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Go Ahead… Eat That Beef!!

on January 28th, 2012 by Rob

When I was doing the People Magazine interview… the first one, the reporter asked me what I ate. She wanted to know if fast food was a problem for me. I could not deny that I did eat some fast food, but I told her that this was not the real problem.

For me the real problem is Steak. Yep… I try to eat it as often as I can. The problem for me before I lost any weight was that I was eating it three times a week… and I was not exactly eating a lean cut. I like rib-eyes- the most marbled part of the cow I think.

Well, as it turns out, I really just have to modify my steaks a little. You see…Harvard researchers recently discovered that while eating processed meats like hotdogs and bacon can contribute to heart disease, there is no such risk for people who consume only unprocessed meat. And many studies have linked protein consumption with weight loss.

Also, meat is one of the only dietary sources of vitamin B12, which helps your body make blood cells and maintain a healthy nervous system. But here is the tricky part– Eating too much saturated fat has been linked to heart disease, so go ahead and eat that steak, but make it a NY strip or something even more lean. And eat it only once a week.

Remember to Get Up!! Get Moving!! And Get a Better Life!!!

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Eat Your Whole Wheat Bread!!

on January 23rd, 2012 by Rob

I know… It’s not as good. It really isn’t. But, it IS good enough.

A couple of days ago, I had to use some white bread for something. My wife had bought a loaf for some recipe she was working on (don’t ask me why she didn’t substitute whole wheat) and I was out of bread. I REALLY wanted a ham sandwich. So, I did the substituting. It was REALLY good.

When people ask me how I did it. How did I lose the weight. Part of that answer is WHOLE GRAIN.

So, don’t let anyone tell you that bread will make you fat. A recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that overweight people who obtained all of their grain servings from whole grains lost more belly fat than those who skipped the whole grains altogether.

The thing is- or one thing is that eating whole grain has a lot more fiber… and fiber fills you up and keeps you filled up.

Oh, and make sure to NOT buy the “fake” wheat bread. Check the label and make sure that the word ENRICHED is nowhere to be found in the ingredients list.

Remember to Get up!!! Get moving!! and Get a better life!!!— and eat that whole grain.

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Hard to Believe.

on December 17th, 2011 by Rob

Why do we buy so many of these really big meals… burgers… fries… and the dock your jet-ski drinks??

Well, one reason really surprised me. As a matter of fact, I am still not sure I beleive it.

Here is the deal: Marketing researchers at Northwestern University tell Time.com that studies suggest jumbo portions are a way for people that feel helpless to enjoy a “momentary catharsis”.

In other words, ordering a super-size meal is a way that people with low social status (and perhaps a low income) to feel more powerful and important.

Researchers note that throughout history, people with more money (and thus status) have the biggest houses and the most food. Well, it seems that perhaps that trend is continuing in the 21st century.

Subjects in the study were shown video of people ordering meals. Then they were asked to rate the people (from a status standpoint) based on what they ordered. Across the board, the people that ordered the large meals were rated the highest.

Additionally, subjects were asked to think of a time when they felt disadvantaged… or taken advantaged of. Again, the hypothesis rang true. Given a choice of small, medium and large smoothies- same results… guess what: They ordered the large.

Perhaps this is ANOTHER reason that obesity rates are highest among people with lower incomes.

Remember, Get up!! Get Moving!! Get a better (smaller) Life!!!!

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You Better Sit Down For This!!

on December 15th, 2011 by Rob

O.K.- Weird article a couple of days ago. But here is the deal.

Some really smart guys got together and did a study on sedentary lifestyles. Seems like heart disease is not the only thing we have to worry about.

It seems that sitting for long stretches of time- work, or like me in the car- or even at home in an easy chair, increases your cancer risk. Even if you work-out regularly.

But, here is the good part—- Even breaks as long as one minute can help lower the risk.

That means that once an hour, even if it is for just a minute— Get up!! Get moving!!! (walk to the water-cooler, pace during a phone call or go see a colleague instead of sending an e-mail) and Get a Better Life!!!!!!

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Turkey Day!! 4 Ways to Get Through It!!

on November 21st, 2011 by Rob

I just read on my handy day by day trivia calendar that there is a day in the U.S. that surpasses Super Bowl Sunday for food consumption. Thanksgiving. Well, that does figure. The whole thing was built on the assumption that the way to celebrate and give thanks is to eat yourself into a diabetic coma. Fair enough… I like to do that on Thanksgiving and then watch some football as I fall asleep. It makes for a good time.

Well, if we can, we need to watch it. I am not saying that we shouldn’t have a good time and eat as much as we want on Thanksgiving. But the fact of the matter is that we seem to just keep on going right through the new year.

