Well, after the bailout I got hugely busy with things here and have been literally too busy to put anything down this month. Lots of air miles and 3 weekend seminars just about did me in. Get to to vote on day two weeks ago so at least that was out of the way.
Today we vote and the talking heads will lets us know who they think (or hope) will occupy the oval office for at least the next 4 years. I'm not ashamed to say I hope its McCain and Obama. All worry about putting someone with no executive experience in that position aside, I'm just not a socialist and Obama is. 'Spreading the Wealth' is a socialist's way of saying th the government is going to take a larger chunk of your paycheck that you worked for and give it to someone who doesn't work so he doesn't have to. We know how well its worked everywhere its been tried - but Obama wants to spread it accross the world.
He also wants to bankrupt the coal industry and the power companies with coal fired (almost all) power plants with unreal taxes. Guess who gets to pay with skyrocketing power bills? Yep - you and me.
If Obama gets in I really hope all those who voted for him can explain why. I hope its not what I've heard so far...'he's black', He's good looking' and 'he's a snappy dresser'. My brain hurts.
We'll see.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
My thoughts on the bailout
Well, the House has finally caved in and decided to rescue their friends on Wall Street and in the banks. This is a disgraceful piece of legislation that I hope haunts all of the supporters in the hunts for re-election.
First off, I'm a smaller government conservative, probably a Reagan Republican type who believes in personal responsibility. I look at the mess created and see the hog pen we call Washington in this up their eyeballs. To see the root of the problem we have to look back beyond Bush and Paulsen's mind-boggling mishandling of the crisis beginning 7 years ago to Bill Clinton's era of PC gone wild. Clinton felt that it would be a great idea to expand home ownership beyond the hard working families that had traditionally gotten (and then paid for) mortgages based on their payment history, job longevity and income to low income families that had little (if any) credit worthiness and little history of even moderately regular payments of charge accounts. No lender in his or her right mind would touch them with a 10 foot pole. So they mandated that Freddie and Fannie had to get 50% of their mortgages from low to moderate income and minority borrowers - and that welfare and unemployment payments had to be counted like a regular paycheck! It worked! Now you added a flood or people that had little if any experience in either owning the place where they lived or making regular payments for it. Don't get me wrong - some were disadvantaged, some were deadbeats - but few had any idea about how to care for a home.
Fast forward to the dawn of two unfortunate births - the subprime ARM and The Secret. Subprime Adjustable Rate Mortgages were simple. Make it really easy to get an affordable payment by getting a ridiculously low rate to start, let the house appreciate for a few years (while your income goes up too) and then refinance before that rate gets adjusted. Easy, huh? Unlessthe housing market tanks and you don't have any equity to roll into the refinance. Bad news - once the rate adjusts, your payment may triple -- OUCH!! Bye-bye house.
Add to this a little bestseller called The Secret that was basically selling the concept that what you think, you'll attract to you. Think happy, be happy. Think big, new car, attract that big new car. Think huge new house and attract huge new subprime ARM. At this point the house 'attracted' was usually WAY more house than they could afford under normal circumstances and when the market tanked, they ended up with a new interest rate and a new payment that was WAY more than they could pay. Frankly, these guys deserve to lose the houses.
They couldn't have done it without the greed fueled mortgage lenders who just saw a quick, easy profit. They would refinance in a few years and be someone else's problem...unless, of course, the market went bad. OOPS! These guys deserve to have to eat the mortgages.
What about the geniuses that came up with these programs. They'll fire alot of them but with pre-negotiated severance packages worth up to $20 million or more - who cares? Ever had someone hand you a few million when you got fired or laid off? Me either. These need to be cancelled and recalled.
And then our 'leaders' who saw this coming over 7 years ago and did nothing to stop it then. We CAN do something about them. Vote them out of office. Giving an essentially blank check to a bunch of crooks and deadbeats and rewarding many of those who bought insane ARMs is utter insanity.
I remember the Carter years (don't get me started on that idiot!) and the S&L meltdown. Times were hard, money tight, mortgages in the high teens and banks in Houston (where I was living) were closing at around 2 per week. People had homes and townhomes on the market they couldn't sell. Whole subdivisions we vacant due to rampant overbuilding and the amounts that could be borrowed against future revenue projections. To get a home with no credit check, no money down and a 12 month moratorium on payments was easy just to get someone living in the house and off the non-performing asset list at the bank.
We survived it with Reagan's policies and they kept us going strong almost to the end of the Clinton years (although he wants credit for it). No big bailout - lots of closings - lots of bankruptcies. Our leaders today don't have the stomach to do what really needs to be done. The problem today is that no one running for president has the stones do to it either - certainly not Obama and probably not McCain. Best hope is an early heart attack or stroke for McCain and let Palin run things.
But the Congress caved in and you and I get to pay for another high dollar, pork laden bill ($3.3 billion for rural school aid - I kid you not). What a deal - vote 'em out when you get a chance.
First off, I'm a smaller government conservative, probably a Reagan Republican type who believes in personal responsibility. I look at the mess created and see the hog pen we call Washington in this up their eyeballs. To see the root of the problem we have to look back beyond Bush and Paulsen's mind-boggling mishandling of the crisis beginning 7 years ago to Bill Clinton's era of PC gone wild. Clinton felt that it would be a great idea to expand home ownership beyond the hard working families that had traditionally gotten (and then paid for) mortgages based on their payment history, job longevity and income to low income families that had little (if any) credit worthiness and little history of even moderately regular payments of charge accounts. No lender in his or her right mind would touch them with a 10 foot pole. So they mandated that Freddie and Fannie had to get 50% of their mortgages from low to moderate income and minority borrowers - and that welfare and unemployment payments had to be counted like a regular paycheck! It worked! Now you added a flood or people that had little if any experience in either owning the place where they lived or making regular payments for it. Don't get me wrong - some were disadvantaged, some were deadbeats - but few had any idea about how to care for a home.
Fast forward to the dawn of two unfortunate births - the subprime ARM and The Secret. Subprime Adjustable Rate Mortgages were simple. Make it really easy to get an affordable payment by getting a ridiculously low rate to start, let the house appreciate for a few years (while your income goes up too) and then refinance before that rate gets adjusted. Easy, huh? Unlessthe housing market tanks and you don't have any equity to roll into the refinance. Bad news - once the rate adjusts, your payment may triple -- OUCH!! Bye-bye house.
