The End of Weight Loss And Diet As We Know It

By Barry Roskin Blake

With the frightening statistics just announced that we are only just a little bit away from the majority of the country being overweight and over forty percent obese, it seems like the end is near.

Just a decade ago we really started to wake up and push films and initiatives in school and at home to change things. Michelle Obama even started that garden in her back yard in Washington. So what the heck happened? Is it some sort of conspiracy, a way to make more jobs or just plain bad luck? I mean there has to be somebody to blame doesn’t there? In every good story you have the hero and his nemesis. Yet people are dying every day. I just lost my youngest cousin who was a year younger then me at age forty or so. She had become very large, had a diabetic stroke and died a day later.

Is this the future that we all have to look forward too? This disease has taken the majority of the family I love. Most of my friends who are overweight suffer from illnesses that are all either caused or contributed to by obesity. There are resources out there and that do present hope. I just think we are letting time pass us by and not getting down to the root of why we are all having this happen to us.  The thing I am tired of is hearing everyday is that someone who has taken off two hundred pounds in six months and has the answer. I hate to say it, but you’re part of the problem. Chances are in another year or less you will have put the weight back on and more. It is not that I am jealous, it is the sad fact that 98 percent of people who go on these type of diets will fail. Those are undeniable facts.

We as a people have to look at the situation very differently.  Our responsibility has to be to our own health first. Then we can focus on the ones we love or who will look out after them. It is time for a change and I am not sure that there is one particular answer. Yet, if we do not try, just imagine what the next twenty years can bring back. Maybe a]we’re heading back to a time when the average lifespan was fifty. We are a great body of people and together, I’m sure we can find our way.  It may be time to stop depending on the experts alone and start depending on each other.  I welcome everyone’s thought and feedback at such a crucial time.

Thanks for checking in,

Barry

New Diet Pills: Our Friend or Enemy?

Well here we go again. It’s been a decade or so since the last medical fiasco with diet pills. One went off the market and one is still around. Yet people in our country are getting heavier with each passing second. I should know.  I’m one of those people.

Now comes the FDA’s probable approval of another new diet pill. This new one is a mix of two older drugs put together to give you a nice kick-start. Yet what happens after the first few months? Will all my temptations be gone? Will they stop all those yummy looking food commercials and take away all the cookies and ice cream from the end of the store isles?  The answer is, no way! So then what is going to be different this time?

If I am no longer hungry, will I never want another pizza or piece of cake for dessert?  Will I stop eating out of emotion or stalking the kitchen at night? I really don’t see any indications that this is going to help me think any differently. Just because you tie my mouth closed, staple my stomach, or make me very feel ill if I eat too much, does not mean that I will start feeling differently towards those foods. Its almost as bad as sending someone for aversion therapy. It has never been shown to be effective and it is just cruel torture. Our country has to stop looking at ways to control our hunger and instead control the much bigger problem. Obesity is crawling up the front lawns of almost half our country.

Think about all your friends and family. Is there anyone in that group who could stand to lose some weight?  Is it more then one person?  It’s time to find a cure. So I encourage anyone considering diet pills to think long term about how you will feel if it does not work out. All of the money you will have spent and the many side effects to probably experience for nothing, just makes me wonder if it’s even worth going through.

Lets not rely on a magical cure and instead stick together to help each other. That’s where hope begins and the cure starts to arise.

-Barry

Santa Clause Must Die…..t

By Barry Roskin Blake

 

Alright, I know what you’re thinking. Another Christmas Grinch with wacko ideas.

But just hear me out. What the title should read is “Santa Clause must go on a diet”, but it doesn’t seem like he has listened to this advice in the past. 

Through my time on the road these past two years, I have met and made plenty of friends, like Jillian Michaels, Tony Horton, Ruby, Bob Harper, Weight Watchers and those great folks over at Zumba to name a few. All of them can share different simple ways to help Santa get healthy. So what seems to be the problem? All the kids are looking up to him while he gives them cookies and candy.  Now if studies are correct and sugar is an addictive substance, than is Santa a drug dealer? Is Santa setting up your kids as future sugar junkies?

