PEERtrainer

Conversation With Matt Hoover, Winner of Biggest Loser Season Two

We had a chance to interview Matt Hoover who many of you know as the winner of season two of "The Biggest Loser." It ended up being a pretty interesting interview, especially from the perspective of keeping weight off, what happens after the weight loss. He talks about his upcoming Iron Man competition in Hawaii and his training for the 2012 Olympics. He was a member of 4 national championship wrestling teams in college, so the guy is a pretty amazing athlete.

We spoke for about an hour, so if you want to listen to the entire interview map out some time ahead of time. This is the link to the interview. It is pretty cool.

Matt mentioned in the call that he uses hypnosis as one of the tools to help keep the weight off. He uses the CDs from Roberta Temes, who we have known for a few years and who has written some articles for PEERtrainer in the past. We asked him to follow up on this subject, something we are increasingly interested in, because it works really well. But it is something that most of us have not tried. Here is his take on it:

"To be honest I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I had used hypnosis when I was competing in wrestling.  It helped me tremendously in sports but wasn't sure what would happen with weight loss. When I got Dr. Roberta CD's I did a session immediately.  

I didn't really feel different, but  I quickly noticed that many of the cravings I had, especially for Taco Bell were gone.  I didn't even think about it anymore. The biggest thing I notice was how rather than crave diet pop, I began to want water.  The sessions helped me to realize that I didn't have to be on a diet, I could program myself to crave healthy foods in moderation. In the past I would eat until I was full, even if it was healthy food.  

Now I eat until I am satisfied and I don't have to "force" myself to remamber to eat.  I just do it. I used the CD's nearly everyday when I first got them, now I use them a couple of times a month to remind myself of the tools I now have. Recently I used them before I left for vacation to help keep myself in the right state of mind to be consistent during a time when many people fall off track.  I use them anytime I am traveling, usually on the plane.  I have found that to be a great time to relax and get myself ready for my upcoming stay, wherever that may be. 

I am really lucky because my wife really supports my use of the program.  She will say when she thinks I need a session.  She has seen tremendous progress since I started the program and knows that it helps me to stay on track. I have lost 30 pounds so far and have reset my goal to get even leaner using Dr. Roberta's CD's. I love the CD's and have recommended them to everyone I know who is dealing with weight issues.  I know that with the success I have had that others will achieve their goals as well with the use of the tools I have learned from Dr. Roberta. These discs truly have helped me to develop a healthy mind set when it comes to my relationship with food and I fully expect to have continued success on my new weight loss journey with the knowledge I have gained from Dr. Roberta Temes."

We were first introduced to Roberta I think in 2006, and we need to circle back with her. We have recommended this product in the Tip Of The Day program, and it is nice to see a "celebrity" endorse something like this. Sort of a nice validation of something we had seen work. You can get the CD set through the Hypnosis Network. 

Btw, I personally use hypnosis for other areas of my life. Different products from different companies, but the bottom line is that these things really work. Be open to it!

Thoughts on How To Feel Great Physically

(By Habib Wicks, PEERtrainer co-founder)

Yesterday after a 40 minute workout with Joshua I was hungry and tired and wanted to find something that could really build upon the good work that I had done. I fired up the frying pan and grabbed 4 cloves of garlic from the fridge. I smashed them with my palm in about 10 seconds and threw them in the pan with some olive oil.

I then grabbed a bag of spinach from the freezer and threw it in the pan. Covered the pan and cooked for maybe 4 minutes? I might have added a few grinds of pepper. The spinach got cooked and steamed pretty good and then I just dumped the contents of the frying pan right into the Cuisinart. Pressed both the buttons getting the blade to go in both directions and pureed the spinach.

I then dumped it on a plate and opened up a bag of Kettle chips to curb my carb cravings. I then ate the entire plate of spinach (a full pound) dipping the chips into them. It tasted really good and it was EASY to make. Today I feel better than I have in a while. 

