Motivated for Life: Joseph

Welcome to WABC TV’s Reset Your Life: A Healthier You blog! It follows the popular show "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" on ABC as well as other timely health issues as they come up in the headlines. As a bonus, you will also find meal plans, exercise routines and music playlists throughout the different posts to help get you motivated to reset your life!

I wanted to start this blog, because like thousands of women in the tri-state, I too have struggles and triumphs with weight. I have had major weight losses and gains in the last 11 years. The highs and lows on the scale correspond with the highs and lows I've experienced through school and college, work and the challenges of adult life. I am on my own new journey once again to get healthy.

This week, I met Joseph Burden.  He shared with me he is also on his own journey to get healthy.  In the last four months, he's lost 60 pounds!!  The 31-year-old is originally from Texas (whoo!) and now lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.  This is not his first time to the rodeo.  Joseph lost 100 pounds two years ago! He said he worked with a trainer toward the dramatic weight loss because he wanted to have a huge reveal for his birthday. But after his party came and went, he went back to his old habits and gained back all of the weight. 

This is a look at Joseph before his latest journey toward better health.

Four months ago, Joseph was on his couch watching daytime television when he heard something that rocked his world. A doctor was talking about men's health and and the effects excess fat has on the body. He realized right then, "I have to lose some weight or I'm gonna die." He wants to live a long, healthy life.  The very next day, Joseph went cold turkey.  He started eating breakfast and also started researching food and calorie counts online.  The last time he lost weight, Joseph had a trainer and followed all of the steps to have a big reveal for his birthday.  It was a short term goal.  This time, he is learning for himself what to do, how his body reacts and realizes his behavior is for life.  As far as exercise, Joseph runs five miles a day, five to six times a week.  Where did he get the idea?  Will Smith!!  Joseph was interviewing Will for a project and asked him how he stays in such great shape.  Will said, "Run five miles a day and you can eat whatever you want."  Of course, Joseph doesn't eat whatever he wants, but he does run five miles a day multiple times a week.  He's also added resistance training and weights to his routine.  Joseph said, "I hate working out. I have to do it, but I dread it."  He told me if it wasn't for his health concerns, he wouldn't do it.

Joseph is working to lose another 40 pounds and be completely transformed by Thanksgiving. He's excited to show his success to his friends and family in Texas.  Again, this time, it's for life.  He said, "I've stopped looking at the scale.  I just look forward to seeing my abs."  As far as food, Joseph said he's "more conscience of what I put in my body.  Is it good for me? Is it going to turn me into my old self?" Like many of us, he has some temptations along the way. He told me Popeye's is like kryptonite.  So, he does what he can to satisify his craving without going overboard.  Instead of ordering a two piece or three piece dinner, he'll order a drumstick, take a few bites and throw it away. Joseph says he's been a "big guy" and his problem is with food.  He considers himself an emotional eater. He realized that when he was eating ice cream after he didn't get something he had worked toward. Joseph has also learned it's not just about working out, but eating the right foods.

This is a look at Joseph on his journey. He took these reveal pictures this week!

Joseph said, "All of a sudden, I'm getting attention and guys want to talk to me, but now I feel weird.  It's to a high magnitude and it's almost overwhelming."  He added, "On the inside, I'm the same person.  It's hard to meet someone because (I'm thinking), 'Are they there for the way you look or do they want to know who you are?'"

Joseph advice for others, "My plan isn't everyone's plan, so do what works for you.  It doesn't come easy.  The effort and work you put in is what you get out of it." 

I'll bring you another update on Joseph when he reaches his goal.  Go Joseph!!!  :)

Also making headlines this week, a new diet drug hit the market.  Eyewitness News reporter Dr. Sapna Parikh has the details in her story below.

 

And then there's this.  Startling new statistics that show where we'll be as a country in the year 2030.

NEW YORK (AP) - A group campaigning against obesity predicts that by 2030 more than half the people in 39 states will be obese - not merely overweight, but obese.

Mississippi is expected to retain its crown as the fattest state in the nation for at least two more decades. The report predicts 67 percent of that state's adults will be obese by 2030; that would be an astounding increase from Mississippi's current 35 percent obesity rate.

