Who is Jeremy Schoemaker and Why is He the Subject of This Post?

The answer to "Who is Jeremy Schoemaker?" is, he is the guy that became famous when he posted a picture of himself holding a check from Google for advertising revenue of $132,994.97 for one (1) month of clicks!!! This was from his ring-tones site that was getting upwards of 5000 visitors a day! He has a blog that teaches people how to make money online, and if you're interested in finding out more about Jeremy and his Shoemoney system for helping people make money online you can go here http://urlm.in/fxkx .

Now the answer to the second part of the question in the title is how it relates to the subject matter of this blog. Jeremy had a severe weight problem all of his life to the point where he had balooned up to 490lbs as an adult. He finally gave up trying to loose the excess baggage himself and elected to undergo gastric-bypass surgery that so many chronically overweight individuals are opting for these days. As you can see from the picture it worked because he is at "normal" weight now for his size. To be sure he is still a bit large, but in his defense he is a big, large-boned guy to begin with who can still pack the food away pretty good. I know that he can pack it away because I got an email from him relating how he consumed a couple of pounds of king crab legs in his hotel room between conferences at an all expenses paid seminar where he was a featured speaker. I guess he figured he was going to maximize the benefits of the gig and decided to load up on the crab legs. That's a lot of super-rich shellfish to be consuming for anybody; especially with all the melted butter that is usually used to embellish the already succulent flavor of those large crustaceans. Personally I think he should have restrained himself because he still is pretty heavy, and loading up with all that high cholesterol food is definitely not doing your heart health any favor.

What prompted me to write a post about Jeremy and his lifelong weight problem was a video interview with him that was sent to me via email. The interview was about his life story, from birth to his present day success as an internet marketing icon. Early in the interview he makes reference to his burgeoning weight problem as a young child. What did he attribute that propensity to? None other than his being a member in good standing of his maternal grandmother's "Clean your plate club"! How about that? He's pinning it all on the early brainwashing that he received as a child! That's right. He said from early on he and his siblings were encouraged to eat a lot in order  to grow and of course eat everything they put on their plates. His grandmother even had an honorary club for it, the aforementioned "Clean Your Plate Club". I'm assuming Jeremy was the outstanding member given his size. He said at age 13 he was already a 300+ pounder! Wow!

Now, I agree that we should eat what we put on our plates, but on the front end we should also exercise restraint and moderation, because if you load that plate up and you have to clean it up.... well, I think you can figure out what you are letting yourself in for, especially if you are a reader of these posts and my tips. Also if you are a reader of these tips you know there are strategies on the back end if your eyeballs do get too big and you get carried away and put enough food on your plate to feed yourself for a week.( Can you say "doggie bag"? )  In Tip #1 I make mention of this phenomenon that most of us have been exposed to growing up, and here it is, a guy with a lifelong track record of overeating saying that  the early indoctrination he received as a mere child was the genesis of his struggles. Now that, people, is what I think I can safely say is validation! So what do we take from this sad tale of an individual's losing battle with obesity that resulted in him having to opt for surgery as his only salvation? Do the surgery? Maybe. That might be your only answer if you are at the end of your rope, and of course you can somehow afford it. It is definitely an option with a track record of success. However, if you are not there yet then you need to find another way. The pages of this blog offer you another workable way to get your eating habits under control. These tips give you another way of looking at your approach to eating. In them there are alternative strategies to your previously locked-in, automatic behaviors that you feel you just have to keep doing. They give you an awareness, a mindfulness ( love that Zen reference ) to take charge of your eating practices. In the end, isn't that what it really comes down to anyway?
 Who is Jeremy Schoemaker....

