I have a Pawn Shop Body: Buy…Sell…Trade

 Buy: I want to pay less and still get the benefits of a "like new" purchase. 

(Work less for same results)  I want a magic pill, and I will pay just about anything for it.

* Americans spend over $60,000,000,000 to lose weight, every year! That's sixty billion dollars.
* Considering the fact that 75 million Americans are actively trying to lose weight, that’s $800 per person per year!
* About 3 billion dollars are spent on weight loss chains.
* Diet pills and meal replacement solutions are a $3 billion market.
* Home delivery services for diet food, like those seen on TV, are a $1 billion business.
* The bulk of the money is spent on foods advertised as "diet" (for example diet cola).
* 80 percent of dieters undertake the mission on their own, while 20 percent join a paid weight loss group or see a health professional.
* The typical dieter makes 4 attempts per year to try and lose weight. That's pretty dismal, because it means at least 3 diets fail.
* Fads are part and parcel of diet industry. Memorable trends from recent years are too numerous to name.
* If you think 60 billion dollars is a lot, it's actually dwarfed by the $300 billion fast food industry and the $100 billion junk food industry.

                                                                                                              *www.fooducate.com

How much money are you spending this year to lose weight?

Sell: What happens if you try to get the value out of what it was in its Glory Days.  

-I used to could Squat 550 pounds, Deadlift 525 pounds, and Bench Press 435 pounds.  That’s    1,510 pounds total…but not now. So my value is not the same value as it used to be. 

You may have heard the Toby Keith song:  “I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.”  I don’t know about you, but for me, that, in a lot of cases, is a lie! Haha.

  I love the Cross Fit training programs.  In my heart and head, I’m still able to do those, but my knees say “No, no, no!” The bottom line…Gear yourself and your workouts to what works for you.

You can be proud of your accomplishments, but you can’t live on your laurels.

Because in most folks, as you get older:

·        Metabolism slows down

·        Muscles don’t heal as quickly

·        More prone to injury

·        Don’t take the time to eat right

·        Work and “life” gets in the way of exercise

·        Sedentary becomes the “Norm” IF YOU LET IT

When somebody tells you that they are coming to visit at your home…you clean up. (Well, most do.) Clean up your body and keep it clean…

Trade:

I'll give you this for that...even trade.  My even and your even have to be negotiated. Give and take.  What can I do INSTEAD of putting in the real work?  Maybe sleep (that’s good for me, right?) If my alarm clock goes off, and it’s just YOU…it’s Snooze Alarm time!

BE and HOLD Accountable.  Get a buddy that won’t let you Trade off the positives.  Does anybody remember the 1^st Indiana Jones movie – when he went into the cave and took the emerald head off the podium?  Measured, balanced, adjusted and then used a bag of sand to put in its place.

But it didn’t work…WHY?

1.  Not the same consistency

2.  Not the same properties

3.  Not the same weight

It WASN’T a good exchange. 

I once worked in a Pro Shop and ran the snack bar as well for the course.  I remember folks coming in and asking what kind of Diet Drinks do you have?  Then ordering the diet drink, along with 2 hot dogs all the way, bag of chips and a Snickers bar. It evens out, right?

Is that what they mean by a “balanced meal?”

When I decided to abandon average, there were things I had to face:

1.  I had to upset the Status Quo

2.  I had to replace old habits with new ones

3.  I had to make my “trade-offs” valuable

4.  I had to be accountable to me and others

5.  Face the fact that I could not do it alone.

Take on the challenge and know that you CAN succeed.  Abandon average!

Get Fit.  Stay Fit.

Keith Brown

Spring has sprung…and so has my Waistline

     Well, the winter weather is mostly behind us, and as of March 20, the first day of spring is here.  Our thoughts turn to being outside, yard work, flowers, new birth, outside activities, and new growth.  Unfortunately many of us, myself included, have also experienced growth on the scale and on more growth than we would like to see on our waistlines.

     Let’s do something about it.  Let’s NOT be like a friend of mine who was struggling with weight and said he was going to make a change.  Why?  Because of his story… I have a friend who wanted to lose some weight, but he didn’t really put any effort into it…at least so as I noticed anyway.  He said he was making changes, and said he was working on it, but I never saw it.  After an extended break from school (the Christmas holidays) I saw him again.  I asked him how he did with his program over the holidays.  He proudly showed me by putting his thumbs in the waistline of his pants, and running them back and forth, showing me the extra room he had in his pants waistline now.  “Wow!” I said.  “You’ve lost weight?” I said in a questioning manner…anticipating her would tell me how much.  He quickly answered me, “Nope…bought bigger pants.”
Since “most” of us have been lethargic due to the colder weather, the thought of getting outside and becoming more active will require a little warming up.  OK…a lot of warming up.  So how do we start?  Slow and steady…with the emphasis on steady.  96% of people who start a program lasting 12 weeks, will not finish it.  It’s hard.  And five times as hard if you try to go it alone.

     I think there are four things you can do to get a good jump start, and I am going to borrow the acronym from Steve Reynolds, author of Bod4God and Get off the Couch.  He uses the acronym

D.I.E.T.

D:   Dedication.  Commit to getting on a “workable and realistic” plan, and staying with it
I: Inspiration.  Motivate yourself and draw inspiration from others to make positive changes.
E: Eating and Exercise.  Manage your habits.  Events become habits if used regularly enough.
T: Team.  Build your circle of support.  Have several accountability partners

So go on…challenge yourself.  Get a couple of friends to do it with you.  The only thing you have to lose is your waistline.