Archive for December, 2009

I don’t sell berries- and I don’t have magic software!

on December 27th, 2009 by Rob

Recently, I was on-line and paroozing through all the “stuff” that is out there about weight loss and health… you know, you have your own blog about such matters and it MIGHT be a good idea to read some of this stuff every once in a while… So, anyway, I am out there and I come across this web-site that looks pretty good- I won’t mention the name of it…………………… O.K.- its Team Beachbody.

They have all these cool apps and you can calculate how many calories you are eating and measure your BMI and measure your waist and chart it and all of these things… and guess what—– It’s all FREE. How great is that? Cool! I love it!!!! Sign me up!!!!

Two days later… in my in box… WHAT IS THIS BS????!!!!!!??????!!!! They want me to buy some milkshakes or some other such non-sense.

I am still working on www.weighdownsouth.com- and I am sure that at some point in the future I am going to have items for sale and I might even suggest products to people…. but I can tell you that I don’t think it is going to be two days after you give me your e-mail address and it sure as HELL won’t be shakes and berrys!

Once again- I am trying to offer information here… straight ahead information on how to loose weight, live a more healthy lifestyle and tell you all of this without pitching some “fad” BS diet. Thank you!!

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Happy New Year!!!! Time for a cocktail!!

on December 27th, 2009 by Rob

Well, If you know me… it is always 5:00 somewhere. But, here is the deal… I don’t really drink too many cocktails, but I do drink beer.

O.K.- I am from the south, call me a redneck.

Something has come to my attention though. And remember, it takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong. (my wife points this out to me from time to time)… On this site, in the past, I have recommended Sam Adams Lite Beer as being one of my favorites… and it is. Great taste for a light beer. However, it has 124- basically the same caloric content as a Guinness (love it but it’s like drinking a loaf of bread). Not so good.

This came to my attention because Men’s Health Magazine listed it as the Worst Light Beer in America. They suggested Beck’s Light at just 60 calories. You know… I don’t know about this… I’ve never had a Beck’s Light- But as Harold Ramis says in Stripes- “I am willing to learn”. (“would they send us somewhere special for that?”) And isn’t that what change is all about?

I will try the Beck’s or maybe I can try a beer somewhere in the middle of Beck’s and Sam Adams.

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Change

on December 25th, 2009 by Rob

You know you should exercise more, right? You know that you should eat better, right? You know you know this… but sometimes, o.k., most of the time it is hard to change. Why do we resist change so much.

Well, for me, it is as simple as one thing… my comfort zone. I don’t want to change because it  HURTS!!!! Physically and mentally.

According to Amy Brooks, L.P.T.A., A.T.R.-B.C., Licensed Behaviorist at the Baptist Nutrition Center, “Making healthy changes is hard work, and many people struggle with turning their good intentions into actions.” (Quoted from the Baptist Health Systems Healthsourse newsletter)

So, here are my tips to making healthy changes happen:

1. Get educated- the more you know… the easier it will be. Follow this blog for helthy tips, tricks and maybe something funny about weight loss. Cut through all the clutter that is out there. Even if you don’t regularly read this, there is a lot of good info available right at your fingertips.

2. Join a team- By this, I don’t mean that you have to play flag football. I mean, get some folks around you that have similar goals—-  or at the very least want to stay healthy. These may be people you already know or they may be new friends… just start working on it WITH someone else.

3. Keep a journal- especially a food journal. I talk to people time and time again that say… “I NEVER knew how much I was eating”… and this is true.

4. Take baby steps- it is impossible to run a marathon the first day out there training… but if you work hard… walk– then run… you can train for it in less than a year. Break your goals into small bite-size pieces!!

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Good Morning America Radio Interview

on December 19th, 2009 by Rob

I have finally been able to get the files and get them edited for the web. So here is the radio interview that I did for Good Morning America on XM Radio immediately following the television interview. >> click here to play interview

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Oh- I’ll just start that in the new year!!

on December 15th, 2009 by Rob

Good article in the Clarion-Ledger yesterday about kids and weight gain… especially during the holidays. According to the article, it seems that most Americans gain weight during the holidays. …SHOCKER!! As it turns out not much weight, but do it each year and it adds up over time.

It seems that kids are particularly susceptible to this phenomenon because school is out and lots of times they are sitting around without anything to do… so what DO they do… zone out and play video games. EXACTLY WHAT I DID.

