My mother has struggled with her weight most of her life. In fact, I have photos of my great great relatives as well as my grandmother, uncle and my younger twin brothers, that document their own struggle with being overweight. Most people are surprised that not only have I struggled with my weight from age 5, and have photos to prove it, I’m an overeater.

Interestingly enough, it should come as no coincidence that I not only come from a long line of overweight relatives, but people who thought about what to eat for breakfast at dinner and vice versa. Most babies’ first words are “mamma,” and “dada,” but no, my first word was “MORE!” My very first sentence was “Is there anything else to eat?” The day I was born, my mother was told, “that is one hungry baby.” Unfortunately, not much has changed in the way of my appetite.

I often hear people attribute their personal weight control issues to poor genetics. Genetics play a role in your health and personal appearance; that is a scientific fact. Everyone is given a predetermined number of fat cells and a predetermined placement of those cells at birth. Another scientific fact is that there are several different body types. Basically we each have characteristics of all the body types some just have more of each than others. For example, a very muscular, athletic teenager can show up bald and fat to his 20^th high school reunion. I also have dozens of testimonials that describe people who have been overweight their whole lives and currently look muscular and athletic. Why? Simple, it is because habits are far more superior to genetics.

I’m Jewish and that may answer much of my personal relationships with food. If you’re Jewish, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you are not Jewish and happen to be Italian, Greek, English, live in the south, live on the east coast, etc., YOU TOO KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT. Take a good look around. We all have fat relatives. There I said it, “Fat!” Yes, like in the movie The Sixth Sense, “I see fat people,” and it’s scaring the begeebers out of me. Food is not your enemy. It is your friend. You just have to change the way you use it.

At some point in your life, you must become accountable. Stop the excuses that are pounding in your ear and realize that you and only you are responsible for your appearance and health, not your long dead ancestors from the 17^th century. This isn’t that complicated. A bit of easy cardio, some weight lifting, a group class here and there, along with an eating program that allows you to use real food and lots of eating will turn your body into a fat burning machine.

Today mom is great! My brothers look terrific and at age 47, I’m the best I’ve ever been, but not as nearly good as I’m going to be. Do I struggle with my love of food and an insatiable appetite? You bet! The difference is I’ve figured it out as have many of my loyal followers. Now it’s your turn! Stop saying negative excuses that accomplish nothing and start creating habits that will change your life.

Larry,

I just wanted to drop you a note and give you some feedback on your Dallas center.

Recently I spent a week visiting Dallas…but I needed a place to workout. After searching the web, I found your fitness center (good web site). It looked pretty nice, so I called the manager in Dallas, Lev Shahbabian. He told me to stop in when I got in town. I did, and Lev let me use your facilities for free, and just wouldn’t accept any payment. Every day when I came in, Lev always had a cheery greeting, asking me how my workouts were going, and always made me feel like I just belonged there…and I wasn’t even a paying customer! I also had the opportunity to meet some of your clients, and they were all very nice people.

At any rate, I wanted to let you know that Lev went over and above what he needed to do, and I always looked foreword to my workout there. You are very well represented in Dallas. If more companies had employees like Lev, they would be much more successful. He clearly understands the idea of customer service, positive image and “PR”. That’s something you just can buy. He’s a credit to your organization!

Now, if you just had a branch in Denver. Lev did send my son and his wife a couple of free passes, so maybe yet you’ll end up getting a paying customer from this. But, if anyone talks to me about Larry North Fitness, I’ll have nothing but good things to say about your company and the Dallas center in particular.

Thanks for everything!

Mike

P.S. Give Lev a big raise!!

In our quest for leanness, there is one major enemy we must all confront: the reason we overindulge ourselves with food. How many times have you eaten a huge dinner and then, the minute you get home, started looking for something to eat? Although your stomach was full, something else was missing. You weren’t satisfied. And for some unconscious reason, you decided it was more food that would help you find that satisfaction.

