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Tips for our lifestyles and making the changes that get big results.

Motivating Each Other

There will come a time when you will be shouting from the mountain top about your weight loss journey. People love to hear a good success story. Have you found yourself seeing someone else’s achievement and wondering, “Why not me?” Instead of just wishing, say to yourself, “That’s going to be me!” We all are weight loss superstars, my story and yours. I am constantly motivated by all the members on the Reshape the Nation Community page. “daGopha” lost 72 pounds, “spidermonkey615” lost 30 pounds, and “Sandwulf” lost 45 pounds. How cool is that? I also appreciate how “Oceanblue” is always showing the love, as well as “walkwithchappy” posting all his motivating videos along his journey with his wife. One thing I want us to work on is to not downplay our achievements, whether they are 5 pounds or 100 pounds. We tell ourself that it must be water weight or that it’s just a fluke. We have to give ourselves a pat on the back and be proud of the accomplishments we have made. We have worked really hard, done our Metaboosts and Accelerators, followed our meal plans and have stayed focused. Congratulations on your own success story! 

Behind the Scenes of LaRhonda’s Journey

Did everyone catch Chris Powell’s Extreme Makeover show with contestant LaRhonda on Monday night? If you did, I bet you are thinking the same thing that we at Team Reshape are thinking, wow! What an amazing transformation, way to go Chris Powell and LaRhonda!

Team Reshape is so proud of LaRhonda and anyone trying to make changes in their lives for good. We know the struggle and hard work it takes to get to that point of the journey, it’s not easy, but boy is it worth it!

A lifetime of good health practices will keep you feeling young and full of vitality forever! All of the good practice can come from the many different parts of your journey.

It can come when you:
- hit a weight loss goal
- learn that you love a new healthy food you haven’t tried
- meet people who are on their journey too
- share your new found knowledge with your loved ones
- hit a plateau, then rise above it with self-motivation
- overcome a huge obstacle that kept you from being the best you
- learn to love every part of yourself because it’s YOUR journey you’re on and yours alone

You are on your journey, this is it. It’s up to you and we know you can do it. Chris Powell is amazing and we wish he could work with everyone one-on-one like he does on his show. The reality of that happening though, is just not feasible. Chris Powell is busy. He knew he would be with the launch of his show, that’s why he created Reshape the Nation in the first place. Knowing that a team of people (Team Reshape) could be there to help guide those who want to change their lives forever. It’s like having Chris Powell with you every day, except you don’t have to be in front of a camera all the time!

Team Reshape is here for all of you on your journey, no matter where you’re at, whether you want to lose 5 to 500lbs, we have the tools and support you’ll need to be healthy for the rest of your life!

Want to learn more about the extreme weight loss program that helped David Smith lose over 400 lbs? Come check out Reshape the Nation.

 

Healthier Self for 2011?

How is everyone doing on their quest to a healthier self in the New Year? We’re about a week in… did anyone make it their resolution to “Reshape” themselves in 2011?

I love the New Year, I love what it signifies; newness, freshness, vitality, excitement, I guess I’m just not a fan of making traditional New Year’s Resolutions. To me, they can easily feel akin to keeping junk food around the house then being surprised when I succumb to eating it. When I resolve to do something, it’s easy to fall just short of that, like the adage of succumbing to things that lack in nutrition. I’d rather not take on the pressure and end up setting myself up for failure. I want to do things because I want to do them, not because I HAVE to. A good reason to do something is because you want to do it, long term success doesn’t happen because you have to make it happen.

A good reason to start fresh in the New Year to take better care of yourself is because you want to live a long, full, and healthy life and fell good while your living! We already know the health benefits of clean eating and staying active, but what about the way it makes us feel? All of the endorphins of working out boost our self-esteem and overall well-being—that sounds like a great reason to do it!

Of course we can all DO better in our diets and fitness, but do we want to, that is the real question. If we don’t want to, we may have limited success sustaining a healthy lifestyle. If you want to treat yourself better, then you will treat yourself better. You can treat yourself better whenever you decide that’s what you want, any time of year, what do you want for 2011?