As it turns out, most kids have a bigger struggle over the summer months because, what do they do in the summer??? Zone out and play video games. AGAIN, EXACTLY WHAT I DID. I did play a lot of baseball in the summer, but after practice it was home to  Leave it to Beaver, Gilligan’s Island and the box of  Pop-Tarts. According to the article, the Christmas season seems to be like a mini summer.

There is one other thing mentioned in the article that I think that I have to pay particular attention to during this time of the year. I have written in the past about having a tendency to “put off” my diet and exercise routine. I used to be much worse about this than I am now. I remember many times during “the fat years” (basically my life prior to 2008) thinking or even saying… well, I am going to start anew on Monday, or on the 1st or next year- (the next year bit being particularly handy in October or November).

The point is… that when we say that, we give ourselves a free pass to go friggin’ nuts and eat everything we see (a seafood diet as my sister used to tell me at the dinner table).  So, we have to realize that TODAY TRULY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES!!!!! It is time to get busy with this weight loss. If we don’t- then tomorrow, or Monday or next year will be here before we know it and nothing will have been accomplished in the meantime… except maybe putting on that “Christmas weight”. – Oh, and then we will put it off again till next week!! And then the next and… well, you see my point!!

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What can we learn from Mark Ingram?

on December 12th, 2009 by Rob

Well, as it turns out- quite a bit.

It just happens to be the day of the Heisman Trophy ceremony.  So, we could watch Tim Tebow or Mark Ingram or Colt McCoy and probably pick up some pointers. But I guess one of the foremost things that I have learned over the last couple of years is to think of myself as an athlete. I had some good times listening to Coach Jim Thompkins (Paul Lacoste’s coach at MSU) giving us instructions on pass coverage drills this past summer.

When I started the People Magazine weight loss challenge and subsequently started Paul Lacoste’s class… I NEVER thought of myself as an athlete. Paul Lacoste did…. as a matter of fact, he thinks of all the people that train with him as athletes and calls them that. And it’s true.

Paul talks about things with his athletes that train with him- like “seize the day”,” being “ready for anything” and “attacking the work day”. His training gets you ready for that… any training will. When I became thinner and stronger, I became more confident and felt like I could “attack the day.” That is another thing I like about getting up early in the morning and getting my workout in before anything else.

Since this is a article on weighdownsouth.com- then I should point out that we here in the south have an excellent opportunity to continue working out and competing all year long. Only over the last few days have I stopped running outside- it is December after all… but I can guarantee that there will be “warm days” sooner than later (my wife always reminds me of her experiences in college of  sunbathing on Christmas day).

Now more than ever, I am seeing people in Mississippi competing in sports… and it’s not just kids… there are some older folks too. I guess they are taking the Shawshank Redemption line to heart “You better get busy living, or get busy dieing”.

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What are we all about??

on December 11th, 2009 by Rob

I want to write about something real quick today. I guess I want to tell a little story. In the new year (2010) I am going to be trying to do some things with my web-site. I will be trying to build readership and trying to build a following so that weighdownsouth can become what I want it to be.

In order to do that… I want to build trust. And that is where my story comes in. Here goes- this is the kind of trust that I want to build.

A couple of years ago, I was in the Real Estate investment business. Not that this was my only business, but I bought some houses and fixed them up and sold them. There was a guy that I did business with… Walter. He is a guru on all things real estate.

So, there came a time when I wanted to buy this house. It was in a good neighborhood but was really run down and needed A LOT of work. Walter had purchased the house from the couple that lived there and knew that I was interested in purchasing it from him.  He told me to make him an offer (See, not only was he interested in selling me the house and making some money, he was also interested in teaching me how to invest properly).

I went home for several days… did my calculations (well, let’s see, it’s going to cost me 20K to fix it up, my money will cost X, I’ve got closing costs, etc. etc.- O.K. looks like I will make about 15K on the deal)- so, I come back to him with an offer of 50K. So, what do you think he said to me??? How about 40K. And that is EXACTLY what he sold it to me for.

The point of this whole little parable is that with this… Walter made me a customer and a fan for life. This is what I am after. No, it is not very likely that I will make a 10,000 dollar difference in your life, but I hope that I can “add value” to your health… and that will make a bigger difference than money.

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Well, that is just perfect!!

on December 1st, 2009 by Rob

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware.

In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food.

Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

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