Studies have found that overweight people tend to overeat in response to stress. Any negative emotion- anger, depression, loneliness, boredom, or frustration- triggers a bout of overeating. Even when we are not under stress, many people with weight problems use food as a mood elevator. We get fatigued or bored, we get lonely or just mildly fidgety- and we eat. Food becomes our way to get through life’s ups and downs.

I’m not a psychologist, but after years of watching people struggle to get lean, I know that until you learn to separate your emotional life from your eating life, you’re not going to be successful on any weight loss program. If you turn to chocolate to deal with your feelings of anxiety, you’re going to have a lot more difficulty than someone who does not. If you’re someone who can “go blank” while eating- letting your feelings disappear underneath a mound of food- you’re in a very precarious, high- risk position to get even fatter.

To some degree, all of us have to break the practice of using food to get emotional satisfaction. I have gone through the same struggle myself. I grew up in a family that turned to food for solace and I know that I, too, have a tendency to be a compulsive overeater, no different than my mother or grandmother. One evening my girlfriend shocked me when I came home and told her in this semi- arrogant tone of voice, “Honey, isn’t it great that I don’t take out my frustrations at the office on you or my family?” She said, “That’s right, Larry, you take out your frustrations on the refrigerator. You come home and don’t stop eating”.

It took me a while, but I later realized she was right. Although I was always eating more healthful foods, I would eat anything I could get my hands on if I had had a stressful day- an entire bag of air-popped popcorn, followed by a bag or two of baby carrots, followed by six sugar-free Popsicles- all in one sitting!

How to Stop Your Emotional Eating-

I am not about to mislead you into thinking that you can prevent stress and tension from entering your life. We live in the real world. And as good as you might be at sticking with an eating program, there will be times when you’ll be caught with your guard down, when stress will rear its ugly head and you’ll want to eat to swallow your negative mood.

That’s why you need good solid strategies to keep your moods from determining how much you eat. Here are a few proven techniques.

1. When you’re angry or upset, go out for a ten-minute walk. Such a move gets you away from food, and the exercise that comes from it will calm you. Did you know that when you exercise, your body releases endorphins that will combat stress? A ten-minute walk us a great answer.

2. When you get upset or stressed, stop and ask yourself questions. And ask them out loud for emphasis. What has happened to upset me? How will food help me deal with this? Is it worth risking my new body in return of a few seconds of gratification through food? By taking a breather, quieting down your mind, and asking some logical questions, you will start realizing the futility of using food for emotional relief. At the least, such a move will help you delay your first bite of food- and every minute you can delay yourself from eating will work to your advantage.

3. If you still find yourself headed towards the kitchen and you’re note exactly sure why, try to stop dead in your tracks and ask yourself why you want something to eat at that very moment. Often, that moment of reflection is enough to turn you back around. Seriously, as simple as it sounds, you want to keep asking yourself questions. Am I really hungry? Are these true hunger pangs I’m feeling? Or am I eating to fulfill some other need? You might not have every single answer, but by taking the time to ask the questions, you will be throwing roadblocks in front of your seemingly “impulsive” need to eat.

I received this message just yesterday, and I thought I would share it here on the blog. Enjoy!

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Dear Larry,

Traci and I wanted to let you know how well your club in Rockwall is being run.  The gym is always immaculate, clean and prepared for a workout.  A few weeks ago I lost my IPod.  I finally realized I had left it at the gym.  I called Frizz to see if by chance someone had turned it in.  Frizz assured me if I actually had lost it at the gym someone would turn it in.  She said the clientele was first class.  She told me that people had lost wedding rings, watches etc. and they were always recovered.  A few days passed and Becca Turner turned over my IPod.  She is a bright smiling face at 5:00 a.m.  She does a wonderful job.  Maria or someone on the cleaning team had turned my IPod in.  I know if I had left it at the 24 Hour Fitness down the street it would be history.  Thanks to Frizz, Becca, Maria and everyone at Larry North Rockwall for caring about each member.

Sincerely,

Dan H.