The whole idea behind the holidays is to celebrate family and friends. Albeit after this blog I might not have many left.  Holidays should not be an excuse to put on an extra ten pounds.  You’re telling me the most lasting and noticeable gift from my friends and family will be the 10-pound spare tire I gain?  The 10 pounds I will work off with dieting and exercise until I see them the next holiday?

So maybe Santa can’t grow a garden in his front yard but he should be capable of spreading a healthier message than candy, chocolate and cookies. We keep getting bigger each year and nothing seems to be slowing us down. If we don’t act now, how many more children and adults will have diabetes next holiday season?

This is no joke and only one of the fun obesity related diseases possible.

So if Santa can’t fit down the chimney again this year, we really need to have a talk with him.

Also Mr. Easter Bunny, if you’re reading this…watch out because you’re next on the naughty list.

-Barry

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The Weight Loss Journey Comes To A Close, A New Chapter Begins

The Weight Loss Journey Comes To A Close A New Chapter Begins

I have traveled over half the country in search of losing weight. Had the chance to meet over three hundred experts and celebrities during shooting the upcoming film ‘Finding Thin’. I started at one weight and ended up gaining more while trying some of the new diets that might have that magic bullet. This was not what was supposed to happen. Yet my mission was to set out to save the world. That was until I found out that I needed to save myself first, then I could figure out the rest. The funny thing is that it took until that last few miles when I moved out to L.A. to really have it kick in. This was my last destination on the journey and a place that I was to call home.
The last year had many changes in my life. I had lost two of my beloved pets, a very close friend who turned out to be a wolf in a sheep cloths and most importantly… myself.
Then it began to change. I suddenly began to find myself. No longer did I find the need for emotional eating. Of course that brought many challenges. Yet I never stopped and was able to continue on and grow the movie to the finest state it has ever been in as well as myself personally.
We have some of the finest names and I don’t know where to begin thanking people.
Do I start with Jillian Michaels who really opened the door for us and showed me that we don’t always have to be victims. Or was it Dr. Michael Roizen over at The ‘Cleveland Clinic’ who showed me that I don’t need to feel so old and can reverse the process. He also introduced me to the mighty ‘Health Corps’ created by the efforts of Dr. Oz and ran by the lovely Michelle Bouchard. Then of course there was Bob Harper of ‘The Biggest Loser’ who was so real and made me laugh so hard. Then there was Tony Horton of ‘P90X’, not only the strongest guy for his young age but I am not sure he ever takes a breath. He is that good.. Then I begin to think of David Wallace of ‘Weight Watchers’ who helped get me back on track’. Of course I cant forget the king of comedy George Wallace or the wit and heart of actress Carlease Burke. There are just so many great people that have changed my life and contributed to making this movie that that much more. I have enough material to make three films. There are just so many names to thank. I just hope they help to bring the change and hope to your life as they have to mine. This has been the greatest honer and chance that I could have ever been given. Far from what I ever had hoped for. Beating my wildest dreams.
As I settle in now for the final phase of the movie and make my new home in L.A., I will be writing more frequently. Not to push the film, which I hope you will see, but to be there for you with new thoughts and stories form the battles lines each and every day. Have hope for this is a journey we take together.

Be Well

Barry Roskin Blake
Producer/Director
Finding Thin

Heavy People Getting Burned At the Clothing Store

Fat People Punished For Buying Cloths

Before I begin, it is true that as an obese person I do need more material then the normal person.
That could certainly make for the higher price for the plus sized cloths. Though do consider that when buying in bulk, the price does go down.

Big Sizes Mean Big Money

I have heard many argue that the bigger you are the more you should pay. Though if we go ahead with that argument, the issue becomes much larger. The truth is that big and tall stores are charging three to four times the prices.
I went looking for a 3x bathing suit and was told it would cost me over fifty dollars. This would normally be around ten dollars in a Target or Walmart.
So why do heavy people pay such large prices. It feels as though we are getting taken advantage of at the over-sized stores.
Some people say if you can’t go to the normal sized stores then that is your problem.
The reason that I take issue with the “normal” phrase may be a shock to you. Right now   over sixty percent or more of U.S.A. is overweight or obese.