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Nothing gets me more excited to go outside and run around like fall in Arizona! As a permanent fixture of AZ, I have had the experience of virtually year-round great weather, save for the few moments of oven temperatures. The fall season in Arizona, Phoenix in particular, is not indicative by the leaves on trees changing color and falling to the ground to be raked (I’ve seen photos of people doing this in the mid-west) ….

Oh jeez…if this doesn’t explain fall in Arizona better; a co-worker just came into my office with pumpkin spice mini cookies, yummmm…it’s now officially fall!

At this time of year and in these parts, the grass is greener, the air…more crisp and cool, and people in the community are more apt to come out and play! In other areas of the country, people are starting to gather supplies for the long winter and a time of hibernation ahead…well not here! It seems like we are more alive, having more energy than during any other time of year (at least, that’s my perspective)...

Fall awakens in me, the need to hike, run, and go for walks as often as possible! Cool mornings and evenings make it possible to wear the elusive lightweight sweaters that litter my closet. The Arizona State Fair in downtown Phoenix is happening (my destination tonight as my boyfriend cannot resist the gourmet candy apples) and pumpkin spice lattes are abound at the local coffee shops. All the season’s trimmings create an explosive excitement in my personality, watch out! I’m like a kid again with this newfound energy, it feels great!

So many things to look forward to, and so many things to be thankful for (just in time for Thanksgiving, a little bit difficult for weight-loss), it makes me want to giggle and shout! I am reminded again what fall in Arizona feels like! I wish I could bottle this weather with my excitement, store it in my medicine cabinet, and save it for a rainy day (well, rainy days are scarce and quite agreeable), so I guess I’d just save it for some undefined lousy day that will eventually happen…

Fall in Arizona, the perfect time to go outside and Reshape, I’m sure Chris Powell would agree!

Healthy Lifestyles are a Choice – New Video by Chris

What keeps Chris or others motivated on Reshape? It’s purely a case by case answer; it’s different for every individual who is motivated to do anything at all! What motivates me may not motivate you.. Watch Chris Powell’s video blog on the topic of Motivation.

Chris recommends doing little things like cutting out a picture of a goal and posting it around the house in conspicuous places to remind and motivate you.
Why not perform a cost benefit analysis of your old way of life against the new Reshape way of life. Make a list of the pros and cons of each, and weight them against one another.

I think you’ll see that the benefits of time and energy spent from will power and prepping your own food will outweigh the fleeting satisfaction that comes with the convenience of unhealthy pre-packaged foods. In the event that you don’t think the benefits of the Reshape way of life outweigh old habits and an unhealthy lifestyle, then go back to what you know. No one is keeping you healthy against your will, that’s the beauty of your health…it’s a choice, it’s all a choice, YOU get to choose!

At Least You Have Your Health

Amongst the financial health that we are all experiencing, the tightness of our wallets and the like, the one thing that we can feel good about during this time is the tightness of our pants, or lack thereof.  Concentrating on your own personal health and well-being is a nice departure to the loss of jobs, healthcare, and over-all feeling of our everyday experience.

What do they say? Oh yes, I remember: “At least you have your health…”

Yes, this is true, although I think that statement is often used to try and make someone feel better about a situation they’re in. Even though those words don’t necessarily mean much in the face of adversity at the very moment it’s said, it will ring true in hindsight.

Think about all of the things that you own and the people you love… Got it? Now think about what can be taken or removed from your life…That’s just about everything, isn’t it? There is one thing that cannot be “taken” from you, your health. It is just one of those things that you can own, embody, and resemble; it’s something that only depends on you and you alone.

It’s actually a double-edged sword, your health. You can feel great and proud when it’s good, like you’re king of the world! Then there’s the mirrored opposite, the failure or decline of your health, thus resembling your nemesis (the one who keeps you up at night). Yet when you have your health, it seems like everything else in your life is going well too, like a domino effect. Though I’m not sure which came first, the feeling good, or the health wellness? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Chris Powell, trainer and Reshape the Nation guru, always keeps a positive outlook when he’s helping any number of people gain control of their life and health with diet and movement. The theory is, when you exude a positive attitude and outlook in the face of a tumultuous front, the expected reaction is as equally positive.

