAKE YOU FAT! AVOID IT!!

I- I is for INSULIN. Of course diabetes is where I am coming from here. If you increase your exercise and watch your diet, you will have a decreased chance of getting this disease. I know… this is all very insightful, but it is something that HAS to be said.

J- J is for JELLY! OMG!!!! Have you had the smuckers with Splenda?? Fabulous!!! (Said that just like Jack from Will and Grace!)—- O.K. here is the deal. I LOVE PB&J. My wife gets on to me all the time for eating it. I practically grew up on it. My Dad used to say I was going to turn into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich– or a Pop-Tart.  I still eat ‘em. But here is the thing….. I have CHANGED it. I eat whole wheat bread, Smuckers with the Splenda and reduced fat PB. OH—- and I only eat one now… instead of two. I think that this is a great example of a small change that you can make and come out ahead!!! Just change your favorite thing— to something slightly better (oh, and don’t eat as much!!)

K- K is for KETOSIS. This is actually a real medical-type term (don’t you just love how smart I sound) that I had never heard before. Ketosis is actually the point at which your body runs low on carbs and starts burning fat for fuel. Ketosis is what your body goes into if you go on the Adkins diet (you know, low carbs). Studies show that people that resist carbs loose more weight initially than those that avoid fats…. however, after about a year, their results are comparable. As I have said before, the problem is that you can’t resist bread and pasta and sugar your whole life.

L- L is for LEPTIN- This is a hormone. It is responsible for telling your brain when you are full. Reseachers have found that if you don’t eat enough…. or if you starve yourself, then this will lower leptin levels- thus prompting you to eat more.

A study published recently suggests that the consumption of high amounts of fructose causes leptin resistance and elevated triglycerides in rats. The high-fructose diet rats subsequently ate more and gained more weight than controls when fed a high fat, high calorie diet.

So- for the love of God…. eat your snacks and lay off the High Fructose Corn Syrup!!!

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Exercise Will Improve Your LIFE!

on August 18th, 2010 by Rob

I told Beth never again. And in all fairness, we didn’t really move… we just moved stuff around. But I swear I felt like I had moved by the time I got to the end of the weekend.

Which brings me to my point. I can guarantee that I would be a lot more sore and a lot more worn out after having moved all of this furniture BEFORE I started working out.

It just goes to show you…. this is not ALL about going to the gym and running and swimming and pushing weights around. It is so that we can live a better life.

At the gym this morning, I was having a conversation with a former Mississippi State Trooper. We were discussing the recent shooting and death of a Jackson MS police officer. He was saying that he felt there were instances when people were shot and perhaps they could have been saved had they been in better physical condition (not necessarily this case). I don’t think that there is any question that this is true- (once again, I am not familiar with the physical condition of Glen Agee).

Working out—- wether it is cardiovascular exercise or resistance training can prepare you for a better life!!!!

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Maters!!!

on August 11th, 2010 by Rob

Beth and I have started a new thing. Maters…. in the back yard. Of course I had to use a picture of Tow-Mater (my kids love this)!!

But what we have found is that it is a lot of fun for all of us. Beth and I make sure that they are watered by assigning one of the kids to do it each day. George particularly loves it.

The tomatos that we planted this spring grew about 5 feet tall and ended up giving us tomatos for about 6 weeks. Not bad for our first go ’round.

Since then… actually just in the past few days, we have planted some pepers and some different kinds of tomatos… grape tomatos I think.

The whole point of this exercise is to not only foster some fun for our family… being out in the back yard together (of course Dad just kind of sits on the porch and drinks beer)…. but to also to try to spur my kids interest in vegtables. I want them to LIKE vegtables.

When I was a kid, my GRANDPARENTS grew tomatos in the back-yard, but vegtables were not really a part of my life. I mean, I ate a lot of pop-tarts, but those don’t grow in the back-yard. Maybe if my PARENTS had been into it…. I would have grown to like vegtables and I would not have been 25 years old when I ate my first tomato. (Which by the way is actually a fruit).

