In a recent report from WalletHub.com America is fat, and getting fatter by the minute. Where do the Great States of Arkansas and Texas fall into the obesity column and what can you do about it? Let's find out. 

The Holiday season is a tough time to bring this up but according to the information in the above-mentioned WalletHub article, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared that more than seven in ten American adults 20 and older are either overweight or obese. Seven out of ten. That's pretty alarming, the sad part is we're doing it to ourselves, and we're the only ones who can fix it.

I'm Down 75 lbs:

First let me say I'm not trying to sell you anything here, this is simply ideas for fixing a problem that many have, including me, overeating and not exercising enough.

My wife and I started on our homemade diet fix program on January 1, 2022, as of December 5, I have lost 75 pounds, 8 inches around my waist, 2 shirt sizes, and a bunch of clothing donations to the Salvation Army. Woohoo, yay for me! Seriously though, my blood pressure and cholesterol are back to normal, my doctor said I could stop taking both of those meds and now I only take daily vitamins and other supplements. Not bad for a 60-year-old guy.

Jim - December 2021 - 2022 - Canva
Jim - December 2021 - 2022 - Canva
loading...

Knowledge:

There's no magic fat-melting food that I know of, no pill, no fad diet that will do it and last. What my wife and I are doing is, eating clean, lower-carb meals in smaller portions and getting as much exercise as we can.  I know that "sounds easy" and we all know it's not, but simply put, the more you do these things the more weight will come off, the better you will feel, and your overall health will improve. Period.

The formula?

  • Shop the perimeter of the grocery store, try to stay away from the middle isles, and processed and canned foods.
  • Eat less bread and fewer grains overall, if you can cut them out altogether for 6 months all the better, very slowly work them back into your diet, but not to the levels you had before.
  • Cut out fast foods, fried foods, and pasta. I can count the times I've had pasta this year on two hands. Very little.
  • Make your own food, I eat steak bites, and turkey taco meat in salads and wraps with low-carb flour tortillas. For some crunch, I like BBQ fried pork rinds.
  • Eat more greens and veggies. Not my favorite thing either, but it's good for me so I do it.
  • Look for sugar-free or low-sugar options for sauces like BBQ and ketchup. They are out there. Find ways to make it work for you.
  • Cut way back on any added sugar.
  • No soft drinks! Diet or Zero-sugar soft drinks are ok but even they are not good for you. Break the habit, let them go. Full disclosure, I still drink Diet Dr Pepper, but not as much as I used to, and I never drink full-sugar soft drinks.
  • Drink water, lots of it.

The biggest mistake most people make, me included, is trying to lose too much too fast, having some success, and then falling right back into our old bad eating habits as soon as we hit our first goal. That never works out.

Photo by Henley Design Studio on Unsplash
Photo by Henley Design Studio on Unsplash
loading...

Exercise:

Well crap, nobody wants to do that, I know... I didn't either. But you have to, no weight loss program is going to work very well unless you are actively improving your overall health through regular exercise. Something, anything; that would include yoga, walking, running, swimming, spinning classes, cardio of some kind, weight training, do whatever works for you, but do it consistently. My wife and I found a program called Supernatural on the Oculus VR Headset that we love. I do a minimum of 4, 40-60 minute workouts a week on the headset right in my living room. It works for me, find what works for you.

Arkansas Texas Exercise - Canva
Arkansas Texas Exercise - Canva
loading...

But y'all, I feel so much better, you just don't know. I reached a point where I was miserable most of the time. I was always tired, everything took way too much effort. Tying my shoes took my breath away, I could no longer fit into virtually any restaurant booth. I was always uncomfortable, and my snoring was getting worse which can get dangerous. Physically, I was in the worst shape of my life and I knew it. Something had to be done. My wife said we were going to start our new diet on January 1 and I agreed to give it a shot.

Photo by Jozsef Hocza on Unsplash
Photo by Jozsef Hocza on Unsplash
loading...

Stay Off The Scale!

Nothing will mess with your head more than hopping on that scale every day to see how you're doing. Your body weight fluctuates up to 5 pounds per day. Constantly checking your weight is the quickest way to depression, anxiety and more eating. Stop it! Weigh yourself once per week, write it down in a journal and don't look again until that same time next week. I do my weigh-ins on Monday morning before work.

Obesity in Arkansas and Texas - Canva
Obesity in Arkansas and Texas - Canva
loading...

Willpower/Mindset:

It's the same thing, once you make up your mind to change your life, lose weight get into shape, quit smoking, or whatever you're trying to accomplish and change in your life, you have to learn to control your impulses and do what you know is right. With that in mind, there is one more thing, and it's the most important of all...

Endurance:

If you're trying to lose 5 or 10 pounds, this article is not for you. This is for those of us that have some serious weight to lose, you know who you are, you know what needs to be done and you even probably know how to do it already. This is going to take six months to a year or maybe longer to accomplish. It's not easy, but it is so worth it.

Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash
Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash
loading...

Arkansas and Texas = PDC

PDC stands for "Pretty Darn Chunky." Arkansans come in at #4 overall on the list of the Most Obese States in America, so you're not the worst, but there sure is room for improvement. Texans, don't get smug, we're not much better off, we came in at #12 on that same list.

Source: WalletHub

Nope, Not Even Done:

I still have another 25 pounds to lose to make it to my 100-pound goal, and I still have to make it through one or two more Christmas dinners at least. The difference this year is I'm not going to stuff myself as I have in the past, I might have two pieces of pie, but not half the pie. The most important thing is no matter how much I misbehave over the Holidays, over a weekend, or just a bad meal later this week, I am right back on my program the next day, eating right and exercising. You can do it too.

Your new mantra: "Just Keep Going."

Wait, What? Outdated Laws In The Great State of Texas

We scoured the interwebs to find some of the silliest laws that are supposedly still on the books in my home State of Texas, and Lordy look what we found:

San Antonio - The Family-Friendliest City in Texas

AllianceTexas Aviation Expo 2022 Gallery

Get our free mobile app

More From Majic 93.3