Take your good health and outlook wherever you go and express it in front of anyone you encounter. The more you embody that good health and positive outlook, the better your health and outlook will be.

Finding The Right Outlets

In yesterday’s blog post from David Smith, David talks about the importance of having outlets. It’s a great point, and it’s one that Chris Powell makes often, too. Eating is, for many people, an outlet for stress, entertainment, enjoyment, and even boredom. If we can supplant eating as an outlet, then we can dramatically decrease our food intake.

Well… that was an easy solution. All overeating problems are solved!

Not quite, right? It’s easy for us at Reshape The Nation to say “find other outlets,” but finding those other outlets is challenging since life, more often than not, tends to revolve around eating. We go out with friends and it often involves eating. We go on vacation and it involves eating. We come home to our families and the first priority is “what’s for dinner?” We wake up, eat breakfast, and pack lunches for our children—all food related activities. We meet friends after work for happy hours. We go to the movies and order popcorn. Heck, we even get enticed to meetings, sales, openings, and events with the promise of things like “free pizza.” Food is such a universal focus of our lives that it’s hard to imagine activities that don’t involve it. But, because this is the Reshape The Nation blog, we’re going to offer some. Here’s a list of some great non-food-based activities:

Writing
David made a good suggestion. Writing is a great activity that doesn’t involve food and also gives you the opportunity to express yourself in ways you might not otherwise be able to. You can write for yourself, or go to a site like Wordpress.com and set up a free blog.

Exercise
Admit it… you knew this was coming. But you also know picking up a slice of pizza is much harder to do when your hands are holding weights.

Sports
Yes, sports are exercise, but participating in a sporting activity feels different than running on a treadmill. It’s less “work” more “play.”

Read a Book
Reading might be a little “old school,” but give it a try. It’s pretty easy to get “lost” in a good book. And if you’re wondering how reading is any better than TV, reading requires both hands.

Volunteer
By helping others, not only are you doing something good for your community, you’re also keeping yourself busy. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

These are just a few suggestions, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list. If you have any great ideas about outlets and how to keep from relying on food, send them to us and we’ll pass them along! Or better yet, hop on into the Reshape Community and share them yourself!

The Role of Structure in Reshape - New Video by Chris Powell

Reshape the Nation is about results by design…creating patterns and sticking with them…if you allow any flexibility, then you will allow destruction to that pattern and structure that is so delicate.  Watch Chris’s video to understand how sticking to a pattern creates the foundation for a better quality of life. Let that structure carry you through to the next day, allowing you to build upon it, one day at a time… building a history of a set pattern in order to break the old pattern that you had for so long, you know, the one that’s so easy to fall back on. 

Chris explains and stresses the importance of structure and setting new patterns, and how delicate they truly are.
When ABC 20/20 first aired Chris Powell and David Smith’s story, the inspiration they caused spread like wildfire.. And even though Chris and David are still forging ahead to “pay it forward” to anyone they can, sometimes you may think you can’t, or will forget to workout one morning or afternoon, and then before you know it, you’ve gotten out of your new routine just as quickly as when you started it! You are worth forging ahead for yourself, we are with you, Chris is with you. You can do it!

Chris and David Give the 5 Best Tips for a Successful Weight Loss Journey

David Smith and I put together our best tips for long lasting, weight loss success. It is a long and sometimes bumpy journey to successful weight loss, but it’s one that is both rewarding and physically satisfying.  We always tell our fellow Reshapers and team at www.reshapethenation.com that this, all of this, is about the journey, not the destination.

Of all the advice David and I have given over the years on diet and fitness, these five tips are at the top of our list as being the most effective on your journey to reshaping yourself:

1. Create an Environment for Success

Willpower is overrated when it comes to those certain foods that you just cannot say “no” to. Face the facts, if it is in your house, you’re going to eat it, period. To be successful in any nutrition program, you need to remove the following “Reward” foods from your house, workplace, and hiding spots. Don’t worry, you can always have them on your reward day. But in order to succeed, you need to get them out of the house. Let’s create an environment for success!