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Get Your Snack On!

on August 9th, 2010 by Rob

This friend of mine used to have this great audio file of a Delta Airlines commercial. It was a goof, but one of the things that the guy said in it was to “Get Your Snack On!” Well, that is just what I am telling you today.

My children seem to get this. They will eat fairly snacks all day long and then when they get to dinner, they are not really that hungry and don’t always finish their meals. But you know what…. my wife and I have not given them the “starving children in Africa” bit. I don’t care… they don’t have to finish if they don’t want to. I hope that by doing things this way, they can avoid some of the stuff that has plagued me all of my life.

They can eat appropriate amounts…. NORMAL serving sizes and not worry about it if they don’t eat it all. It has been something of a challenge to learn to leave things on my plate.

Snacking helps ME do this as well. I have said it before, if you are trying to lose weight…. as I see it, snacking will do two things for you.

1. Keep you from being so hungry that your body goes into starvation mode…. making weight loss slower.

2. Keep you from being so hungry that you go nuts and overeat at the next meal.

Snacking…. I HIGHLY recommend it!!

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Portion Control- Part deux

on August 6th, 2010 by Rob

Continuing on my rant about portions…. my wife actually pointed out to me that I had forgotten one…. one of my big ones.

Well, I actually left out more than one, so here are a few more:

1. This is the one that I forgot….. eat off of a smaller plate. Smaller plate makes your portions look bigger- even when their not so you end up fooling yourself!

2. This one I do all the time- when you go to a restaurant, immediately pack up half of your meal and take it home. This way you don’t eat as much and the next meal you get a smaller portion of the same thing. I do this with steaks a lot.

3. I actually heard about this one- I have to admit, I have never done it- but I thought that it was worth mentioning. This one is: make meat your side. In other words, eat as many vegetables as you want- using them as your main course, then have a smaller amount of meat as your side dish. I can’t believe I just suggested this.

4. Remember your serving standards- 5oz meat is about the size of a deck of cards. A cup of pasta or rice or whatever, is about the size of a tennis ball.

5. Treat yourself- (of course, this is my favorite)- indulge. Treating yourself every once in a while will keep you from feeling deprived- and a feeling of deprivation can easily lead to over eating

Thanks- that concludes my list!

Do you have any more hints?

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Portion Control- 5 ways to do it

on August 5th, 2010 by Rob

92nd and Broadway

We have got to get a handle on portion sizes if we want to make any difference. If we want to lose weight- we have to get this right. After all, you can eat any low-cal food and still over do it. It is possible to eat too much broccoli (don’t know why you would).

Follow these hints to “take it easy”——-

1. Break down left overs. This is one that my wife could do a better job of…. of course it is her responsibility to keep me thin…. to to mention cook, clean and just be in charge of all things domestic in general.—- (easy everybody- I’m kidding)- what I mean here is to take a casserole for example and cut it up and put it in individual bowls or plates to stick in the fridge. This way you will just pull out one helping. This just kind of makes it a “no brainer” when eating left overs.

2. Say yes to salads. I experienced this just a few minutes ago. My wife made a salad for me and served it right before my chicken lasagna…. it had low fat dressing and put some food in me before I got to the main dish. I am surprised by how full I feel without having a second helping of lasagna…. the salad did it!

3. Single out trigger foods. Take whatever it is for you and put it in individual zip-locks. If I don’t do this, then the chances are pretty damn good that I will Hoover that entire bag of Cool Ranch Doritos

4. Master small meals- When I lived in NYC, I had this friend Kevin that was a big runner/exercise guy (way before I was—- 10 years before I was)- anyway, this guy would never over eat, because he ate all day long. He would eat like a bird all day. We would stop at a convenience store and this guy would get a sandwich out of the freezer. What he was doing was keeping himself from getting hungry by eating just a little at at time.

