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Tax Payer Dollars Going To Subsidize Bad Food

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There are lots of things wrong with the government and this blog isn’t the place where I want to really talk about them.  What I do want to talk about though is how our hard earned tax dollars are going to subsidize certain crops that then get turned into nearly all the junk food we have today.  This video doesn’t talk about things that I wasn’t aware of, but the stats and the way they present the information sure got me angry to the point where I want to take action.

I really don’t care that food manufacturers make products that are unhealthy for us, just as long as they are honest with what is in it.  I believe we should be able to have the self control and knowledge to choose for our self.  I am pro business and don’t have a problem with companies like hostess making products that are very bad for you.  But I do have a problem with the fact that I am directly helping them cut their costs to make this product more affordable for everyone!

I find it ironic that we subsidize things that make us fatter and sicker, and then we are trying to find ways to fix our health care system that is broken because of the obesity epidemic.  I wonder if the lobbyist for the food manufacturers are also the same ones that lobby for the health care and drug companies?

If we are going to subsidize anything I think it should be things much healthier then corn and soybeans.

So what can we do about this?

First you can go to www.calpirg.org and take action through their site.

But much more important then that, you can vote each and every day by where you spend your money.  Do you buy processed foods or do you buy from local growers and small farmers, and buy more fresh foods then preserved food?  Yes it will probably cost you a little more in the short term, but either way you will pay.

-You will pay with higher medical bills

-More sicks days from work

-More frequent purchasing of larger clothes

-More spent on medications

-Higher insurance rates

-And probably most importantly teaching your kids unhealthy eating and living habits.

I recently had a great story about a mom with 7 kids who changed what she bought and turned her whole family around to one of health and wellness on a tight budget.  Click here to read more about her story.

Hostess filed for bankruptcy a couple years ago because enough people said no, to their chemically laden toxins.  We have the power to vote everyday for what we believe in by choosing what to buy and what not to buy.  Walmart has started to incorporate organic foods in their stores.  They will give us what we want, we just need enough people to want the healthier foods.

I challenge you to forward this blog post to everyone you know so they can be educated as well and with more of us being educated on the problems and solutions to the problems we will be able to see a shift in prices as well as the health of the country as a whole.  I rest my peace :)

Question of the Day:  How does this video and blog post make you feel?  Write your responses in the comment section below.

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Fit Moms For Life Book Party: Crystal’s Transformation

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Crystal before she started my program

Crystal now 18 months later

Crystal currently holds the biggest weight loss of any of my clients.  It has been an honor to see her transformation over the past two years.  One of the things I love about Crystal is that she loves to learn.  She has studied exercise and nutrition so much that she can have extremely in depth and intelligent conversations about pretty much any nutritional topic.  She certainly has learned that knowledge is power.  Crystal also has the gift of communication and has been inspiring her friends and family to take their health and fitness to the next level.  She also has an amazing blog that you should check out at theyellowspace.com.

Crystal has been part of Fit Fun Bootcamps for about 18 months and she is a perfect example that full transformation can come to a person when they make it a big enough priority and have a big enough “WHY.”

Please share this video with anyone you think would be inspired by it to make change.

You might be wondering what it type of food someone would eat to lose that much weight and keep it off.  Crystal has been generous enough to post some of her favorite recipes.

-Stuffed peppers, sauteed zucchini, and cooked squash

-Lemon pepper chicken, swiss chard, brussel sprouts, and everyday meatloaf

-Spaghetti meat sauce, spaghetti squash, and spice rubbed roasted chicken

 

If you enjoyed Crystal’s story and the recipes, pick up a copy of my book Fit Moms For Life for 30 more transformational stories and many more recipes and meal plans.