I choose to spend my new years in South Beach, Florida. I first started coming down here in the mid 90’s. I opened up a gym in 1997, bought a condo and found the area to be intriguing, intoxicating and educational. Back then you could barely cross the street without seeing some of the most beautiful people on this planet.

Some of my observations are that the models are still here, just not nearly as many. The hard bodies are still here, just not nearly as many. Other than that, not much has changed. The major thing that still exists is that South Beach is one of the most inspiring places I have ever been to in regards to raising the bar on becoming fit and lean.

Between the beach, climate, gyms and sex appeal of this town, it makes you want to look your very best day in and day out. Hence, making this the ideal place for me to take in the New Year. I am planning on exiting the year in flying fashion and entering 2008 with a ferocious tenacity never before seen from me. This year will be my breakout year; physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially and creatively. I ask you to jump on board and come join me in the quest to become the best you can be.

Larry North

I’m so excited to be back from my holiday vacation and be back to work. It is amazing how work can be so pleasurable when you love what you do. I was on the ship called the Serenity by Crystal Cruise ships. This was my first experience on a cruise ship other than the time when I was on Carnival Cruises to shoot one of my infomercials and that was a true beating. I wanted to jump off the boat, however it turned out to be a hugely successful show. I actually lost weight on the Serenity even though I was eating 6-7 times per day and would of gotten ripped had I not been so over indulgent on the desserts and late night room service.

Most people gain between 5-15 pounds on this ship over an 11 day period and I vowed not to do that because while I love food more than anyone you will ever meet I just don’t want to gain that kind of weight so quickly, its just not worth it to me. My strategy was to eat great 90% of the time and to be very selective on my cheat meals both in flavor and in portion control.

Basically I hate the same thing everyday as I pretty much do everyday of my life. I had 2 breakfasts consisting of hard boiled egg whites VS. egg white omelet. I don’t know if it makes that big of a difference but my body just feels like it tightens up if I do the hard boiled thing. This was in conjunction with either oatmeal and blue berries or cream of wheat and dry whole wheat toast. Ice coffee and water are my early morning beverages of choice. I realize these are not comparable in taste to bacon and whole eggs with cheese but this is what I do and if I’m going to blow the diet its not going to be on egg dishes of any kind. My third meal was usually grilled chicken, salad, veggies and a baked potato. I found lunch to be the worst food on the boat so therefore once again not worth the cheat. I also must mention that all the food in complimentary and food is also available 24-7 in room service. My fourth meal was 2 grilled chicken burgers without the bun. It happened to be 100% white meat but dry and rubbery none the less it was an easy protein fix at around 3:00 or 4:00. Dinner of choice was Nobu and the initial problem was over ordering. Remember there was no charge so I hate a ton of fish but as the trip winded down I switched to more sashimi instead of rolls and sushi. Always insist on less rice and no oil or mayo in anything. Another point of interest when eating sushi is that escolar, toro, eel, salmon, albacore, avocado are all very high in fat. Yes it’s the healthy fat but very high in fat respectively. Shrimp, crab, krab, tuna, octopus are much lower in fat. The freaking desserts were sick and so well worth the indulgence, the key is allowing yourself to eat but exhibiting some control which just so you know is not the easiest thing in the world when you eat clean most of the time. Another killer for me was late night cheese less pizza’s. Crap, there isn’t much to do but eat on the boat. That is why so many Jewish people take cruises, I’m convinced of that.

In actuality this is or can be the ideal environment if you want to eat to lose on a program such as mine.  Unfortunately I have a bad back (L5 S1) and my activity was very limited. I did of course figure out ways to still lift weights lightly and ride a recumbent stationary bike. The bottom line is you can use any situation to your advantage and eat pretty much most of the foods you love prepared a little differently and lose weight. I would suggest you do the exact same thing during the holidays. Don’t deprive yourself of the foods you love just reduce or replace the additional fat and sugar and I promise you wont be missing out on anything except that truly creepy feeling of being so bloated that you feel like your going to burst. Have you ever eaten so much holiday food that you were forced to lie down for an hour and when you got up again you were still looking for something good to eat? This year just enjoy but save yourself the misery of the food hangover the following day or two…

I want to apologize for an absence in my blog updates. I have many exciting things I have been working on and have neglected my blogging duties. However I’m more excited than ever before to share with you the many things I have been working on, along with providing you with healthy useful information.

