Give me a minute …

Fellas, I need to finish up the last touches on a little something that I’ve been working on to get out to you guys.  I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag just yet, but I’d like to have it finished before the new season of LA Ink premiers on Thurday, July 9th.

I still haven’t heard which episode I’m going to appear on, but you know I’ll let you know as soon as I do.

So, the next time you hear from me, I won’t be empty handed

Thanks for your continued support guys; it really helps more than you know.

R.I.P. Micheal Jackson (1958 – 2009)

Regardless of what you think about the darker side of his life, I grew up during the Michael-mania of the 80s.  And, I’m still in shock over the news.  I wish all the best to his family and all of his fans all over the world.

Feel free to leave a comment if you’d like …

My History with Krispy Kreme Donuts …

When I weighed my heaviest (300+ pounds), Krispy Kreme Donuts (KKD) were like a close friend.  But, my history with KKD started many years ago.

I thought it was interesting when KKD opened its first store in southern CA.  Being from the East Coast, I’ve known about KKD since I was a kid because my uncle would always buy them by the baker’s dozen.  So, the smell of freshly made donuts wasn’t new when I went to my first KKD here in Cali.  However, I do remember telling folks out here that they were “evil” … LOL! (more…)

What is Mental Toughness?

So, there I was shaking, sweating, and simply wiped out trying to hold the downward dog position!  I couldn’t do another hindu push-up, so I simply dropped to one knee.  Mentally, I had already thrown in the towel because this was simply more than my body could handle.

As I dropped to one knee, ole Coach Steve Maxwell leaned over to me and calmly said, “Come on Muata, you have to be mentally tough”.  This encouragement was enough to push me through the game of group “tag” we were doing at the end of Steve’s Body Weight Trainer’s certification, which I’ve blogged about before.

Now, I’m going to be honest with you guys.  I knew that I was far from the strongest or the fittest guy at the certification, so, as I said in my report, I was just focusing on finishing and not puking all over the place!  But, Steve’s encouraging words stayed with me because I didn’t fully understand what it meant to be mentally tough. (more…)

Guess Who’s Joining The National Weight Control Registry?

Well guys, today is a pretty proud day for me.  Not only will my wife be going into her third trimester soon, but I’ll be mailing off my consent form to be added to the National Weight Control Registry!  Here’s a blurb about the purpose of the registry from their site:

The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), established in 1994 by Rena Wing, Ph.D. from Brown Medical School, and James O. Hill, Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, is the largest prospective investigation of long-term successful weight loss maintenance. Given the prevailing belief that few individuals succeed at long-term weight loss, the NWCR was developed to identify and investigate the characteristics of individuals who have succeeded at long-term weight loss. The NWCR is tracking over 5,000 individuals who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off for long periods of time. Detailed questionnaires and annual follow-up surveys are used to examine the behavioral and psychological characteristics of weight maintainers, as well as the strategies they use to maintaining their weight losses. (more…)

Squishy Fat, Whooshes, and Fat Loss

For anyone who has lost a considerable amount of weight, this post is definitely for you.

OK, as I’ve already blogged about, I think that what most folks consider “loose skin” after losing a lot of weight is actually skin that is loose because it still has fat behind it.  Remember, if it jiggles, it’s fat (more…)

A Tale of Two VoIP Providers

Alright guys, this post definitely goes under the Miscellaneous category because it has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition, training, or fat loss!  However, I had to share what happened to me this morning to get other folk’s views.

OK, since 2007, I ditched my land line and signed up with Vonage, which is the main provider of VoIP (voice over internet protocol) services in the US.  Actually, I made the switch after talking to a good buddy of mine who was really happy with his service.  Of course there were issues about dialing 911, but since I had a cell, I wasn’t too concerned. (more…)