2. Start Moving

Movement of any kind will help you along your journey. Whether you’re on your feet all day, or you sit in a cubicle for 40 hours a week, a lifestyle of movement is equally important to your long term health! Walking alone has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to optimize fat-burning.  There should be no secret as to why the most incredible weight loss success stories have been accomplished through good nutrition and walking. Let’s reshape ourselves, get out there and move!

3. Set the Pattern

When starting a journey with a transformation goal, we must strive for “results by design”, and set a pattern for success. Create a routine! Fortunately, this isn’t rocket science. We need a structured and patterned nutrition program and light exercise. With a routine structure designed to meet your goal, you can troubleshoot any obstacle you encounter. Plateau?  No problem. Adjust the pattern and you’ll easily break through the plateau. Knowing that you can, and will have continued success as long as you keep some structure… that is priceless and lasting!

4. Hydration

Water may be the easiest, yet most overlooked weight loss tool. While everyone knows drinking water is essential for survival, what they don’t know is only slightly less important is consistently drinking the right amount of water. Water is essential to our wellness and to our weight loss success. Did you know water consumption can even affect our metabolic rates? Because when we don’t drink enough water our livers have to work overtime to help compensate for our water-deprived kidneys.

It’s easy to forget to drink water so I prefer to carry around a gallon of water to keep me accountable to my hydration. But carrying a quart or the smaller 16oz bottles is fine!  To stay hydrated, I like to use the 10-gulp rule: When the water touches my lips, I have to take 10 gulps before I put it down. It is surprising at how quickly it fills you up!

5. Stay the Course

On our journey there will be obstacles:

Our weight loss will plateau.
We’ll get knocked off for a day or two when we get sick. Pick up where you left off. Do not backtrack. 

There will mental and emotional struggles.

There will be physical challenges.  

There will be vacations. 

We’ll have conflicts with our spouse or partner. 

We’ll have conflicts with our kids, our families, our friends.
We’ll have time and money conflicts. 
We’ll have high energy days and low energy days.  Stay the course!

By the time we reach our destination, our course will not have been a straight line, but if we stay the course, it won’t matter!  With a good support system; family, friends, the www.reshapethenation.com community, and co-workers, we can stay the course!

David Smith and Chris Powell - Still on the Reshape Journey

Chris Powell and David Smith are still on the Reshape The Nation journey, and it has been over five years.

Chris helped David lose over 400 lbs, and now, David Smith is “Paying it Forward”. Smith, now a trainer in the Phoenix area, is helping others in the way Chris does, using the same methods and meal plans. And although David is a far cry from where he was when Chris and him first met, he sometimes faces the some of the same struggles that he once did on a daily basis. This is David Smith’s blog from yesterday:
Help!
I fell off the wagon, what do I do now? It is frustrating to be giving a 100% then all of a sudden not be motivated anymore. It happens to everyone, even me. What I have learned is that what you need to do is to move on and learn from your mistakes. You just can’t go back in time and fix, what happened. Ask yourself why? Why did I fall off? I asked myself the same question. Well I had an injury, I might have a torn labrum (shoulder), and I couldn’t workout the way I wanted to the last six months, so I gained 30 pounds. I feel I have let down a lot of people, but I have let down myself the most. It is always too easy sometimes to blame something or someone else. In the end though, I am responsible for myself and my actions no one else is. These past few months, I have felt guilty and remorseful instead of responsible. I could have done cardio, worked out my legs, and eat how I was suppose to, but I chose not to. I know I can’t dwell on my mistakes and misfortunes, not anymore or I haven’t learned anything from this experience. Now my choice is to get back on track and do what it takes to be a better person and role model.

David Smith

Watch ABC’s 20/20 tonight for Chris Powell and David Smith’s full story or check out ReshapetheNation.com

David Smith on ABC’c 20/20 - Chris’s New Video!