Several weeks ago I had three two hour seminars in San Antonio taped for a DVD. It was truly amazing in the fact that the last minute of the last seminar was as energetic as the first minute of the first seminar. I believe I give a solid performance but there is truly something magical that happens when I have an audience plus camera’s shooting me. Directly after that I was in Vegas giving two seminars both two hours each. What made these presentations different was the fact that it was a full two hours of emotional fitness followed by two hours of my eat to lose seminar. At first I wasn’t sure if I had it in me but not one person left as to even go to the bathroom.

When I returned to Dallas I was given an opportunity of a lifetime and that was to get to present to American Airlines Flight Attendants.  I will go into greater detail at a later date, all I will say now is how much I enjoyed speaking to such a classy group of people. They were part of the very first recall group since 9-11 and ended up being one of my best audiences ever.

My radio show on KSKY 660am has been postponed for weeks due to UT football. I will be back on the air in December. I had a chance to be on Channel 8’s GMT show recently and did tips on how to stay younger without surgery. The tips are available on www.wfaa.com .

I have also been developing my products and will have them available to you by the first of the year. On November 19th I will be on a Crystal Cruise ship in the Caribbean, the ship is a health, body and mind cruise. This is right up my ally and I’m planning on blogging each and every day in an effort to share with you my eating program, how I order my food, my workout, etc..I believe it will be a useful tool in showing you how you can enjoy what life has to offer and still maintain or in my case make tremendous progress on your program.

Please feel free to send me your questions and comments and have a truly wonderful day!

In this fast pace world, many of us spend too much time traveling. It seems to be a frequently used excuse for why we don’t stick to our programs, only to blow our progress. Here are some easy steps to follow to ensure that not only will you stay on the program but will actually continue to get leaner. I’m also very excited about a new business I’m developing and hopefully DFW Airport will be my very first location. It is my ENERGY and healthy living lifestyle center. I will have everything from vitamins, energy drinks, protein bars and snacks, tapes, books and magazines, my NEW SLIMDOWN KIT and much more. I will keep you posted but in the meantime these tips will help you in your quest to stay lean. I’m also meeting with an executive of AA later this month in an effort to help them provide healthier fare and snacks for in flight purposes.

Step one- Have your travel agent request low fat meals on all your flights.

Step two- Always pack workout clothes. Most Hotels have a workout room or use of a gym near by. Most morning meetings don’t start till 8:00 or 9:00 so it is easy to squeeze in a workout. Remember the shortest workout I have done in a small gym is always better than the workout I chose not to do.

Step three- Bring food with you on all your flights. It is so easy to stop off at a supermarket or anywhere for that matter and pick up a healthy meal or two. Under eating always leads to over eating and there are many variables that are completely out of your control such as weather, delays or mechanical breakdowns, so always be prepared.

Step four- Upon arrival do the exact same thing and bring pick up some healthy snacks for to keep in your room. It prevents you from attacking the mini bar and using room service. If you happen to be hungry and don’t have much of an option and find you self ravenous then make better bad choices such as cheese less pizza or steak with no butter.

Step five- If time is a huge issue, then walk around the Hotel for 15-20 minutes.

Step six- special order everywhere you go and to keep things uncomplicated just order all your food grease FREE.

Step seven- throw some additional bars and snacks into your luggage, you just never know when you might need a meal.

Step eight- On your return flight, take the time to get some food for your flight. You will be so happy you did.

Finally have a successful vacation or business trip.