The new projections were released Tuesday by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The two organizations regularly report on obesity to raise awareness, and they rely on government figures.

But in this case, their dismal forecast goes beyond the 42 percent national obesity level that federal health officials project by 2030.

About two-thirds of Americans are overweight now. That includes those who are obese, a group that accounts for about 36 percent. Obesity rates have been holding steady in recent years.

Trust for America's Health officials said their projections are based in part on state-by-state surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1999 through 2010. Those numbers come from what residents say are their height and weight when asked by interviewers over the phone. People aren't always so accurate about that.

The researchers then looked at other national data in which residents were actually weighed and measured and they made adjustments for how much people in each state might fudge the truth about their weight. They also tried to apply recent trends in obesity rates, along with other factors, to make the predictions.

Officials with Trust for America's Health said they believe their projections are reasonable.

But their outlook suggests that even in the thinnest state - Colorado, where about one-fifth of residents are obese - 45 percent are predicted to be obese by 2030.

Perhaps more surprising - Delaware is expected to have obesity levels nearly as high as Mississippi. Delaware currently is in the middle of the pack when it comes to self-reported obesity rates.

The report didn't detail why some states' rates were expected to jump more than others.

CDC officials declined to comment on the new report.

Whichever estimates you trust most, it's clear that the nation's weight problem is going to continue, escalating the number cases of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health.

By 2030, medical costs from treating obesity-related diseases are likely to increase by $48 billion, to $66 billion per year, his report said.

The focus of so much of the ongoing debate about health care is over controlling costs, Levi said. "... We can only achieve it by addressing obesity. Otherwise, we're just tinkering around the margins."

___

Listed are 2011 obesity levels followed by the Trust for America's Health projections for 2030:

Mississippi, 35 percent, 67 percent

Oklahoma,  31 percent,  66 percent

Delaware,  29 percent, 65 percent

Tennessee,  29 percent, 63 percent

South Carolina, 31 percent, 63 percent

Alabama, 32 percent, 63 percent

Kansas, 30 percent, 62 percent

Louisiana, 33 percent, 62 percent

Missouri, 30 percent, 62 percent

Arkansas, 31 percent, 61 percent

South Dakota, 28 percent, 60 percent

West Virginia, 32 percent, 60 percent

Kentucky, 30 percent, 60 percent

Ohio, 30 percent, 60 percent

Michigan, 31 percent, 59 percent

Arizona, 25 percent, 59 percent

Maryland, 28 percent, 59 percent

Florida, 27 percent, 59 percent

North Carolina, 29 percent, 58 percent

New Hampshire, 26 percent, 58 percent

Texas, 30 percent, 57 percent

North Dakota, 28 percent, 57 percent

Nebraska, 28 percent, 57 percent

Pennsylvania, 29 percent, 57 percent

Wyoming, 25 percent, 57 percent

Wisconsin, 28 percent, 56 percent

Indiana, 31 percent, 56 percent

Washington, 27 percent, 56 percent

Maine, 28 percent, 55 percent

Minnesota, 26 percent, 55 percent

Iowa, 29 percent, 54 percent

New Mexico, 26 percent, 54 percent

Rhode Island, 25 percent, 54 percent

Illinois, 27 percent, 54 percent

Georgia, 28 percent, 54 percent

Montana, 25 percent, 54 percent

Idaho, 27 percent, 53 percent

Hawaii, 22 percent, 52 percent

New York, 25 percent, 51 percent

Virginia, 29 percent, 50 percent

Nevada, 25 percent, 50 percent

Oregon, 27 percent, 49 percent

Massachusetts, 23 percent, 49 percent

New Jersey, 24 percent, 49 percent

Vermont, 25 percent, 48 percent

California, 24 percent, 47 percent

Connecticut, 25 percent, 47 percent

Utah, 24 percent, 46 percent

Alaska, 27 percent, 46 percent

Colorado, 21 percent, 45 percent

District of Columbia, 24 percent, 33 percent

I'll see you here soon with more encouraging weight loss stories and health news.

Follow me on twitter! @carminmarie

**This program is not intended to provide medical advice. Please consult with your doctor for treatment of any medical condition and before beginning any diet or exercise regimen.**

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