WEEK 16 RESULTS!!!

Looks like things are starting to slow down a little bit in the weight loss department.

I've shed another 2lbs to drop down to 218, giving a grand total of 52lbs lost so far.

I'll admit it's a little frustrating to see things slow down like this when I'm so close to my goal, but that's how it goes. The last 10-20lbs are always the hardest to lose.

Keeping me motivated is the fact I'm eating the healthiest I've ever eaten in my life. Also last night I finally grabbed a big cardboard box and filled it with clothing that is much to large to be worn anymore. Getting rid of the old clothing to make room for the new clothing was a great feeling.

Last night I also posted a personal best running 5km in 31mins. I won't be setting any world records anytime soon with that result, but it means I'm on the right track to being physically fit.

I'm also past the half-way point of the Body-Cleanse that I'm currently on from Herbal One. The month-long cleanse is defiantly making a difference as I'm feeling less tired and more energetic. I don't know how to describe it. I just feel really good!

Once again I'm making a small goal for myself. I'm hoping to be at 215 by next Monday. As long as I stick to the program and keep up with my supplements I should be able to make it.

You can make it too...give Herbal One a call and find out how they can help you shed the extra pounds for summer. 748-9999.

REQUEST SHOW ETIQUETTE

One of my favorite things about my job at Energy 99.3 is that every weeknight at 6pm I get to host an all-request hour.

Now as fun as it is, it can be challenging. I literally get about 100 calls per night and constantly have 3 phone lines going off simultaneously. As you can imagine I can't take all the calls at once and I can't play every single request I get.

Last night I got a call from a young girl, probably around 10 years old. When I told her I might not be able to fit her song in she called me an asshole and hung up on me. Her parent's must be so proud of the well-mannered child they've raised!

Anyway, that little incident got me thinking and I found some tips for people who make a request to a DJ. Remember these the next time you call the station or ask a DJ at a bar for a song:

1. DON'T SAY: HEY YOU! PLAY SOMETHING GOOD!...The DJ has to play for more than one person...so, what you may hate may be another's favorite song.

2.DON'T ASK: WOULD YOU PLAY SOMETHING WITH A BEAT?...Wouldn't a track without a beat be a spoken word / poem reading? Everything we play has some sort of a beat!

3. DON'T SAY: I DON'T KNOW WHO SINGS IT AND I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG, BUT IT GOES LIKE THIS...Please don't sing for the DJ! A DJ is very busy and doesn't have time to play 20 questions to figure out what you want to hear.

4. DON'T' SAY: WILL YOU PLAY (INSERT TRACK NAME HERE) EVERYBODY WANTS TO HEAR IT!....Oh sure, you polled EVERYONE and, as their spokesperson, you are requesting the song.

5. DON'T ASK FOR A REQUEST AND THEN END WITH - I CAN GET LAID IF YOU PLAY IT!....If you are GOOD ENOUGH, you can get laid to anything!! (also been known as "buy the album and get laid for a month!")

6. DON'T SAY: I WANT TO HEAR IT NEXT!....The only people who can get away with that statement write the DJ a paycheck! We have many requests a night... we'll play your track as soon as we can! Don't worry!

7. DON'T SAY: I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANNA HEAR...WHAT DO YOU HAVE?It's a lot easier for you to go have another beer and figure out what you want to hear than it is for the DJ to recite the name of EVERY track in his/her collection. Energy has around 15,000 for example.

8. DON'T SAY: HEY DJ, NOBODY CAN DANCE TO THIS!It is not advisable to say this when the dance floor is packed (but, some people do anyway)! However, even if there is only ONE person on the floor, it STILL contradicts the statement.

9. DON'T SAY: EVERYBODY WILL DANCE TO IT IF YOU PLAY IT! Did you poll everyone in the club? Because you probably didn't ask the DJ... it's likely that the DJ won't...I guess that blows a hole in that theory!

10. CAN YOU PLAY SOME HIP-HOP?If you're at a club or listening to a radio station that doesn't play any Hip-hop, don't ask "you got any hip-hop"? If you go to a Chinese restaurant, you wouldn't ask for Italian food. Rock clubs play rock, alternative clubs play alternative, discos play disco, etc. If you need a hip-hop fix, just go outside to your car and slide your CD in or watch Much Music because they blast it 24 hours a day!

