Archive for September, 2010

Where Do I Start?? 5 Ways!

on September 29th, 2010 by Rob

O.K.- I know I have covered this ground before. But let me do it again…. the thing is, I hear this over and over. People that see that I have done well with the weight loss come up to me and want to know what I did…. then they want to know how to do it themselves.

This past weekend I took Henry to his first Highschool football game. Of course I was on Pom Pom patrol from the get-go. I swear, I think he hit everyone within 50 yards of us with that thing. Anyway- while I was there, I ran into this guy that I went to school with…. haven’t seen him in years. Of course, he wanted to know…. “where do I start?”

So- this is it!

1. Set a goal- it should be yours (not what someone else thinks it should be), it should be attainable

2. Include exercise to your life- just going on a diet is NOT GOING TO CUT IT!! Also, choose an exercise you like…. if you don’t like it you may not stick with it. However, that being said, I didn’t really like to run when I started. It has grown on me.

3. Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger- I have talked about this before- have some friends to help you with this…. not only the exercise portion of it, but also the eating.

4. Eating- avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup and Enriched Wheat Flower. Obviously, there are many more things to do…. but if you DON’T do these two, you will be WAY ahead of the game.

5. Act as if- Fake it till you make it as my friend Julie says! Don’t worry about how you look… don’t worry about being the goob in the gym- goodness knows I was— I still am. Just do it!

Get up! Get moving! Have a better life!!

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Stick with your Plan!

on September 28th, 2010 by Rob

What does it take? Sticking with a plan. Well, first you have to HAVE a plan. Then you can stick with it.

I was reading an article the other day about our resolve dissolving. In the past this has VERY much been the story for me. It seems like my resolve would mysteriously dissolve at the drop of a hat. However, now that I know what I know… well, it’s not that mysterious.

See, what would happen is that I would work out (not really that hard) for a couple of weeks and then not see very much (if any) progress and… well, that is kind of the end of the story. I wouldn’t go on much further.

According to new research at the University of Kentucky—- apparently I am not that out of the ordinary. Their research is telling them that if you are not seeing the results you want- in about 4 weeks you are going to pull the plug. Honest to God…. I don’t think I would last that long. I can remember on more than one occasion lasting for about 2 weeks and then being done with it. Then of course I would get some more motivation about 6 months later and do the same insane thing again. You know the definition of insanity don’t you?? It is doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results.

So, I had to CHANGE. I had to not only change my life, but I had to CHANGE the way I was going at this.

The guys at UK say that if you are not “seeing those results” then the only thing that is going to help is accountability. I have said it before—- I guess I will keep on saying it (am I insane?)—- the key is get some workout partners. I swear, if you get some folks to do this with you—- either friends you already have, or new friends that you meet in the spin class…. doesn’t matter where you get ‘em….. just get ‘em—- then this is going to work.

Don’t be insane. Get up! Get moving! Have a better life!!

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Let’s Try To Get It Right

on September 24th, 2010 by Rob

These boys are the most precious thing in my life. Well, I guess my wife might come in a little ahead of them… but not by much.

I do have a point here. The thing is— I am going to do everything I can so that they don’t have to go through some of the stuff I had to go through. You know- being picked on for being overweight… being laughed at for being overweight…. feeling ashamed of myself for being overweight…. not having good self esteem because I was overweight.

The way I see this, it is going to be MUCH easier for me to take a proactive approach. I am not going to wait till they ARE overweight and then try to help them. We are going to make sure from the get-go that they have a good balanced diet. Does that mean we are not ever going to eat pizza? No! Absolutely not…. I mean, what would life be without pizza? But I am going to make sure that they get fruits and vegetables most days…. and chicken most meals instead of beef. Oh…. and thin crust on that pizza– and vegetables.

And they will be moving around. They will NOT be allowed to watch T.V. everyday when they come home from school. I am going to make sure that they get interested in sports of some kind. Not that they have to play anything in particular (baseball George) but they will be required to do SOMETHING!

I am going to make sure that they get up, get moving and have a better life than I did!!!

