The football gift...

The gift that never gave... thankfully.

     Growing up I always would hear the same thing be told to me, "You look like a football player. " This had to do with my broad shoulders, and stocky look.  I would then be asked the dreaded question of, why don't you play?  Over and over I had the same answer, my heart and doctor will not let me.

     It was tough growing up and not being able to do something you loved.  I would watch television and desire to play. I would play on the ps2 and have the same desire.  I would play with my friends and almost always be one of the best players that were there.  However, I would run out of gas quickly.  My breathing would become hard, my heart would start to race, and I would feel the arrhythmia start to take over my heart.  This would be my reminder to why I couldn't play football for a league.  

     All throughout football season I would watch others partake in the sport that I loved.  I would dream of playing for the Huskies, I would dream of catching a touchdown pass from my favorite quarterbacks, or running over the defense on the way to a touchdown, or making that game changing tackle in the backfield.  I eventually became angry with the thoughts and the truth of the situation.  I hated God because of the limitation that had been put on me.  I felt here I was, just a kid, with skills that could take me far in a sport I loved, but I couldn't use them.  How dare He do this to me.  

     I struggled to understand why things were the way they are.  I didn't want to be limited in what I could do.  The truth hurt, and so did the questions of those who did not know my past.  Why didn't I play football?  I could only wish that I knew then what I know now.  One bad hop and my career could have been over, then what?  Instead I'm able to raise a wonderful family, work and do the things I enjoy, not be worried about some lockout, and things like that.  If I had become what I desired I would not have a life that was unimaginable. 

     We may want to fulfill our desires, but if it is not in our plans then we have to understand there are reasons for this.  Dwelling on the past or dwelling on things we cannot do will only get in the way of things that we can achieve.  If I just dwelt on the bad of my life, I never would have met my wonderful wife Kate.  I would not be just three classes away from my bachelors degree.  I would not have the life that has been created.  

    It took a long time, but I have realized that dwelling on the can nots in life will only get in the way of the can's.  Our paths are usually altered for a reason.  I never would have had my beautiful wife and children if mine wasn't, and I thank Heavenly Father for that. 

Thank you

To my readers...

    These past few days I have had different people message me or talk to me in person about how I have helped them out.  I will be honest, I never imagined I would have had the effect that I have had on people.  I could only of hoped that my blog would maybe help one person see that anything is possible.  Instead I have heard from quite a few the impact it has had on them and it makes me truly humble that I could help.

     If we are given the trials on earth that our Heavenly Father has in store for us, and do nothing with them, we are no better than the man who hides his talent in the dirt.  It is important to know that all your trials are part of His plan and it is important to gain knowledge, experience, and  share the knowledge we receive from those trials. 

     Don't be afraid to email me if you want to tell me your story or just to talk.  Also if you send me your story and would like it published in my blog I'm more than happy to do that as well.  I feel truly blessed for the opportunity I am having.  In closing I just want to say to my readers, Thank You.  I hope you keep reading and keep coming back because I promise you, we are still just beginning.  I have 28 years of history to give insight to haha. 

     Be blessed for I know I truly am. 

I'm on a see-saw!!!!!!!

The see-saw effect

     201... 205... 203... 206... 202... but at least it has not gone to 210, then again it isn't 200 either.  It can become pretty annoying when your weight keeps alternating like the numbers above.  This is something I have been experiencing the past week or so.  It can be tiring, but I know in the end all of this is one big learning experience.

     What I take from this journey is knowing that in the road of life there are always speed bumps.  Nothing is going to go as planned.  So as one of my favorite songs go, I need to put my shoulder to the wheel.  Weight loss has been an amazing experience.  Where would I be if I would have given up the first time I didn't meet my goal?  Or stopped when I gained instead of lost?  

     I know that I will meet my goal very soon of dropping under 200 pounds.  I know that it is going to keep on taking hard work and determination.  I also know that my objective of weighing 170 will be reached as well.  These things take time and effort and I'm ok with the bumps in the road.

     For now, however, I'm going to keep on this see-saw for as long as I need to until I break through the barriers that are in front of me and destroy my goal.  What I take and learn from here will only strengthen me and prepare me for my next objectives.  One step at a time!  

Its all in this magic pill.... I promise you!!!

This Pill can Solve Everything!