Add to this a little bestseller called The Secret that was basically selling the concept that what you think, you'll attract to you. Think happy, be happy. Think big, new car, attract that big new car. Think huge new house and attract huge new subprime ARM. At this point the house 'attracted' was usually WAY more house than they could afford under normal circumstances and when the market tanked, they ended up with a new interest rate and a new payment that was WAY more than they could pay. Frankly, these guys deserve to lose the houses.
They couldn't have done it without the greed fueled mortgage lenders who just saw a quick, easy profit. They would refinance in a few years and be someone else's problem...unless, of course, the market went bad. OOPS! These guys deserve to have to eat the mortgages.
What about the geniuses that came up with these programs. They'll fire alot of them but with pre-negotiated severance packages worth up to $20 million or more - who cares? Ever had someone hand you a few million when you got fired or laid off? Me either. These need to be cancelled and recalled.
And then our 'leaders' who saw this coming over 7 years ago and did nothing to stop it then. We CAN do something about them. Vote them out of office. Giving an essentially blank check to a bunch of crooks and deadbeats and rewarding many of those who bought insane ARMs is utter insanity.
I remember the Carter years (don't get me started on that idiot!) and the S&L meltdown. Times were hard, money tight, mortgages in the high teens and banks in Houston (where I was living) were closing at around 2 per week. People had homes and townhomes on the market they couldn't sell. Whole subdivisions we vacant due to rampant overbuilding and the amounts that could be borrowed against future revenue projections. To get a home with no credit check, no money down and a 12 month moratorium on payments was easy just to get someone living in the house and off the non-performing asset list at the bank.
We survived it with Reagan's policies and they kept us going strong almost to the end of the Clinton years (although he wants credit for it). No big bailout - lots of closings - lots of bankruptcies. Our leaders today don't have the stomach to do what really needs to be done. The problem today is that no one running for president has the stones do to it either - certainly not Obama and probably not McCain. Best hope is an early heart attack or stroke for McCain and let Palin run things.
But the Congress caved in and you and I get to pay for another high dollar, pork laden bill ($3.3 billion for rural school aid - I kid you not). What a deal - vote 'em out when you get a chance.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Really, Really, REALLY GROSS!!!!
Last night I came up during a break in a staff teleconference and my wife yelled at me to come quick and look on TV. One of the discovery type networks had a show on about some people that were (no kidding) over 700 lbs! I told her to Tivo it and we'd be wrapping up in around 30 mins.
I came back upstairs and we settled in to the story of four extremely (beyond morbidly) obese people. Sad stories but as we watched, a number of points began to drill home.
First and foremost - they had been told and truly believed that they were not at fault. This is PC psychobabble BS! Just like outcome based education, Student of the Month (where you just have to show up), sports where no score is kept and other 'feel good', plastic self-esteem programs. When you continually shovel in excess of 10,000 calories per day of high fat, fried stuff in your mouth every day --- YOU GET FAT!
The first was a black man in Harlem. He weighed in at over 700 pounds! I think his daily intake was in the 14,000 calories per day range. Bedridden - can't get out of bed (later found out to everyone's surprise that he could get up to get to the food).
The second was a man in the UK. Over 700 lbs, hadn't walked in 10 years, even to the bathroom(UGGGH!). This guy looks like Jaba the Hutt from Star Wars. Has eaten up to 33,000 calories in a day. 32 chocolate bars, bags of chips (4 pounds of fat) ... was makiing me sick to envision.
Third was a woman in the UK. Around 500 lbs and 'unhappy' about her weight, knew it would kill her, tried all sorts of diets, you know the drill.
Last was another woman in North Carolina who was over 500 pounds and could barely walk to the kitchen.
The second point and common to all of them was they had enablers. The first man had momma, grandma and sister doing shifts cooking for him. The UK hired a caretaker for Jaba who kept him well stuffed, the UK woman could still work and called in lots of take out and the NC woman forced her 19 year old son to shop for her. The enablers were as bad about ratonalizing as the fat people. Momma and grandma said the guy in Harlem would just call on his cell phone and order food if they didn't cook it. NOT IF YOU TAKE AWAY HIS CELL PHONE AND VISA CARD! He's not walking downstairs to get it. The NC woman's son said he knew the stuff was bad for her but it made her 'happy' and he wanted that. (Neither looked like the brightest bulbs in the box. Why can't the media find anyone of at least moderate intelligence in the South.)
The enablers created the third point - they all kept JUNK in the house. No one had anything green, red (except spaghetti sause), orange , etc on the plates - all white and fried stuff - dripping with fat. Cookies, chips, candy. The NC woman had a whole bag of M&Ms every night. Plates of cookies, bags of chips - someone had to buy Jaba's 32 daily candy bars.
Then we got to the fact where i almost needed to duct tape my head to keep it from exploding! Each one's food bill was over $500 a day!!!!! $3500 per week and $182000 per year! How do they do it?? Easy - you and I buy it for them. These guys are working the system. Harlem guy is on welfare (no job) - disability (can't get out and work) - momma and grandma and sister are on welfare each since they have be primary caregivers to the disabled fat man. UK is more of the same. So is NC.
The final point were the doctors that were continually talking about the 'addiction' to food they all had, how they might have the obesity gene, or this or that. Simply put - its not their fault - they can't help it. Simply solved - quit shoveling enough food for 2 weeks (literally in Jaba's case one one in Harlem guys case) down you face every day. 3 big meals and all the raw brocolli and cauliflower you want. Constipation won't be a problem, for sure!
They were also all still gaining weight. NC woman - 2 to 3 pounds a day. Jaba was, of course, eating up to 33,000 cals/day and gaining 5 to 6. Since it was just their basal metabolic rate burning calories they needed about 12 days to burn off each days intake.
A few years ago, I tipped the scalles at roughly 300 lbs. I'm 6' 5" but 300 lbs is fat. Doctor was putting me on new high blood pressure meds, diagnosed with low serum testosterone and a lot of things I loved to do were just too much work. Final straw was my doctor giving me a blood glucose meter so I could check my blood suger 'just in case'. I've seen diabetes and wanted no part of that.