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The ABC’s of Weight Loss

on September 22nd, 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. Have 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. 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. Researchers 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!!!

M- M is for- Mojo- We (and when I say this… I am talking about the people that I work out with) talk about this all the time. Or we might say that someone has not “flipped their switch”. What we mean by this is you have to get it in your head…. you have to get motivated, you have to become AWARE of what you are doing. You have to get your Mojo to lose weight! Don’t lose it!

N- N is for—– Numbers. Ta-da!!! Amazing isn’t it? O.K.- I have two things to say about numbers.

1. Numbers are like numbers on the scale- keep weighing in. I like to do it once a week- keeps me honest.

2. Numbers are like Weight Watchers numbers- keep up with those points. I think that WW is an excellent way to watch what you are eating and the best program they have is with their POINTS.

O- O is (well, it is a tough one)- How about omelet? Work for you? Omelets are one of the best things that I eat. O.K.- little story—— before I lost any weight, back in the day when I didn’t really care what I was eating it was kind of a family tradition to go out for breakfast on Saturday mornings (this was the only time that I ate breakfast). I would ALWAYS get pancakes. I have news for you…. pancakes are not that good for you (especially if you do ‘em like I did ‘em with real maple syrup and butter)—- so here is the deal… when I started working out and living a bit more on the healthy side—- my family did not want to stop going out for breakfast. So I just decided that I would find something better to eat…. I landed on omelets.

Now I always have a western omelet…. no meat— just ’shrooms, peppers, tomatoes, cheese and eggs. Sometimes I go egg whites, but that is tough. I think that this is an excellent example of something that you can do to “keep on doing what you want to do”…. just change it a little!

P- P is for Pistachios- Lots of em. This is another good example of a substitution that I have made. It used to be that I went to the movies and got a coke and a big thing of pop-corn with butter on it. Do you have any idea how BAD that is? Well, it is horrible. Anyway—– now I take in a bag of pistachios with me and get a Diet Coke. Of course I also save 7.00 for the corn– and pistachios are kind of expensive.

Q- Q is for—- oh, wow… didn’t think about this. I can’t think of anything. How about Quick Work out. Studies have shown that even if you don’t have time to spend an hour running or walking…. then just spend 5 minutes. According to one article, if you work out 5 minuts at a time 6 times in one day…. that is JUST like working out for 30 minutes. Also- I know that once your heart rate gets up from doing aerobic exercise, it is quite some time before it will come all the way down….. this HAS to benefit you.

R- R is for Routine. Get it in your day…. exercise that is. MAKE a time. Do it for a month— I swear it gets better. When I was going through the People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge, I had to get up every morning at 4:25 to get to the gym. Well, that pretty much sucked for the first 6 weeks or so. But I made it part of my routine and got used to it…. I made a commitment that I was going to do it…. and I stuck with it.

S- S is for Stress reduction. Scientists at Georgetown University fed two groups of mice identical high fat, high sugar diets. One group of mice were placed under stressors (don’t ask). The stressed out mice gained TWICE as much weight as the non-stressed group. The thing is…. that is not shocking to me. Now that I work out a lot, I can very easily tell when I have not.

T- T is for Time. MAKE TIME to work out. See R for Routine. Also see Q for Quick Work-out. When I was losing all my weight, I worked out for an hour a day…. usually averaging about 4.5 days a week. Maybe a little more…. Paul Lacoste’s class was Mon-Thurs then I usually met with everyone to run on Friday mornings. Not every Friday, but most. The key here was that I MADE TIME. I made it a habit. I made it a priority…. and all it took was one hour a day. Oh, and I did it early in the morning (which I still do now) so that I could not have any excuses later in the day to not go do it.