     Did you know that you don't have to change the way you eat!?!  Eat all you want, how you want, when you want, and you my friend can still lose all of the weight you desire!  What is this magical new product that will allow you to conquer your weight problem?  I will tell you right now, the new magic, we are going to speed up your heart, destroy your kidneys, make you into a leaky car, and just might drop a couple pounds off of you!  Now doesn't that just sound awesome?!?

     Fact is there is no such thing.  This is one of those classic cut the crap moments.  Some of these pills may indeed help you lose the weight you want, but at what cost?  I can tell you right off the bat, your stomach is going to be your worse enemy for the time.  Weight loss pills are going to do a number on your stomach.  

     There are many dangers in over the counter weight loss pills.  Both the herbal and non-herbal varieties present many dangers.  In my humble opinion it is not worth it.  Side effects include; nausea, nightmares (yes nightmares), heart palpitations/arrhythmia,vomiting and so much more.   


     One diet test done on herbal diet weight loss pills presented very interesting results.  3 years later 100 of the participants had some kind of kidney problem, 10 years later many of the participants developed urinary tract cancer.  This is not the answer.  It is not worth the impact that these pills can have on your life, including when there are other alternatives.


    What are these alternatives?  Well of course you can get surgery, you can starve yourself or other options that are out there.  However, these are not recommended and unnecessary.  What you need to do is eat Subway twice a day, walk everywhere you go, and become famous!  Haha ok just kidding, I love Jared but let's face it, we all can't afford that and there are other and better options (although Subway is very good).  


     Here comes the words that we all hate.  The best alternative to weight loss pills is changing your diet.  There is no such thing as a magic pill that allows you to eat everything you want and lose the weight you desire to lose.  If there is, trust me, it will make you pay in other ways.  Now, there are some foods that can help you lose weight.  I will give you a brief look at some of these pills, for I plan on talking more in depth about the best super-foods for you in a later blog.

1. Fiber-  Of course fiber is going to be first.  This will help you keep your pipes clean, and everything moving through your body like it should.  Of course it will help you also lose weight.
2. Eggs-  New research has proven that eggs do not give you the type of cholesterol that we all fear.  It has taken me a long time to believe this.  In fact eggs have so much great nutrition for you that this is a must in every diet!  
3. Spices- Spices are awesome!  The best ones being cinnamon, chili peppers, mustard seed, ginger, black pepper, and turmeric are huge boosts to your body.  Cinnamon is natures natural blood sugar stabilizer, chili peppers gets your blood flowing in a natural and healthy way, and ginger helps boost calorie loss.
4. Protein- Protein helps you in many ways.  After exercising I am sure to eat at least 30 grams of protein, this helps build muscles and in return muscles help burn fat and calories.  It can also help you lose blood fats.
5. Water-  Water goes a far way in helping you lose weight.  From making you feel fuller to keeping you hydrated and moving.  A healthy amount of water is essential to losing weight.  

     Keep this in mind the next time you are looking at a diet pill.  There are better alternatives that won't wreck your life.  These alternatives in fact will help your life.  I love you all, God bless you!

I broke myself down and started over...

I found myself...

     Once I peeled my onion away and looked at what there was, I was amazed at what I had let myself become.  For once in my lifetime, I eliminated everything I had been told about myself and how society told me I should view myself.  I was tired of all of the negativity and how it affected not just me, but also my family.  No longer did I want to allow what the media wanted, but instead what was needed for me, my relationship with God, and my family.  So once I peeled away everything and broke myself down now it was time to find myself and see just what type of a person I was and could be.  

    First thing was first, I had to look at myself and tell myself just how I truly felt about me.  I eliminated all of the negative and began a new foundation by realizing that I am a good looking guy.  We are all good looking people, we read in the scriptures that our bodies are a temple.  How dare I say that God's temple was not a beautiful thing.  How dare I question His creation because of what the "media" said I should be.  I needed to realize that it is not about what they think, it is about what God has create and what I think, and my wife with her words helped that situation as well.  We are all temples of God and with that said, God does not create ugly temples.  If you let society tell you different, you are falling prey to them and it is time to cut out that crap from your life.  

    I started to realize that yes I am one of God's great creations.  So with that said, why should I keep up with my body and my weight.  Then I realized that indeed this was too important.  Going back to the idea that your body is a temple I started to ask myself why am I putting so much crap into it?  It's bad enough I looked down upon it with my society influence outlook on what I should be, but I am also not taking care of my body!  I am cruising through life and not doing anything to make my body healthy and strong.  