See- it’s the leftovers… all the Turkey sandwiches and turkey and dressing and all the other ‘’stuff” that we eat for the rest of the next two weeks.

Then you know what happens, you start in on the holiday parties. Yep, it can get pretty out of hand. Then Christmas comes along and we do it all again…. just 3-4 weeks later. Oh, and don’t forget new year. Have another cocktail.

Well, what we need is a little help getting through these situations. Here are some strategies.

1. Don’t go hungry! Eat a little bit BEFORE you go to the holiday party. That way you won’t over do it when you get there because you are so hungry.

2. Shop smart- When you go to the store to get some of the stuff for turkey day, get WHOLE WHEAT CRACKERS, LOW FAT COTTAGE CHEESE, SKIM MILK. Shaving a few calories here and there can really make a difference.

3. Enjoy the meal. I always try to pick the things that I like the best… and skip the things that don’t really do it for me. For example, I can live without green bean casarole in the sea of mushroom soup- but live without the pecan pie??? Forget it. I will skip the beans and have a small piece of pie- because that is the second part of this- watch your portion sizes. If you don’t have the pie (or whatever it is that really does it for YOU) then you’ll just end up pissed off—- then you might go on a pie bender. (That is what I would do).

4. I say this time and again during the year- and it goes double for the holidays. Don’t beat yourself up. It is normal to want to eat some of those special things durring the holidays. If you do slip up and do something you shouldn’t, give yourself a break and start over immediately. Don’t wait till after the new year.

Finally- remember to work-out during this time of year. It is so easy to say “To heck with it, I will start again in January.” Don’t do it!!! Keep going. Start again immediately.

Get up!! Get moving!!! Get a better life!!! Even during the holidays!

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Why Are We a Fast Food Nation!

on October 10th, 2011 by Rob

These days we all walk into fast food joints (I know I pick on McDonald’s a lot- but they are easy to pick on)… and we see a lot of choices. In fact, we see some healthy choices.

Remarkably, we see more and more healthy choices every day from these guys…. including McDonald’s. We see salads and we see fat free and low fat dressing. We see grilled chicken as a choice, instead of the fried variety.

But here’s the thing. Even though we have all this to choose from, still, most people opt for the burger and fries. Why is that?

I think there are a couple of reasons.

1. Food addiction. I think that this is more prevalent that we think it is. It is a tough one because we HAVE to eat. It is impossible to stop. It is easy to stop doing Cocaine… well, not easy to stop but you know what I mean. You don’t HAVE to have Cocaine to live.

2. Lack of self-esteem. Now, obviously this is not an across the board truth… but it is for me. When I was at my heaviest, I was not liking myself very much. I was struggling with depression and eating was a way to self medicate.In order to lose weight, in order to take better care of myself, I had to change the way I was thinking. I had to RE-FRAME my thoughts. I never would have thought that losing weight would help me that much, but I did. I am more confident as a Father, as a Husband and as a Professional person… now that I have lost weight.

This lack of self-esteem was very elusive to me. Very hard for me to see it until it was in the past.

These two go hand in hand. Once again, not necessarily the case for everyone that is overweight, but it was for me.

Remember, Get up!! Get moving! Get a better life!! Even if you are not sure that you need it!

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Are We Wandering in the Desert??

on September 25th, 2011 by Rob

Is it fast food that is making us fat?

Well, that is a good question. Let’s explore.

We have heard a lot about food deserts lately… thanks to Michelle Obama. Well, what is it? Basically, it is a place where one must travel at least one mile to get to fresh meat, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. If my calculations are not off… that puts most of the state of Mississippi in a food desert. It is so rural that it just has to be in this situation. I have not checked it with the USDA, but I think I am right. Speaking of the USDA, about 23 million U.S. citizens live in these places. They define a food desert as a place where 20% of the population lives below the poverty line and 33% live at least a mile from a supermarket. The Feds think that this causes a vast number of people to rely on fast food and processed food… instead of going to the grocery store and getting fresh things.

The USDA says that this includes huge parts of Kentucky, West Virgina and other rural states… as well as parts of Detroit, Chicago and NYC. The USDA surmises that this is part of what is making us fat. Approximately 30% of Americans are obese.

One way that Michelle Obama is fighting the problem is to encourage supermarket chains to open new locations in the middle of the deserts. And she is being pretty successful. She has, through her “Let’s Move” program convinced Walmart, Walgreen’s and SuperValu to do just that…. 1500 times over.

However, I am not sure I buy it. I just don’t think that simply telling Americans to eat their broccoli will do the trick.