*** SOME ASSORTED THINGS NOT TO SAY ***

If you ask for a song and the D.J. says he just played it, DON'T SAY, "Well, I just got here." It makes absolutely no difference. It's more likely for us to play it later in the night to keep you listening longer...

DON'T SAY, "Is this the only kind of music you play?" Again, if you go to a Chinese restaurant, you wouldn't ask for Italian food. Rock clubs play rock, alternative clubs play alternative, discos play disco, etc., etc., etc...

If you ask for a song, BE SPECIFIC. DON'T SAY, "I wanna hear something, anything but this!" Try going to the bar and saying, "I wanna drink something, anything but this..." You can't complain if you're not SPECIFIC.

HOWEVER, if you ARE specific and the DJ says he doesn't have the song, DON'T SAY, "What?!! What do you mean you don't have it? What kind of DJ are you? Why don't you get into the wonderful world of fast food! You obviously don't know what you're doing as a DJ!"---sorry HMV closes at 9pm (6pm on weekends).

Special Note:

A DJ gets very little respect. They are expected to play everything for everybody. It is impossible to satisfy all the people all of the time, yet jocks are expected to do just that.

Ask once for your song and the DJ will try and play it. Keep asking and you're being a pain in the ass! Don't send all your friends to request the same song hoping to get it played. DJ's aren't that stupid!! They get dozens of requests in a night and we try to play them all... but asking for 5 songs 10 minutes before the show is over just won't work... sometimes there isn't enough time to play them all.

And above all, if the DJ has one hand on the mixer, one hand on a TURNTABLE, wearing headphones, and has the monitor speaker turned up- please be patient. We'll be right with you. You don't have to poke us, yell at us etc... we see you!

Signed,

The DJ

And to answer your question, yes, Bill Porter and I are available to DJ your next event. Send us an e-mail at jc.coutts@chumkawartha.ca to hire us!

WEEK 15 RESULTS!!!

Last week I was down 50lbs to 220...

This week I'm still at the same point.

I'm not concerned at this point and neither is Jan from Herbal One. She said it would be a bit of a slower process for me now that my body is at a point it's never been at before in terms of weight.
The good news is that I'm continuing to shrink in terms of inches and clothing size.

This past weekend I paid a visit to friends and family in Ottawa who haven't seen me since I had just started on the program...they barely recognized me.

I also invested a few hundred dollars into some new clothing and I'm even finding that some of the shirts I bought, I could have purchased in a medium instead of a large. I just couldn't wrap my head around wearing a men's medium. I haven't been that size since elementary school! At this point I'm just glad to be wearing shorts that aren't so big they fall down at random. I called it "involuntary flashing"...my boss didn't think it was so funny after he got a show....

One thing that really amazes me from being on this program is how giddy I get when I discover a new food I can eat that doesn't violate the program. Like for example, this weekend I discovered Jello Light and Source Yogurt Dessert. Imagine being able to eat Jello that's only 5 calories or yogurt that taste's like Chocolate Cherry Fondue and is only 35 calories. Yep...that discovery made my weekend.

Plus I tried something new this weekend...I ate broccoli for the first time ever in my life and I didn't hate it. Baby steps, right?

I think this week will prove to be a very interesting week. I've got some personal exercise goals to meet this week and I've got some new supplements to try out from Herbal One.

For anyone who'd like to sign up for a full-program like the one I'm on, you can still save 50%. Other options include a 10-week program, or even a 7-day program if you want to lose 5-10lbs in a hurray.

Just give Herbal One call at 748-9999.

Time for another round of shopping for clothes...

With the warm weather here I've been hit with the sudden realization that I have little-to-no clothing for spring/summer.

Thanks to my 50lbs of weight loss, virtually my entire wardrobe is way too big to fit me now. With another 20lbs still set to come off, the stuff that does fit now won't in the near future.

Looks like once again I'll be needing to purchase some new clothing.