Click on the image to get more info about the book that contains the information that Carrie followed to achieve her results

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Top 10 Blog posts of 2011 Part 1

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I wanted to take a minute break from finishing my 2012 goal setting, to look back at the past year and find 10 blog posts that I believe will have a profound impact on your lives and bodies moving into the new year. Before I share those with you I just want to take a moment to thank you.  Thank you for helping me make 2011 an amazing year.  I don’t take it for granted.
Thanks for…
Here are some of my favorite blog posts of 2011…
-Discover this one technique that will virtually guarantee
success in any area of your life.  This was my favorite
-If you are looking for ways to help others and build up
story and how it changed her life.
-My challenge to you.  This blog post was 24 hours after
the death of my grandma who was the third most influential
-Looking to make 2012 your healthiest year ever, but not
quite sure where to get started?  Click here to check out 
-Want to know the secret to clients of mine who have lost
50 or more lbs?  Click here to find out.
-Are you looking to hire a trainer?  Click here for a guide
-Most of the challenge of living a healthy life resides inside
-Want to make your life happier?  Click here and take this
Hmm… I have a problem.  That was my favorite 10 but those
came in just the first 3 months of 2011.  I might have to put
together a couple more lists of some more of my favorites.
Happy New Year!
Keep moving,
Dustin Maher
PS Thanks so much for those of you who forward these emails
onto friends and family and repost on Facebook and Twitter.  I
receive many emails saying how this newsletter has changed lives
because their friends have thought enough to pass it on.  So thanks
for passing it on!

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Happy Holidays

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Happy Holidays Animated GreetingPosted by Roger,  a contributor to this blog.

It is that time of year again. For many of us this can be a difficult time as there are so many temptations. There is the temptation to skip workouts because we are just so busy and tired. There is the temptation to overeat because, dang it, everything looks and smells so good. What’s a guy to do? Continue Reading →

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A Husband’s Perspective – Before and After

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Carrie Before

Here is a great story about a Fit Fun Bootcamper Carrie, who has transformed from the inside out.  It has been amazing her see her year long transformation.  I am so proud of her dedication and hard work.  This is a really great article from her husband’s perspective.  I will have Carrie back another time to share with you what she actually ate, but for now enjoy!

“Normally these words would be coming from my wife Carrie. However, we came up with a twist for this particular entry. We decided that it may be interesting — perhaps even helpful — to have her husband tell you the before and after story from an external viewpoint. Before I can accurately tell you about the before, I have to take you back before “the before.”

Carrie and I met on the job just outside Chicago. From the initial introduction, we both knew we’d found someone special. (Ask her about it sometime). It wasn’t long before I found myself smitten.  :-)  Carrie was this confident and beautiful woman and I’d found myself feeling extremely lucky to have caught her attention. She worked her way to the top of our department in seemingly effortless fashion. She had this incredible drive and determination to go along with her afore mentioned confidence. Then…we moved to Madison.

Shortly after moving to Madison, the stresses of living in a new place without friends or family nearby in combination with a job that literally kept us locked up at home for 6 months began to take a toll. As consultants, we’re constantly thrown into high-pressure, need-to-make-it-work situations and expected to be the end-all-be-all experts on whichever problem we may be thrown into at any given time. As you can imagine, that type of thing can really do a number on your confidence, both good and bad. Our employer at the time however kept selling Carrie as an expert in a particular technology that neither of us were very familiar with. I think that is where things started to change for her. You could see her dreading her job, and the pressure of always feeling as if she had to have the “right” answer. Slowly I think it chipped away at her.

As time went on, we’d talk about how down she felt and what she thought was causing the more negative feelings to show through. During these conversations, she’d tell me that she had always struggled with her weight — her whole life. It has always been hard for her to look in the mirror and see the beautiful woman that I see. The more she got down on herself, the worse she felt.

Carrie now with the help of Fit Fun Bootcamps

She knew all along that she had to make a change, but she was also smart enough to know that fad diets and Weight Watcher type programs were not going to work for her. She had tried several other programs that I’m sure many readers are familiar with. They just weren’t working. After trying yet another “work out at home” type of program, she was actually seeing some results, but along came our first child. Carrie had just gotten back down to her before baby weight and it wasn’t long before baby number two came along. By this point, she was not at all happy with her weight and I think it affected her even more than I ever understood. I felt awful because I could not relate very well as I’m someone who seems to lose five pounds simply by walking to the fridge from the couch — (don’t hate me, it really does suck, I swear)!

Again, her self image and self-talk had become very negative due to her weight. It was virtually impossible for her to accept a compliment from me. I’d tell her she was beautiful, and I’d get “You’re sick” or “Your’re crazy” as a response. It was impossible for me to help her out of “the funk.” She knew however what she needed to do, but it was finding that right program or social circle to do it with that was going to make it happen.

