Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition – Episode 7 (Staci)

July 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This week Chris Powell chose Staci

Staci is a 30 year old mother of two. She also has a husband who suffered a stroke and has no sensation on the left side of his body. Because of this Staci also works full time as a mobile radiology tech. to support the family.

She has some very classic weight gain issues. She always puts the needs of everyone else before herself. This appeared to be rooted in the fact that she gained weight early and always considered herself a failure to her mother. So she gave up trying and kept putting weight on. It’s a vicious cycle of, I don’t like myself, I’ll put everyone else first, I’ll gain weight and like myself less.

Luckily for Staci, Chris Powell chose her. Her starting weight was 456 pounds and her first 3 month phase goal was to lose 100 pounds. If she did Chris would get her a nanny to help ease some of her responsibilities at home, for the second 3 month phase.

After ninety days Staci weighed 350 pounds. She lost 106 pounds. And she got the nanny.

Her second phase goal was to lose 60 pounds. With the help of the nanny she continued to do great and she lost exactly 60 pounds.

One thing that was interesting in this show compared to the previous episode was that there was finally some proof of the nutrition program that Chris Powell uses to help people to lose weight. When he moved in during the first phase he was carrying a STAX System.

And during the second phase there was a scene where Staci was preparing food and had a STAX System on the counter and all of the STAX food containers neatly stacked (pun intended), in her cabinets. So if you are interested in losing the type of weight that you’ve seen on the show. Get a STAX today!

After six month Staci went through a grueling firefighter skills and drills training program as a milestone for all of her accomplishments. Because of the heat and the extreme requirements she came up a little short of completing the fire hose carry up 6 flights of stairs. But she did regroup and completed the task without all of the gear.

Staci is a very hard worker and she’s getting the most out of this opportunity so far.

Her third phase goal was to lose and additional 60 pounds. If she did she’d be a candidate for skin removal surgery. Without Chris and the nanny in the house, Staci struggled with all of the responsibilities of work, family, exercise and nutrition. During the third phase she actually gained 4 pounds. She wouldn’t be able to have the skin removal surgery.

But she did have a personal weight loss goal to lose 200 pounds during the year. She refocuses and at the final weigh-in weighed 255 pounds. She lost a total of 201 pounds in 1 year without having skin removal surgery.

At the end of the show Chris really challenged viewers of the show to come up with excuses why they can’t lose weight. He basically said that if Staci can do it, than anyone can. Everything was working against her having success. Yet she changed her priorities and made the conscious decision to change. And Change occurred.

Awesome work Staci, you deserve it!

Now for the quotes from the show

“I can do it and I will do it”

“I didn’t take care of myself, I put everyone else first”

“Are you ready to start living again? Are you ready to do it fo9r yourself and not anyone else?”

“I’m ready to hear it, because I’m ready to change it.”

“I didn’t quit, I didn’t stop, I kept going and i proved it to myself that once I start something I can finish it. No matter what.”

“She has to learn how to live this lifestyle without any special assistance.”

“I want it really bad.”

“You have to love yourself.”

Remember to leave your comments below, I love them!

Click Here To Learn More About The Nutrition Program That Chris Powell Created

or

Click Here To Sign Up For The Fat 2 Fit 56 Day Makeover

See you next week…

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Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition – Episode 6 (Wally)

July 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

OK This episode was much different than the rest!

After watching the previous 5 shows, a definite pattern was starting to develop. The shows were beginning to get very predicable. I’m glad that this weeks show was different, and there is a ton that we can learn from it.

This week Chris Powell chose to help Wally a 26 year old with a wife and a young daughter. Early in the show it became clear that Wally had something more serious going on. He obesity wasn’t the result of simply having poor habits. Wally is a food addict.

His Starting weight was 490lbs.

His 3 month goal was to lose 110 pounds. Remember that during the first three months Chris spends considerably more time with the people he is helping (read comments from the previous episodes post on whether or not he actually lives with them for 3 months). Anyway with Chris’s guidance Wally lost 110 pounds exactly and won a trip to Disney World with his family (although more subtle than The Biggest Loser, this still was an ad for Disney).

His goal for the second 3 month phase was to lose 70lbs.

Chris met Wally and his family at Disney World for the six month weigh-in. It was obvious that Wally hadn’t lost very much weight. Turns out that he only lost 21 additional pounds. He admitted to Chris that he had been cheating. This didn’t go over very well because all along Wally had been telling Chris that he’d been right on track.

Chris clearly was angry and he called Wally out, yelled at him a lot. He was doing the “tough love” trainer thing. Which probably seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But as you’ll see it probably wasn’t.

Then Chris made a decision that I disagree with. Even though Wally had not been fully engaged in the process, Chris still decided to go ahead with their plans to go on a 100 mile bike ride. I get what Chris was trying to accomplish. He wanted to show Wally that he was capable of doing more than he though he could. And that makes some sense, sometimes you have to push yourself and get uncomfortable to realize how strong you really are.