I've never been a fan of shopping for clothing. I'm even less of a fan when I see the price tag of some clothing these days. I wonder if I can buy clothes on e-Bay??? That's where I'll be buying my next pair of shoes from I think. With the warm weather it means I'm now walking to work daily. It's a fair distance and I'm a sweaty mess by the time I get to the radio station but it's helping. I'm in dire need of some new shoes though, since I've been wearing my current pair for almost three years.

Plus, I've also begun my training for the 10K event at the National Capital Marathon in Ottawa in May. It's tough to run in shoes with duct tape, so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pony up like $200 for some new runners.

Right now, the training is going quite well. I'm running about 5-6km per night around my neighbourhood. I'm hoping to be doing 6-8km by the end of next week.

Had it not been for the program at Herbal One, I wouldn't need new clothes and I sure as heck wouldn't been running anywhere. It's sure something to remember the next time a reach for a shirt marked "M" or "L" as opposed to "XXL".

It's been another weird week on the program, I was up slightly on Wednesday but have since dropped back down. The goal for Monday at this point is to be at 217. Stay tuned for an update.

In the meantime, you can contact Herbal One for more details on the program at 748-9999.

WEEK 14 RESULTS!!!

Another milestone today at Herbal One.

After 14 weeks on the program I've lost 50 pounds!!!

The good news is I'm down to the final 20 now.

After that I'll be at an even 200 - my goal weight.

More good news - once again we took some measurements today and even I was blown away. I lost just over another 9-inches to bring my total-inches-lost number to 68! That's HUGE!

This marks the second week of the Body -Cleanse for me as well and I'm seeing some great results there and feeling a bit better already. I'm also making a few more trips to the bathroom, so "Get Your Colon Rollin'" was obviously a proper description of this part of the program.

I'll be honest when I say I don't think there's any way I could have achieved what I've done so far without the assistance and supervision of Jan and the team at Herbal One. I've tried before to lose weight and have been unsuccessful but not with the help and support I keep losing weight every week.

In case you're new to this blog, here's somewhat of a before and after picture:

Just to explain once again, in my defence - I thought the bleached blond look worked for me. I'm pretty sure I was around 335lbs in the August 2005 shot. In the March 2007 shot I believe I was around 240lbs.

Where I am today, at 220lbs, is the lowest I have ever been in my adult life. As you can understand I'm a little giddy with excitement today.

At this point my goal is to lose 3.5 pounds per week (I've been averaging that anyway) for the next 6 weeks. If I can do that, I'll be down to my goal weight by the time I have to run the 10KM event in Ottawa on May 24th.

After that will be the stabilization and maintenance portions of the program designed to ensure that I don't put all the weight back on.

At this point it's really cool to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If I can do it, anyone can. Give Herbal One a call at 748-9999 and they'll get you set up so you can have the same success.

How long has it been since I blogged about hockey?...

Tonight marks the start of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Every year at this time I get a little giddy. To say I love hockey would be an understatement. I eat, sleep and breathe the sport year round.

Every year since 1997, playoff time has had a special meaning for me. That's because my team, The Ottawa Senators, have been involved in the post-season every year since. Now I could tell you a story about every post-season run. Like in 1997 when the Sens pushed through the last 3 games of the NHL season to qualify for their first-ever post-season berth, only to lose in heart-breaking fashion to Buffalo in overtime in Game 7 of the 1st round.

Then there was the run in the spring of 2004 when I had a behind the scenes look, working as a reporter covering the series for Rogers Radio in Ottawa. That series, again, a game 7 heart-breaker at the hands of the hated Maple Leafs (who, by the way, haven't returned to post-season play since). I vividly remember game 6, standing in the hallway behind the Sens bench, waiting for the game to end so I could get my interviews. The first person I talked to was the hero of the game and Peterborough native, Mike Fisher.

Then, my favorite memory so far from last year's run, watching Daniel Alfreddsson step through four Buffalo players to score the game-winning goal in overtime to propel Ottawa to it's first modern-day Stanley Cup final. I was in Ottawa at the time and actually went to the airport, along with literally 10,000 other Sens fans, to greet the players as they arrived back from Buffalo.

This year no one is giving Ottawa a chance to advance even past the first round. Some experts will say they won't win a single game. I personally don't believe that's true. I've seen a lot of things over the years with this team and I believe they have what it takes to go all the way.