Check out Chris’s new video blog!!
He and the rest of the Reshape the Nation team are really excited about Friday night!!

Why, you ask? Well, ABC’s 20/20 will be featuring a story on Chris Powell and David Smith, a follow-up piece to the weight loss story of David Smith when he originally lost 400 lbs with the help of Chris!  After losing that weight, David was featured on the Morning Show and Oprah, sharing that amazing weight loss story with the world, for everyone to see!

Where are they now… How has David kept the weight off and how does he manage on a day to day basis? Well, to start, he is actively involved in ReshapeTheNation.com, to those in need.
These answers and more, on Friday night, on ABC, tune in!
David Smith…. is on the scene!!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

My old workout buddy, Daniel, wasn’t the most muscular guy in the world. But when he was lifting weights, you might never have known it. He’d regularly plop down on a bench press next to a guy twice his size and then proceed to out-lift him. And not by just a couple pounds. We’re talking 50 to 100 pounds more. Same thing would happen on the cardio side. He’d look like your average weekend jogger, only to go zooming by the seasoned marathoner. No one who saw him ever understood how or why this was possible. Why could Daniel, a toned but by no means “ripped” person, regularly out pace and out lift people who looked to be in much better shape?

The answer is a good lesson for our expectations. The first is a valuable lesson about what following Reshape The Nation means in terms of our personal weight loss and body transformation goals. While some people might see results in the range of David-Bekham-like-abs or Angelina-Jolie-legs, others won’t. But being physically fit and healthy doesn’t necessarily mean great abs, a killer butt, long legs, and every other airbrushed appendage on the glossy supermarket magazine covers. So don’t mistake “healthy” for “attractive.” While healthier habits can help with attractive features, attractive features are not the direct result of healthy habits. Sorry.

Just in case he’s reading today’s Reshape Blog post, I should point out that I don’t mean to say whether Daniel is or isn’t attractive—he’s a plenty-handsome fellow, I’m sure. My point is, however, that the body chemistry determining features humans find physically attractive are in part, but not entirely, related to those features considered healthy. Fat, for example, isn’t unhealthy. In fact, your body NEEDS fat. However, we all store our fat differently, and while we might be able to obtain the same BMI as Attractive Celebrity X, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll look like Attractive Celebrity X. Or have the same wasteline. Or be able to lift the same amount of weight. Or be able to play basketball just as well. Or be able to fit into the same outfit. Or… well… you get my point.

I’m not writing today’s post to dissuade people from getting healthy… I’m trying to be realistic. Too many weight loss program spend too much time selling ideals and not enough time selling real products. Being honest and open about the weight loss process is Reshape’s goal. We’re not trying to sell you a magic pill or a some lose weight quick scheme. And we’re not plastering our websites with bikini-clad women to imply that losing weight will equal instant super-model bikini-wearing status. It certainly can, but it’s not going to happen in a week. At Reshape, we work with you to build a healthier and happier lifestyle. The results of that new lifestyle—whether it’s being able to pose for a swimsuit calendar or just being able to play ball with your kids—is entirely up to you. But no matter where you envision your end point to be while on this weight loss journey, know that Chris Powell, David Smith, and the entire Reshape The Nation Team will be here supporting you.

Stop Kicking Yourself

Have you ever kicked yourself over and over again for some choices that weren’t, well, choice? If you haven’t, are you even human? If you answered no to the second question, well, move on to the next planet then, this isn’t for you.