First, I don’t know what rural state you are in, but in Mississippi there is a roadside stand every 15 yards. They are selling all manner of fruits and vegetables. And in between the stands are the old guys with their pick-ups filled with sweet potatoes or watermelons or whatever. There is NOT SHORTAGE of fresh fruit and vegetables in Mississippi- wherever you go!

Second, when the USDA talks about food deserts they are only talking about SUPERMARKETS. I have to tell you… I used to live in New York City, Manhattan to be exact. Same thing. Except that there it was not old guys in pick-up trucks selling sweet potatoes, it was Indian guys selling all kinds of stuff—-  I have seen sushi—- in their markets on EVERY FRIGGIN’ corner. You can not walk a block in NYC without seeing a bodega. It is impossible.

Third. What the hell?? Don’t these people have cars? And don’t give me the line that people living in poverty don’t have cars. Yes they do. The ones in Mississippi do. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 93% of the population has access to a car and can easily drive to a grocery store more than a mile from home. Now granted, there are people without cars… people living in poverty living without cars- but those without cars I would argue are mostly in urban areas… like Manhattan where it is extraordinarily expensive to have a car.

I think that I have made it clear in this article that the economy is not the only area where I disagree with the Obamas. And I swear it is not because I lean to the right. It is because… as you can see from my arguments… I have lived this stuff and have an independent opinion based on my experience.

Nope… I don’t think that it is food deserts that are making us fat. I think it is food swamps. Let me explain.

A recent University of North Carolina study of the eating habits of 5000 people over the course of 15 years suggests that living close to a supermarket doesn’t have anything do do with it. However, how close you live to a Popeye’s or a Wendy’s just might.

You see, just as I have said that there are little markets EVERYWHERE… there really are fast food joints EVERYWHERE. It is very difficult to get away from them. They are not only on every corner, but they are INSIDE the grocery stores!!! What is up with that??

As a matter of fact, there are now 5 fast food restaurants for every supermarket in the U.S. That is unbelievable.

So, why do the fast food companies build so many restaurants in certain areas? Well, let’s face it… Ray Kroc once said that McDonald’s was not in the restaurant business, they are in the real estate business. They want real estate in high traffic areas so that it will be CONVENIENT to stop in and buy their food.

AND THAT TOO IS PART OF THE PROBLEM. It turns out, according to the same UNC study that studied the eating habits of the 5000, it helps for cities to use zoning laws to cut back on the amount of fast food fare available. The City of Los Angeles California has already done this on a trial basis… to such a degree of success that they are considering making it permanent. They limited the number of new fast food joints that could be built in South Central.

However, I am going to regress back to my earlier assertion that it doesn’t really have much to do with supermarkets and where they are. Here is the thing. As a general rule, even in The South, people just don’t cook like they used to. I have to admit, if you held a gun to my head I am not sure I could cook some asparagus. Fast food is easier, quicker and for the most part pretty good tasting. There are some I like more than others and I think that this is a big issue as well. People go out and get some peas and some butter beans and take them home and cook them up and… well, it is just not as good TASTING as a french fry.

My father used to tell me that there were three kinds of lies. There are lies, damn lies and statistics. And I think that the latter is what may be going on with the USDA, Michelle Obama and the food deserts. I don’t think it is a matter of having too little, I think it is that we have too much.

Remember, get up!! Get moving!! And have a better life!!!

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It’s getting worse!

on September 20th, 2011 by Rob

I have a stunning statistic for you today…. by the year 2030, we are looking at an obesity rate of 45% to 52%! That is astounding. Right now in the U.S. we have an average rate of about 30%-33%- on a good day. This speaks volumes about the rate at which we are becoming a super-sized nation. The trend is not good. Obesity is defined as someone that is roughly 30lbs overweight. Right now in the U.S. we have about 99 million people that are overweight. This trend would increase that to about 164 million. Nice.I

You think we have health care problems now. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This will be an epidemic that no one can fix. We have to stop this ride NOW if we want to avoid the all the heart disease, cancer and type two diabetes that is to come. The check is in the mail.

I think that this is due to a couple of factors. I think most important of these is the sedentary life-style that most of us live and the high-calorie junk food that surrounds us. LITERALLY SURROUNDS US! It is everywhere. And we are starting to get our kids involved too.

Now, I am not going to be hypocritical… I will tell you that I occasionally take my kids to McDonald’s. They like it and they like the toys. But this is very limited. I think that we can make so much progress as a society and individually if we would just eat at home more. Whole grains, fruit and vegetables are going to be the key ingredients of this battle.

On top of that, it is critical that we Get up!! Get moving!! And have a better life!!!