U- U is for Understanding. That is…. understanding of yourself. And I mean that in two different ways. First- by understanding yourself I mean- give yourself a break. I mean, it took you some time to get unhealthy (like I was) and it is going to take some time to get where you want to be. Understand that it is not going to be a perfect lineir road to health. There will be ups and downs. Secondly, understand that the best diet is one that you can stick to. That is why I HATE the word diet. I have said it a bunch….  there is no diet that I can work. I HAVE to have wings and beer…. I just can’t have it every day… or every week. No matter what “diet” you go on, you will off at some point… then what???? If you learn to eat in moderation, make some good choices and exercise—- understand that this is not a “diet” but it is a lifestyle change!

V- V is for Victory. That was easy. Here is the deal…. before going through the People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge, I never really thought about competition…. or winning at life…. or even being an athlete. However, Paul Lacoste taught me from day one to think of myself as an athlete. HEY- Like my friend Julie Laperouse says—– “Fake it till you make it!” With that said, Now I think about things like goals and winning at life. Win Rocky Win!

W- W is for Weightlifting. Gotta do it, Gotta do it, Gotta do it. Listen, I can do all the running and cardio exercise in the world and not loose much weight. However, add some resistance training in— it makes all the difference. What you are after here is raising metabolism. You lift weights and you are going to build muscle. Bigger muscles burn more calories—- even at rest. So just do it!!

X- X is for—- I can’t think of anything. Maybe x-ray. Hopefully you wont need one. But it does happen. I broke my leg recently— kept me from running for about 8 weeks. Oh, and X is for Xanax.

Y- Y is for Yoga! O.K.- I never thought I would say this, but I can see the value in Yoga. Now, keep in mind I never said that I didn’t think it was tough. I have been known to do a Yoga class and been sweating my proverbial ass off within 10 minutes of getting started. It’s just that I have never liked it that much…. and I guess I am just human in that I have a tendency to skip out on the things I don’t like. However, I know that it has benefits when it comes to weight control and stress reduction… you know sitting around in a dark room with space music on—- maybe that would help me avoid the Xanax…. Hummmmmmm.

Z- Z is for Z’s- Better get ‘em. This is going to effect your overall energy level, your mood and your health.

So, there you have it…. Get up! Get Moving! Have a better life!!!

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Childhood Obesity Awareness

on September 21st, 2010 by Rob

Curious George

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness month. Sorry it took me till the 21st of September to become aware of this fact.

With that… I will just say that this is an awesome responsibility that we have to our children…. to keep them moving. To keep them healthy. To keep them eating right.

I wanted to take just a second and link to another web-site that has a tool kit from the American Medical Association. The AMA Healthier Life Steps toolkit is aimed at adults…. for kids. The point being that once adults become AWARE of healthy choices- the kids will follow suit.

However—- now don’t get me wrong, I think this is a good idea—– I am not sure that this is going to be enough. In Mississippi we have some unique challenges facing us. It is imperative that we GUIDE our children in these choices. We can’t just make them AWARE of them… we have to drill it into their heads…. and even more than that— we have to SHOW them what to do. We have to lead by example.

Get up. Get moving. Have a better life!!!

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What Is The World Coming to?

on September 20th, 2010 by Rob

Regular on the right--- Plus size on the left

I have a friend who’s grandfather used to say that all the time… it has become a habit with me… I guess I am just getting older- and more ornery.

Here is the deal. There was an article in the C-L the other day about these “bigger stretchers”. According to the article, the ambulance company for the City of Jackson is using them more and more. I got these pictures from Syracuse NY… so apparently, it is not just here in MS that we are having a problem. Also, check this out——

Standard on the right-- "bigger" model on the left

Now, according to the article in Jackson, the “plus size” stretcher costs about 6200.00 and will hold up to 700lbs. The standard stretcher will hold 500lbs and comes in at 3300.00.  The article does not say anything about the trucks… but I just happen to be in the truck business. Let me tell you—- that truck on the left costs A LOT more than the Ford Econoliner on the right!! I have no idea what the body costs, but I tell you that the chassis for the bigger unit is a minimum of 60,000.00.

This is just another reason that we have got to get a handle on the obesity problem that we have in this country.

I wonder how much one of these babies will set you back!!!!!

Get up! Get moving! Have a better life!

