Keith Ahrens

A team can’t win without scoring. Neither can we.

Think of any team sport that you like and how a team scores.  Is it a touchdown, a basket, a run, a goal, a point, or something else?

Teams get excited and have momentum when they score.

So do we when we’re trying to lose weight or increasing our fitness level.

We need to score and have the “little wins” in order to feel good and stay motivated.

The energy level rises when a team scores and spreads to every player and fan in the stands.  The same is true about the people around us.  They can just feel the added energy and vibes we put out.

By having little wins it keeps us focused on a bigger picture.  Losing that pound, walking that extra mile, lifting the higher weight all have huge effects when it comes to motivating us.

Create momentum in your own life.  It seems to take on a life of its own. – Keith

We call things that hamper us from reaching our health goals “Limiting Factors”.

Typically there are 3 limiting factors that are real when it comes to achieving our overall health success and well-being.

We need to be aware of all 3 but we need to concentrate mainly on 2 of them.

Typically our genetics, although it’s something we can’t control doesn’t stop someone from achieving to be in better overall shape.

Physical activity and better nutrition ARE things we can control.

To be in overall better shape when we neglect one over the other we do so at our own peril.

I’ve never met anyone that exercises all the time and eats like a garbage disposal to be very healthy. Conversely, I’ve never met anyone who eats a very heart healthy diet low in saturated fats, high in fiber, low sodium, lean meats, and whole grains and doesn’t exercise to be very healthy either.

Balance is the key.  Physical exercise and Heart Healthy Nutrition go hand in hand.

Consider a brisk walk as important the as eating your veggies and visa versa. – Keith

Where does it start? Where does it end? Where is it going?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about Happy Meals, Kids School Lunches, Physical Education programs, etc…

Poor early eating and exercise habits lead to adult illnesses and premature death.

There’s a lot of finger pointing and redirection of real issues.  Debate is good but action and viable solutions are the only answer.

Pundits are split on the solutions to keeping our kids slim and fit.

We can’t skimp on programs that may give a kid a fair shot at a healthy life.

The reality is America is getting sick and dying one saturated fat gram at a time. – Keith

This really happened yesterday.

6 year old: “Mom, can I have a sugar cookie for dessert?”

Mom: They’re all gone.

6 year old: Where are they?

Mom: Ask your Uncle Keith

6 year old: Uncle Keith, did you eat the sugar cookies?

Uncle Keith: I did eat the sugar cookies

6 year old: MOM, I think Uncle Keith has a Cookie Control Problem.

All this from a 6 year old. I felt like saying; “I’m Uncle Keith and I have a Cookie Control Problem.”

The moral of the story – I need to control my Cookie Control Problem!

Keith

Heart Disease remains the leading causes of death in the US.

Obesity is an epidemic.  Obesity is a leading contributor and cause of Cardiovascular Disease.  It’s a well-known risk factor.

If Obesity is the most preventable of all the diseases, why are we having such a hard time doing something about it? – Keith

OK, OK, When is enough, enough?

What would you do if you were told you can’t exercise?

The doctor just told me that I couldn’t exert myself until the first of the year. He said no more physical exertion such as treadmill, cardio, or heavy weightlifting until at least January 1.

I just had this biopsy on my bladder and it turns out I tried doing a little too much too soon.  (you can read my previous blog post) I’ve been climbing the walls and feeling like crap. I’ll spare everyone the details.

I need to allow sufficient time for healing at this point. No exceptions.

With the holidays here in full swing and not being able to exercise, how do I prevent a holiday weight gain.  The answer is quite simple although making it happen will be more challenging.

The only answer is to not consume more calories than we burn. That brings us to our BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate.

Your BMR is the number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day or sat on the couch and did nothing all day.  Our bodies burn calories even at rest.

At 5’10”, 210 pounds, male, My BMR is @1926 calories to maintain my weight.

To determine your BMR you can click on the link, enter your numbers, and find out approximately how many calories you burn by doing nothing.

If I consume fewer calories each day than my BMR shows, I’ll lose weight.  If I consume more, I’ll gain weight.  Simple but equally challenging.

What I can do is go for a nice walk.  I think I’ll be walking at the lake quite a few times in the next month.  At least I can walk. – Keith

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

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

“There are many opinions about how the size of your plate effects how much food you eat.  There’s no doubt that portion control is part of any healthy lifestyle.

Portion control has always been one of my biggest problems.

Studies have shown that the size of our plate is directly related to the amount of food we eat at one sitting.  I believe this to be true.

I now buy 7” and 8” paper plates instead of the usual 10” paper plates I used to buy.  My daily dishes are 8” instead of the normal 12-inch dinner plate”.

By reducing the size of the plate by 20{1ee8873d3da54571ef77633feec9b2f18618b0dba2f28faf42edb28003d1c6f7}, we could conclude that we’re cutting 20{1ee8873d3da54571ef77633feec9b2f18618b0dba2f28faf42edb28003d1c6f7} of the calories we consume also. Besides, our plates look fuller.

Now we just need to think about what we’re putting on that plate!” – Keith