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One of the great advantages in blogging is the people you meet. Over the last year I have gotten to know various health care professionals, fitness people, life and weight loss coaches, hypnotherapists, and other various versions of people that are interested in weight loss and optimal health. Top that off with working with clients, learning and teaching, support groups, and the research that it takes to keep up with it, I finally feel like we can start putting it all together.
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I wanted to start out with the various folks that have followed my journey from morbid obesity and stuck with me over the last year or so and offer it up to them first. I am looking for those of you that want to be contributors to the blog and therefore the newsletter. I talk with so many passionate people that have something to teach on weight loss and fitness that just need a place to express it. It is time to start putting it down and archiving it. America needs to hear the facts on obesity. I am not convinced they need to hear the judgment and condemnation that goes with it from some. But, I am convinced that there are more than enough people that have made the journey that want to help others.
This weekend I have added the news letter sign-up again to the site. If you go to subscription options you can set it for everything from each post to a monthly newsletter. It is easily subscribed to and opted out if needed. I can tell you unless I get a graphics person it will have to evolve a while before it becomes pretty. Having said all that I can say that if you like the blog, you will like the newsletter as that will be where it comes from. We will throw in some extras along the way for those that subscribe when we can. We will see how it goes.
I am sure we will start out slow, but I am also sure that as some of the team gets the hang of it that you will find it an honest place to get information that will inspire, motivate and inform you on your weight loss journey.
Thanks for being apart of this new stretch for me as I reach out one more way to help people have the hope and faith that morbid obesity is not the “final answer”. It can be overcome! We can turn the tide and make sure our future children and grandchildren don’t live shorter life spans than we will.
Seems that new research indicates you better make up your mind quick while you still have the capacity to use it. It has been a while since I went on a rant about how we as a species takes care of ourselves. I guess it is because I spent such long hours at work yesterday and didn’t get to do my workout. I will blame it on not being able to burn off some more calories. Today I came across a study that came out in August of this year stating that obesity causes rapid brain degeneration.
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Now in following the links I found on the web there where many reactions. Most of which were split between agreement and saying it was totally impossible to research this type of subject. It is the way many people I talk to listen about obesity in general. They get up every day feeling worse than the day before and still look me straight in the eyes and say it doesn’t affect their lives.
Well it does. You see it doesn’t matter if when you see these types of things you believe them or not. It is one more nail in a great big coffin of life no matter what you believe. It may be a loved one that reads it or it may be an employer that reads it, either way it will plant the seed of doubt in your ability and how your weight affects your capabilities. Let’s face it, if you read the research it plants a seed of doubt in your mind as well. Is my weight taking one more piece of the quality of life away from me?
Let add it all up. Obesity takes 10-15 years off your life, puts you at higher risk for a multitude of health risks including heart disease, diabetes, and increased cancer risk. Now on top of it they are telling us that it ages your brain 10-20 years older and actually degenerates it’s function. Now I don’t care how happy you are with who you are, that stinks when it comes to quality of life.
See I am all about loving who you are, I am not a big fan of lying to yourself that being overweight is not a health problem. Having struggled for so long there is more than huffing and puffing up the stairs and throwing medication and food down your throat to make up for it. There are solutions, there is help, and there are people that made the journey before you. Just like in Karate Kid II (I know, not another movie reference Rick!) “Live or Die!”, it is up to you. Choose life!
Gotta Love Me!
Now that we have established that a “diet” is what you eat, we can talk about different ideas on eating. Let’s start with what you eat now. Ask yourself this question. Is what I am eating normally every day working to get me healthier? If I am not at my optimal weight, is it getting me closer? Or is it taking me over the edge in both my health and my weight?
These are not tough questions. We all know if we weigh what we want to. Look in the mirror and you know your answer. For some it will be: “Yeah I look and feel great!” Others, not so much. Whatever it is, it is. That is the first thing to decide. Are you happy with where you are right now? If not then what is your next step? Something has to change.
Back when I was a hair’s breath away from 300lbs and at a 43 BMI I was medically morbidly obese. I watched it happen over the years. I told myself I needed to do something. I tried to make a habit of watching what I ate. Problem was I loved to eat and watching what I ate, not so much. I knew that I was getting bigger. I was afraid to get on the scale and see myself getting heavier. I started to stop looking so often when I reached 275. I didn’t want to know. At 297 I made a new choice. I had to stop the progression.
Health wise I was having chest pains. I could no longer walk up one flight of stairs without getting winded. I was told to quadruple my blood pressure meds. I was in sad shape. My sex life was disappearing before my eyes. I knew I was getting close to the day I would grab my chest and fall to the ground. And no one knew but me. But see, I knew. Your body does not lie to you. What is it saying?
Back to the eating habit called my diet. I was on the put food in front of me and I would eat it program. I was always hungry. I was always drained. Chocolate was my friend, well at least for the hour or two it boosted me before I would crash and need more. Energy drinks where a must just to stay awake from lack of sleep. Sound familiar?
