Click here to view the embedded video.

And as a completely unrelated thought, many have asked why Video Blog #2 took so long to arrive on Tuesday. The answer is simple. I am getting old. Sorry, I am. I locked my keys in my house. Which meant I could not get into my car and go anywhere, nor could I get back in the house and accomplish anything. It is about the 5th occurrence in the “congratulations, you are now old” realization.

Occurrence #1. The bands I listened to in High School are now spun on classic rock radio stations. I am sorry Pearl Jam, you are now classic rock. Congratulations. I am thankful Green Day reinvented themselves because it at least gives me something to cling to. I am still holding out for a Smalltown Poets or Something Corporate reunion. However, I remain very doubtful.

Occurrence #2. The athletes I grew up watching and pretending to be, are now in the hall of fame. Thank you Ricky Henderson.

Occurrence #3. The bands I listened to in college are releasing “10 year anniversary” albums and then touring behind them. Thank you Jimmy Eat World and New Found Glory. Which as a sub-note, are those bands officially out of new ideas or have they found a new way to overtly fulfill record contract obligations. See, in the old days, when artists were done with music and yet still owed the label an album or two, the label would put out a greatest hits or live Cd to at least get something. IE-Falling Up, Stellar Kart, Jennifer Knapp, Fall Out Boy…basically anyone who you would pick up off the shelf and ask yourself “Hum….they have only put out 3 albums, how could a greatest hits album be next” would fall here. Which is a great transition into..

Occurrence #4. Band who have less songs on the radio than I have arms, putting out greatest hits albums.

and finally…

Occurrence #5. Locking my keys in my house on the only day my wife could not leave work because her VP was in town all the while it decided to snow in Nashville for the hour and a half I waited outside for the locksmith to come and let me in. (Forget run-on, that sentence was a marathon) Needless to say, that is a mistake I will never try to make again. Especially, because I had no idea I was capable of making it in the first place.

So in conclusion…enjoy the ticket photo, have a great Friday and a safe weekend. I’ll see you on Tuesday as next week I dive into the top 5 struggles I faced and now currently help my clients through in terms of weight loss. See you then.

It is great that the events which lead to a delayed post are as non-sensical as the topics in the video. Enjoy, because next week, we get a little more serious.

I’ll let the Vlog speak for itself. A little background on some of the swag. Kurios is the music you hear during the Vlog. They are the band I played in before I went on musical hiatus to pursue the authorship. Jason Boyett’s pocket guide was the first “Bible study type thing” that was able to hold my attention. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a case and have given them out to friends and family that I thought would enjoy it. So now that you all are apart of my extended family… I wanted to share them with you. So you want some free stuff? Watch and find out how.

My story starts like most everyone else’s. One day I looked at the scale and realized I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life, tipping the scale at 240lbs, and on blood pressure medication at the age of 25 was no way to live. So after a few trial and errors with some minor success I finally decided enough was enough! No more yo-yo dieting! I tried everything  you can think of from No carb to weight loss programs to the latest diet supplement, with minimal, if any, results.

After trying a few other gyms and feeling out of place, I felt it was time to truly invest in myself. As a Valentine’s Day gift to me, I began working Jeremy Rochford. From the start, he never made me feel out of my element. He has shown me so many things (believe me, I’ve done some exercises I never even knew existed!) not only with my fitness, but also with nutrition.  As we have just past the one year mark of working together, I have lost a total of 55lbs (4 dress sizes!), and I am still losing! He set up a routine that fits around my lifestyle is easy to maintain. No gimmicks, just a lot of sweat and newly formed muscles!

As of February 2009 I have competitively run in 5 races (ranging from 5k to 5 miles), with more planned including the Music City Half Marathon in April 2009. This is still amazing to me as before I began working with Jeremy, I could barely even run for more than 1-2 minutes before I had to stop. Now I can run upwards of 75 minutes!

Jeremy has been a blessing in many ways to me. I have more energy now that I had when I was in high school! I have more self-confidence than I think I’ve ever had in my life!  I’ve also learned that it’s okay to not have the answers, the key is to ask the right people!

www.facebook.com/GlitteryGirrll

Two things encourage me most about Brandy’s success. The first is the amount of effort she has put forth. Her and I meet only once a week. The other 3-4 times she is working out, either in the gym or outside, she is on her own. Pulling from her own motivation, her own strength and applying her own faith. The second is that I get to see the application of “The Gospel According to Chubby” come to life as she redefines herself and becomes the person she knew she could become. Brandy, thank you so much for allowing me to not only share your story, but be apart of it.

The original working title for “Gospel” was actually “You Know You’re Fat When Your Coat Has Stretch Marks.”  The inspiration behind it came from a raincoat I purchased and held onto all the way through college.  It was picked up during a good swing of a yo-yo dieting and once the weight came back, I found myself unwilling to part with it.

As I continued to gain more weight back, the coat continued to stretch. I was completely unwilling to get rid of it, no matter how tight it became, because it I knew it symbolized yet another failed attempt at weight loss. One day, as I reached to put it on, I noticed there were streaked white lines contrasting the shimmery red cloth. Looking further, I noticed the white streaks were actually micro tears in the fiber of the coat. Much like the streaks on ones body, my coat had stretch marks.

Fast-forward a few years later; the initial concept for my book was quickly becoming an outline and the need for a working title became fairly apparent. The first thing that came to mind was how symbolic my old red coat was.  So, for about 3 years, my little book was known as “You Know Your Fat When You’re Coat Has Stretch Marks.”

…However. The deeper I got into the project, the more I realized how unfitting the title was. For one, it didn’t really address my emotional and psychological problems with food. Two, it was fairly insulting.  My book is designed to empower, not insult. So until I could find something more suiting, I changed the title to T.B.D.

Once I completed the first rough draft and had a moment to reflect on it, I thought about the context that the book took and what it actually meant to me. At its core, the book is my first hand account of my struggles in terms of weight loss, personal acceptance and my unhealthy love of food. More importantly, it’s an in depth look at how I overcame those struggles and found the ability to walk, not run, away from my problems once and for all.

The more I had people read my drafts, the more they kept telling me how it left them with a feeling of hope and inspiration that no other “weight themed/faith inspired” book had ever given them.  I sat back and thought about what could possibly pull all of those attributes together and make sense in the process.

I must pause that story to briefly tell you this one.  Around the same time I found myself craving apologetically themed truth. I wanted to know not just what scripture said, but also the context, time periods and social and economic backgrounds that were in place at the time the books were written. In researching the etymology of the gospels, I found the word gospel at its core to mean “a first had account in which glad tidings and good news is proclaimed.”

Pulling the knowledge from that story into the present one at hand, I looked at my book objectively, what I felt it said and what I hoped it will accomplish. It was as if the title fell right into place.  “The Gospel According to Jeremy.” No, I didn’t like that. This story isn’t just about me; it is about the struggle that two out of every three people in this country now faces.  The Gospel According to Chubby…yes, I think that fits quite well.

And so it is. I took that title and placed it upon all of the items that had been T.B.D. because I could no longer think of a more fitting title. What are your thoughts?

You can pick up your copy by heading over to the store section of the website and clicking on the book. If you are thinking about picking up more than one, there is a multiple book discount. More importantly, $2 from each book will go directly to help rebuild and aid Haiti through Compassion International’s disaster relief efforts.

Make sure to check back with JeremyRochford.com as I’ll be diving into the creative process that has driven The Gospel According to Chubby as well as answer some questions that I have been asked along the way.