I wasn't always 300 lbs. As a kid I had trouble gaining weight and was skinny as a rail. Played sports all through school and got into martial arts at 9 years old. At 30 I ran a 5 mile interval training course in the morning and evening and played in 3 competitive raquetball leagues. But after 25, I needed the exercise to stay at around 200 and eat what i wanted to.
At 32, I got married and moved from Texas to the deep South. Demands of family ate into exercise time and Southern food helped me eat myself into progressively larger pants. I found myself 20 years later with an extra 100 lbs that I needed to lose.
I realized I was in bad shape and to hop into a gym was a recipe for failure. So I began to walk. First 30 mins then an hour then and hour twice a day. Gone were the 2 Whopper and King size fries lunches, the eggs, sausage, grits and pancake breakfasts, replaced with high protien meal replacement shakes.
I'm now in the gym, working with a trainer off and on, several times each week. I eat right (six meals/day), experiment with a few nutritional supplements (not stimulants but aminos, herbs and such), see what works and make most of what I take myself using bulk supplies (way cheaper and more effective).
Many of us are faced with being overweight and the associated health problems (and shortened life expectancy). Motivation to change is hard to find. The conscious mind has spent years accepting the overeating and reinforced the belief its OK through the pleasure derived. Massive Weight Loss includes a subliminal program that overcomes the negative behavior beliefs and installs a set of healthier choices that make motivation easy. The whole package contains 6 programs (11 tracks) of high powered subliminals and I guide to help you on the journey. As a bonus - through Oct. 15 only and only offered on this blog - I am offering six months free email consultation and support for your weight loss journey. Ask questions, share experiences and get periodic emails on special items I feel would be of interest such as what supplements seem to work and where to order supplies to save big $. You didn't get overweight overnight and you need someone to guide you on the path back.
Check this out and get on with it. I was hugely overweight - It was my fault and I did something about it. If you are overweight then this offer will beat out the diets and pills by a long shot.
I came back upstairs and we settled in to the story of four extremely (beyond morbidly) obese people. Sad stories but as we watched, a number of points began to drill home.
First and foremost - they had been told and truly believed that they were not at fault. This is PC psychobabble BS! Just like outcome based education, Student of the Month (where you just have to show up), sports where no score is kept and other 'feel good', plastic self-esteem programs. When you continually shovel in excess of 10,000 calories per day of high fat, fried stuff in your mouth every day --- YOU GET FAT!
The first was a black man in Harlem. He weighed in at over 700 pounds! I think his daily intake was in the 14,000 calories per day range. Bedridden - can't get out of bed (later found out to everyone's surprise that he could get up to get to the food).
The second was a man in the UK. Over 700 lbs, hadn't walked in 10 years, even to the bathroom(UGGGH!). This guy looks like Jaba the Hutt from Star Wars. Has eaten up to 33,000 calories in a day. 32 chocolate bars, bags of chips (4 pounds of fat) ... was makiing me sick to envision.
Third was a woman in the UK. Around 500 lbs and 'unhappy' about her weight, knew it would kill her, tried all sorts of diets, you know the drill.
Last was another woman in North Carolina who was over 500 pounds and could barely walk to the kitchen.
The second point and common to all of them was they had enablers. The first man had momma, grandma and sister doing shifts cooking for him. The UK hired a caretaker for Jaba who kept him well stuffed, the UK woman could still work and called in lots of take out and the NC woman forced her 19 year old son to shop for her. The enablers were as bad about ratonalizing as the fat people. Momma and grandma said the guy in Harlem would just call on his cell phone and order food if they didn't cook it. NOT IF YOU TAKE AWAY HIS CELL PHONE AND VISA CARD! He's not walking downstairs to get it. The NC woman's son said he knew the stuff was bad for her but it made her 'happy' and he wanted that. (Neither looked like the brightest bulbs in the box. Why can't the media find anyone of at least moderate intelligence in the South.)
The enablers created the third point - they all kept JUNK in the house. No one had anything green, red (except spaghetti sause), orange , etc on the plates - all white and fried stuff - dripping with fat. Cookies, chips, candy. The NC woman had a whole bag of M&Ms every night. Plates of cookies, bags of chips - someone had to buy Jaba's 32 daily candy bars.
Then we got to the fact where i almost needed to duct tape my head to keep it from exploding! Each one's food bill was over $500 a day!!!!! $3500 per week and $182000 per year! How do they do it?? Easy - you and I buy it for them. These guys are working the system. Harlem guy is on welfare (no job) - disability (can't get out and work) - momma and grandma and sister are on welfare each since they have be primary caregivers to the disabled fat man. UK is more of the same. So is NC.
The final point were the doctors that were continually talking about the 'addiction' to food they all had, how they might have the obesity gene, or this or that. Simply put - its not their fault - they can't help it. Simply solved - quit shoveling enough food for 2 weeks (literally in Jaba's case one one in Harlem guys case) down you face every day. 3 big meals and all the raw brocolli and cauliflower you want. Constipation won't be a problem, for sure!
They were also all still gaining weight. NC woman - 2 to 3 pounds a day. Jaba was, of course, eating up to 33,000 cals/day and gaining 5 to 6. Since it was just their basal metabolic rate burning calories they needed about 12 days to burn off each days intake.
A few years ago, I tipped the scalles at roughly 300 lbs. I'm 6' 5" but 300 lbs is fat. Doctor was putting me on new high blood pressure meds, diagnosed with low serum testosterone and a lot of things I loved to do were just too much work. Final straw was my doctor giving me a blood glucose meter so I could check my blood suger 'just in case'. I've seen diabetes and wanted no part of that.
I wasn't always 300 lbs. As a kid I had trouble gaining weight and was skinny as a rail. Played sports all through school and got into martial arts at 9 years old. At 30 I ran a 5 mile interval training course in the morning and evening and played in 3 competitive raquetball leagues. But after 25, I needed the exercise to stay at around 200 and eat what i wanted to.
At 32, I got married and moved from Texas to the deep South. Demands of family ate into exercise time and Southern food helped me eat myself into progressively larger pants. I found myself 20 years later with an extra 100 lbs that I needed to lose.
I realized I was in bad shape and to hop into a gym was a recipe for failure. So I began to walk. First 30 mins then an hour then and hour twice a day. Gone were the 2 Whopper and King size fries lunches, the eggs, sausage, grits and pancake breakfasts, replaced with high protien meal replacement shakes.
