I later found out it got picked up by another station and both stations were promoting the heck out of it.

Point being… You never know where something is going to end up Very cool.

Television is Scary :) is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

Disclaimer: Even though I live out most of my life online, I am extremely shy when it comes to certain things. This post is absolutely the “biggest limb” I have ever stepped out on. The reason I stepped out on this limb is because I think that its important for people to see results. This is not a bragging post (because I don’t think that I have anything to brag about). This post is about the results I have seen with a diet/exercise program. I am extremely apprehensive about this post…..so please be kind!

This program was designed around my body and is not for everyone. Always consult your doctor before starting a diet/exercise program.

3 Weeks ago I started a program at the Poplar Bluff Bread Company called “30 Days at Breadco”. This was a diet designed to fuel a person so that they could get in better shape in a healthy way without feeling like they were on a diet.

Each week since the beginning of the program, we have designed a menu that will help people get results in their fitness program. I have been eating at the Bread Company for 3 solid weeks (at 2x a day) and working out everyday but Saturday (I started out running a mile in the morning…but got bored…so I have been doing the “Insanity” workout for the past month)

I have been absolutely amazed with my results thus far.

Throughout this program, I have never…..ever….felt like I have deprived myself of food. I have eaten very well and still seen some pretty amazing results for my body. Even though I have posted pictures in this post….the physical changes are not what I’m most proud of (although I believe they have to be included to be perfectly transparent about this whole thing). What I am most proud of…is that I was able to lower my cholesterol back down to a safer level.

So………………………

Here we go…………….

We started testing a menu for the Bread Company Diet 2 weeks before we actually launched it. In the two weeks that I was testing the menu and building menu items, I lost 10lbs. That was great, but as I said, my whole goal was to lower my cholesterol. My starting Cholesterol was 389 (for those of you that don’t know lab normal values….this is insanely high). When the program began…. I looked like this.

Moving into week 1 of the program, I was very excited to see what we could accomplish with quality food and quality exercise in 30 days. Our first week’s menu can be found here. After the first week, I was feeling really good….but it was hard to tell any physical results (see pic below) at the time.

Our Week 2 Menu can be found here. At the end of week 2 (see photo below), I was starting to be able to tell a difference. My energy level was through the roof and I could really tell that my clothes were alot looser.

At the End of Week 3, I started to notice that I was loosing weight again (the shock of a new workout and diet had started to be less stress on my system…if you don’t know what I mean by this….google “insanity workout”) My week 3 menu can be found here.

I also decided to take another picture at Week 3 in the original picture location (see below)

I still have a long way to go, but I was extremely impressed with how well the “Breadco Diet” held up. I was never hungry and I always felt like a I got a great meal when I ate. During my daily workouts, I always felt like I had enough fuel to get through and I was never “dragging”. We have one week left in our Breadco Diet experiment…and I have to say that I am impressed……and not because of the physical side….My Cholesterol is now down to 174!!!! Pretty excited about that.…

I hope you have enjoyed the experiment so far. It was extremely hard for me to post the pictures above. I have always been pretty shy about that kind of stuff, but I felt that it was important to show people that stepping on a scale just isn’t enough when you’re measuring progress. You really need to take alot of factors into consideration. I literally haven’t lost that much weight since I started this program….but I have seen so much of a difference in my waistline, cholesterol, as well as my general mood. I will absolutely never…….go on a starvation type diet again…. This was a great experience.

The results aren’t anything dramatic…But considering what changes I have seen in only 3 weeks…. I’m pretty happy.

PLEASE BE KIND WITH YOUR QUESTIONS/COMMENTS!!!! THANKS!

3 Weeks of “30 Days at Breadco” is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

Was a little behind on posting this. I got swamped this week at the office. Better Late than Never! Right?!?

The last two weeks have been pretty amazing.

The shape of my body has really started to change and I am seeing some definite health benefits. The Blood Pressure is down to 125/77 and the resting heart rate sits around 77-85 on a regular basis.

At the end of week 2 I had lost around 8lbs.

At the end of week 3 I had lost around 12….but then something happened….

