Yes, you knew it was just a matter of time before I would be bringing the Broadway into this blog. But, it does make sense because it launched the careers of some of my favorite Glee characters. Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff from Spring Awakening; Idina Menzel from Wicked and Matt Morrison from The Light in the Piazza. All great shows, but especially talented actors. I can’t wait for Glee to return once AI finally gets back to one hour.
Speaking of Idol, last night’s show featured the music of Elton John. It’s easy to forget how talented he was in his heyday until you hear these kids butcher each and every one of his classic songs. While they may have sung them well, there was just no soul. Elton was a white boy with soul- until he totally sold out to write sappy songs for cartoon movies. A man has to make a living I suppose.
Back to spring. Although from where I sit, it is hardly spring as it is going to snow tonight- again. This is the time of the year when our thoughts generally turn towards the beach and the people begin to panic and my office is besieged by people who want to shed those pounds before Memorial Day weekend- which in case you have forgotten is a mere 8 weeks away. My first question is: what have you been doing all winter?
Dieting is not a seasonal thing- it must become a way of life. I just got off the phone with a friend of mine with whom I was supposed to have dinner tonight. I had to cancel, because, Shane, my trainer needed to come half-hour later which would have pushed dinner back to 9P and that is just too late for me to go out (yes, I may not look it, but I am an old man who generally prefers the early bird specials). My friend’s response was to “blow the trainer off.”
I was shocked but more dismayed until I realized that this is the prevailing attitude that happens in the world of dieting. In order to attain a healthy lifestyle and by definition therefore, a healthy weight; you simply must not waver from your pathway. I have not missed a training session since we began July 6,2010. Three days per week without fail and twice per week on my own recognizance. Even when I am away, Shane instructs me as to what I should be doing.
By now, you must have guessed that I am obsessed with television. It is not something I am ashamed of, and gladly and publicly admit it. However, I must confess a little secret that I thought I could keep to myself. When I got back from Colombia, I was overwhelmed with how much I had missed. Being a stickler for details (some would call it anal retentive) I made a list on a yellow legal pad of all the shows I had missed and the dates of airing and whether they were on DVR in the city or out at the beach; whether I could see them “on demand” or whether I needed to use hulu.com
During my training session last night, Shane informed me that when he was at my apartment setting up my new piece of training equipment, his girlfriend was sitting on my couch watching TV and asked what the piece of paper was – I was busted!!!!!
Back to dieting. As I said, it is not something that is a one of situation. It has to become a way of life. That is not to say that there won’t be times of indulgence but those should be few and far between. How many bagels do you need? How many wraps? Speaking of wraps, I was quizzing a patient on what they ate which is sort of SOP for me so I get an idea of what they have done in the past 24 hours prior to seeing me. So one patient said, I made some ham and eggs and threw it in a wrap so I could eat it and work on the computer at the same time. I gave her my “stare” – which I apparently have- just learned about that from a discussion my facebook fans were having. Anyway, I looked at her and said, “how long does it take to eat ham and eggs that you couldn’t stop working for the five minutes and actually enjoy your food?” And the interesting part was that she hadn’t even thought of it.
And that’s the main problem! How you eat? How much you exercise? What you eat? Has to become part of your daily conversation. It always is anyway but as you stop to eat, think about how it can be healthier- it takes but a second but can change your life.
As I have been catching up on TV, there have been a few things that have disturbed me which I am afraid is becoming part of the American zeitgeist. Kasia from cycle 16 of America’s Next Top Model is a plus size model. Tyra always throws one of those in for kicks and giggles. But, she always refers to herself as “fiercely real.” Seriously, when did overweight become the norm? or even aspirational? There is something wrong with that belief system.
Yet, the same thing happened on Glee. There is a female wrestler on the show who is morbidly obese. In order to suspend reality even more Ryan Murphy, the creator of the show, usually does; he has one of the hunkiest football players be madly in love with her. So when Puck, the football player asks her why am I in love with you as you don’t look like anyone I usually date. She turned to him and said, ” I look like America.”
That is a sad commentary because she’s right. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I can give you all the tools you need to be the healthiest you, you can be. Read my books, get the information from the newsletters and for pete’s sake, stop eating simple carbohydrates. Lean proteins, vegetables, nuts, seeds and healthy oils is all it takes to be healthy and thinner. America is literally eating itself to death. I don’t want anyone who is reading this to become one of those people. It just takes a little discipline.
I am going to let you in on another little secret. The folks at Entertainment Tonight online enjoy my blogs so much that they are going to feature them on the site and we will ultimately move on to video blogs where you will get to actually hear me say this stuff about celebs. I’ve got lots more to tell you about my trip to LA and what else is happening but that’s for next weeks blog. You are going to love that one as I went to a dinner party where I was surrounded by reality TV stars- I almost couldn’t control myself. It was a good time.
Ok, parting thoughts- please don’t renew RHO Miami. Larsa is a total beatch and as the wife of Scottie Pippen one of the best basketball players of all time, she should know better. I guess you can take the girl out of…..
Oh and another trend of the week was the use of the old line (and I want you to guess who said which line): Sticks and Stones may break my bones but:
- whips and chains excite me (this is a gimme)
- ugly words have made me wealthy This really is a contest and the winner will receive something – haven’t thought that far ahead but it can be anything from the web store.
And to keep the contest interesting, here is the tie breaking question: Name the reality show and the characters who just named their new sheep pair – Lady and Baba (get it – Lady Baba)
Thanks for listening to my rant, get working on that diet and don’t let anything or anyone get in your way- that really is the only way it’s going to be successful in the long term.
Please share this blog with your friends and family, encourage them to become facebook fans and please follow me on twitter and I will announce the winner of the contest in next week’s blog. Until next time…..