I've already started growing my playoff beard, here's hoping I don't have to shave it before June!

WEEK 13 RESULTS!!!

If you read my last post you know it was an interesting week on the program.

I'm happy to report today that not only did I meet my goal for the week, I exceeded it.

I was able to lose another 4.5 pounds to drop down to 224. That's a total loss of 46 pounds now. My goal for next Monday is to be at an even 220, which would of course be a total loss of 50 pounds! Here's hoping I can keep it together!

Today also marked the start of my Body Cleanse program. I'm still on the same program and meal plan, but now I'm taking extra supplements to help do a little internal spring cleaning. Folks at the radio station have dubbed it "Get Your Colon Rollin'"...that's a pretty accurate description really. I'll be doing this for the next month in addition to my weight-loss program.

Anyone can sign up to do a body cleanse. It's a really good thing to do heading in to summer. You can do the entire month-long cleanse for only $111.50! Just contact Herbal One for more details.

Also, keep in mind, you can still sign up to be on the full program like me and save 50% off. You've only got until April 15th to take advantage of the 50% off deal so call to book your consultation today at 748-9999.

As always if you're thinking about signing up and want to ask me any questions I'm more than happy to help. Fire me an e-mail at jc.coutts@chumkawartha.ca

Backing away from the "Panic!" button.

On two occasions this past week I almost reached out to hit the big red button labeled "PANIC!".

The first occasion was Tuesday morning. After a successful weigh-in at Herbal One the day before, my scale at home said I had gained 6 pounds overnight. I knew having that extra mug of beer at Monday Night Mug Club was an unwise decision but I had no idea it would hit me this badly. 

By Wednesday morning, with yet another weigh-in at Herbal One looming, my weight had gone up even further. I was now 10 pounds heavier with no explanation.  

I slunk into Herbal One and told Jan I wouldn't be getting on the scale today. I explained to her that something was wrong with me and my weight was ballooning. Jan explained it was most likely water-retention and gave me a couple extra retention-release supplements to take. She instructed me to drink LOTS of water and simply stick to the program. I took her advice and drank enough water to drown a fish. By Friday morning, not only had I lost that extra 10 pounds that mysteriously appeared, I had even lost a couple more....crisis averted.

The next "PANIC!" moment occurred when my beloved Ottawa Senators were shut out by Montreal Tuesday night and in danger of missing the playoffs. As you can imagine, this would have been disaster for me. I've watched my Sens play in the post-season every year since 1997. Luckily, Ottawa was able to crush the pitiful Leafs later in the week and locked up their spot on Friday night. Crisis 2 averted. 

The goal for Monday morning is a weight of 225, which would mean a loss of 45 pounds. My fingers are crossed and I'll have an update for you on Monday afternoon.

Jan will join me live on Energy 99.3 around 4:30pm Monday to talk about the results and to talk about what's next for me on the program.

You can get more details on Herbal One by calling them at 748-9999.

Things that make you go "hmmm"....

So I've been watching a lot of TV lately and I'm getting really tired of the new commercial for "Smarties".

You know Smarties - the little bite-size candies that are the Canadian rip-off of M&Ms. Anyway, something that irks me about this commercial is the song that's being sung (poorly) by the actors. For some reason they've chosen to use the song "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone. This is a song that was written and intended to help promote racial harmony. Now it's being used to hock candy.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for racial harmony. What I'm against is big companies profiting from songs like "Everyday People" when the original intention of the artist who wrote the song was to sell something much more important than candy.

I think the best example (and definaition of irony)was a commercial for Bank of Montreal a few years back. The spot featured a bunch of children running through a field singing along to "The Times They Are A Changin'" by Bob Dylan. Keep in mind, that song was once used to protest people like the big banks and now's it's promoting them. Yep, the times really are changing.

What's next, using 60's anti-Vietnam war songs to get people to enlist in the Armed Forces?

I will say this though, sometimes ad companies do get it right when it comes to picking the right song for a product. Another ad from a few years back was for Aiwa Sound. As you can see...they know how to have a little fun with their product - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZG_tTjQEmY