But this ride appeared to be in the Orlando Fl. area, and they kept talking about the heat. OK I get it, it get’s really hot in Orlando. But Chris kept saying that it was 112 degrees. Maybe he was talking about the heat index, because it doesn’t get that hot in Orlando ever! Anyway I think it was a mistake to have a 359 pound person, who hasn’t been training for long distance cycling and isn’t fully engaged in the weight loss journey for a 100 mile bike ride on a hot day in Florida!

And it didn’t turn out well. Wally didn’t finish. He had symptoms of heat exhaustion for sure. Luckily they didn’t force him to continue and the medical staff took care of him.

Chris made some great comments at this point in the show. He basically said that Wally was either going to react to this struggle on the bike by stepping up and re-committing to the program, or he would shut it down and struggle.

Turns out he struggled.

Wally was making videos and he kept talking about how difficult things were. He struggled with the temptations of fast food, doing the workouts. When he cheated he kept punishing himself my eating more food. During the 8th month of the program he stopped responding to emails and phone calls from Chris.

Just before the 9 month weigh-in he sent Chris a letter and explained that he was a failure, that he hated himself.

Chris got on a plane and flew to Chicago to intervene. When he got there he met Wally’s wife, pulled her aside and showed her the letter. He asked for her support. When Wally returned (supposedly from a workout, but really from a fast food restaurant), Chris confronted him.

Wally admitted that he wasn’t following the program and that he’d been eating fast food almost everyday. He said he was depressed and had been suicidal for the past month. I think I knew at this point what Chris was going to do but I wasn’t sure.

They weighed Wally and he had gained back 60 pounds!

Chris admitted that he couldn’t help Wally. That his program will only work if Wally want to help himself. He knew that Wally was a food addict and needed help beyond Chris’s expertise. There is a program in Chicago (and probably most mid to large cities), that helps people with food addictions. Chris asked if Wally wanted to go there for help.

Wally agreed and Chris took him.

There is so much to learn from this show.

1. Nutrition plans and exercise programs only help people who are willing and/or capable of  helping themselves.

2. No matter how much someone might know and how much expertise one has, there is always a chance that the help someone needs is beyond your scope.

3. Not everyone is going to be successful when attempting to lose weight.

4. Chris Powell made the right call, Wally needed help in ways that Chris couldn’t provide and he made an appropriate referral.

 

Admitting some of those things are very difficult for me. When I wake up every morning I believe that the combination of my education, experience and the programs that I’ve developed are enough to help everyone accomplish any goal that they may have.

But the truth is they aren’t enough. Not for everyone! I can’t help everyone. I can only help people who are ready to receive the information that I share and have a willingness to help themselves. I’m humbled by this realization.

So I’ll help those who are ready and hope those who aren’t will look me up when they are.

Chris Powell is an awesome guy. He made an incredible decision after only 9 months with Wally. And it was the right decision.

I hope that Wally has found the help he needs.

Here are to quotes from this (These aren’t quite as uplifting as previous episodes, but they are powerful)

“If you can get your mind right, at least there is hope (that you will reach your weight loss goals).”

“Fast food has become the opiate for the masses.”

“I can’t help you. I can give you all the tools in the world but Wally only you can help yourself.”

“Whatever emotions I have I find an excuse to eat. And I have to change that.”

“Life got too complicated and I just when back to old habits.”

“Ultimately fast food is a lifestyle that Wally has to choose to give up.”

“Obesity is a terminal illness, it’ll kill you.”

 

Remeber to leave your comments below, I love them!

See you next week…

Click Here To Learn More About The Nutrition Program That Chris Powell Created

or

Click Here To Sign Up For The Fat 2 Fit 56 Day Makeover

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Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition – Episode 5

June 29, 2011 by 4 Comments

This Week Chris Powell worked with LaRhonda

LaRhonda is a 24 year old whose starting weight was 433lbs. This show followed the same format as the previous 4 episodes.

  • Chris Powell surprises the person
  • They go to a week of boot camp
  • Chris moves in with them for the first 3 months
  • Goals are broken down into 3 month segments
  • There is a reveal and a final weigh-in

Here’s what made this show unique and interesting. LaRhonda had a very fun and dynamic personality. You could tell as the show progressed that she and Chris really liked each other. They had great repoire. LaRhonda began to put on weight at the age of 8. She did this because she was molested. And as Chris said it was the only thing she knew how to do to protect herself and prevent it from happening again.

LaRhonda also lost her mother at a young age (48 years old), due to a heart attack that was the result of complications of diabetes. She was concerned that she was at risk also. She has been saving her mother’s unused insulin needles, because they remind her of her mother. Chris eventually got her to get rid of the needles. He didn’t want her to define/remember her mother as a diabetic.