I'm now in the gym, working with a trainer off and on, several times each week. I eat right (six meals/day), experiment with a few nutritional supplements (not stimulants but aminos, herbs and such), see what works and make most of what I take myself using bulk supplies (way cheaper and more effective).
Many of us are faced with being overweight and the associated health problems (and shortened life expectancy). Motivation to change is hard to find. The conscious mind has spent years accepting the overeating and reinforced the belief its OK through the pleasure derived. Massive Weight Loss includes a subliminal program that overcomes the negative behavior beliefs and installs a set of healthier choices that make motivation easy. The whole package contains 6 programs (11 tracks) of high powered subliminals and I guide to help you on the journey. As a bonus - through Oct. 15 only and only offered on this blog - I am offering six months free email consultation and support for your weight loss journey. Ask questions, share experiences and get periodic emails on special items I feel would be of interest such as what supplements seem to work and where to order supplies to save big $. You didn't get overweight overnight and you need someone to guide you on the path back.
Check this out and get on with it. I was hugely overweight - It was my fault and I did something about it. If you are overweight then this offer will beat out the diets and pills by a long shot.
Monday, September 15, 2008
It's Football season and that means snacks
Which is not a good thing if you're trying to drop some fat. Big games are fast approaching and I want more than a bowl of broccoli, cauliflower and celery on the table - I at least want some dip. Then I look at the 'nutritional ' label on the side of most dips - 60 to 100 cals per 2 Tablespoons with 2/3 of it in fat! Loaded with Salt too!
I tried the Lite dip and found that although it lacked some calories (35-50 cals - 2/3 in fat) - it was also lacking in flavor - BIG TIME!
My wife suggested we make our own and off to the store we went and picked up some Kroger Fat Free Sour Cream - also some from Publix and Breakstones. These have decent flavor as sour cream and only 20 cals per 2 tablespoons and NO fat.
She split the sour cream out into little 1/2 cup Glad containers like I mix supplements in and we began. One got paprika, dried onions, garlic salt and a few other seasonings, another Cayenne pepper, pepper flakes, dried onions, Mesquite Seasoning (Kroger) and garlic, another Stevia, cinnamon and some other stuff to provide a sweet dip for apples and fruit. Used some almond milk to add moisture as the dried onins began to rehydrate. Popped into the refridgerator for a few hours to let them work and then around 9 PM decided to tried them on some broccolli. I can't tell much difference in the first from regular onion dip except a bit nicer flavor (less salty) and not as heavy. The second was WOW! About took my head off with the cayenne but excellent once you're ready for it. Maybe a touch less cayenne next time but a real winner. The fruit dip we tried with apples and celery - it was also very nice. Smooth and easy to get to stick to apples.
We figure the 1/2 cup servings are around 60 cals each with brocolli and cauliflower not needing counting - apples not needing counting on many diets either.
So now we have at least 3 and soon more dips that I can put out on the football or holiday party table to replace the ones that we shouldn't be eating. In an average game, if you ate 2 cups of dip on the veggies, total calories from the dip would be less than 250.
And if you like guacamole, make it with avacados, lemon juice, very little salt and some seasoning for a god dip as well. Avacados are high in good fats and as long as you keep track of how much you eat, some is very good. The average avacado is 250 - 300 cals.
Am I going to publish the recipes for these here. Not right now. These are still works in progress and my Texas/New Mexico raised and deep south (Alabama/Georgia) cured tastes may not match what you find pleasing. Experiment with what sounds good. We stayed away from the prepared soup mix approach due to the high salt content of the soup mix. Dried onions, spices, some minced or powdered peppers, whatever sounds good to you - or any old dip mix you used to have - just use the fat free sour cream. Let me know what works for you. Just send me an email. Once i get and test enough of them, I may share them all here.
So get to the store, get the fat free sour cream and give it a try. I'm also taking a small container of the sour cream with me next time we go for steak and using it on a baked potato! Gave those up a good while back if I couldn't load it up with at least the sour cream.
I tried the Lite dip and found that although it lacked some calories (35-50 cals - 2/3 in fat) - it was also lacking in flavor - BIG TIME!
My wife suggested we make our own and off to the store we went and picked up some Kroger Fat Free Sour Cream - also some from Publix and Breakstones. These have decent flavor as sour cream and only 20 cals per 2 tablespoons and NO fat.
She split the sour cream out into little 1/2 cup Glad containers like I mix supplements in and we began. One got paprika, dried onions, garlic salt and a few other seasonings, another Cayenne pepper, pepper flakes, dried onions, Mesquite Seasoning (Kroger) and garlic, another Stevia, cinnamon and some other stuff to provide a sweet dip for apples and fruit. Used some almond milk to add moisture as the dried onins began to rehydrate. Popped into the refridgerator for a few hours to let them work and then around 9 PM decided to tried them on some broccolli. I can't tell much difference in the first from regular onion dip except a bit nicer flavor (less salty) and not as heavy. The second was WOW! About took my head off with the cayenne but excellent once you're ready for it. Maybe a touch less cayenne next time but a real winner. The fruit dip we tried with apples and celery - it was also very nice. Smooth and easy to get to stick to apples.
We figure the 1/2 cup servings are around 60 cals each with brocolli and cauliflower not needing counting - apples not needing counting on many diets either.
So now we have at least 3 and soon more dips that I can put out on the football or holiday party table to replace the ones that we shouldn't be eating. In an average game, if you ate 2 cups of dip on the veggies, total calories from the dip would be less than 250.
And if you like guacamole, make it with avacados, lemon juice, very little salt and some seasoning for a god dip as well. Avacados are high in good fats and as long as you keep track of how much you eat, some is very good. The average avacado is 250 - 300 cals.
Am I going to publish the recipes for these here. Not right now. These are still works in progress and my Texas/New Mexico raised and deep south (Alabama/Georgia) cured tastes may not match what you find pleasing. Experiment with what sounds good. We stayed away from the prepared soup mix approach due to the high salt content of the soup mix. Dried onions, spices, some minced or powdered peppers, whatever sounds good to you - or any old dip mix you used to have - just use the fat free sour cream. Let me know what works for you. Just send me an email. Once i get and test enough of them, I may share them all here.