That would put the heavy people in the majority and actually the normal ones.
So my question is still why we should pay more money for something that is far greater in demand.
Wait… I think I just answered my own question. Greater demand means greater profits.
It has nothing to do with discrimination or prejudice. Instead it is pure greed.
So my hat goes off to the plus size stores for getting what they can but sooner or later the Targets’ and Walmart’s are going to catch up. So watch out.

This Has Been the Worst Month Of My Life

This has been the worst month of my life.

I lost two family pets which were my near and dear to my heart…practically children to me, regardless how others may feel.

I’ve really gotten to know who my true friends are. As for the phony ones, they are dead to me.

I thought I would emotionally eat during this time but I’ve only had a few bad days. Perhaps I even lost a few pounds, though that was not my intention.

After meeting with so many celebrities in the last few years making this film, maybe it is rubbing off.

I think back to Jillian Michaels, Ruby Gettinger, Dr. Judith Beck and even Bob Harper. Each and every one of them were so human and gave me strength. Even Michelle Bouchard from Dr. Oz’s Health Corps. was a positive influence.

Everyone wants to help but when you are in such emotional turmoil it seems like a lost cause.

I wake up in the morning and my little ones are not there.

Isolation has become my best friend.

It is ironic that all of this should takes place at the end of production. It has been over three years of my life that I have felt like I have forsaken so much.

I just always felt if I could effect just one person’s life other then my own, then it will all be worth it.

On this journey I have learned and experienced so much I can’t wait to share with you all on the screen.

It just never entered my mind how long and life changing this would be.

I now make two promises.

The first, is to finish this film for everyone.

The second, is to help the great foundations representing this very cause that I so believe in.

There has to be good that comes from this film and I will do whatever it takes to make it happen.

When Food Doesn’t Take The Pain Away Anymore

Almost three years ago I began the quest for “Finding Thin.”

During my quest to find thin, I started to gain even more weight.
Traveling all around the country interviewing Jillian Michaels, Bob
Harper, Tony Horton and more, was extremely stressful and offered very
few healthy eating opportunities throughout the way.

In truth, I used the stress as an excuse that in turn failed my body,
my health, and overall, myself. Emotional eating has interrupted any
successful weight loss for as long as I’ve ever known.

Last week I lost my beloved Pug and it was devastating. This was the
last of my dogs and the loss of two in a month or so time.

My world was completely torn apart. Life didn’t feel right, even in my
own bed where I’ve been barely fighting off sleepless nights. Any
mention of my dog broke me into a million little pieces.

In the past, I’d usually turn to food to ease my pain, but this time
it just didn’t feel right.
It was as if someone put some sort of mind trap in me and I could not
reach for the food.
Suddenly there were just a few poor food choices…but I didn’t even
care. I believe that I even lost weight.

Whether or not this is because I feel so empty inside or not, I am not
sure. Though the one thing I know is that over the last couple of
months, I have felt very different when it came to emotions and
eating. I wasn’t even trying for weight loss and yet it seemed to be
coming naturally.

There is still internal pain that I have to get through, but there is
also that feeling of success for being able to deal with something as
devastating as this in such a different way.

I guess the point that I am trying to make is that even in the darkest
hours, there is still hope out there.

Is The 21st Century Responsible For Obesity?

Is the new century helping us become lazier?

I hear so many people talk of how we were so thin years ago but so obese today. While it is true that there is more marketing and choices of food, human beings really have not changed all that much.

In fact, decades ago parents cooked with so much lard and an abundance of other unhealthy items that you would wonder how they ever lived past forty.

So I ask myself, “What has changed?” Diets and depravation have been around forever, so clearly they can’t be the causation of this epidemic? The economy is in the toilet now, yet even during the great depression most people were still thin.

I really believe that we are now taught that you can have as much as you want and you can have it whenever you want it.

How much is to much?

We now have the days of tons of marketing to children. Then there are the electric carts in the grocery store that are almost always filled with obese people. Please don’t get me wrong; if they need the carts, then we should have them. It is just the question of why we have gotten so big that we need them to begin with.

What happened to physical exercise? I mean children still go to gym class don’t they? Oops, I forgot that many states have cut that from their budgets. Well, at least they can go home and chat online for most of the day with their friends. Of course the sedentary lifestyle that comes with that could be another answer.