Her First Phase goal was to lose 100lbs. At the 3 month weigh-in she weighed 333lbs., she lost exactly 100lbs. That was incredible. Her prize for reaching her goal was a new car! She got a Toyota FJ!!!

OK, what’s up with that? Remember last week. James prize for hitting his goal was a bike. If I’m James, I’m calling up ABC and calling a major prize foul on that one!!!

Her Second Phase goal was to lose 60lbs. When she showed up for the weigh-in it was obvious that she had lost a lot of weight. But Chris was concerned because he had been watching her on the monitor and saw that she was cheating a little on the nutrition and exercise. At the Six Month Weigh-in she weighed 273lbs. Again she reached her goal of 60lbs on the dot. I don’t know how she does it, but LaRhonda has a knack for reaching goals.

There was an interesting lesson to be learned from her cheating. She said that she needed to learn how to eat a few chips and dip then stop. Her old behavior was to eat a few then beat herself up, get depressed and finish the whole bag. Lesson learned people, follow LaRhonda’s example. If you stray from your plan, stop and get back on it. There is no reason to punish yourself.

Her Third Phase goal was to lose enough weight to be at about 50% of her start weight. If she did that she’d be a candidate for the skin removal surgery. At the Nine Month Weigh-in she weighed 237lbs. and had lost 45.27% of her total weight. She was eligible for the surgery.

At the reveal she looked great. Her final weight was 231lbs. She lost a total of 202lbs. in one year. I liked the way that LaRhonda pushed herself during the year. She was the first person on the show to lose a significant amount of weight during each phase of the first 9 month. It didn’t matter if Chris was there or not, she stayed on track the first three months.

Even though she lost a total of 202lbs. Her last 3 months weren’t that impressive. She only lost 6lbs. The skin removal surgery took off more than that, so in actuality she probably gained some weight during the last quarter. But she did say one thing that was revealing. “It was hard to lose weight when you’re layed up for so long after the surgery.” I think that skin removal surgery if very hard on people and it’s a long recovery.

It’s too bad in LaRhonda’s case that she couldn’t have gone the entire 12 months losing weight and then have surgery. I think she could have lost another 30lbs., then had at least another 30lbs. of skin removed and weighed-in around 170lbs. I know that the 1 year time frame is a cleaner more “made for TV” time period. And they have to do the surgery 3 months before the end of the show so that the reveal is more dramatic.

Either way it was an amazing transformation. Congrats LaRhonda and as usual Chris Powell did an amazing job!

Now for the quotes of the show:

“This is all for you.”

“Why am I allowing myself to be this big?”

“Are you ready to start loving yourself?”

“I’ve been exhausted for 16 years. I’m over it.”

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

“Losing 100lbs. in 90 days is a lot of weight. The best thing about it, is that it’s completely doable.”

“Trust yourself and just go.”

“Take it meal by meal, it’s a lifestyle now.”

“I didn’t know what I was missing. If I had known what I was missing, I would have done it a long time ago.”

“I’m not destination happy, I’m journey happy”

Another Great Show!

Remeber to leave your comments below, I love them!

Click Here To Learn More About The Nutrition Program That Chris Powell Created

or

Click Here To Sign Up For The Fat 2 Fit 56 Day Makeover

 

 

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Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition – Episode 3

June 15, 2011 by 1 Comment

I liked this episode the best so far!

That’s because this week’s show was more about what was happening on the inside. Until you address what is going on inside of you, you will struggle with what is happening to your body. The physical condition of your body is just a side effect of what is going on inside. Get your mind right and the body will follow.

This week we were introduced to Dana, a single 44 year old gospel singer. Oh yeah, the other thing that was good about this show was that Dana had a more interesting and dynamic personality than the people on the first two shows.

The show followed the same format so I won’t get into too many details. Dana’s starting weight was 498lbs. The first phase (three month goal) was to lose 110lbs. OK, that’s a lot of weight to lose in three months!

But remember Chris Powell lives with these people during the first phase. So that’s usually when they lose the most weight. Chris seemed very aware that Dana was not letting go of the real reasons for his weight gain. He knew that Dana didn’t like himself. Chris kept trying to get to the root cause of Dana’s weight. Chris is smart, he knows that Dana won’t have a breakthrough until he addresses the true reasons that he gained weight in the first place.

While Chris was living with Dana, he found some junk food in the refrigerator. He called Dana out and challenged him for the reasons that he was continuing to sabotage himself. This led to a search of Dana’s car and the trash (this felt a little like scripted tv). But eventually Chris got to the truth. Dana had been sexually abused as a child.