So get to the store, get the fat free sour cream and give it a try. I'm also taking a small container of the sour cream with me next time we go for steak and using it on a baked potato! Gave those up a good while back if I couldn't load it up with at least the sour cream.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Winning the Mental Battle
You've heard coaches talking to the team and saying that "Winning is 10% perspiration and 90% inspiration". Plainly put - If you don't see yourself winning the game before you start, you've already lost. Sure - you may be outmanned, outskilled and outplayed but underdogs come out and whip much tougher opponents all the time - because they SEE it happening.
Our lives are much the same. Whether we are about to take a performance review, meet with a new client in sales, interview for a new job or promotion or start a new project; our mental attitude going into it will greatly affect our effectiveness and overall performance.
So how do we get the right attitude? Life is tough sometimes. Bills to pay, family issues, job stress, doc says we need to lose weight and exercise more, one promotions slots and six others in the running...oh - did I forget the morning and evening commute?
Let's deal with the commute first. Turn off the radio. There is nothing important going on - your GPS or phone nav can guide you around any avoidable tie-ups, listening to the news channel makes your head want to explode and the music channels are mindless drivel - all with 60%+ ads to make you spend more. Listen to either some music (I recommend Sarah Brightman's 'Symphony' - I love her voice!) or a motivational/subliminal programs (Not brainwave entrainment if you are driving). If you attend a church or synagogue that has recordings of the sermons available, get one and listen again, you'll hear new things the second time around. Avoid loud, angry music or most rap - find something easy and life affirming.
At work, keep a subliminal program in the background or some music. Again - avoid the radio. Good subliminal choices at work might be Success Mindset, Staying Motivated, Managing Stress, or Managing Your Time.
What about the extra 30, 40 or 50 lbs you've put on over the years. I mean, after all, your spouse loves you regardless of the extra baggage and the reduction in frequency and quality of sex (and your desire and ability to perform) is only natural. What BS! I know - I was there. Make the decision to get back what you've lost.There are skinny 80 year olds in nursing homes having more and better sex than you. Almost 3 years ago we published Massive Weight Loss that provided a sustainable fat loss program for seriously overweight (over 20 pounds) people based on my own experiences in the fight to drop 100 lbs. We've recently completely revised the program, added a lot of content to the guide and included 4 more additional subliminal programs. See it here. Is it hard? At first it is but it gets easier fast. No being hungry, no special foods,; just more energy, a better body, heightened libido and lower blood pressure. Everything you need to win the mental battle and prepare for the physical battle. Did I mention that thin people make more money and get promoted faster than their overweight counterparts? Look at pictures of the Fortune 500 top execs - not many fat slobs there.
At home, Listen to Get Happy!. This is one our most successful programs and can change your whole outlook in just a few weeks. There is one track to listen to in the background all the time (including sleeping) and a seaparate one to listen to when you get up in the morning. That's right, no radio or TV - just a rehash of last night's 11 PM bad news. Don't listen to it - just gets you in a bad mood to start.
10% perpiration and 90% inspriation. Still takes getting off your butt and doing it but the mental battle can be a lot easier to win with a little help and some good choices.
Our lives are much the same. Whether we are about to take a performance review, meet with a new client in sales, interview for a new job or promotion or start a new project; our mental attitude going into it will greatly affect our effectiveness and overall performance.
So how do we get the right attitude? Life is tough sometimes. Bills to pay, family issues, job stress, doc says we need to lose weight and exercise more, one promotions slots and six others in the running...oh - did I forget the morning and evening commute?
Let's deal with the commute first. Turn off the radio. There is nothing important going on - your GPS or phone nav can guide you around any avoidable tie-ups, listening to the news channel makes your head want to explode and the music channels are mindless drivel - all with 60%+ ads to make you spend more. Listen to either some music (I recommend Sarah Brightman's 'Symphony' - I love her voice!) or a motivational/subliminal programs (Not brainwave entrainment if you are driving). If you attend a church or synagogue that has recordings of the sermons available, get one and listen again, you'll hear new things the second time around. Avoid loud, angry music or most rap - find something easy and life affirming.
At work, keep a subliminal program in the background or some music. Again - avoid the radio. Good subliminal choices at work might be Success Mindset, Staying Motivated, Managing Stress, or Managing Your Time.
What about the extra 30, 40 or 50 lbs you've put on over the years. I mean, after all, your spouse loves you regardless of the extra baggage and the reduction in frequency and quality of sex (and your desire and ability to perform) is only natural. What BS! I know - I was there. Make the decision to get back what you've lost.There are skinny 80 year olds in nursing homes having more and better sex than you. Almost 3 years ago we published Massive Weight Loss that provided a sustainable fat loss program for seriously overweight (over 20 pounds) people based on my own experiences in the fight to drop 100 lbs. We've recently completely revised the program, added a lot of content to the guide and included 4 more additional subliminal programs. See it here. Is it hard? At first it is but it gets easier fast. No being hungry, no special foods,; just more energy, a better body, heightened libido and lower blood pressure. Everything you need to win the mental battle and prepare for the physical battle. Did I mention that thin people make more money and get promoted faster than their overweight counterparts? Look at pictures of the Fortune 500 top execs - not many fat slobs there.
At home, Listen to Get Happy!. This is one our most successful programs and can change your whole outlook in just a few weeks. There is one track to listen to in the background all the time (including sleeping) and a seaparate one to listen to when you get up in the morning. That's right, no radio or TV - just a rehash of last night's 11 PM bad news. Don't listen to it - just gets you in a bad mood to start.
10% perpiration and 90% inspriation. Still takes getting off your butt and doing it but the mental battle can be a lot easier to win with a little help and some good choices.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Losing Fat and the BMR
I was talking with a weight loss client the other day about nutrition and the subject of BMR came up. He had been to a website and used the calculator to figure his BMR and as the website said, set his daily caloric goals to slightly less than what his BMR was. The gains he was making in the gym stopped, his weight loss slowed and his body fat percentage started going up while his energy level plummeted. He was understandably upset - and wanted to know what went wrong.
The BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories that would THEORETICALLY be burned by a person of a certain gender, hieght, weight and age if they stayed in bed all day and did NOTHING.
I say theoretically because it doesn't account for muscle to fat ratio, HGH or other metabolic factors that may be in play... basically your milage may vary.
