I think its funny how much effort the drug companies put into "solving" simple problems. Let's look at obesity. A recent article in the Orlando Sentinel (Wednesday, December 29th, 2010) talking about how a Japanese drug company is partnering with "local researchers to fight obesity".
This kind of stuff just drives me crazy:
Although most obesity drugs on the market today target the brain — in hopes of controlling a person's appetite — those types of drugs often have serious side effects, including depression. Researchers at Sanford Burnham and the Translational Research Institute are taking another approach: Trying to make a person's muscles burn more fat.
"We're looking at ways to turn on fat-burning," said Dr. Steven Smith, scientific director at the Translational Research Institute. "The idea is that we can help people lose weight by turning on the fat-burning and fat-oxidation mechanisms."
Ways to turn on fat burning? Are they serious? How about going for a run!
Listen, I'm not stupid. I am no rocket scientist but I know darn well that it is VERY hard for some people to lose weight. Some people it's very much harder than others. But, guess what people? Crap this this is why!
Let me explain.
We are reminded everyday by clever marketers how EASY weight loss is. Just try their products! Just 8 minutes per day! No diet and exercise! Take this pill! Drink this shake!
It's all CRAP!
Long term weight loss takes commitment on so many levels... SO MANY LEVELS. Pill and diets and machines don't work! What works is having a long term plan and a coach. THAT is what works.
I wish the Japanese money makers, ahem, drug companies, ahem "firm" finds a new drug to stop obesity.
In the mean time while you're waiting for hell to freeze over try not eating sugar, walking for 60 minutes 5 days per week and doing 2 of my workouts per week. Yes, people it is that simple.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Pied Piper
I don’t know why I have the image of the Pied Piper in my mind. It really makes me laugh; the thought of it. Can you envision it?
Down the Main Street in your town is a big Gold’s Gym or Anytime Fitness banner parading down the street playing music. In droves people line up. They follow; they don’t know why, they just follow.
I think it’s the guilt that wells up after a year of 5 more pounds or another injury or that sickness that just won’t go away. We are all so vulnerable on January 1st and the health clubs know it!
For months the clubs have been getting ready to take advantage of you. They know that you are thinking. They know what you want. They know how to make it appear like you are going to get it when you join their gym. They play their music for you to hear. They play it loud. Just like last year... you will follow. Just like last year only about 25% of you will be successful. Sigh….
I have spent MANY January’s in the health club industry. I have worked many long hours and been denied days off in the month of January. Man, the clubs know how to get people in the doors in that month. It is ALWAYS the most profitable month of the year. People are primed and ready to follow.
It’s like a revolving door though because it’s in one month and gone the next.
Every notice how there are no longer lines for the treadmill in March?
OK, you know that this is a good time of year for self reflection, right? You know that one of the first things we think of during self reflection time is….well, your reflection. Since obesity rates keep climbing I will venture a guess that most people don’t like what they see. We want to change but we don’t know how!
Then we see the ads. Yes, the big gyms spend most of their marketing budgets about RIGHT NOW. They show images of hot bodies and excited kids and fun classes and… blah, blah, blah. You fall for it and there you are in the gym staring at all this equipment and an 18 year old with a cell phone showing you how to use it. A couple of “consultations” (Gyms with real gumption call them “Personal Training Sessions”. Grrrr….”) and you are on your own.
You are on your own. After a couple of weeks of struggle it becomes a chore because you don’t look like the models yet and you are hurt or sick or sore….
The reasons you joined the gym fade quickly. 5 days a week turns to 2 to 1 then….you stop all together.
You pay your membership for a few months because you “going back” then finally you sneak in one day and cancel. (You know they won’t let you cancel over the phone. Smart, very smart)
Does this scenario sound familiar?
What do you say you break that cycle this year?
Come to my classes. You’ll pay about the same. ($125 for 3 months of unlimited classes!) You will get personalized instruction from a FITNESS PROFESSIONAL (One day, a lady, who was trying my class, asked me what I did for a living. It was like a deer in the headlights moment: THIS is what I do for a living; I Eat and breath fitness 24/7/365. (366 on a leap year)) each and every time you walk in the door. You get daily emails. You don’t get lost in a sea of equipment and classes. You don’t have to worry about what you are going to do when you go to work out. It is programmed for you.
What I do is unique and it works. Is it hard? Hell yeah! Does it work? HELL YEAH.