I will say this. I saw this coming from very early on in the show. I knew it was coming at the initial weigh in when Chris said to Dana, “I’m looking at someone who doesn’t like himself” (ok that a paraphrase more than a quote). It is not uncommon for people who’ve been sexually abused as a child to use food and the obesity that results from it to protect themselves from more abuse. I know both Chris and David Smith (Chris’ first amazing transformation), and David had a similar experience (he spoke of it on TV so I’m not revealing anything).

But it’s important to note that sexual abuse is by no means the only reason that people are obese.

At the first weigh in Dana lost 111lbs. He met his goal and won a private vocal coach. Chris set his second phase goal to lose 70 pounds. But Dana struggled and only lost 29lbs.

For Dana to be a candidate of skin removal surgery Dana would have to lose 108lbs. during the third phase.  When he came back to LA to weigh-in he got to sing in a concert with his brother. I will say that all the weight loss, exercise and vocal training did make a huge difference. He was singing much better than he did at the beginning of the show. See how every aspect of your life improves when you lose weight?

At the third phase weigh in Dana lost 48lbs. He wouldn’t be a candidate for surgery.

After the weigh in it was obvious that Dana was still struggling with something and that was why he wasn’t reaching his weight loss goals. He pulled Chris outside and told Chris that he was gay. Chris congratulated him and thanked him for his honesty. He knew that was the breakthrough that was necessary for Dana to continue his successful weight loss journey.

Commentary – Isn’t it a shame that we live in a world/country that someone can be so ashamed of who they are that they eat enough food to weigh 498lbs.? Come on people, really, let’s treat everyone better than that.

Ok, back to the show. I will say that Dana’s enthusiasm, dedication and general outlook seemed a lot better during the final three months. This show was a little different because in the first two, both people had the skin removal surgery. Once they had the surgery we didn’t see them again until the reveal. I’d guess because they were recovering from surgery. But in this show Dana still was working out.

At the final weigh in he weighed 295lbs. He lost a total of 203lbs. That’s incredible for one year. Especially when you consider he didn’t have the skin removal surgery which could account for 40-80lbs.

Great Work Dana, Another Amazing Transformation

Here are the best quotes from this week’s show

“Change has got to come my way, or it’s over.”

“If you can’t control your weight, you can’t control your life.”

“Your journey is learning to love yourself.”

“This has everything to do with your journey, with your health and your happiness.”

“Every time you reach for food for your comfort, you’re reliving and you keep punishing yourself for something that was never your fault.”

“When you figure out what it is that’s driving you, it’ll be a life long transformation, because it’s the answer th that question that is the solution.”

 

Another Great Show!

Remeber to leave your comments below, I love them!

Click Here To Learn More About The Nutrition Program That Chris Powell Created

or

Click Here To Sign Up For The Fat 2 Fit 56 Day Makeover

 

See you next week…

 

 

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Ten Tips To Help You Lose Weight

May 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Here are 10 proven, practical tips to help you lose weight, have more energy, lead a healthier lifestyle, shape up and feel better.

1. Take The Stairs – Every little bit adds up, avoid the elevator whenever possible, and opt for the stairs instead. If you work on the 30th floor, get off on the 25th and walk the rest of the way.

2. Get Enough Sleep – Sufficient rest may make it easier to shed pounds as well, Researchers theorize that shorting yourself on sleep may make you hungrier, and cause hormone alteration that affect your metabolism and  make you more likely to gain weight.

3. Don’t Buy It – Out of sight, out of mind. When you shop, stay away from empty calorie foods. Instead of buying chips, buy pretzels. Instead of candy, buy seasonal fruit, Stock your house with better food choices.

4. Write It Down – Write down everything that you eat, it will make you more aware of what you’re consuming. And less likely to mindlessly eat.

5. Create New Habits – Do you walk in the door at night and head straight for the refrigerator? Instead, drink a big glass of water and take a shower, anything to create a new, healthier habit.

6. Check Your Appetite – Are you truly hungry or are you depressed, anxious or tired instead? Make sure you’re experiencing physical huger before you eat.

7. Skip The Sports Drinks – Unless you’re an elite athlete, you don’t need sports drinks during and after exercise. Plain water is fine.

9. Don’t Drink Like A Fish – Alcohol calories add up quickly, there are about 150 calories in 6 oz of wine, 12oz. of beer or one shot of alcohol.

10. Make It A Cold One – Drinking ice cold water before a meal suppresses your appetite. It also raises your metabolic rate because your body must warm it after you drink it.

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Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition Premier

May 31, 2011 by 25 Comments

Last night ABC premiered a brand new show from the Extreme Makeover brand, Extreme Makeover, Weight Loss Edition. I’ve been waiting for this show to air for a long time. Because the host and trainer of the show is Chris Powell. Chris is a friend of mine, so I’m definitely biased when I write about this show. I met Chris about 5 years ago when we both worked at Fitness Experience in Scottsdale, AZ. His energy, passion and enthusiasm is 100% genuine. The person that you see on TV is exactly the same person that you’d see over lunch. I love the guy and I’m so happy for him.