I used to workout when I was single and lived in NYC. I would hit the gym and lift. But I never really felt great because I ate poorly. Of course I did not understand that at the time because I was not overweight. Later on, a business colleague (and former chairman of a big healthcare company) gave me a copy of Eat To Live (and then introduced us to Dr. Fuhrman) and this book totally changed my outlook on eating. If PEERtrainer seems like the Dr. Fuhrman show at times, this is the reason. This is my personal agenda, and it has to do with his advice getting my own health in order.

I am not a vegetarian by any stretch, but I do go out of my way to get my greens in especially each day. I also understand the need to really chop up the greens to really get the nutrients out. Dr Fuhrman explains that our body cannot digest the cell wall of a plant, and you can only chew your food so much.

Recently I have started to do a lot more strength training, adding this back to my routine. I am not hitting the gym or doing bodybuilding, but just getting the muscles themselves a good workout. The last few years I have just run, played tennis or maybe rollerblade from time to time. Pure cardio. 

Running PEERtrainer, companies now often send stuff to us to test, evaluate and then write or blog about.  If we like it or it really captures our attention and we actually make it part of our day to day we do so.

For example, Total Gym recently sent us their top of the line model, the Total Gym XLS. And luckily I have Joshua with me who is a fitness nut. We are going through all 80 of their exercises and really pushing ourselves. At the end of the workout yesterday we had the incline at the highest level and I found myself doing inverted bicep curls, pulling my weight up the incline keeping my elbows locked into place. A heck of a workout.

But my point here is that for the first time I am combining a high nutrient way of eating with strength and resistance training. And I feel fantastic. I have been doing this for about a month, and yesterdays tweak to the routine prompted this post. Was so easy to do and prepare.

This all started last month we were testing and working with resistance band systems. And I started this process of working out the muscles with those bands. Resistance bands work really well to isolate all sorts of muscles quickly. Then I started Total Gym and basically worked out the entire body in a short amount of time.

I just wanted to communicate this combo- and suggest that you find a way to get some daily training in where you engage the muscles with some form of resistance. Resistance bands are a great thing to have in your home. Bodylastics is hands down the best product on the market and we have written a review about it here. And also recorded a bunch of videos on how to use it in different ways. But the basic idea is that for less than $100 you get something that essentially functions as full gym in your house. Both men and women can use it, and it really works. 

Total Gym is another great option if you have the space. You can watch a video of Joshua using it. It can be a little expensive though. The list price for the top of the line model is about $1500, and there are less expensive options and ways to buy used ones. We talk about it on the page. The Total Gym is also pretty durable and you might be able to find one on Craigslist. As long as the pulleys work nicely and you can get the incline going I highly recommend using one.

Or go to the gym. But just get in the habit of working the muscles and then getting your nutrients in, and really work this combo. Carrot juice is another excellent source of concentrated nutrients. One of the things Dr. Fuhrman has done with a new book of his, Eat For Health, is put a "Point System" on different fruits and vegetables. The idea is that you want to hit 100 points a day for optimal nutrition. He sent us a copy of this a year ago and it helped to really focus my eating habits each day. The stuff at the top of his points list are all the greens, and things like Romaine lettuce, red peppers, escarole, broccoli.

This book again changed my daily food decisions permanently. I grill red peppers whenever I find them on sale. If I am at an italian restaurant, I order a side of esacarole and beans and a side of broccoli rabe for my entree. The server usually looks at me like I am crazy, and is probably a little tweaked because this meal will cost less than $10 at the best restaurants!

But this strategy has given me a lot of energy especially in the last year. Adding the resistance training and bodyweight training to the mix has just stepped up how I feel, and I wanted to share that with you all. Work the muscles and work the high nutrient veggies. And when you do, add a comment to this blog post. Tell us what exercise you did and what you ate afterwards, please!!

I also got Joshua to do a piece for us which you can watch below. Just click the arrow to play the video, and he also shows you some simple exercises you can do with just your own body and nothing else:

 

In addition to Joshua being highly entertaining he is also a core part of our Point Of No Return Program, and in this role he essentially takes people on a tour of the thoughts behind the thoughts in their head. He has studied tons of stuff in the area of the mind, and delivers what is some of the best advice available. Stuff that works. 