Conventional wisdom says to take the BMR for your target weight, eat slightly less and you'll magically lose weight toward that target... and you do. Unfortunately its mostly muscle you'll lose and not fat causing your metabolism to get slower as the muscle gets burned for energy.
So why isn't the fat getting burned? Because the body believes there is a famine in progress and it needs all the fat it can get its hands on for long term survival. You need to figure out what your REAL caloric needs are considering your target weight, age, gender and other body factors as well as your workout routines (they don't have to be rigorous - just consistent). Any certified trainer at most decent gyms can figure this out. They will also be able to tell you how much of those the calories need to be fat, carbs and protiens. Most will tell you no starches after lunch - some allow a high glycemic snack after a hard workout to recarb quickly along with a big shot of protein.
How you eat is another key. If you are still packing in the calories as 3 big meals - cut that out! Spead it over six small meals taken every three hours or so. This keeps the metabolism going digesting the food and breaks the 'famine response' by showing the body you have plenty of food available.
An example of this is my BMR - targeting around 220 lbs for a 6'5" man - my BMR is around 2000 calories per day. However I do 3 major strength followed by 15 mins aerobic and 3 aerobic (30 mins at a VO2 of 65% for fat burn) each week. My actual needs are 2750 cals/day with 224g of protein needed. Split into meals of around 460 cals each. Breakfast may be only around 300 with a bit heavier lunch. After a strength workout, I have 500 cals as 3 scoops of whey protien and 2 100 cal packs of cookies to recarb on. This also helps with my fat requirements - yes you need fat too - should be good fats mostly.
My client is back on track and once again dropping more fat than lean tissue. His actual needs for calories were over 50% over his target weight BMR. Be wary of supplements that kill your appetite like hoodia and others. Many times your body may need help in breaking a gorging habit or the all day grazing behavior but long term use of these will lead to a very high fat body with almost no muscle and a super low metabolism. You may not actually be as hungry as you think, you may be hungry for real food. You are what you eat and if all you eat are Donuts and Wh*pp*rs then your body will reflect it. (If you can't give up your fat burger then use your once a week cheat meal for it).
Eat right, exercise at the right level and live healthy. All areas of your life benefit.
The BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories that would THEORETICALLY be burned by a person of a certain gender, hieght, weight and age if they stayed in bed all day and did NOTHING.
I say theoretically because it doesn't account for muscle to fat ratio, HGH or other metabolic factors that may be in play... basically your milage may vary.
Conventional wisdom says to take the BMR for your target weight, eat slightly less and you'll magically lose weight toward that target... and you do. Unfortunately its mostly muscle you'll lose and not fat causing your metabolism to get slower as the muscle gets burned for energy.
So why isn't the fat getting burned? Because the body believes there is a famine in progress and it needs all the fat it can get its hands on for long term survival. You need to figure out what your REAL caloric needs are considering your target weight, age, gender and other body factors as well as your workout routines (they don't have to be rigorous - just consistent). Any certified trainer at most decent gyms can figure this out. They will also be able to tell you how much of those the calories need to be fat, carbs and protiens. Most will tell you no starches after lunch - some allow a high glycemic snack after a hard workout to recarb quickly along with a big shot of protein.
How you eat is another key. If you are still packing in the calories as 3 big meals - cut that out! Spead it over six small meals taken every three hours or so. This keeps the metabolism going digesting the food and breaks the 'famine response' by showing the body you have plenty of food available.
An example of this is my BMR - targeting around 220 lbs for a 6'5" man - my BMR is around 2000 calories per day. However I do 3 major strength followed by 15 mins aerobic and 3 aerobic (30 mins at a VO2 of 65% for fat burn) each week. My actual needs are 2750 cals/day with 224g of protein needed. Split into meals of around 460 cals each. Breakfast may be only around 300 with a bit heavier lunch. After a strength workout, I have 500 cals as 3 scoops of whey protien and 2 100 cal packs of cookies to recarb on. This also helps with my fat requirements - yes you need fat too - should be good fats mostly.
My client is back on track and once again dropping more fat than lean tissue. His actual needs for calories were over 50% over his target weight BMR. Be wary of supplements that kill your appetite like hoodia and others. Many times your body may need help in breaking a gorging habit or the all day grazing behavior but long term use of these will lead to a very high fat body with almost no muscle and a super low metabolism. You may not actually be as hungry as you think, you may be hungry for real food. You are what you eat and if all you eat are Donuts and Wh*pp*rs then your body will reflect it. (If you can't give up your fat burger then use your once a week cheat meal for it).
Eat right, exercise at the right level and live healthy. All areas of your life benefit.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Getting Rid of the Fat and Still Eating Out
I love to eat. Always have and probably always will. Unfortunately as I aged, my body produced less of the HGH that was keeping me skinny and I got fat. It took until I was waddling around at 300 lbs that I realized that this was where I'd stay as long as my lunch consisted or a Whopper (usually double with cheese), Large Fries, and a Big Fish sandwich - usually with a piece of pie...and a diet soda. The health consequences are known to most obese men - high blood pressure requiring medication, low testosterone production (due to high body fat to muscle ratio), ED (not that you have the energy for it anyway). The list goes on and on. The list is similar for women.
Here are some quick facts:
-- Between 1962 and the year 2000, the number of obese Americans grew
from 13% to an alarming 31% of the population.
-- 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess
of 25.0.
-- 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30.0.
-- Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the
past two decades.
-- According to the U.S. Surgeon General report obesity is responsible
for 300,000 deaths every year.
Thus began a journey to drop the fat. I don't refer to it as weight loss since I want to minimize lean tissue loss and maximize fat loss. Not always easy. But thats another post entirely - this is about being able to eat at a good restaurant and still stay on track.
When you go to a restaurant, NEVER go on an empty stomach. This isn't as hard as it sounds. You're (I hope) eating six small meals every day, right? So you're about 3 hours since eating. Now eat an apple right before you go in. This starts sending signals to the brain that you're getting some food. Ask the server to NOT bring bread to the table (super high glycemic and processed...and 300+ calories each). Make intelligent choices - baked, grilled, poached - more toward bison, turkey, chicken and fish. Less toward beef and pork. Ask the server to please only bring half of your order to the table and put other half in a to go box. Next have a salad, preferably with a low fat vinagrette on it. If the bring the sald to the table for you ask for the dressing on the side and use only what you want on there. I prefer just balsamic vinegar - but that's just me.