I mixed up my workout routine and I made a small (but easily fixable) mistake. I didn’t match my food intake to the new program. The new program is a much higher intensity workout than what I had been doing and my body wasn’t getting enough nutrition to support it. Alot of people believe that a hard workout and little food is the way to go to lose weight. Those people would be wrong.

You have to match your intake to your output or your body decides that it has to start conserving. The day that I started eating more was the day that the weight loss started back. I actually gained four pounds back before I made the tiny tweak.

At the end of the first month of this, we are starting something a little different on the food side. You can read all about it at http://www.bluffee.com/2010/04/07/30-days-at-the-poplar-bluff-bread-company/.

I am super excited with the progress so far.

I took a few pictures at the beginning of this and I’m really nervous about posting them…. Going to have to think about that one

Today’s Numbers

• Weight: 216
• BP: 125/77
• Pulse 88

Week 2 and 3 Progress is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

Weight:223
Blood Pressure: 135/90
Pulse: 71

This week was all about taking a good look at things. The last thing that you want to do is “overkill” in the beginning and burn yourself out too quickly. I focused my week on becoming a little more aware of the things that were getting put into my body as well as how I felt afterward. The goal of week 1 is to start to develop a “pace”.

With any healthy fitness plan, you want to develop something that takes stress off of your body, not something that puts more stress on it.

As a result, I made my running goal on two of the planned days and missed one day (Friday). Why? I was exhausted after Thursday night and needed the rest. The key is to build up to your goals….not stress yourself out with them.

A nice little sidenote: I found out my Cholesterol is way too high (via some lab testing)…we are going to do a confirmation lab panel this coming week and then I’ll talk about it more.

MAJOR WINS for WEEK 1

1) I got a healthy handle on what I’ve been doing lately.

2) Lost a little weight

3) Learned about how bad my cholesterol was from a lab test (we’re going to do an updated test this week as those results were from a over a month ago.)

4) The Resting Pulse Rate had a MAJOR improvement (89 last Monday and 71 today….that is huge!!!)

What’s Next:

This is “More Charting…Less Cheating Weak”

1) Food Journal-ing is Mandatory

2) Exercise has to become just a bit more frequent (we’re still not going hardcore yet)

Until Next Week!

Fitness 2010 Week 1 Results is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

As a little teaser to what we’re up to I wanted to show everyone how well this all works.

I will be going on our program starting this week. Before I started I wanted to get some baseline values. I am a decently healthy guy and was really surprised at how crappy some of my baselines where…. That’s ok though…. Its all about improvement

So here are my starting values.

WEIGHT: 225 (Goal is around 210)
BLOOD PRESSURE: 135/85 (I Don’t like this at all)
PULSE: 89BPM (REALLY REALLY BAD….Ashamed)

I posted these 3 results because these are the results that we typically have access to on a daily basis.
In the office we are planning on doing lab testing as well and I will include those values soon.
I’m not really happy with my baselines, but it just goes to show you how quickly things can get bad if you don’t take care of yourself. (I have been a little lax with my fitness goals since we opened up the new office 8 months ago). It’s time to get it together.

For the next 3 months, we’ll be posting a weekly summary of where I’m at and how I do. I will be working out on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the PARC in Poplar Bluff (come join me!) and at home (doing more low-impact, recovery stuff) on Tuesday and Thursday.

I will be logging my progress using LiveStrong.com’s Daily Plate program for the Iphone. I will post all the results…here

Stay Tuned!

Adkins Chiropractic Weight Loss Program is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

In the talk, we went over things to do….things not to do…and why most people fail when they try to lose weight.

I thought that it would be cool if we shared some stuff from the presentation….

This material is not nearly as good without the audio…but I thought it still might be useful for some of you (be sure to read the included disclaimers).

The Powerpoint is below.

Download (PDF, 1.12MB)

Weight Loss for the New Decade (to Download as a Powerpoint)

(Required Disclaimer: Do not follow anything in the Presentation without consulting with your Doctor first. The information contained in the presentation can be dangerous if not used correctly).

Enjoy!