He is living proof of the idea of "mind-body connection" and is doing a great job with Jackie in giving people an experience that is literally changing the lives of many people. When you make different decisions in your life, you will get different results. I think the real trick is getting to the point of successfully making that shift, and this program does that. 

One specific result we see that people experience in this program is a real sense of hope. We keep hearing this word "hope", "I have hope" over and over from participants. I am very excited about the early feedback on this new effort we have undertaken. Please check it out if you have a weight loss or fitness goal you have not met. This will help. 

-Habib

Bodybugg Coupon Code

This link gets you the lowest price for the Bodybugg ever.

For those of you looking to buy a Bodybugg- they have reduced their price temporarily by $30 and is also offering an additional 20% off with the following coupon code that you can get via this link:

Discuss the BodyBugg in the PT community

Challenging Yourself Can Help You Exercise More And Fight The Dreaded Plateau

We just got an excellent email from a subscriber to the Tip Of The Day program, and we thought that it would be helpful for those of us looking to stick to the weight loss or fitness journey. The question we had asked in one of our coaching calls was "are you brave enough" to do it. What was interesting about this email is this person was in law enforcement. Already plenty brave, but found it helpful to apply this question to working out:

"I'm really a newbie at this website, I stumbled upon it recently and have enjoyed it so far. I am not new to the diet and fitness routine, but am at the last 10 pound mark after having lost about 50 pounds and have kept that off for 5 years (I never officially joined a club or gym, I got the weight watchers books on eBay and use hiking and kickboxing type videos along with jogging in my fitness routine). 

I am realizing that to lose that last 10, and maintain the loss, I may have to modify (read: give up??) some things I treasure, like my coffee with cream every morning, or at least work it into my calorie count by eating a smaller dinner, etc. Anyway, I have enjoyed your website and especially the calls. I just wanted to say that from the first call, there was something that really stuck in my mind, and it has sort of become my mantra when I'm jogging on a day that I'd really rather not be out there.

Please forgive me that I cannot remember which of you stated this, but it was just a comment about starting and sticking to the weight loss / fitness journey, and the statement was "are you brave enough?". Well, to me, that's a challenge! I am in law enforcement and consider myself pretty brave, so to consider the work out on that level really helped. I am now trying to figure out if I am "brave enough" to run a half marathon this year. That's a bit harder than being challenged into getting out for a 3 1/2 mile run. But, when I'm tired, I ask myself that question, and not being brave enough is not an option, so it keeps me going.

Thank you for what you do, and for so candidly sharing your own experiences with everyone! Best of luck and continued success!"

We will keep posting great feedback like this. We have also created a 12 week coaching/training intensive that goes way beyond the ideas presented in the 4 calls. You can learn more about that here:

http://www.peertrainer.com/coaching

You can start this program at any time and get sent the calls each week along with a guide/lesson plan to work on that week. People love the program so far and they are also in their own private team which is crackling with activity.

Perfect Pushup: A Review of A Cool Product That Works

This is Habib guest blogging and I want to talk about a product that both men and women might like. The marketing team for the Perfect Pushup product sent us a sample of the new mobile version of the product. It folds up and goes in a nice little pouch. I have had it for a couple months and felt compelled to blog about this for three reasons.

1) The product works as advertised. When I use it, I usually get sore the next couple days. I am not a huge exerciser, but I do pushups from time to time because it is easy to do it. 

2) It is a great product to have in the bedroom. I have a set of 25 pound dumbells and the Perfect Pushup side by side. I can see it, and that serves as a reminder each day to do it.

3) The product seems to be very well built. We have a 5 year old and a two year old and they like standing on top of one Perfect Pushup and spinning around. I am pretty sure that this is not what the company recommends, but it seems to be able to withstand a beating.

I could probably use a little more instruction on how to best use it, but I love having it in my bedroom. Thanks for sending us one!  www.perfectpushup.com