What about buffets? I love the Golden Corral just down the road from us. So how do I manage to eat there at least twice a week at lunch? Easy.
I start with a salad and fruit. Next i go to the carving station for some turkey breast, get some collard greans, brocolli, maybe some pinto beans and 2 sweet potatoe halves. Plate 2 is steamed cabbage, brussel sprouts and maybe green beans. Desert is fruit. I do this on workout days about 3 hours before I go to the gym. Lots of protien and complex carbs.
Last type of restaurant is fast food. Yep, I had lunch at Truett's (Chik-Fil-A) today. Had the grilled chicken sandwich on the whole grain bread they use for the chicken salad sandwich (around 300 cals with 28 g of protien). The McD Asian Salad with the Grilled Chicken is tasty and low cal(aprox 300 cal) as well. Don't be fooled though. Some of the new 'healthy' or 'deli' choices at some fast food places are no bargain. They may be way high in fat, sugar and calories. Cheese is a big culprit and can add 100 or more calories to the item right away. Avoid the fries, fried stuff and the cheese. Look at the menu items nutritional value online before you go and don't hesitate to ask for a change in bread type, cheese on the sideand other choices - its your money they want after all.
Eat healthy, exercise and move around, drink water more and watch the fat decide its time to go elsewhere.
Here are some quick facts:
-- Between 1962 and the year 2000, the number of obese Americans grew
from 13% to an alarming 31% of the population.
-- 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess
of 25.0.
-- 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30.0.
-- Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the
past two decades.
-- According to the U.S. Surgeon General report obesity is responsible
for 300,000 deaths every year.
Thus began a journey to drop the fat. I don't refer to it as weight loss since I want to minimize lean tissue loss and maximize fat loss. Not always easy. But thats another post entirely - this is about being able to eat at a good restaurant and still stay on track.
When you go to a restaurant, NEVER go on an empty stomach. This isn't as hard as it sounds. You're (I hope) eating six small meals every day, right? So you're about 3 hours since eating. Now eat an apple right before you go in. This starts sending signals to the brain that you're getting some food. Ask the server to NOT bring bread to the table (super high glycemic and processed...and 300+ calories each). Make intelligent choices - baked, grilled, poached - more toward bison, turkey, chicken and fish. Less toward beef and pork. Ask the server to please only bring half of your order to the table and put other half in a to go box. Next have a salad, preferably with a low fat vinagrette on it. If the bring the sald to the table for you ask for the dressing on the side and use only what you want on there. I prefer just balsamic vinegar - but that's just me.
What about buffets? I love the Golden Corral just down the road from us. So how do I manage to eat there at least twice a week at lunch? Easy.
I start with a salad and fruit. Next i go to the carving station for some turkey breast, get some collard greans, brocolli, maybe some pinto beans and 2 sweet potatoe halves. Plate 2 is steamed cabbage, brussel sprouts and maybe green beans. Desert is fruit. I do this on workout days about 3 hours before I go to the gym. Lots of protien and complex carbs.
Last type of restaurant is fast food. Yep, I had lunch at Truett's (Chik-Fil-A) today. Had the grilled chicken sandwich on the whole grain bread they use for the chicken salad sandwich (around 300 cals with 28 g of protien). The McD Asian Salad with the Grilled Chicken is tasty and low cal(aprox 300 cal) as well. Don't be fooled though. Some of the new 'healthy' or 'deli' choices at some fast food places are no bargain. They may be way high in fat, sugar and calories. Cheese is a big culprit and can add 100 or more calories to the item right away. Avoid the fries, fried stuff and the cheese. Look at the menu items nutritional value online before you go and don't hesitate to ask for a change in bread type, cheese on the sideand other choices - its your money they want after all.
Eat healthy, exercise and move around, drink water more and watch the fat decide its time to go elsewhere.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Seminars and the Added Benefits
About a year ago, a participant in a corporate workshop asked me if I ever did seminars for smaller, private groups. At that time we did not and I told him that we were only doing seminars for known clients (usually with the ability to pay for someone to come on site). He asked me to consider doing a shortened, one day weekend seminar for him and some friends on Lucid Dreaming. I promised to get back to him.
Over the next few weeks, I worked out the details with the others in Atlanta and we presented a proposal to him. He accepted and I planned to stay over one weekend in Chicago.
The seminar kicked off Saturday morning at 9 and we had two great sessions. The host had the hotel bring in a bunch of cots around 5 PM because they wanted to try a WILD session during the seminar. Of the 15 participants attending, 10 had Lucid Dreams, 3 fell asleep (they admitted to being worn out), and the other two said they felt odd in a group setting.
That seminar kicked off a series of weekend, one day seminars that have been designed to make it easy for our non-corporate clients to bring a professional to you affordably. In addition to Lucid Dreaming, we are also teaching the course on Creating Your Own Brainwave Entrainment and Subliminal Programs with Open-source Tools and the newest addition - Career Motivation and Advancement Workshop. Don't get sticker shock when you see the price in the web page. We had to put something in for PayPal - your cost should be lower.
The Career Motivation and Advancement Workshopgrew from noticing a large number of people, women especially, that I would come in contact with who would place themselves in a much lower professional position that they were qualified for. College graduates, some with advanced degrees who were essentially clerks - because that was what they applied for.
This seminar is a tough, no holds barred trip into resume preparation, self marketing in a jammed up, online world; interview strategies and tactics to use and inside tricks that come from being on both sides of the table. Get noticed and get hired or promoted. We've presented this 5 times and had incredible sucess with participants moving up within their companies and in getting new jobs they never dreamed of going for.
They are designed for 20 participants and more can be accommodated. Get in touch with our sales team at sales@rcpconsulting.us for a full proposal of what is involved. Just put the word Seminar in the subject line for fastest routing.
Over the next few weeks, I worked out the details with the others in Atlanta and we presented a proposal to him. He accepted and I planned to stay over one weekend in Chicago.
The seminar kicked off Saturday morning at 9 and we had two great sessions. The host had the hotel bring in a bunch of cots around 5 PM because they wanted to try a WILD session during the seminar. Of the 15 participants attending, 10 had Lucid Dreams, 3 fell asleep (they admitted to being worn out), and the other two said they felt odd in a group setting.