So what can we all do? Should we buy those weird looking people movers called “The Segway” in order to get from place to place? After all, Steve Wozniak of Apple drives around on one and he doesn’t have a weight problem, does he?

Are segways the death to physical fitness?

The point that I am really trying to lead to is that we have been taught to eat much greater proportion sizes whenever we want to and then to live a life as sedentary as possible.

If this is how most adults today are conducting their everyday life, then how are they supposed to teach their children to be any better? If we look at the statistics and rising health costs, we could have the greatest threat to mankind since the creation of the atomic bomb.

So, my recommendation is to get out there and do something. Just one small thing. One extra step. Pick up a Jillian Michaels video if your afraid to go to the gym. Get into P90X or some other great exercise product so you can just take a little time a day to get some progress made. Just do something!

The next time you’re on the second floor of a building, take the stairs up and down. Forget the dreaded elevator lift, you will make everyone else riding the elevator happy and you will start to feel better both physically and mentally.

We can succeed if we just take on little step forward at a time. It is up to us.

Don’t expect fantastic changes in a single day. Though a month or so down the line, you might be greatly surprised.

Should MLB Impose Weight Limitations on its Players?

I love baseball as much as any other person does but there is a serious weight problem, which seems to be affecting many of today’s players.

For example, when today’s sports heroes are so overweight and can hardly take first base, there is clearly a negative message being ignored.

I mean look at names like Bobby Jenks, Sir Sidney Ponson, David Wells, or Dmitri Young; all great players but with serious obesity problems.

Too fat to play

How can we set so many conditions for the teams to meet and yet allow obesity to be so prevalent within the leagues? I mean they used to go crazy back in the day when “Refrigerator” Perry of the Chicago Bears weighed too much and would be huffing and puffing on the field.

Why not do the same for baseball?

Wouldn’t that teach our children that being overweight is an accepted social norm, since you can be active and on a Major League Baseball Team while being overweight?

While it is true that you can sometimes be healthy and overweight, but that most certainly won’t last forever. Soon most of the obesity-related conditions such as Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Disease would set in.

While all these men are great players, they do have a responsibility to set a good image for their fans.

Being from Chicago, I used to watch Bobby Jenks when he was with The White Sox and the man could hardly make it from the dugout to the pitchers mound.

So why not take some of the millions of dollars paid out and show them the way to use some great resources like Weight Watchers, Jillian Michaels, or even living by the Fitness Guru Tony Horton of P90X.

If these guys can make it to the major leagues, then they certainly can work on their own diets as well as doing something about their weight.

Either that, or address their struggles publicly to help others know that they are not alone.

I Found The Secret To The Perfect Diet!

I can’t recall how many new diets every month that have come out promising losing twenty pounds in twenty days. Even magazine articles from the supermarket shelves carried the same claims and more.

And I’ve tried them all.

Needless to say, I would lose weight very quickly that I could keep off for a couple of months at the very most. Then of course, the weight returned even faster as I could not keep up with these crazy new methods.

If there really were a special diet that had long lasting effects, we would have heard about it.

But in truth, we have already.

For me it is two very important things.

First and foremost, don’t expect miracles in a day. Small advances every day leads to success in the long term. The second, for which I am finally discovering, is that you have to include fitness in your lifestyle somewhere. Eating right is only half the battle.

Getting out outside my sitting comfort zone and starting to walk and exercise was the missing link to making the difference I so longed for.

There are so many exercise programs, DVD’s, and techniques that some heavy people, like myself, have been afraid to pursue, thinking that we could never do it. The great thing is that these can all be modified to get you going at whatever size you are at.

So now when I want to emotionally eat, I can make better choices and go and walk it off.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have bad days but the will power is getting much better.

Less bad days and more exercise shows me that there is hope out there and I need not worry about the instant results as much as long term weight loss and keeping it off.

So if your thing is Weight Watchers, Jillian Michaels or Tony Horton’s intense workout, just know that these are all a success story in progress if you just take the time to commit. And commit yourself one day at a time.

The greatest success for me is to watch my choices and habits changing slowly but sticking so I don’t have to ever put this weight back on again.

The magic of dieting is not in a magic diet, but it’s in myself and my commitment… and that is where I need to turn first.