The choice is up to you.
Go to a health club (again) and get lost in a sea of machines that don’t work or come join my program and develop functional fitness, loose weight and look better.
I don’t know. I think I’ll go for the coach with the 10+ years experience that lives and breathes the fitness life over that bicep curl machine…just sayin’.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Why Santa is Fat
So Christmas is just a few days away. Most trainers are out there saying “eat this, don’t eat that, make sure to exercise…BLAH, BLAH, and BLAH”. You don’t need to hear that. You need to enjoy the season. Here is some advice that I found it cyber word. I’d give credit if I know where it came from. I think Santa Clause himself made it up…
CHRISTMAS EATING TIPS
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
Such good advice for the season. OK, I do have some serious advice. On Thursday, December 23rd I am again hosting the annual "12 Days of Christmas" workout in the Impact Center at the Trinity Church is Eustis. Three workout times available: 6am, 9am and noon.
Workout is FREE and open to the public. Come and join us for the coolest and most fun workout of the year!
Have a Merry Christmas a great holiday season!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Secret
OK, so it’s no secret. Actually it’s not even uncommon; it’s not even something you don’t already do. It is something that you do EVERY DAY of your life. Why do you do it with certain aspects but not others? I don’t know either.
So every morning my son’s bus comes. Every morning I arrive a certain time to get his lazy butt up. Normally this takes me 10-15 minutes longer than it should. Regardless he is up and dressed and on that bus everyday at 7:46am. Well… not every day. Several times per year he misses the bus. Lately though I’ve gotten him there.
What do you do on a daily basis like this? Get to work? Eat lunch? Drink a Diet Coke? Have coffee? What is your life just happens because you have a plan and a simple system? Yeah, lots of stuff.
Another example from my life: If you were to walk into my room right now you would find my bed made. Why? Well when I get up EVERY morning I make my bed then go about my day. I do this EVERY day just like I get my kid on the bus at 7:46am.
These things happen because I plan on them happening!
Why didn’t you work out yesterday? Why did you do fast food for lunch? Why are you out of shape? Why are you overweight?
Yes, people, you DIDN’T plan otherwise? What if I went to be every night and didn’t set my alarm? Would my kid get to school on time? No! I set my alarm and have systems in place to make sure he gets where he needs to be.
Guess what? Tomorrow I will wake up, make my bed and get my kid to the bus stop. It’s already planned. What are you doing for a workout tomorrow?
What hour of the day are you dedicating to making yourself physically stronger? WHAT HOUR??
Here is what you need to do and you need to do it now. Look at the next 5 days of your life. PLAN one hour each one of those days to walk, or lift weights or attend a class or DO SOMETHING that will make you more fit.
If you haven’t tried one of my classes then you need to. They rock!
FREE week: December 27th – December 30th!
12 Days of Christmas FREE workout on December 23rd! Come give it a try! 6am, 9am or noon!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Sabotage
Do you think that everybody wants to cheer for you? Do you think that all your friends and family are going to support you and love you no matter what? You are naïve if you think that.
You will be sabotaged.
When you are down I truly believe that people are there to help. There will always be someone to lend a hand or lent a buck. When you are down people want to help you. It’s human nature to lift up those that are lower than you. It’s human nature to help others to your level.
Did you catch that last part?
People are ALWAYS going to be there for you as long as you aren’t ahead of them in some way. When you get ahead of them then the survival instinct overwhelms the process. We don’t like to be behind. We are competitive by nature. We want to win. Losing sucks. Winning at all costs is ingrained in our fabric.
I honestly don’t care if you believe me. It is the truth.
I have a client that I used to work with that was a heavy lady with a heavy husband. I remember her telling me that her husband was going to sabotage her. He didn’t want her succeeding! He didn’t want to be the fat guy with a thin wife AND he didn’t want to work hard to improve himself. She was confused. He wouldn’t do that! Sure enough; she saw it happen. “Hey, honey I picked up pizza and those chips you like!”
Alarm clocks don’t shut themselves off.
“You know you really should spend more time with the kids and me…”
You get the point. I see it all the time. Unless both partners are committed to working out, one is almost always going to sabotage.
Friends do it the same thing. “Hey, we are going to the China Buffett for lunch. Want to come?”
Here is a SHOCKER. The candy jar is always full at work. Does that stuff just reproduce?
