The new People "Half their Size" issue is out on newsstands now. I look forward to and love this issue. So inspirational and just great stories of people changing their lives in such dramatic fashion.


I remember three years ago being in a grocery store and weighing 340 pounds, picking up the new "half their size" issue and telling my little girl. I was going to lose weight like these people in the magazine and she smiled and told me "Daddy you can do it!"


Well three years later I didn't lose half my body weight but I did lose 130 pounds and life has never been better. I did it with Weight Watchers and a lot of hard work and encouragement as well as support from so many people.


Maybe you are reading this and thinking you can't lose weight or that you are hopeless? Just know that you can lose the weight and you will!


Believe in yourself, find others that are positive about change and think like they do, Oh and you might wanna grab the new issue of People magazine. 


Good Luck and Happy New Year!

I hope you had a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I have not stepped on a scale for the past seven days :-) I have enjoyed the 3 F's :Family, Friends and Food. I allowed myself a few days this past week to enjoy some things I don't normally eat. I have not been a poster child for Weight Watchers this week but I am a happy and thankful human being.


Tomorrow marks the start of clean eating and journaling again. I have learned a lot over the past six weeks. During the first five weeks I learned I still love the weight watchers plan. I lost 17 pounds in those five weeks. This past week I learned how foods affect my body and overall health. I didn't go crazy but the days that I ate things out of the norm I paid for it the next day. It felt like a food hangover.


This may sound crazy but I can't wait to get back to my normal (weight watchers plan) way of eating.

I am a really positive person by nature...but this post is not so positive. If you are new to my weight loss blog, here is the short version: Over the past three years I have lost 130 pounds and became a weight watcher's lifetime member. I am a FAN of the weight watchers system. 


That being said...I went to a new meeting this weekend. I had been in meetings with the leader before and really got a lot out of the meeting but not this weekend. It wasn't her fault...there was a "Weight Watcher Know It All" in the session.


I felt really bad for the leader, she would start to bring up something and there was one person in the group who dominated EVERY conversation. Please don't get me wrong ...I love going to meetings where people share their experiences but this was painful. People were getting up and leaving.


I am writing this, so that if you are new to WW and don't like a particular meeting or even the leader... try another meeting. Weight Watchers is a great program and it works. 


My Saturday WW adventure was not a total waste, I did lose another 1.8 pounds this week. I am thankful every week that I see a negative number on the scale. :-)


Negative Know It All members on the other hand I can do without.

Tired of the same old workout music? Here are some new(er) things I am listening to.


Warmup:


    Crystal Bowersox "Hold On" (out 12/14)


    Katy Perry "Firework"


    The Script "For the first time"


    Adam Lambert "Whataya want from me (Acoustic)


    Adele "Rolling in the deep"


    Far East Movement "Rocketeer"


    Christina Perri "Jar of hearts"


Uptempo Rhythmic


    Usher "More" (red one remix)


     Pink "Raise your glass" (jumpsmokers remix)


    Enrique / Ludacris "Tonight"


    Clinton Sparks featuring Mike Posner "Ambiguous"


    Bruno Mars "Grenade"


    David Guetta featuring Rihanna "Who's that chick"


    Taio Cruz featuring Travie McCoy "Higher"


    Deadmau5 (Anything from Deadmau5)


Uptempo Rock


    Shinedown "Diamond Eyes"


    PopEvil "Last man standing"


     American Bang "Whiskey Wak"


    Airbourne "Raise the flag"


    Buckcherry "All night long"


    Pappa Roach "Kick in the teeth" 










    


    

I was concerned about heading to my Weight Watchers meeting this morning. It was the first week on the new plan and I just wasn't sure what I thought about the changes. When I stepped up to the counter at the Weight Watchers center the really nice lady behind the counter asked "How do you like the new plan so far?" 


I replied we will see in just a moment when I step on the scale, which was looming at my feet. I stepped on and she grinned and said "I think you are really going to like it." I had lost 1.8 this week for a total of 16.2 in the past four weeks.