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Don’t Add Those Extra Pounds at College

on September 2nd, 2011 by Rob

I swear, I think this is me from my freshman year!!! Well, not sure I was ever this thin but you get the idea.

I have said many times that college is really not a place to learn. It is a place to practice. Practice life that is. For many… including me, it is or was the first time away from home. It was the first time that I was able to make choices completely on my own. I didn’t do such a good job.

See… I went to Ole Miss. A place that one of my friends has described as Disneyland with a bar. It really is the happiest place on earth… except Sunday afternoons when you are hung-over and you have a paper due and you can’t believe what you did last night… and “What!?!?!?! I hit on who??????? —— different story for a different day. But you get the idea. I for one did not make those good choices.

Well, how do you make them? Believe me, I know it is much easier to go to Wendy’s and get something than to cook. Almost impossible to cook in a dorm room and frankly, my apartment was not much better. Not because it was not equipped…. because I was not equipped. See, my Mom had done all my cooking up to that point.

Well, here are a couple of tips to help you along.

1. Two words- FRESH FRUIT. Easy as easy can be. Honest to God… all you have to do is run it under the water and you eat it. Grapes, apples, peaches—- geeesh, if you go with a banana you don’t even have to stick it under the water.

2. Salads at the fast food joint. Just don’t get all the dressing on there. Worst part of a salad and can make it WORSE than a burger.

3. Chicken and baked potatoes at the fast food joint. These were the staple of my diet when I was in the People Magazine Weight Loss Challenge. I would go to Back Yard Burger regularly and get a Blackened Chicken Sandwich, baked potato with just a little butter and un-sweet tea. Worked like a charm.

4. Nuts- eat these as snacks, weather it is in your dorm or your car. Just watch the portion sizes as they can be full of fat. But overall, I promise you these are better than Twinkies!!! No brainer.

These are just a couple of tips that you can use. Also, get to the gym. Most colleges of any size are going to have a gym for students. Probably part of your tuition that you can use it…. or maybe your activity fee. You are paying for it (or at least your parents are) so you might as well use it. Go there. Hang out. You can find some people to work out with. Play basketball with. Get moving with. When you go away to college, you will be meeting all kinds of new people- might as well be the right kinds. Use it as an opportunity to make “work-out” friends if you have never had them before.

Most of all, make the right choices about alcohol. I want everyone to have a good time and to fit in and make friends and chase girls and all that… but for the love of God, take it easy. Young people’s minds are effected by alcohol differently than older people.

Remember, Dean Wormer says that fat,drunk and stupid is no way to go through life.

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

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Mindless eating!!

on August 20th, 2011 by Rob

I do this, but it is usually with wings!!

O.K.- Do you do this?? Sometimes I am sitting there, minding my own business…. watching the Braves on a random Tuesday night- and I look down and (very southern phrase coming up) low and behold, I have hoovered (I love that word- so descriptive) a whole jar of peanuts.

The fact of the matter is that before I lost any weight, it was more like Nilla Wafers. Do you realize that it was a common occurrence for me to sit down with a box and wipe it out…. in one sitting while I was watching something on T.V.? This was nothing for me.

This happens. It happens to the best of us. This is mindless eating and in order to lose weight- in order to have a better life, we have to STOP IT!!

So, what can we do? How can we get off of that train BEFORE it leaves the station? Well, I have some tips. I don’t always follow these, but I do most of the time and it really helps.

1. Go with smaller plates. Or just plates. One of my biggest things was eating “out of the box”- and no, it is not anything like thinking out of the box. It is NOT a good thing. If I just go get 4 Oreos… put them in a bowl and go watch T.V.- I can somehow avoid having 27- it is just not as easy to get them, so I have to stop and make an effort to go get them. Gives me an opportunity to say- “Hey, I am not really hungry anymore- I can pass.”

2. Don’t eat while watching T.V.- Well, it is an idea. But if you are like me, then T.V. and sports and eating chicken wings – all hand in hand. Almost sacreligious to NOT eat while watching the game. But once again- I think that the best way to combat this is to not carry the whole bag of chips into the other room with you. Fix it in the kitchen and then be done with it. Oh, and yes, using a small plate helps. It tricks your body into thinking that you have eaten more than you have. “I had a whole plate.”

3. Slow down. It takes about 20 minutes for our stomach to send signals to our brain (if it happens at all) telling us that we are full. If you eat too fast, then you will eat more and more before you get the message to STOP! So, slowing down will help you to “listen to what your stomach is telling you.”

It is a fact that most people (not just obese people) will eat the amount that they are served. If you will follow these tips- you will eat less, think more and:

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

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