That seminar kicked off a series of weekend, one day seminars that have been designed to make it easy for our non-corporate clients to bring a professional to you affordably. In addition to Lucid Dreaming, we are also teaching the course on Creating Your Own Brainwave Entrainment and Subliminal Programs with Open-source Tools and the newest addition - Career Motivation and Advancement Workshop. Don't get sticker shock when you see the price in the web page. We had to put something in for PayPal - your cost should be lower.
The Career Motivation and Advancement Workshopgrew from noticing a large number of people, women especially, that I would come in contact with who would place themselves in a much lower professional position that they were qualified for. College graduates, some with advanced degrees who were essentially clerks - because that was what they applied for.
This seminar is a tough, no holds barred trip into resume preparation, self marketing in a jammed up, online world; interview strategies and tactics to use and inside tricks that come from being on both sides of the table. Get noticed and get hired or promoted. We've presented this 5 times and had incredible sucess with participants moving up within their companies and in getting new jobs they never dreamed of going for.
They are designed for 20 participants and more can be accommodated. Get in touch with our sales team at sales@rcpconsulting.us for a full proposal of what is involved. Just put the word Seminar in the subject line for fastest routing.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
GABA and REALLY Vidid Lucid Dreams
Recently I had a client ask me about some problems he was having inducing WILD (Waking Induced Lucid Dreams) sessions. His main problem was transitioning from the awake into twilight state while remaining cognizant of himself and not falling to sleep. Getting to theta was no problem since he was an experienced meditator and could enter his trance easily with or without brainwave entrainment.
His problem was fairly common with today's lifestyle; he couldn't turn it off and quiet the mind enough to make the transition smoothly into dreams without being totally unconscious.
I suggested he try a bodybuilder's supplement called GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid). Bodybuilders will take it right before bed to increase and prolong the 'pump' from their workouts. It also helps quiet the mind and aids sleep. I buy it in bulk by the kilogram and use about 5 grams each night. A side effect is REALLY kicking your dreams into high gear. GABA has one other side effect that I know of - a few minutes after you take it it, you'll get really tingly all over - like when your foot goes to sleep and the circulation is just come back to it. Goes away after a few minutes. As always check with your doctor before taking any supplements.
He tried it with a WILD session before bed the next evening and said he had no trouble slipping ing into the dream state but was so startled by it that he woke himself up. Next evening he said he had one of the best LDs ever!
Check out Super Lucid Dreaming on our website for more info.
That's all for now.
His problem was fairly common with today's lifestyle; he couldn't turn it off and quiet the mind enough to make the transition smoothly into dreams without being totally unconscious.
I suggested he try a bodybuilder's supplement called GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid). Bodybuilders will take it right before bed to increase and prolong the 'pump' from their workouts. It also helps quiet the mind and aids sleep. I buy it in bulk by the kilogram and use about 5 grams each night. A side effect is REALLY kicking your dreams into high gear. GABA has one other side effect that I know of - a few minutes after you take it it, you'll get really tingly all over - like when your foot goes to sleep and the circulation is just come back to it. Goes away after a few minutes. As always check with your doctor before taking any supplements.
He tried it with a WILD session before bed the next evening and said he had no trouble slipping ing into the dream state but was so startled by it that he woke himself up. Next evening he said he had one of the best LDs ever!
Check out Super Lucid Dreaming on our website for more info.
That's all for now.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Let's Get Started
Several people asked me this week why was I going to start a blog? Its not that I don't have enough to do as it is. I guess there are a number of reasons. First among them would be to post my views and discuss subjects that might be completely off topic for most of the news groups I participate in. Although I may still drop the occasional marketing post in them, most of our specials will be advertised here and non-readers will miss out. I will endure less hate mail from those who are worried that I am sullying the purity of their newsgroup with marketing.
What can you expect here? A little of everything but mostly subjects concerning subliminal suggestions, brainwave entrainment, lucid dreaming and other technologies that help us get more from our bodies and minds.
I'm basically conservative. I have worked all of my adult life, was raised to take responsibility for my action and raised my kids that way. I have little sympathy for for those who can but won't work and want me to support them (unless the are my children) with my tax dollars.
I understand that sometimes life sucks. I've always told my kids that 75% of being a grown-up sucks. You can watch TV all night but still have to be at work at 7 AM. You can spend all your paycheck on a big entertainment system but if you can pay the power bill you'll be sitting in the dark. But the other 25% of being a grownup makes it all worthwhile. That said, I have little patience when people arrive with their life in a total trainwreck, ask for help and then get offended when I explain to them what will correct the problems. If you are overweight then exercise and eat right - takes care of 85+% of overweight. We publish numerous subliminals designed to make it easier but just listening to a CD wan't solve it. You still have to move the weight and throw out the corn chips and burn more calories than you take in. And the CD doesn't do any good if you don't listen to it. Don't let me get started.
So why a blog? I guess a place to let you guys know whats happening with me and RCP Consultinig and to give you some insight into me and my views. A lot is going on and will be going on in the next few months - stay tuned and you'll hear about it.
What can you expect here? A little of everything but mostly subjects concerning subliminal suggestions, brainwave entrainment, lucid dreaming and other technologies that help us get more from our bodies and minds.
I'm basically conservative. I have worked all of my adult life, was raised to take responsibility for my action and raised my kids that way. I have little sympathy for for those who can but won't work and want me to support them (unless the are my children) with my tax dollars.
I understand that sometimes life sucks. I've always told my kids that 75% of being a grown-up sucks. You can watch TV all night but still have to be at work at 7 AM. You can spend all your paycheck on a big entertainment system but if you can pay the power bill you'll be sitting in the dark. But the other 25% of being a grownup makes it all worthwhile. That said, I have little patience when people arrive with their life in a total trainwreck, ask for help and then get offended when I explain to them what will correct the problems. If you are overweight then exercise and eat right - takes care of 85+% of overweight. We publish numerous subliminals designed to make it easier but just listening to a CD wan't solve it. You still have to move the weight and throw out the corn chips and burn more calories than you take in. And the CD doesn't do any good if you don't listen to it. Don't let me get started.
So why a blog? I guess a place to let you guys know whats happening with me and RCP Consultinig and to give you some insight into me and my views. A lot is going on and will be going on in the next few months - stay tuned and you'll hear about it.
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