The other thing that is so awesome about Chris, that didn’t get mentioned in the show, is that while he helped David Smith lose over 400lbs he created an awesome nutrition System. It’s called STAX Nutrition System. It works and it’s the only nutrition plan that I recommend. I’m positive that the nutrition advise that he is giving to the people on Extreme Makeover, Weight Loss Edition follows the principles of the STAX Nutrition System.

Those principles are; eat whole, natural food, eat the proper portions and eat in regular (5-7 times a day) intervals.

If you follow those principles and the STAX Nutrition System, you’ve discovered the secrets to permanent weight loss.

OK, now for the show.

Each episode of Extreme Make0ver Weight Loss Edition follows a single person. That person works with Chris to lose weight. Every person on the show is “super” obese, meaning they have well over 100lbs to lose.

In the first episode we met Rachael. Rachael’s starting weight was 369lbs. She was 220lbs. overweight. She’s a classic overachieverver (valedictorian, homecoming queen, tons of trophies and awards, etc.) yet she was never really able to be successful at losing weight. This is a fairly typical profile for an obese person. All of her successes were about seeking approval, getting other people to notice and acknowledge her abilities. She sought out this type of external attention because she never really liked herself or felt worthy of the good things in her life. You have to have confidence in who you are, like yourself and know that you are worth something, before you’ll ever begin to take care of yourself.

And that is what Chris had to teach Rachael.

Chris and Rachael went back to California for a week of boot camp. During this week he began to teach her all of the things that she’d need to know to be successful. He pushed her really hard during the workouts to test her and to find out if she was really committed. At one point when she began to give up, she found the strength and said something really important. “I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for me”!

When it comes to your health always remember that; you should be doing it for yourself. If you think your doing it for someone else, you may not succeed.

Then it was off to her house in Jenkinsberg, GA. where Chris had set up a home gym for Rachael. He then set a 3 month goal for her to reach. If she loses 80 pounds during the first 90 days, she’d win a trip to Greece. I was conflicted here! First of all I love the breaking down of long term goals into shorter more achievable goals. I also like the fact that the reward wasn’t unhealthy food. And I also thought the reward was a crazy cool gift to win.

Oh yeah, by the way Rachel lost exactly 80lbs. and won the trip to Greece.

But what I wasn’t so sure about was the fact that here’s a young lady who has struggled with maintaining a healthy weight and after three months she’s off to a foreign country? It’s difficult to maintain, let alone lose weight when you travel. But to go to another country, where you may not fully understand the culture and the temptations of food, seemed a little silly to me. That portion of the show also was the least entertaining part of the entire episode. I’m guessing that the Greek Travel Bureau paid for the exposure (it was an ad for Greece).

Anyway Chris set a goal of losing 55lbs during the next 90 days. She flew back to CA for the weigh in and she lost 50lbs. She came up a little short but overall she was happy because she had lost a total of 130lbs. in six months. I have to agree with her. She should be happy. I know that she came up a little short of her goal, but she is definitely moving in the right direction. If she had reached her goal she would have hiked Mt. Whitney with Chris. But she was experiencing severe plantar fasciitis, so that had been cancelled from the plans. So she really wasn’t out anything other than knowing that she came up short of her goal.

Instead she and Chris hiked up a short trail to “The Bridge to Nowhere” and she’d have a chance to bungee jump. At this point she may have had the quote of the show.

“I want to do it, because it scares me.”

Her goal for the third phase of the year was to lose and additional 50-60lbs. This is where the show let me down a little. The reason that she needed to lose the weight was so she could be a candidate for skin removal surgery. When someone loses an extreme amount of weight it is almost always necessary to have the extra skin removed surgically at the end of the journey. But I don’t think getting into surgery should become a goal itself.

During months 6-9 Rachael was on her own. She flew into California again for her weigh-in. She only lost 3 pounds. She said that she gave it everything that she had during the workouts. But she ate extra food at the end of the day after she ate planned meals. You can always mess up great workouts with poor nutrition. If you goal is to lose weight (fat) then you will have to be dedicated to your eating plan.

Turns out she still had the surgery, which I think was premature. But at the reveal she did look great and she lost a total of 161pounds in one year.

Chris Powell in incredible when it comes to helping obese people lose weight.

I can’t wait for next week’s episode!

If you want to see the best quotes from the show check out my twitter profile

Remeber to leave your comments below, I love them!