People will offer you a hand out of sympathy and pity. I believe people in their hearts want to help. People also become jealous. People also develop envy. As soon as you go past them with your successes the game changes.
Now they want to bring you down.
Like I said I see it all the time in fitness.
Where else do you so this?
At work? You bet! It’s more obvious here. The dude down the hall wants the promotion! Who cares how close you are with he and his family. He wants the promotion and will walk all over you to get it.
What about your relationship? Some people are so unsure in THEMSELVES that they sabotage YOU so that they look like the good guy.
“I think you are going to leave me.” When someone says this to you it is sabotage. They may not think it; but it is. The thought has been planted. The seed is sewn. Eventually we can make others do what we think as long as we believe it. This is a hard fact to accept but it is true.
The real destructive relationship sabotage occurs when someone is bitter and so lonely in their lives that they want you to feel the same.
She will support you when you are hurting, yes, but as soon as you start to succeed in a relationship she will do whatever she can to bring you back down. She will ask the questions that plant the seeds. She will cast doubt when doubt is not there. She will arrive under the cover of friendship to stab you in the heart to make herself feel better about her inability to be happy and content.
Welcome to my cynical world this morning. Being positive is good. Having a good attitude is necessary for a good life. There is, however, the reality evil out there. For every fan on your sidelines there is an enemy lurking.
Sometimes evil wears a dark coat; but not always.
Sometimes evil goes to bed with you every night.
Sometimes evil smiles at you.
Sometimes evil even stares at you from the mirror.
The evil of sabotage is out there. It’s everywhere; be aware. Now I am….
You will be sabotaged.
When you are down I truly believe that people are there to help. There will always be someone to lend a hand or lent a buck. When you are down people want to help you. It’s human nature to lift up those that are lower than you. It’s human nature to help others to your level.
Did you catch that last part?
People are ALWAYS going to be there for you as long as you aren’t ahead of them in some way. When you get ahead of them then the survival instinct overwhelms the process. We don’t like to be behind. We are competitive by nature. We want to win. Losing sucks. Winning at all costs is ingrained in our fabric.
I honestly don’t care if you believe me. It is the truth.
I have a client that I used to work with that was a heavy lady with a heavy husband. I remember her telling me that her husband was going to sabotage her. He didn’t want her succeeding! He didn’t want to be the fat guy with a thin wife AND he didn’t want to work hard to improve himself. She was confused. He wouldn’t do that! Sure enough; she saw it happen. “Hey, honey I picked up pizza and those chips you like!”
Alarm clocks don’t shut themselves off.
“You know you really should spend more time with the kids and me…”
You get the point. I see it all the time. Unless both partners are committed to working out, one is almost always going to sabotage.
Friends do it the same thing. “Hey, we are going to the China Buffett for lunch. Want to come?”
Here is a SHOCKER. The candy jar is always full at work. Does that stuff just reproduce?
People will offer you a hand out of sympathy and pity. I believe people in their hearts want to help. People also become jealous. People also develop envy. As soon as you go past them with your successes the game changes.
Now they want to bring you down.
Like I said I see it all the time in fitness.
Where else do you so this?
At work? You bet! It’s more obvious here. The dude down the hall wants the promotion! Who cares how close you are with he and his family. He wants the promotion and will walk all over you to get it.
What about your relationship? Some people are so unsure in THEMSELVES that they sabotage YOU so that they look like the good guy.
“I think you are going to leave me.” When someone says this to you it is sabotage. They may not think it; but it is. The thought has been planted. The seed is sewn. Eventually we can make others do what we think as long as we believe it. This is a hard fact to accept but it is true.
The real destructive relationship sabotage occurs when someone is bitter and so lonely in their lives that they want you to feel the same.
She will support you when you are hurting, yes, but as soon as you start to succeed in a relationship she will do whatever she can to bring you back down. She will ask the questions that plant the seeds. She will cast doubt when doubt is not there. She will arrive under the cover of friendship to stab you in the heart to make herself feel better about her inability to be happy and content.
Welcome to my cynical world this morning. Being positive is good. Having a good attitude is necessary for a good life. There is, however, the reality evil out there. For every fan on your sidelines there is an enemy lurking.
Sometimes evil wears a dark coat; but not always.
Sometimes evil goes to bed with you every night.
Sometimes evil smiles at you.
Sometimes evil even stares at you from the mirror.
The evil of sabotage is out there. It’s everywhere; be aware. Now I am….
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