Monday, January 14, 2008
- Bob Greene
- Inspirational Oprah Show Viewers
"This is your year, my year, our year to end the struggle with weight."
"This is our year to get control."
"No more excuses!"
Oprah and Bob Green traveled to Meridian, Mississippi to hold an outdoor presentation to over 4,000 viewers in the town square. Mississippi has been the fattest state in the country now for 3 years - 1 out of 3 people are obese. Oprah and Bob spoke to the crowd to inspire them to sign the Best Life Challenge Contract, to make a change and reach their goals for good.
Aside from the public presentation, Oprah and Bob met with 4 viewers to discuss their challenge with weight, and what made them decide to make the change.
- Karen: age 42, 512 lbs.
- Claudia: age 27, 324 lbs.
- Susan: age 46, 216 lbs.
- Jeff: age 39, 621 lbs.
Bob reminded the group that the issue lies not in the weight itself, but the other things that caused the weight gain, and the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.
Back in the studio, Oprah shows a day in the life of Jeff, from Mississippi.Jeff has managed, with diet and exercise, to go from his high weight of 770, to his current weight of 621, and is still working hard to lose more. Before starting his journey, Jeff would consume 8-10,000 calories a day, and could eat an entire bucket of fried chicken at one time. Now that he has made adjustments, he works out 5 days a week and only takes in 2,000 calories a day. Jeff started out only being able to do one lap in the pool, but slowly worked his way up to 70 and is an inspiration to others at the gym.
Oprah reports that according to the CDC, 2/3 of our country are overweight, and 72 million are considered obese. As a country we are now eating out twice as much as we were in the 70s, and portions are also twice the size. While smoking used to be considered the #1 issue, obesity has taken over.
The show highlighted a casket building company that specializes in over-sized caskets. When the company first started, they were making 33" caskets, now the make up to 52".
Robin grew up in a traditional southern home where fried food was regularly served, and vegetables were cooked in fat with heavy salt. After years of eating this way, Robin found herself at over 400 lbs. When she found one day that her hands and feet were going numb, she knew she had to make a change. With so much weight to lose, Robin broke her goals up into 10 lb increments. In 4 years she has managed to lose over 225 lbs and keep it off. She credits focus and determination as her keys to success.
At age 27, Jennifer hit her rock bottom point when she was visiting an amusement park with her husband and daughter. After waiting over an hour with her family for a ride, she was turned away because she could not fasten the belt. Devastated for herself and not wanting her daughter to experience ridicule, she decided to make a change.
Jennifer has been successful in her journey and has lost 180 lbs by fixing her mind and heart first, and then focusing on her body. Jennifer, now a personal trainer, was featured in People Magazine with a group who are currently half their original size.
Peter watched Bob Greene on The Oprah Winfrey Show in January of 2007 and was inspired to make a change. At 332 lbs, Peter had trouble playing with his son, but after losing 140 lbs in 1 year, he has make a total transformation and is now an active father.
Viewer Christina's Story:
Christina was a 29 year old single professional when she was beginning to experience diabetes and high blood pressure. Joining Weight Watchers helped Christina lose 135 lbs in 2 years and keep it off.
Viewer Terry's Story
Terry was like many people who lose a large amount of weight, he lost focus of the true issue and relapsed, gaining back all the weight he had lost plus 20 lbs. He is now ready to do what it takes to address the issues behind the weight, and sign the Best Life Challenge Contract
Bob's 5 Tips to Start Losing Weight
- Get moving first before anything else.
- Stop eating at least 2 hours before going to bed, or set a specific time like Oprah prefers.
- Stay hydrated - drink 6 8oz glasses of water a day - more if active.
- Restructure your diet - starting with breakfast. Eat 3 meals plus 1 snack a day.
- Cut out all alcohol - you can add it back in later in the plan in moderation.