Click Here To Learn More About The Nutrition Program That Chris Powell Created

or

Click Here To Sign Up For The Fat 2 Fit 56 Day Makeover

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Diabetes And The STAX Nutrition System

May 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We’ve had numerous questions asking if STAX System is a safe program for Diabetics. Dr. Larry Franks says, “The simple answer is yes.” The first thing to explain is that there are two types of Diabetes, Type I (Juvenile or insulin dependent) and Type II (Adult onset). In either case you should consult with your doctor, let him/her know that you are interested in losing weight and plan on following the STAX Nutrition System. Until a medical breakthrough and a cure for Type I diabetes is found, Type I diabetics will always need to be under medical care and be dependent on insulin. That being said, we feel that everyone, including Type I diabetics will benefit from eating healthy food, eating proper portions and losing excess fat.

As for Type II diabetics; the situation will vary considerably through the weight loss process on an individual basis.  Therefore you should work closely with your doctor on this journey to permanent weight loss. While everyone diagnosed should be under the medical care of a doctor, not all Type II diabetics take prescription medicine for treatment. For those who are on prescription medicines it is common for those prescription dosages to be changed as you lose weight. Because of this, regular appointments with your doctor are a must.

The STAX Nutrition System utilizes food choices, portion sizes and meal frequency to regulate blood sugar and the hormones insulin and cortisol so that the body is in an optimal state to utilize fat as energy.  The bodies’ inability to properly regulate blood sugar and insulin is essentially the disease of diabetes.  So again please work closely with your doctor through this weight loss process.

There is a strong connection with obesity and Type II diabetes. Once desired weight is achieved it is possible that your diabetes can be completely controlled. We believe that STAX  Nutrition System is the best way to achieve optimal health through proper nutrition, diabetic or not.

 

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Stax Nutrition System and Portion Sizes

May 26, 2011 by 22 Comments

We’ve had a lot of questions regarding the amount of food that is recommended for the STAX Nutrition System. We know it is counterintuitive to eat a large amount of food and still trust that you will lose weight. We ask that you trust the program.

Eating small portions of food therefore too few calories, will cause your metabolism to slow down. The STAX Nutrition System is designed to reprogram your body and to boost your metabolism. The portions on the side of the STAX containers were developed to meet the physiological needs of people at a very specific weight. So yes, fill the containers to your current weight.

It is common during the first week to feel stuffed. It may be difficult to eat the entire recommended portions. But you must eat it all. Within 5-7 days you’ll notice that you be getting hungry every three hours. By the end of week two you will be starving every three hours. This is the best indicator that your metabolism is increasing. You’ll begin to lose weight at a very steady and rapid rate.

You may also notice that you are hot, especially at night during sleep. This is also a great indicator that you’re ramping up your metabolism.

So please trust the program and follow it. We promise it works. Enjoy the weight loss!

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Biggest Loser Week 20 and Finale

May 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

OK, I’m going to combine two posts into one this week. I took a short trip and had to DVR the next to last episode. Then I was off to Dallas for a Fitness Convention the following weekend. So last night I watched the week 20 episode, immediately followed by the Finale. It was a The Biggest Loser marathon.

Which is fine because not that much really happened….Except we have a brand new “Biggest Loser!!!”

Last week the Final Four were Jay, Irene, and sisters Olivia and Hannah.

The show started out reviewing how far each person had come.

  • Jay started the show at 400 pounds and has lost 154 pounds
  • Irene started the show at 255 pounds and has lost 108 pounds
  • Olivia started the show at 261 pounds and has lost 108 pounds
  • Hannah started the show at 248 pounds and has lost 98 pounds

Then there was a Jenny-O commercial. Each person would make a turkey burger for a group of kids. The winner would be the person who got the most kids to choose their burger as the kids’ favorite. The winner would win $5000 and also could have a friend or relative receive a two week stay at The Biggest Loser Resort. The prize was pretty cool, but it was actually very boring TV. Nothing to get excited about. Good try Jenny-O.

Anyway, Jay won with his “Volcano Burger”

Then it was on to the challenge. This week was “The Weight Back On Challenge” This was pretty neat to watch. Each person would carry a golf bag that was weighted with poles and flags that matched the total amount of weight that each person had lost thus far. They each had 19 flags, each flag matched the amount of weight that they lost during that week of the show. They all had to walk the golf course and place the flags on the green. Slowly shedding the weight. At the 18th hole they’d rid themselves of the last two weeks worth of weight.

The winner would win a $15,000 home gym from Cybex. Yes another ad, but this at least seemed to flow into the show.

Jay could barely carry his weight. He was bending over resting and quickly fell very far behind. Olivia did great, on the first hole. But shortly after the first hole, she began to have trouble breathing and was having spasms in her back. She took the weight off and needed some treatment.

Hannah got off to a pretty good lead. But Irene actually started running, even with all of that extra weight, to try to catch her.

Jay just kept plodding along, He wouldn’t quit. Olivia put the weight back on and continued to struggle. Hannah was in a zone. She kept very focused and just kept moving along.

Irene couldn’t close the distance on Hannah. As more weight came out of the golf bags both Jay and Olivia, began to recover and move much faster.