Kidding aside though, beating yourself up for some choice or decision you made has a bigger effect than you may be aware of. As a participant of ReshapetheNation.com, there’s not a ton of room for that type of behavior and losing weight, and here’s why…

Have you ever tried the body connectivity test? Place a garlic clove between your big toe and your second toe (if you’re not allergic to garlic), and in no time, you will be able to taste the garlic, literally, in your mouth. That’s a good demonstration to experience the connectivity of your body as a whole. It’s connected, all your cells, electrical impulses from your brain, thoughts, breath, and all the tissues in between. And given that experiment, why wouldn’t beating yourself up have a physiological effect on your body? Well the answer is that it does, because it’s connected; your thoughts and your physical body.
Your thoughts of yourself can impact your progress and successes, either negatively or positively, depending on the intent. Your thoughts, breath, and intentions are connected to your physical body, so be careful with your negativity toward yourself. No program, not even ReshapetheNation.com, will be as effective as it can be if you don’t allow yourself to fall, make some mistakes, and work through them. Forgiveness for the minor set-backs will leave you with little to no lasting impact on your future success with the program. Be kind to yourself; love yourself, that is a big part of Reshaping your life.

I will elaborate on this more as we go, but I wanted to put the thought out there for all to digest and get used to. The connectedness in everything and everywhere exists with you and your body, and with the world at large.

Don’t Let Obesity Stats Bring You Down

We need to make changes. I think that we know that.  We know the statistics, we’ve heard the startling effects of being overweight or obese; the high blood pressure, back pain, immobility, and in some cases,  even mortality.  But let me stop myself right there. We know all these things, that’s why we are chipping away at the pounds, one day, one second, one moment at a time. Reshapethenation.com gives us the opportunity, bringing Chris Powell and David Smith’s vision to life. It’s clear that it’s not an easy task, and the following information reads that….

“Despite education campaigns about the obesity epidemic and U.S. government reports that obesity numbers may have reached a plateau, a new study finds obesity rates increased in 28 states last year. Researchers found obesity rates in Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arkansas topped 30 percent of the population last year. Previously, only four other states had obesity rates as high as one in three adults obese—- Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia.”

“The annual “F as in Fat” report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation included obesity rates by geographic area and race as well as studies on attitudes about obesity.”  20/20 Abc news health 10 July 2010

Being that things are still not looking up, whether or not we receive help from our government, it looks as though we are going to have to take control ourselves. It seems like there are always new reports and new studies being released that have the power to dampen our spirits and bring us down. And though it may be true that the are trying times for the health of our nation, we have to be positive and remember that we can help ourselves! If only to lose a little weight, move around more, and fully appreciate our bodies for what they can achieve, then we are further ahead than any report will give us credit for. In order to Reshape the Nation, it will take us all doing a little more, pushing a little harder, and helping those around us to make that ultimately happen!

Sharing the stats from above is nothing that you haven’t heard before, but it’s just yet another reason to help each other out, even if only to avoid being a statistic. We can do it guys, keep up the good work!

 

Reshape Yourself to Reshape Your Community

At the 116th minute of the 2010 World Cup final, Spain scored the winning goal against the Netherlands, creating a wave of frantic excitement that was felt around the world.  This morning, the echoes of that success and reaction are still reverberating in the air, everywhere you look, in everything you read, and on every radio program. At the time that the goal was scored, the Spanish commentator had trouble holding it together as his country had won the World Cup title, awarding them the championship 18kt gold trophy. The mass of spectators stood on the tips of their toes as the Spanish soccer team brought them all together and unified them. Spain, as a whole, won, so every individual from Spain, having ties with Spain, or solely liking the Spanish soccer team, all feel a sense of victory together.

This idea of having unity through a common goal reminds me of Chris Powell and his vision with David Smith to Reshape the Nation, one person, one community at a time. When one individual, like yourself, experiences success and transformation in your life in any area, you will cause inevitable change around you and in your community.  When communities experience change from an individual, it has a water drop rippling effect. Starting as a single drop of water, the ripples from that can be felt to no end. The changes that occur within a community can travel just the same, affecting the neighboring cities, countries and on the grandest scale, the world. Any transformation in your life, whether the changes be large or small, will be felt around you, causing a unified sense of success on all accounts.

What you’re doing for yourself, your health, mind, and body is great! Do not underestimate the beauty and power of the things you do each day, a part of Reshape and otherwise, that have a significant effect on individuals around you and so on…None of us are perfect, keep up the effort of being the best you that you can be, and in unity, we’ll all feel like champions!