I was on the how fast can we check out of here diet. Not one I recommend to people, but you would be shocked how many people stay on that one even after having that fall to the ground experience. I know several people that are struggling with back pain, indigestion and heartburn, various medications, high blood pressure, and are either already a type 2 diabetic or borderline. They still are on the fast lane diet out of here. They ignore their warning signs like I did.
What can I do? I weep (literally) for them. I know their pain. I talk to them to inspire them to change their lifestyle and that no matter what their age they can make a shift. Some will and do. Some won’t and continue down the path. As they used to say on the tv show “Dinosaurs” “You got to love them.” I live for the lives I can change and inspire and learn to let be those that take the path to ignore what they already know to be their truth.
Stay tuned for the options as we discuss the various other types of diets I have been on over the years and how they affected my learning along the way. If you want to cut to the chase and get going send me a contact request and I will be glad to work with you.
When I began my weight loss journey I would look in the mirror and really hate what I saw. Now I want to clarify this with, I read and meditate on a regular basis and I am sure in who I am. I just hated where I had let my body get to. I looked at my chest and started to see my pecks look more like breasts. The term in the male world is they were fully developed moobs. I could put my palm under them as they big enough to hold up.
I started reading and everything I found pointed to medical and genetic reasons. So I thought to myself I would never get rid of them. I asked myself how did I let myself get this far out of shape. I was ridden with guilt and dismay. Only through faith was I able to keep looking for a solution and added it up as one more reason I needed surgery. I was convinced that even if (and it seemed like a big IF) I could loose the weight I was stuck with loose skin and the moobs. I could not imagine where all the money was going to come from to fix it all.
Now fast forward as that really was a different time in my life. Not so long ago, but a different time indeed. I want to be clear I don’t judge others the way I judge myself. I just wanted my body to be in better shape and have it respond to the things I was doing to fix it.
Today is a different day. I rode my bike into work. This morning started with 2 complete circuit workouts followed by my bike ride into work. When I arrived and cooled off I checked in with my coworkers about an update. Out of the blue came the following, “Rick your chest has sure improved, you are looking better all the time! Look at him everyone, See how good he looks!”
First reaction for me is to turn beet red. I may write about this stuff and share it to the world but it is still something I am not used to. You would think with the dramatic changes in my body in the last 10 months I would be. After all I still look at myself and remember what I used to look at. I pay attention to my measurements (something I never wanted to do). Now taking measurements is to track progress and determination. I do it to make sure I am getting the results I am looking for in optimal health and longevity, not for the unsolicited compliments.
Still, just the same it felt good. No moobs are not permanent, they aren’t at least for my body. They were simply a reflection of body fat percentage. Oh and that surgery I was worried about (you know you have seen the rapid weight loss horror stories) has never materialized. It appears that if I didn’t loose muscle that the skin would respond to the change in size just as well as it had expanded to my girth.
What holds you back? Is it money? Is it concern for surgery? Is it that you are too shy to have someone notice that you do look pretty good for your age? Or do you just ask yourself if it is even possible for you? I have been there and many other deep and dark places. But have faith, there is a way to change it up and fix it. My answer may not be your answer but there is enough support to go around for whatever choice will work for you. I tell people now on a daily basis, Try it with me and let’s see what works for you! For everyone that has taken me up on it, we have success! What would it feel like to feel great about where you are with your health journey? What are you willing to take on to get it? Only you know, but it would bring me great joy to help you find out.
May your journeys be blessed today!
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I often try to stay away from politics on my blog because I am not here to debate political with anyone. I am however, driven to find new ways to reach the medical community and the services around it. Quickly rising to the number one killer in the United States is obesity. I, for one, was almost a statistic myself. I believe we have a fundamental flaw in our thinking about health care. It is we are trying to say health care is only dependent on the availability rather than the quality. Somehow if everyone can get health care then all will be well. Having been part of that system and still having received no solution I have my doubts on current purposed solutions.
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Well I ran across this article this morning from the Huffington Post called “We Are Still Buying Snake Oil To “Fix” Healthcare”. I will include a trackback link so you can read the full article. It got me to thinking about the real fix to health care. How about we start with the idea of funding real programs to help people directly? And what if we started with the number one cause of death and worked our way down the list? On and one more thing, what if we started with preventative care instead of trying to fix what is already broken or not well taken care of?
Let me explain. What if for instance we picked obesity? Right now you can only get health care for obesity if you have a existing medical problem. In most cases insurance will not pay for any weight loss programs or for weight loss surgery. So what if we started there? Put into place a program that will fund (after all we are giving enough money away now anyway) weight loss programs depending on what you have available? If congress would tighten up the rate of insurance companies canceling insurance (on those that even pay for theirs) and insist that they pay for preventative care it will go a long ways towards solving directly our health care issues.
So depending on your income level, you could get assistance or repayment for commitment to weight loss. This could include paying for weight loss plans, gym membership and preventative medicine. The program could include measurements of progress and commitment. If you aren’t committed to following a plan then there is no reimbursement. But stay committed and you keep getting assistance until you reach a goal weight. This could include screening, education on behavior change, and even surgical options for those who really needed it.