Shocking Diabetes Prediction by the CDC

The CDC ( that's the Center for Disease Control,  for the uninitiated ) today, Friday October 22nd, has predicted that the number of adults with Type 2 diabetes could TRIPLE!!! ( emphasis mine ) from 1 in 10, the current level, to 1 in 3 by the year 2050. That's an astounding increase, but at the same time not a surprising one given the culture of overeating that exists in America, the land of plenty. The CDC says about 24 million adults currently have diabetes and most of them Type 2 diabetes which is linked strongly to poor diet and a lack of exercise. Type 2 is also known as Adult Onset Diabetes as distinguished from the unfortunate kids who have the disease as a result of heredity, like former Chicago Cubs 3rd basemen Ron Santo, who had to give himself insulin shots during games and have candy bars handy to counteract the swings in blood sugar from too high to too low so he could stay in the game. Those individuals are saddled with the disease through no fault of their own. On the other hand, for Type 2 diabetics the onus for acquiring the disease rests entirely on them for a life of overeating, poor eating choices, and not exercising. Think about that for a moment, these undisciplined people could have avoided this terrible disease simply by gaining control of their eating habits and getting a little exercise! That is what is astounding to me, anyway. It's the idea of bringing this on yourself when all you had to do was watch what and how you ate. If you think I'm overstating the case when I say that this is terrible disease try these stats on for size: in 2007 diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults under age 75, as well as foot and leg amputations not caused by injury. I don't know about you, but that's enough to put the fear in me. I love to eat but certainly not so much.as to bring that hell-on-earth down on myself! If that's not enough to get your food consumption under control then I don't know what is. I think people just turn a blind eye to it (do you see the irony of that?), and continue on their merry way, doing what they've always done because it's easier, and Oh so much fun feeding your face to your fat-laden heart's content. After all, it only happens to other people, not you, right? That's a convenient little stratagem we all have engaged in, isn't it? I mean, come on, we're special and bad stuff doesn't happen to us, right? Why? Just because we don't like thinking about anything bad happening to us, so ergo nothing bad will happen because we can't imagine it. I believe that is known as the fallacy of  Circular Definition or circular reasoning. The question is, are you guilty of this kind of fallacious thinking when it comes to justifying why you do what you do, not just when it comes to your eating habits, but anything for that matter? If you are then maybe you should take a long hard look at yourself and try to ascertain why. Why it is you do what you do.
 See Tip # 4

Do You DQ?

If you're wondering what DQ in the title of this post refers to, it is the marketing short-hand for that venerable  franchise that became famous by selling soft-serve ice cream. If you guessed Dairy Queen, then you get the prize. To be sure, I don't have a problem with "DQ" or their products. However, this latest post of mine is on the order of a rant, because last night during a commercial break for the NLCS baseball playoff game between the Phillies and the Giants or was it the NFL game between the Colts and the Redskins, it really does not matter which, because either way they are reaching a large viewing audience with these games. I don't begrudge them for doing that, but what I do have an issue with is the offering that they are promoting in these slots. You see, the great minds in the corporate ivory tower at DQ's HQ (catchy, eh?) decided some time ago that in order for them to grow the franchise they needed to get into the hot foods fast-food business also and to compete with the likes of  KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's, etc. to get a piece of that bottomless-pit  market. I don't blame them for that either, it's just this latest menu item they came up with and are now promoting. The entree is three or four breaded and fried chicken strips with a side of fries, and the kicker here that set me off on this tirade is what they pitch like it's a crowning flourish is...are you ready? TahhDaa... Texas Toast!!! Wow. Really?? Texas Toast? Man, that just makes me want to run out at the first chance I get and snag one of those babies. Chicken strips and an order of fries? Great, who doesn't like that. I know I do, and when it comes to good fried chicken, I crave the stuff. Then they couldn't find anything else to put with it to complete the package, so they had to heap on another helping of carbs to follow those fries. That is my problem with it. All they had to do is add a side of coleslaw to it. That's something that's good and good for you. Come on already! It's made with cabbage, a great green leafy vegetable that's loaded with nutrition, a natural fat burner food, and one that many fast food chains that offer fried foods include with their meals. Maybe that's just too obvious a selection, so they decided to pander to the penchant of American consumers to opt for carbohydrate laden meals. Again, that's just what we need, another "food" offering that contributes to the obesity pandemic in this country. If you are reading this, it's probably because you are concerned about a burgeoning weight problem of your own, and hopefully you have the good sense to stay away from such an unwise selection of this sort when you are making your food choices. That is where it starts, you know, with our daily choices of what we are going to put in our mouths to sustain ourselves. That's what we all need to get control of, and I don't think I have to tell you that this is clearly not a choice that you will not pay the price for in added girth. I hope this illustration leaves you the wiser, and that you will opt for your long term benefit, because remember, everything counts and, alas, adds up in unwanted pounds if we make the unwise choice.

I rate this latest menu offering from Dairy Queen a Double Dumb Food Choice because it doubles down on the carbs with the bread and fries and to be avoided by anyone serious about getting their weight under control.
Do You DQ?
See Tip #2