Hannah cruised to victory.

This was awesome to watch. It was amazing to see four people walk a golf course carrying the amount of weight they had lost during the previous 5 months. And struggle big time to do so. It was an absolute great example of how much extra weight will negatively affect your life.

The other thing that was awesome was that all four of them persevered.

None of them gave up. “Dont’ give up, don’t ever give up!”

At the weigh-in the top two would be on to the Finale. The bottom two would go to a vote of the American public to decide the third finalist.

  • Irene lost 3 pounds
  • Jay lost 3 pounds
  • Olivia lost 4 pounds
  • Hannah lost 4 pounds

So Olivia and Hannah are on to the Finale. And America would decide between Irene and Jay. If Irene were to win it would be an all girl final, a Biggest Loser first!

I’ll combine quotes from that last two episodes at the end.

Now for the Finale.

To start out both Irene and Jay came onto the stage to find out who would be the finalist. America voted for Irene. That wasn’t really a surprise.

Then they weighed in the rest of the contestants to see who would win the $100,00 “At-Home” prize. Now that’s a pretty good prize. I won’t bore you with the details for all 18 weigh-ins, but here are the highlights.

The first person to weigh in was Anna, who is Irene’s mom. She lost a total of 109 pounds (42.75% of total body weight) She was in first place!!!

Three people later Dan weighed in and he had lost a total of 124 pounds (43.21% of total body weight)

That held for seven weigh-ins then Austin weighed in and lost a total of 174 pounds (43.94% of total body weight). At this point I figured he had it locked up. He was the last person voted off of the ranch, so he had the benefit of working with the trainers and being away from temptation for the longest period of time.

Boy was I wrong. Just two people later Deni weighed in and she lost a total of 125 pounds (48.83% of total body weight). On her own, and she is 59 years old. No more excuses people!!!

Deni won the $100.000 at home prize.

The “Total Loser” award goes to Rulon Gardner. You remember him, the Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling. Anyway he quit the show, because he had figured things out and needed to learn how to continue to lose weight in the real world. OK that sounds logical. Except he “figured” things out about two weeks after he was caught eating entire bags of chips, because he “felt like he deserved a treat”.

Let me tell you something. If you eat a whole bag of chips, because you deserve a treat. It’s going to take longer than two weeks to figure out what ever it is that you need to figure out.

My prediction. Rulon will put a ton of weight back on, and in a hurry! Plus he’s a quitter!!!!

The Biggest Loser didn’t even acknowledge his existence. And I’m glad they didn’t…

Now for the final weigh in

  • Irene’s start weight was 255 pounds, she lost a total of 116 pounds for a final weight of 139 pounds (45.89% of total body weight)
  • Hannah’s start weight was 248 pounds, she lost a total of 120 pounds for a final weight of 128 pounds (48.39% of total body weight)
  • Olivia’s start weight was 261 pounds, she lost a total of 129 pounds for a final weight of 132 pounds (49.42% of total body weight)

Olivia is this season’s Biggest Loser!!!

I have to say that I’m very happy for her. She did Awesome and definitely deserved to win. But I was totally pulling for Hannah. I picked her to win about six weeks ago. And she came damn close. I picked her to win because she seemed to figure out the trick to weight loss first. And I think she really did. But right after I saw something in Hannah, Olivia began to shine. And she simply became a weight loss superstar.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Olivia figured it out right after Hannah did, because they are sisters. I think the support system really paid off for them both. An I couldn’t have predicted what I saw in Hannah was going to rub off on Olivia. But I’m glad it did. They both did great.

What was it that I saw in Hannah, you ask?

  1. An understanding that weight loss comes from inside
  2. You have to change your mind first, the changes to your body will follow
  3. You have to embrace the journey
  4. You have to feel good, that the good things you do for yourself are the rewards
  5. You have to have a positive outlook, about everything
  6. You have to have (or find) confidence in yourself
  7. You have to believe that you’ll be successful
  8. Then and only then will you reach your health, fitness and weight loss goals

Now for the quotes of the week

“If you want it, if you can dream it, you can go and get it.”

“It’s always in the ending, how you finish things.”

“The outside is just a product of what happens on the inside.”

“I let the weight rob me of everything, of who I am.”

“It’s about finishing what you start.”

“Your best is enough.”

“You can’t wait to live your life, the world is waiting for you.”

“What you’re for, strengthens you!”

“I changed my mind and I believe in myself.”

“That jump, saved my life.”

“I want this.”

“It’s not how you start your journey, it’s how you finish it.”

Asking someone to help me and reaching out was the bravest thing I’ve don in my life.”

 

Awesome show. I’ve grown to appreciate the challenge of weight loss. I’ve learned and I’ve grown. Isn’t that all we can continue to do. Thanks Biggest Loser!