Last month was my 22^nd year on talk radio. Since that time I’m a bit older, wiser and in better shape than when I did my very first show. Yes in better shape! I will never forget that very first show, which is now over 2000 shows ago, can’t tell you much about the others but I will never forget the first one. Actually it started a month earlier when I was listening to talk radio as a listener and a fan. I thought I could do this! I could do a talk show!!! The problem was I had zero experience and while I was a young trainer/bouncer attempting to make a name for myself, I certainly wasn’t well known outside my bodybuilding, martial arts and night club circles.

So one day I just popped into the station KLIF which was by far the talk radio pioneers in the DFW market. I showed up unannounced with no appointment and asked to see the program director Dan Bennet. Within minutes I was sitting in his office, thinking this is way too easy. I told him my idea of doing a show that would help people make the correct choices on nutrition, exercise and health. I explained this is not an exercise show. It is a Q and A show. I will bring on the best leading experts in related fields from the medical community, nutritionist and exercise scientist. The irony is that earlier that week he had thought of the idea himself and contacted the Cooper Clinic which was and still is one of the best institutions on scientific research in the world and was founded by Dr Ken Cooper who is an icon in this industry. Well apparently at the time whomever the program director spoke to had declined his invitation to do his show idea and I walk in from out of nowhere with the same idea. Go figure!

Several weeks had passed since my visit so rather than give up my new found dream of having my own show I started calling a very popular sports show host name Norm Hitzges. I left repeated messages that I would like to train him never getting a returned call. One day I did my customary call and low and behold he answers the phone. I barely got in a word before he said he would be happy to allow me to train him. To know me is to know I am a rather personable and very likeable person, so after spending just a short time with Norm sharing his passion of horse racing while he would be on his home treadmill, we began to build up some camaraderie. Man could that man chow down some food. He is truly a wonderful man but at the time he was certainly a challenge from a training perspective. The guy woke up at 3:00am and was a work-a-holic. Enough of that, one day he plants the seed in Dan’s head that he should let me come on one of the other talk show host show’s as a guest. Before I new it I was booked on a popular yet very controversial show “The David Gold Show”. He was a right wing conservative who was notorious for pissing people off. I was booked to go on the show at 4:00 in the afternoon and I was sweating bullets, thinking what have I got myself into? At this time I had no books, degree’s, gyms and my bio was relatively short.

Before I knew it I am sitting before a live mic being asked, “So Larry tell us about what you do!” All I remember is whatever spewed out of my mouth had caused the phone’s to blow up and I was fielding question after question. How do I lose weight? How old should my son be to lift weights? How do I lose the last 10 pounds? Alas I found my calling and my passion, thank goodness for the gift of gab. I was hooked and when I arrived home I had a bottle of champagne and flowers waiting on me from my girlfriend at the time. I was no Jay Leno or Oprah but I was alright. At the time I did not know I was auditioning for my own show.

The following week Dan called me to tell me he had good news and not so good news. The good news was he had a slot opening for an hour show and wanted to know if I was interested in it. The not so good news was it was at 8:00 am on Sunday morning. I told him I could care less if it was 2:00 am. Wow my own show, he also agreed to work with me and I might had that he was and probably is one of the best in the business. I had to go the bathroom 10 times before I went on the air I was so nervous. I finally went on air and I thought that I had swallowed my tongue and that my brain cells had evaporated because nothing came out of my mouth. I tried to talk but nothing but frozen lips, I took a deep breath and started scrambling for my index cards and slowly came to life enough to not have the phone ring. Then finally a phone call from Jim in Richardson. The rest is pretty much history, I soon went on from 10:00-noon on both Saturday and Sundays for many years. I eventually left KLIF and was recruited by “The ticket” and KRLD where I actually did 2 hours on one station and had an hour to get cross town to do 2 hours on another station. From there I went onto do my show at the WORD and now for 3 years have settled in nicely at KSKY. I love doing radio and it has been the catalyst for my books, hugely successful infomercial, gyms and much more. What I love most about doing radio is the live interaction with real people just like you. I’m hoping that more people will turn into my show from abroad now that you can listen off the internet. I also hope you will feel comfortable sending me your personal questions right here on this website so I can better serve you and your individual needs. Hope to hear from you soon!