What I guess I am really asking is when is all this money going to be applied directly to the problem and not just thrown at something like mud on a wall and hoping it will stick. If we are going to commit future generations to a debt load, why not put it towards a direct solution at least?
End rant, feel free to blast away! I just ask you to read the article before you respond.
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I was talking to one of the doctors on our team last night and asked the question on how it would be best to introduce a weight loss program to a doctor who had not seen it before. What I found may surprise you a bit.
I was told that it is close to impossible to get into a doctor’s office these days. That it didn’t even matter if you where a pharmaceutical rep, you would probably not get in unless you knew them personally. She suggested that our doctors are very busy people and they don’t like to be sold to. I said then how do they find out about programs or new therapies that may assist their patient care? Answer: They either read about it or get curious themselves or hear it from a patient or another doctor.
I had asked this question because we found out in Seattle that the doctors where very hard to get into their offices. Now the ones we did get into already knew the nurse that I was working with and readily admitted they did not have a weight loss solution for their patients. For instance they told us that the average OB/GYN patient having a baby put on more than 50 extra lbs per pregnancy and often that 50 lbs was still there when they became pregnant with baby number two and added even more weight.
So what advice does the medical profession offer? Eat less, exercise more. Or surgery is the other option. Then even with surgery you need to go directly to a bariatric clinic to have that offered because your family doctor most likely will not offer that solution either (mine didn’t even with a BMI of 43). Very few offer any kind of program for lifestyle change and weight loss coaching what so ever. That is why we do what we do. My personal experience was that my doctor never offered me any real solution except medications. Those very same medications had side effects that may help my blood pressure but they would also most likely slow my weight loss attempts even further.
What is a person to do? When they go looking there is all kinds of snake oil and potions. How are they to know? Doctors say eat less. Physical trainers say you can work it off. Then there is the lap bands and gastric bypass solutions. But no one offers a planed program that gets the weight off quickly and easily. Heck no wonder it took me over 20 years to find a solution to my weight even though it has been available for nearly 30 years.
Down 94 lbs and in better shape than I have been in 30 years and it took me less than 7 months to do it. No surgery, no diet pills, and now with the weight off I can concentrate on physical training and continue to improve my longevity and optimize my health. Is your doctor giving you an answer on what to do with your health or are they just giving you another pill? Share your story with me, I would like to know. Have questions about how to have your doctor help you? Just ask I have the information that if really looked at will show them how effective our program is.
Contact us now if you want more information we love to help new people reach their goals.
During the recent event with the Taste of Home show I must have asked the question over 500 times. Almost every time I got a laugh and a response that went something like “Yes of course I want to lose some weight.” There were of course some loving partners that said “Yes my husband really needs to lose some weight.” What I normally follow up on after a few pleasant introductions to some very nice people was this: “Was that a want to or a need to?”
Let me explain why I ask. You see for over 20 years I had a want to lose weight and get healthy. That want got me 20 years of up and down yo-yo weight loss. Something I refuse to set some one up for. See during my hypnosis training my instructors taught me that you have to want to change and if you feel the need to change your therapy will be much more effective. For hypnosis it would be much easier to work with the suggestions at a deeper level within the subconscious.
However if someone wants you to lose weight or to quit smoking and you don’t, no amount of behavior change techniques will fix the problem. Sure I can help you loose the weight but you will never keep it off, because the behavior change was not yours in the first place. You need that want and need together to be ready for the journey. It will be a journey of change at a deep level because superficial won’t produce long lasting change. And before you ask I don’t use hypnosis in my practice unless it is a tool that is needed in that journey.
So ask yourself when you look in the mirror (I always suggest people get naked spiritually and physically) and see what you see. Do you like what you see? I know I didn’t. At 297 pounds I made a promise to myself I would not go over 300. Funny now when I look back at it really, why didn’t I start with a promise to not go over 200? I swore at my doctor (behind his back) for suggesting I would be better off adding four more medications. I knew when the chest pains started coming multiple times daily that I “needed” to do something. I was ready.
Truth be known I knew that I needed to do something many years before all of that. I just didn’t “want” to do the work. After all I wasn’t that big. Lol, yeah right. At a 43 BMI I was a morbidly obese and qualified for gastric bypass without any of the multitude of other medical conditions to go with it. So the want and the need had to come together all at once. Opportunity and preparedness met.
What is it going to take for you to go for optimal health? Is it that you can’t keep up with your kids or grandkids and play? Is it wondering if you will see them get married and have children of their own? Is it that climb up one flight of stairs that gets you breathing so hard you think your chest is going to burst? Or will it be the way the doctor looks at you when he says one more time that you need to eat less and exercise more? Is it now or never?
I know this for a fact there is life after being fat. And all those people that loved you anyway will still love you thinner. Living for health is much better then dying to eat. Trust me on this one. Come lets take that walk together. I am blessed every day now with changing lives and being reminded that the journey was worth the walk. Come along aside and walk with us. There is plenty of help along the way and it will be there when you stumble and want to get back up again.
Nothing tastes as good as thin feels! Be blessed in whatever walk you choose today!
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