5. Keep seconds out of sight- Also when I lived in NYC, we used to eat at Carmine’s all the time. Its a great Family Style Italian Restaurant and if you are in NY you just have to check it out. Best Marsala I have ever had and the Cesar Salad is just the best…. o.k.- getting off track. The point is- the dishes are right there on the table “family style”. Don’t do this if you are at your table. Make it a trip to get your next plateful. After all, it takes about 20 minutes to really feel satiated and if you will just wait a minute…. slow down and take a second, then you may not need a second helping.

Do you have any tips to cut down your portions???

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Healthy Nachos?

on August 3rd, 2010 by Rob

Beth and I have little kids…. so we don’t get out that much. One of our favorite “date nights” is to just rent a movie… either RedBox or NetFlix (if I have chosen properly on my que)- anyway, when we sit down to watch a movie- it is always fun to have something to snack on.

The problem comes in when you stop thinking about what you are doing and eat too many of the chips or whatever your eating. I mean, I can eat a whole bag of popcorn before the credits have stopped rolling at the start of the movie.

So- I got this healthy nacho recipe and thought I would share it. Check it out-

First, use these tips to get the basics right—-Start with some baked chips, use fat-free refried beans (or whole black beans), use chicken instead of beef, use green onions, use jalopenos, use reduced fat cheese (fat free cheese doesn’t melt well) and use low fat sour cream- and remember the salsa (low fat and has lots of lycopene)

- 15 oz can of fat-free refried beans

- 7 oz can of chopped green chilis (drained)

- 1 cup of reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese

- 1 cup salsa

- 1/2 cup finely sliced green onions

-1/4 cup chopped fresh cilaantro

-1/4 cup light sour cream

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a pan (or pie plate) spread out a few baked chips. Top the chips with half of your refried beans. Then spread half of your chilis and salsa. Then put some more chips on top with more beans, chilis and salsa (you’re making two layers)

Sprinkle your cheese over the top and throw it in the oven for about 5 minutes…. till the cheese melts. Then put some on a plate and sprinkle with the scallioins and cilantro and sour cream.

Enjoy!!!

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Can I Motivate You??

on August 2nd, 2010 by Rob

A new day is dawning in the life of your humble host. I am embarking on a speaking career! I hope that I will be able to motivate people to CHANGE their lives.

I know that I may not be perfect…. this is still a work in progress, but I think that I have something to say with my ideas about weight loss, health, diet and overall better health. It doesn’t hurt that I come from Mississippi and we are the worst about these things.

Check out the video above that I found on You Tube. Pretty good. Fight the good fight… change your life!!! Be healthy! Still eat chicken wings!

Contact me if I can help you with your next event or if you have a group that needs some inspiration! Thanks!

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Smile!

on August 1st, 2010 by Rob

Dr. Robert Neely told me one time to “only floss the ones you want to keep”- I told someone that the other day and they said, “yeah, I think they teach that joke in dental school”.

I guess doctors and dentists are still debating over the evidence that bleeding gums are somehow related to heart disease and heart attacks.

I had heard this and thought to myself…. how can that be? How can this CAUSE heart problems? My next thought was that it must be a relationship…. in other words, people that don’t think enough of themselves to take care of their heart, must not do a great job on their teeth either…. even though you can SEE their teeth.

Now, while this might indeed be true, this little cause/effect hypothesis thing I have going…. I have FINALLY heard something that made me think about it.

According to an article that I read in Baptist HealthSource magazine, (and according to the doctor that they interviewed), “Gum disease is a source of chronic inflammation, which causes the body to release substances that may speed plaque buildup in the blood vessels”. Additionally, “gum disease may increase the amount of bacteria in the blood…”

At this point…. I think that the jury is still out. However, if you are like me and would rather live to tell the tail of what a pain in the ass it was to floss all the time…. keep on saving those teeth!

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