A little over a year ago, she found out about Dustin’s Fit Fun Bootcamps. We had a discussion about whether or not we could afford another monthly expense, but after her first couple of sessions, I already began to see a change in her, not a physical change, but a mental change. Time passed and she was losing weight and seeing that she could actually do this. We started eating differently as a family, paying more attention to what was going in our bodies. Eating more healthy foods, and much less sugar. I’m happy to say we’ve pretty much eliminated soda from our diet (thanks to our two week sugar flush which I believe Carrie actually blogged about) and have begun eating more and more organic foods, and while this post isn’t at all about me, I’ve managed to maintain a pretty steady weight after dropping from 170lbs to 160lbs.

Click on the image to get more info about the book that contains the information that Carrie followed to achieve her results

Continue Reading →

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Who say’s it’s not possible to be “hot” at 50? – Part 2 of 2

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In part one I told my transformation story. Now I am going to talk about how changing my eating habits helped me to get the results.  Click here to read part one…

Donna Before

One big lesson I have learned is that nutrition plays a large part in the results that you get. Eating 5 small meals a day works really well for me. Just when I start to feel hungry, it’s time to have another meal. I try to eat healthy 70% of the time.  I still have my treats…but only in moderation. Well, most of the time. :)

Steel cut oats are one of my favorite things for breakfast. I have come up with several different varieties. Some of my favorites are pumpkin/walnut, apples (or raisins)/cinnamon and Cocount. Or,  sometimes I just add ground flax seed. Another great breakfast  that I enjoy is this one that Dustin recommends. I also like toasted Ezekiel bread with natural peanut butter in addition to eggs.  Continue Reading →

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Food Journal Analysis

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I think this blog post is going to be very powerful for you.  I want to first say that the woman in her early 30′s that will be talked about in the blog post, she is one of the nicest and most amazing people I have met.  She has a warmth about her that radiates, and I am so excited to be part of her transformation.  She has given me permission to be brutally honest with her as well as let you all in on the conversation.  I am not going to give many details besides the age I have already said and that she is just into the morbidly obese category looking to lose around 100 lbs.

To make it 100% clear, this conversation you are about to see is genuinely out of love and not judgement or disgust.

Hi Dustin,

Attached is my food journal for the week. This is what I typically eat. I know I have lots of room for improvement. I do good all day but then at 530 when I walk in the door I raid all the kitchen cupboards. I eat my last snack at work around 300. Dustin I have thought about doing push ups or crunches but honestly when I walk in the door food is on my mind. I want to relax before making dinner and I guess I associate relaxing with eating. Any ideas or suggestions?

I think Saturday I’m going to go grocery shopping get items for the meals through Tuesday and have what we are having for dinner all set. I think that is my problem when I get home from work I don’t feel like cooking and have no idea what to make. I really don’t like to cook. I think I need to get over that. :-)

I just wish I could carry how good I am during the day into the evening.

Day 1

Breakfast Advocare meal replacement shake (with fake sugars)  with banana blended

coffee with Fat Free Creamer

Continue Reading →

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Taking Boot Camp With Me

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Roger at 50

Poster by Roger, a contributor to this blog.

Last week I started working toward losing the weight the doctor wanted me to lose. The lifestyle changes I have to make have to be permanent if I want to not only take the weight off, but to keep the weight off. I started with changing my eating habits and now, I have to take the same aggressive approach to my workouts.

Continue Reading →

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How to Overcome Late Night Food Binges

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ahh, the late night cravings or the mid afternoon munchies.  They hit us all from time to time.  But for those who struggle with this on a daily basis it can lead to some serious problems.  I believe late night eating is one of the single greatest causes of obesity in the world today.  I am not oppose to eating in the evening, when it contains little to no carbs that is.  But most binges are mostly carbs combined with some highly processed dangerous fat.  This had become such a problem for Katy, one of my MamaToners, that she asked me what she should do.

Check out this video for my answer.

Question of the day: What do you do to help get rid of the cravings?

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Back to Being Me

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Posted by Roger, a contributor to this blog.

My dad, mom and me in 1984, before my big move away.

Hi all. It has been a long time since I posted anything but, believe me, it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Unfortunately, as life unfolds, one finds that events sometimes happen that knock you for a loop. Even when not totally unexpected these events can leave you in a dark place. That’s where I’ve been and now I’m pulling myself out.

Continue Reading →

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