Poplar Bluff Hospital Weight Loss Talk is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

1. Buy yourself a few extra pillows and prop yourself up in bed, rather than lying flat on your back. You’ll prevent the tissues in your throat from falling into your air passages.
2. Raise the head of your bed. An easy way to do it is to place several flat boards under the legs at the top end of the bed. A couple of old phone books under each leg should also raise the bed enough to do the trick.
3. Sleep on your side. Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll stay in that position, but at least start on your side with your arms wrapped around a pillow. There’s a good reason you don’t want to sleep on your back: in that position, your tongue and soft palate rest against the back of your throat, blocking the airway.
4. Try taking a decongestant or antihistamine if nasal congestion is causing your snoring. Use these only as a temporary measure if you suspect that a cold or allergy is to blame. Prolonged use of either can be harmful.
5. Tape your nose open with nasal strips, available at most pharmacies . They may look odd, but who’s looking? Following the directions on the package, tape one of the strips to the outside of your nose before you fall asleep. They work by lifting and opening your nostrils to increase airflow.
6. Gargle with a peppermint mouthwash to shrink the lining of your nose and throat. This is especially effective if your snoring is a temporary condition caused by a head cold or an allergy. To mix up the herbal gargle…
   • Add 1 drop of peppermint oil to a glass of cold water. (Only gargle – do not swallow).
7. Change your sheets and pillowcases often to relieve nasal stuffiness, alleviate bedroom allergens. Try to vacuum your floors and curtains often too.
8. Try drinking nettle tea. Herbalists recommend it for soothing the inflammation caused by pollen allergies. To make the tea:
   • Pour a cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoon of dried leaf.
   • Cover the tea and let it steep for 5 minutes.
   • Strain and drink.
   • Drink up to 3 cups a day, 1 cup just before your bedtime.
9. Learn more about exercises that can help you stop snoring.

More Stop Snoring Tips

• Learn and research for those things that work best for others. It is very important to learn from others in order not to repeat their huge mistakes. The best way would be through discussions, forum, rating programs, health communities (such as health.communispot.com), etc.
• Work your throat muscles – There are few exercises for the throat muscle that help leaving airways open. It can save you from having a painful surgery.
• If hugging a pillow doesn’t help, you can tackle the problem with using a tennis ball. Sew a little pouch on the back of a top and tuck a tennis ball inside. At night, if you start to roll onto your back while you’re asleep, you’ll get a nudge from the ball, prompting you to get back on your side.
• Weight loss can reduce your snoring by easing any constriction of the upper airway.
• Do mouthpieces work? A recent study in Switzerland found oral appliances effective in treating sleep apnea. Side effects were only “mildly disturbing”: mucosal dryness (86% of patients), tooth discomfort (59%), and excessive salivation (55%). Long-term use may cause dental misalignments requiring corrective orthodontia work.
• Consider the underlying cause. Discuss with your physician the possibility of a sleep disorder which may be more serious than just the snoring. The current gold standard for obstructive sleep apnea treatment is a CPAP device which opens the airway with pressurized air delivered through a mask or a nose-mounted appliance.
• Quit Smoking. Tobacco smoke irritates mucous membranes, so your throat swells, narrowing the airway. Smokers also have more problems with nasal congestion.
• If you regularly take any kind of medication, talk to your doctor about alternatives. Some drugs can make snoring worse, including sleeping pills and sedatives.
• There is surgery available now if your snoring problem is a function of sleep apnea.
• Some people sleep with tennis ball on their back underneath the shirt in which they are sleeping so they don’t roll on back because that position would be too uncomfortable.

Borrowed from wikihow.net

How to Stop Snoring is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

It was extremely scary walking away from a job (that allowed me to pay my bills on time) in order to start my own practice. In the end though I felt like God was calling me to take the leap. Lucky for me, I have a wife and family that believes in what I do and knows that I will see it through. With that in mind…I wanted to take this opportunity to lay out my goals for the next year.

1) My practice will see around 250 patients each week (Monday-Saturday). At 50 patients a day (plus any extra on Saturday, I will be able to maintain my style of practice (which is to talk with a patient as long as I like/need) but still get to help the maximum amount of people. I don’t want to see any more than 250 because I feel like I won’t be able to give everyone enough time.