So what’s next, you ask? Start following my blog post next week as I follow and comment on “Extreme Makeover; Weight Loss Edition”. My good friend, Chris Powell, is the host/trainer. It’s going to be super Awesome!!! I can’t wait.

Until then…

 

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Biggest Loser Week 19

May 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This week’s show was also very good!

It was “Finals Week”

The remaining 5 contestants would under go 5 different tests. The person with the overall high score would win $10,000. For the first exam each person would take Bob Harper through a Spinning workout.

Then Brett Hoebel tested them on the science of exercise and weight loss. This was great not only for the contestants, but also for you watching from home. You need to know some basics about exercise and nutrition. If you don’t then you’re just guessing. If you guess wrong you may not the the results that you want. I was happy that they integrated this into the show, because my whole website is about providing you with enough knowledge that you can succeed, and reach your goals.

The third test was with Cara. She challenged them in the boxing ring, to find out if they were fighters. This was also an important moment. Because if you’re going to succeed in your own challenge to lose weight, you’re going to have to fight. It’s important for you to understand this. There are going to be times when you are challenged and tempted. You are going to have to be strong and fight for your health. It’s OK to do that, it’s part of the journey.

The fourth test was with Jillian Michaels. She tested them as a motivator. She role played and used their own words, and excuses. Each person had to find a way to help get Jillian back on track and in the right frame of mind. I thought that this was the high light of the show. Everyone who’s ever been on this show has had self-defeating self talk. You have to know and believe that you are worth something, before you will make yourself a priority and take care of your health. That process always begins in your mind. The way you think, talk and feel will manifest itself in your physical reality. Get your mind right and your body will follow.

The fifth test was a physical challenge, and an advertisement for Xbox360 and Kinect. Each person would be themselves in the game and the person who did the best to follow the workout would get the highest score.

Hannah won the Xbox challenge but it wasn’t enough for her to overtake her sister Olivia for the overall victory. Olivia won the $10,000.

Then it was on to the challenge. For this challenge each person would have to stack 25 sand bags so they could climb up a four level platform. They would then have to place 25 sand bags on each level until they climbed to the top and pushed a button. The winner would get a 1 pound advantage at the weigh in. Austin won. This was huge because the three remaining women are all fairly light right now. And if one of them got a 1 pound advantage the would almost certainly make it to the final four!

Then there were the obligatory advertisements. One for Subway. Another for milk (I’ll get back to this milk thing later)

Just before the weigh in there was a great twist. Olivia was given the option to trade her $10,000 in for a 1 pound advantage. And Austin was given the option to trade his 1 pound advantage in for $10,000.  Austin kept his advantage, which makes sense. If he avoids elimination, he’s onto the Final Four and could win the whole thing. Surprisingly Olivia kept the 10 grand. I’d think a one pound advantage for a lady that weighs 158 pounds would be a much better thing to have.

As for the weigh in

    • Olivia lost 5 pounds (turns out she may not need that 1 pound, 10 grand looks pretty good right now)
    • Hannah lost 4 pounds
    • Irene lost 5 pounds
    • Jay lost 9 pounds

Finally Austin with his one pound advantage. If he loses more than 6 pounds then Irene and Hannah would face elimination. Which stresses me out again because Hannah is my pick to win it all. If he loses less than 6 pounds then he and Hannah will face elimination…remember that one pound advantage….

Austin only lost one pound (even with his advantage he would face elimination)

At this point it’s pretty obvious what is going to happen. Austin is going to be eliminated. Olivia is Hannah’s sister, so she’s going to vote for Austin to leave. And Irene, Hannah, and Olivia are really close so I’d be surprised if Irene would vote Hannah off.

What I didn’t count on was Jay voting against Austin. I forgot that Hannah and Rulon were the reason that Jay was able to come back on the show. He showed loyalty and voted Austin off.

Rant Time!

Austin was the person in the “Milk” advertisement. He was eating cereal and milk for breakfast. Hopefully he only did it for the commercial, and didn’t eat it the rest of the week. But if he did, I hope that’s the reason he lost so little weight, and he deserved to be eliminated.  I don’t recommend milk and cereal as part of a weight loss program. Click Here to read my article on dairy.

I’m sad to see Austin go. I saw a lot of changes in him. He grew up, gained confidence and was becoming an entirely new person. It was inspiring to watch.

Now for the quotes of the week

“You can’t be the best wife, you can’t be the best mother, if you don’t take care of yourself”

“You have got to have something to fight for”

“I have a purpose and right now that purpose is to be the best person that I can be”

“I don’t come to a challenge to lose. I come to a challenge to win”

“Turn luck into sheer will power”

“I need to know that I can do this for me”

“I put off tomorrow, every week. No more looking for tomorrow, today I start the change”

 

See you next week…

 

Filed Under: Blog, WTF (Miscellaneous) Tagged With: , , , ,
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