I think the hardest part of the new program for me is all ...mental. I love how the new points plus system has us eating more whole and healthy foods. The part my tiny little brain struggles with is when I have a couple of bananas and some french cut green beans even though they do not count as points...they loom in my sub-conscious. I didnt eat near my daily allotment of points this week probably slowing down my progress.


I worked out hard this week and I know I need to feed my metabolism throughout the day to fuel my body. I am going to continue to apply the new program and add more points this week. I will report back about my next weigh in as I continue on my journey for the rest of my life of just trying to be the healthiest I can be,


Hope you are having a great weekend!

Lots of questions in my head this morning mostly concerning weight loss and weight watchers.


I am concerned about my weight loss or lack of weight loss this week on the new plan.


I ate more fruits and vegetables this week, this is good. Under the new plan most fruits and veggies are zero points however it probably played a mental game on me.


In the back of mind ... I was always thinking well I've had 2 bananas and those French cut green beans and I probably ate less in fear of "going over" my old point total.


I worked out hard this week and did all the right things aside from prob not enough points.


If you are reading about my weight loss journey for the first time, I'm not new to WW. I started nearly three years ago and lost a total 130 pounds with WW. However I AM new to the new plan lol.


I am headed to my WW meeting at 1030 this am and if I didn't lose, I guess I will look forward to more food next week :-)


Hope you are having a great week.


Brian

I LOVED the Biggest Loser episode last night, it was the marathon episode. The transformations have been unbelievable and I cant wait until the finale next week! Frado and Patrick are for sure in the finale and now America gets to vote the third finalist in. Click here to vote for either Ada or Elizabeth. Personally I am pulling for Ada.


I continued to be inspired weekly by The Biggest Loser. To me it is incredible that at the beginning of the season the contestants could barely compete a mile and now can complete 26.2 miles!!!!  I also like that the past few episodes, we have seen less game play.






Have you ever thought about running a marathon? A year ago I ran my first half-marathon with Team in Training. This year my goal is to run the full Cincinnati Flying Pig with T.N.T. For years the LLS / Team in Training people had encouraged me to run and I kept saying "I am not a runner."  Well last year, I trained with them and I ran two 5k's , The Heart Mini Marathon and The Cincinnati Flying Pig / Half Marathon.


I am a HUGE believer in TNT and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They do amazing work and provide support and help to so many people. Reach out to Leah at LLS/TNT and find out how you can train with some awesome people and help some even more awesome people at that the same time!


E-mail Leah at Leah.Pittman@lls.org or call  866 671-CURE, you can also check them out online at http://teamintraining.org/soh






Looking for some new music for your training? Recently I interviewed Bob Harper and he encouraged me to try training without using music, So that I would be more in tune with my body and realize how much effort I was putting forth. Well...somedays I do that and other days I just cant do it without music. I have been listening a lot to Deadmau5 recently. He is a progressive/house /electro dj/producer.


I will put together a list of new music for your workouts and post tomorrow. Hope you are having a great week so far!

I went to my WW meeting a day earlier than normal because I was anxious to see what the new plan was all about. I was a little anxious about going a day early...Well the verdict is in and I lost 3.6 pounds this week.


I was really happy with the number, did I eat perfect all week? No but I ate within my points and worked out 6 days. I also enjoyed what I wanted on Thanksgiving day.


Going to the meeting answered a lot of my questions about the new plan and I am committed to the new plan. My big question about the unlimited fruit for zero points and zero points for most vegetables was answered. YES you can eat all the fruits and most veggies for zero points however the leader said "But you have to you use common sense."


For those of us who have been doing WW for a while, I don't think we would have gone crazy eating too many fruits and veggies and gaining. However I do worry about people just now starting the program. I'm not so sure that a point value shouldn't be a assigned to all foods. When I first started I would have found it easier to know exactly what I could and couldn't do on a daily basis.


