Keith Ahrens

Have you ever said that you’re dying for a certain type of food or treat?  I sure have.

What I didn’t realize over all the years was that I was contributing to an early death when I took each bite.  My heart and overall health were being sabotaged with every over-indulgence.

We should always strive for nutritional balance in our lives and we each need to decide at what point is that “little something” worth it.  When is “just one more bite” too much?  I think the answer is different for each of us but the healthy principles are the same.

The holiday season has descended upon us. Food is everywhere we look. Just getting through the grocery store or Costco or Sam’s is a challenge these days. Samples here, samples there.  Most offices look like a diabetic coma, heart attack waiting to happen or a saturated fat grenade.

Keep your eye on the “little something’s” this holiday season. That may just mean going without some of the foods that we love to die for. – Keith

We get so busy during the holidays. It seems that we have twice as much to do in half the time it takes to do it.

Our Stress levels rise. Many will turn to food; others will come in the front door and plop down on the couch. Believe me, I’ve been there. In fact, I used to plop down, overeat and then tell myself how tired I was and not necessarily in that order.

We need to manage our time better.  By developing a schedule of tasks it can make the daily chores during the holidays less stressful and thus better for our hearts. A “To-Do” list lets you DO.

Prioritize the tasks you have to do in order of importance. And NO, not everything you have to do is as important as the next.

The one appointment that needs to be at the top of your list is physical fitness.  You must schedule an appointment everyday for yourself for daily exercise or physical activity. Consider the extra running around you have to do a bonus activity for your heart.

It’s not so important when you do it but I believe that by getting your exercise completed early in the day, everything else will just seem easier.

My top 3 priorities each day are sleep, physical fitness, and heart healthy meals. Everything else is secondary.

So, pencil in that appointment for yourself each day. It’s one you can’t miss! – Keith

After a speech I recently delivered someone asked me what I meant when I spoke of “The Walls”.

The walls that I was talking about were referring to my “layers of fat” my obesity.  I probably didn’t articulate that well during that speech but it’s a heavy subject (no pun intended).  I was limited on time and couldn’t expand on every detail.

I often get asked in interviews or during Q&A after a speech why I became or got so big.  I get asked often, why I didn’t get the weight off sooner?  My response is that one of the reasons I put on the layers and kept them on is because it helped me keep people away–relationships, people, etc…

Although I was very successful in my career, I kept people at a distance.  I had and have a fear of intimacy.  It stemmed, I believe, from my parents divorcing when I was 13.

I never wanted to be put in a position to let someone down or not feel unconditional love returned. Jan Denise, a friend of mine who wrote a couple articles on me put it best.  She wrote a book called “Innately Good“.  In it she talked about why people have fear like I have.  She said that if someone has the capacity to love another unconditionally (which I believe I do), and in turn that person feels that someone can’t love them unconditionally, then they feel, as I did/do, that he/she shouldn’t let people in their lives as to not get hurt or hurt someone else.  I hope that makes sense.  That’s what I meant by walls.

I still work with this because my life has changed so much over the past few years.  I think this was one of the core reasons that I was so big for so long.

The walls made feel safe.

The journey certainly continues. – Keith

When I turned 50, I was wearing size 62+ pants (they were tight), 5XL shirts. I weighed 450+, that was the MAX weight on my scale. At 51 I have now gone BELOW 400 lbs. I have lost 85 lbs I am wearing 56, 3XL in shirts (I can shop at Walmart for clothes again).

I am 51 years old, Last year I hit my all time high in weight gain. 480+. I say 480+; my scale does not go past 450. I could not walk more than 10 or 15 yards without wheezing for breath. I could not stand for an extended time. I could not keep up with my grandson. I did not want to go anywhere; I would scope out restaurants and make sure they had ARMLESS chairs. After trying many diets, Apple, WW, Atkins, etc….and changed my life habits and eating habits. I also lost my job, which was a blessing in itself. I used to eat fast food 3 times a day. My job was sedentary, very little walking needed, lots of hours, and lots of stress. Death by Obesity in the making.

My weight loss has been thru life style changes and eating choices. I have also used a product line by Advocare. Which helped with energy, weight loss, and appetite control. I am amazed having lost 85 lbs, how much different I feel, and the things that I could NOT do, that I am able to do now. I am by NO MEANS healthy, but I am able to exercise with out loosing breath, or stopping as I did in the past.

Three tips for success…You have to have a desire to lose, you HAVE to change the habits that got you into your current weight. You need to reach out for support, being obese is a very lonely life.

My motivation comes from inside me. I am inspired by others peoples successes, Keith Ahrens book was like reading my life in print…except I have not had a heart attack, YET…. I am still in danger, but I am working my way to healthy living. I have a loving wife that is dealing with weight issues as well; I now have 4 grandchildren that need their grandpa. And I have 2 special needs children that need me to be there for them as well.

With the loss of 85 lbs, I feel more energy, I feel that I can succeed and continue to lose. I want to be able to inspire others that are struggling with obesity to lose weight and lead a healthy life style.