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CRAMP!

on September 19th, 2010 by Rob

Usually… I say Crap! But this is an exception.

What is it all about when we have cramps. Well….. I have one word, dehydration.

You see, when muscles are working hard- you are exerting them, they lose water. Well, they are made of about 75% water, so that is going to cause some problems. 99.9% of the time for me I can solve this problem by stopping whatever I am doing and getting some water.

However, if you are out in the heat (like football players are now) then you may be losing other things too and some sort of sports drink might hit the spot.

Whatever the case is… don’t be scared. It will go away! Get up. Get moving. Have a better life!

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ABC News to the rescue AGAIN!

on September 17th, 2010 by Rob

Nightline Prime- Secrets of your Mind

This is a pretty interesting program. Check it out!

I saw this on TV a couple of weeks ago. They say they are going to follow this lady and see what happens to her…. but nothing yet.

Enjoy!

Rob

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Milk, It Does a Body Good!

on September 14th, 2010 by Rob

Funny how we can just come up with these things out of the air isn’t it? O.K.- I should have said—– “Got Milk?” Anyway-

I have been seeing a lot of information on milk lately. Now, when I was a kid— (and I am convinced that I can thank my parents for me being overweight) I used to drink a glass of chocolate milk EVERY morning of my life. I had these green Tupperware glasses that my mom or dad would make it in with Nestle Quick… then add a heaping teaspoon of sugar to it. I think my Dad started this. (Take note… he was also the one in the family that would put 1/2 and 1/2 on his cereal).

So, if you want to drink milk…. don’t put sugar in it.

It has come to the attention of researchers that milk will help your body quickly recover from stress. So, if you drink milk after a workout— not only will you replace the electrolytes that you have lost, but you can add protein and other essential things to your diet as well. According to the study, those that drank milk right after working out were able to exercise longer in their NEXT session than those that drank water or sports drinks.

I have seen Muscle Milk brand drinks for sale in my gym. They have both white and chocolate varieties so apparently it does not matter if you add chocolate… but I bet they leave out the spoonful of sugar.

Get up. Get moving. Drink your milk!!!

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It’s all in your mind!!

on September 9th, 2010 by Rob

O.K.—- Just so you know, I am TOTALLY plagiarizing here. Well, I guess its not plagiarizing if you site the material and the author. Well, it was actually written by Jenny Mallette. She writes the newsletters from my gym…. pretty good gym to get a message like this one. Check it-

“You’re working out your brain at the same time you are working your heart,” says Thomas Cook, Ph.D. a clinical psychologist and memory researcher. Cardiovascular health is more important than any other factor in preserving and improving learning and memory.
People who exercised during their workday were 23 percent more productive on those days than they were when they didn’t exercise, says a study from the International Journal of Workplace Health Management.
In one study, researchers scanned the brains of people who exercised for one hour per day, three days a week, for six months. They discovered an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory and learning. Working out literally bulked up the participants’ brains and allowed them to perform better at tasks that required concentration and recall.
“Exercise improves attention, memory, accuracy and how quickly you process information, all of which helps you make smarter decisions,” Says Charles H. Hillman, Ph. D., an associate professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois. All that extra blood bathes your brain cells in oxygen and glucose, which they need to function. The more they get the better they perform.

—— O.K.- the plagiarizing is over. This is me again! Here is the deal…. I can tell when I have worked out. I can FEEL it… not just in my muscles, but also in my head. See, I have had some problems with depression in the past… hell, I have problems with depression NOW! But the point is—- if I don’t work out for a few days, then I can really tell. Mostly in my mood, but also in just my general sharpness. (Is that getting the point across?)

Of course, this is in direct opposition to how I felt at Ole Miss when I was on a 6 year beer and wings bender. But over the last few years, I had fallen somewhere in the middle (Beer and wings on one end of the scale—— Olympic athlete on the other end). I am still in the middle, but I am SO FAR on the leading edge of the bell curve now that I will NEVER GO BACK!!!

So, like I have said before, get up, get moving—- DO SOMETHING!! If not for your body….. do it for your brain!

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