2) I will have 5 online businesses running and on (near) autopilot. (I have 1 now…coffeemash.com)

3) I will get to play basketball every Thursday night (Work will never be an excuse to miss…unless there is a patient emergency)

4) I will get to spend more time with my brother…….period (no matter where he is….I will be making the time to go see him (work will never be an excuse to not hang out)

5) I will be on my way to being a dad….

That’s it…… God and Wife willing, nothing is going to hold me back from accomplishing the above.

In one year……Ask Me How I did!

-Dr Ben Adkins

P.S. I realize the personal nature of this post….but I believe in putting a little pressure on yourself….

5 Goals for July 23rd 2010 is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

You can check out our Poplar Bluff MO office at http://www.poplarbluffchiropractic.com or call us at 785-BACK (2225).

You can also stop by Monday through Friday anytime from 8am-6PM and 10AM-Noon on Saturdays.

Our Office is located at 805 W. Pine Blvd in Poplar Bluff MO.

I hope to meet all of you in person very soon. Feel free to call anytime if you have any Health Questions.

Poplar Bluff Chiropractor – Dr. Ben Adkins is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker

Personally, I can divide my memories into two major categories. There are the “triumphs” and there are the “failures”. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to think about and talk about all the good things that have happened in your life? Have you ever noticed how easy it is to revel in something good that you accomplished?

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to look at a “failure”?

It’s hard to look at something in your life where you didn’t “quite make it”. It’s even harder when you “didn’t quite make it” and it was in public

It seems to me that this is a flaw in some people. Whenever there is a failure in their life, whether it was in their control or not, most people have a really tough time taking a step back and examining the “anatomy” or make-up of their failure. While people need to always strive to succeed, it’s important that you learn how to manage and deconstruct failure when you do find yourself there.

So, when you fall into a situation that you consider a “failure” there are a few things that you need to do.

The Anatomy of (Successfully Navigating) Failure

A really smart guy (Zig Ziglar) once said, “Failure is an event, never a person; an attitude, not an outcome.”

That one statement pretty much sums up everything you need to understand about navigating failure, but let me break it down a little further for you.

“Failure is an event, Never a Person”

As a society we tend to put labels on people. We say, “John is such a Failure. He can’t do anything right”, or “John is such a success, everything he touches turns to Gold”. Thinking in such a manner makes absolutely no sense. Every person’s successes and failures are a culmination of a series of events. Those events may lead you to fortune or they may lead you to failure.

The moment you start seeing your day as a collection of events/opportunities that can build a success or failure, you start seeing a clearer picture of the way the world works.

Right now is the point when a few of you will start citing the fact that uncontrolled circumstances can play a part in our lives. And right now is the point when I start pointing out people like Helen Keller or any of the folks in the video below. (They didn’t exactly have a charmed life.)

When you look at a failure in your life, you have to do one thing. Break it down and learn from it. The only true failure is when you mess something up and don’t learn from it. If you have never had a “failure” in your life then you are essentially an un-complete person. Part of the “Human Experience” is falling down. Success is being able to use every failure in your life to achieve a success.

Let’s take a look at the second half of Mr. Ziglar’s Quote:

“Failure is an attitude, not an outcome.”

The second part of Zig’s quote is something that I think people have a really tough time with. The key to really overcoming failure is to see it as a temporary inconvenience. When “failure” really starts effecting our lives is when we lose the ability to let go of it. Failure is never an outcome….unless we make it that.

The point here is that unless a “failure” results in the life being taken from our bodies…then it doesn’t really exist…except for in our minds. If it does exist in our minds, however, then it can seem very real and even impact our “everyday”.

4 Steps to Dealing with Failure (Hint: all mental)

1. Realize that its only as real as we make it.
2. Failure is an event, not a person.
3. Failure is an attitude, not an outcome.
4. There is no lasting Success without Failure of some kind.

So, what was the biggest failure in your life so far?

How did it make you better?

If you haven’t seen the “light on the other side”…what are some possible outcomes that you can see?

The Anatomy of Failure is a post from: DrBenAdkins.com - Serial Progress Seeker