I love the fact that WW is encouraging us to make better choices and having us eat less empty calories. I have done well with food this weekend. I had a busy weekend with work and pay but I ate clean and did my cardio all weekend.


Btw I did have a fun weekend. I was invited by the Cincinnati Reds to play in a Texas Hold Em tournament for the Reds Community Fund. They invited local Radio and TV personalities to play and had almost everyone from the current Reds team and a lot of the greats from the past as well.Here is a picture from event.  





I was thankful and thrilled to be invited. The Reds community fund does a lot of great work here in the tri-state. Nearly 500 people paid to play in the tournament.

"We are only afraid of what we don't know" and for whatever reason, I am confused by the new WW plan.

I am going to a meeting this morning instead of tomorrow because I need to get a better understanding of how I can have unlimited fruit and vegetables aside from starchy veggies and still not blow the weight loss.

I have e-tools and I'm still a bit overwhelmed. :-) I have been doing WW for nearly three years and love the program and the people.

I think I get my head around the basic premise but I will prob have to stay after and ask questions. I will fill you in later today.

Brian

I love interviewing the contestants from The Biggest Loser. I talked with Lisa today and we discussed a lot and she challenged me about the way I work out :-) She made a great point and I am going to try to change something I do everyday in my workouts.


She started the show weighing 288 and has lost 89 pounds so far! She has done great things and is really looking forward to the finale next month!


Click here to listen to our conversation at WKRQ.com

Ok so I still don't completely feel like I totally understand the new points plus system but I went and bought the new calculator this morning. The difference is, instead of inputing fiber and fat now you also input carbs and protein. You do not plug calories in on this one. btw it was only $5.95.


I also picked up the dining out companion with point values for a lot of restaurants and the complete food companion. I know their new evil plan is working lol I am buying the new products. I just want to be better educated and fully informed going into the new plan.


Hope you are having a great day!

When Jessica started on the Biggest Loser ranch she weighed 282 pounds as of last week when I did this interview she had lost 82 pounds!! I asked her about sleeping at the ranch and a lot more. Click here to listen our conversation.

I am a big fan of Weight Watchers, I lost 130 pounds with the program over the last three years. I was excited (an still am) about checking out the NEW Points Plus plan. At first glance it is a lot to absorb. I am hoping when I go to my meeting this Saturday morning that the leader will be able to help me comprehend the new plan a little better.





When I logged onto weightwatchers.com online this morning it was all up for me to check out. I would encourage you to become an online member for a couple of reasons 1- It is cheaper and you can still attend the meetings. 2- there are so many tools and helpful things online.





Without getting into trouble with WW and E-Tools. Here are a few of things I noticed right away about the Points Plus system.

• Your e-tools homepage is now customized for your stage in your weight loss journey. I love this! It also will show you the changes in your program.
• e-tools is enhanced to help with food shopping lists, food ideas and a lot more.
• All fruits and most vegetables are zero points plus values. This one scares me a little, I need to do a little more research on this portion. Sounds too good to be true and one that if I am not careful I could abuse lol.
• Points plus values are different than previous points values. From what I see they seem to be higher BUT you get more points plus in your daily plan.

Like I said I will dig into more when I am at home tonight and not at work. I am typing this during my lunch lol. I will also probably still have a million questions for my leader this Saturday at the meeting.

A year ago in August I had a tummy tuck after losing 130 pounds with diet and exercise. I lost the weight with Weight Watchers. My skin stayed in really good shape but I had a problem area in my abdomen. So I did my research and chose The Plastic Surgery Group here in CIncinnati for my surgery.  I am thrilled with the result.


Cosmetic Surgery/Procedures on the rise with men. Click here to check out the article from the Plastic Surgery Group that I am quoted in.


I will be attending a free open house free open house this Thursday December 2nd between 6-8p at their Red Bank Road location to talk about my weight loss surgery and the decision to have a tummy tuck with The Plastic Surgery Group. 


To make your free reservation call 513 791 4440. Btw everyone in attendance will be offered a great deal. Buy two fillers and get the third one free.