      So I decided it was time, it was time to treat God's temple with the respect and honor it should be treated with.  This meant that yes, I would have to stop eating the way I ate, stop putting chemically altered crap into my body.  Sure, it tasted good.  Sure, it took care of those cravings I had for food.  But what did it do to my body?  IT destroyed my body!  It took away my health and made me an obese man who already had enough health problems to deal with.  I have a heart that won't let me run.  It wont let me be the person I had dreamed of being.  But this, I had to find out the hard way, is not about me.  The body and condition I have been given was a great blessing by the Lord.  This was me starting to lay down my new foundation, on the foundation of the Lord and the realization that he gave me this body knowing, knowing that I could take the ball and run with it.

     It was never in his plans to have me be some athlete or a mountain climber, or anything that takes a strong heart.  I needed to change my life and explore my deep down inner self to realize God knew what he was doing when he gave me the health conditions he gave me.  My foundation was finally laid.  I knew at that point what I had to do.  I knew that I could trust in the Lord, in his temple, in his creation that he knew what he was doing.  It has taken me 27 years to come to terms of my health.  It has taken me 3 months to change my life.  In 3 months I have laid down a new foundation.  That foundation is attacked daily but it holds strong.  


    I finally see me for me, not for what holds me back, but for what I have been given.  No longer am I going to allow society to influence my decisions.  I'm not going to let them determine how I feel about my body and I'm eliminating all of the negative words I use to think about myself.  I'm building back up my foundation, brick by brick, using the foundation of God and Jesus Christ.  My foundation laid, my bricks are going into place, it's a new life now.  I have taken control of my eating, I monitor almost daily what and how much I eat to know that my body is getting what it needs, not what I want.  I'm done with junk food, I don't need it.  I have eliminated most sugar (I don't eat anything with more than 10g of sugar in it).  Since I have decided to rebuild the temple that God has given me I have lost over 35 pounds, I sit right now at 210.  It is doable, this to me has not just been about weight loss anymore but a new lease and purpose on life.  I love my life now and all the blessings that I have.


Count your blessings
Remember you are one of God's temples
As we read in 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

The choices we make about the use of our personal temples will affect us throughout all eternity.

The story behind Cut The Crap

Why name it Cut The Crap?

     So the question becomes why would I pick a name that is so harsh?  It just seems a little mean doesn't it?  I mean sure I could have picked other titles like, my life story, how to cut the fat, becoming a better person one step at a time, etc etc etc.  The fact of the matter is, it is not easy.  For a majority of the people who read this it is going to take that smash-mouth, in your face, type of thought provoking influence. We have all had many opportunities to try to lose the weight, we have had many different diets and many different... "I can do this" thoughts but each time they have failed us.  So that is why it is time to get straight to the point and just admit... we need to cut the crap out of our life and it starts right here.

     Through prayer and realization, I have come to the conclusion that it was going to take some deep personal reflection to truly understand myself and what I need to do to become a better person.  Not just for myself, but also for my family.  I'm jumping ahead of myself however because, before our family, before our spouses, before our parents, but of course after God, we need to look in that mirror, we need to get comfortable with ourselves and see what truly is there.  First and foremost, with again the exception of God, this is for us!  This needs to be for you!  You must learn to love yourself and see what truly exists.  Inside each and every one of us there is a soul, there is a desire, a fire that burns deep down in the gully of your stomach, it's time to take a torch and light that puppy up!  

     I can't tell you exactly how to do this, but remember the title of this blog, it's time to cut the crap.  Stop lying to yourself!  You need to look into that mirror and be honest with yourself.  Quit lying, quit trying to shake everything off your shoulders and pretending that it does not affect you because we both know it does.  The first step to getting better is to stop lying to yourself and open up your soul to a discussion of fact and fiction.  This is your new beginning, your awakening to say the least.  

     This does not just have to be about weight loss but anything that is bothering you.  Let's now all take that first step, find a mirror, go into a bedroom and be by yourself, or just meditate, but get this one on one time you need.  Now that you are by yourself it's time to cut the crap.  Let it all out!  Do not hold back and if you have to break yourself down (this was my first step).  This is how I decided it was time to change my life, I let myself have it.  Now, the next step is to build yourself back up.  Tomorrow we will lay down that first brick and begin your new foundation the way I did.  It's time to learn to love ourselves, once we can love ourselves anything is possible!