SNS 159: Saturday Night Special – Interview with Rethink Dieting coach Alan Thomas

[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: Welcome to tonight. Saturday night, special episode 159.

[00:00:05] Alan Thomas: I'm Alan Thomas. I challenge you to invest in yourself. Invest in others. Develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talents and your treasures to live out your calling, having the ability to recognize the decisions that you make around your weight is key.

[00:00:25] And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the stewardship podcast with my good friends, Scott.

[00:00:34] I had, I tried all these things in the keyword there to try and tried all these things, but I never committed once. I never committed to where it was no way. And I'd lost 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds to gain. 10 20, 30 extra on top of it back because there was always, it was always a good idea to do it later.

[00:00:53] Scott Maderer: Welcome. And thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship podcast. If you [00:01:00] truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be the, you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true. In the inspired stewardship podcast, you will learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.

[00:01:20] And tonight's Saturday night special. I interview Alan Thomas. I ask Alan to share how he discovered that his faith and his weight were connected and how this discovery drove him to reinvent his. I also ask Alan to share with you why that understanding led him to help others with their weight goals.

[00:01:40] And Alan also share some of the real things that are likely holding

[00:01:44] you back from your

[00:01:45] ideal weight. One area that a lot of folks need some help with is around the area of productivity. Getting not just more

[00:01:57] things done, but

[00:01:58] actually getting the right

[00:01:59] [00:02:00] things done can be really,

[00:02:01] really. I've got a course called productivity for your passion.

[00:02:07] That's designed to help you do this and then to hold you accountable and walk with you so that you can tailor productivity, not just to be getting more done, but actually getting the right things done. What's more, we take the approach of looking at your personality and how you actually look at things in the world and tailor the productivity system to your person.

[00:02:32] Because the truth is

[00:02:33] a lot of the systems that are out there are written really well for somebody with a particular personality type. But if you have a different approach to things, they just don't work, but there's tools and techniques and approaches that you can take that will work for anyone. And we help you do that and productivity for your passion.

[00:02:52] Check it out over@inspiredstewardship.com slash launch. On March

[00:02:59] [00:03:00] 2nd, 2017 at the age of 55, Allen Thomas stepped on his scale and it read

[00:03:04] 304 pounds literal panic set in it was the day after his 31st wedding anniversary. And three thoughts ran through his mind. First. He could not ever recall meeting a

[00:03:17] 65 year old man.

[00:03:18] That was more than 100 pounds overweight.

[00:03:21] His experience as a life insurance professional

[00:03:23] told him that he had less than 10 years to.

[00:03:26] Secondly, he would likely be known as his wife Angie's first husband, since he would probably be dead in less than 10 years and third, that all the dreams he hoped to accomplish in the future would be cut short by his obesity and that state of

[00:03:42] panic while still standing on the scale.

[00:03:45] Alan

[00:03:45] reached for his cell phone and snapped a picture because at that moment, he made the decision to never see those numbers on a scale that he stood on. fast forward 260 days. And Alan stepped on the same scale and weighed [00:04:00] 175

[00:04:00] pounds. He conquered a lifelong battle with

[00:04:03] obesity in 260 days. Alan had been on dozens and dozens of diets and exercise plans, and never been able to take off the weight today.

[00:04:14] Alan coaches, his clients to lose weight. His process known as rethink dieting gets

[00:04:20] incredible results, but Alan never

[00:04:23] tells anyone what to eat or what exercises to do.

[00:04:26] Alan's clients unlock their potential as the weight releases, according to Alan,

[00:04:32] if a diet or an exercise plan were the.

[00:04:34] Everyone would already be at their ideal weight.

[00:04:39] Welcome

[00:04:39] Alan Thomas: to the show. A. Hey, great to be here, Scott. Thanks for having me.

[00:04:43] Scott Maderer: Absolutely. It's great to have you here.

[00:04:45] And this is a topic that I think at first

[00:04:49] glance it doesn't necessarily quote, fit in the stewardship bucket, but as we've had a conversation and we've been running in the same circles for year, I absolutely [00:05:00] believe that it does.

[00:05:01] So can you talk a little bit more about how your faith journey and your weight journey. Intersected.

[00:05:11] Alan Thomas: Yeah, no, I'd love to and I do think it is spot on its foundation of stewardship and but really from a standpoint of where I, the faith journey happened for me was it was honestly realizing that.

[00:05:30] The day that I stepped on the scale at 5 11, 55 years old and saw 304 pounds stare back at me. Now there's tipping points for everyone. Some people it's a 10 pound tipping point. Some people it's hundreds of pounds. For me, it was, I was over a hundred pounds overweight and I a realize that the woman that was.

[00:05:52] Depending on me to provide for that was still in bed, resting in our kids that while [00:06:00] a couple of 'em already grown and out of the house, they, and a couple still at home, they'd be calling another guy, dad, they'd be calling. She'd be likely married to somebody else while we had just celebrated the, our 31st waiting anniversary.

[00:06:13] And to my knowledge, she hasn't been doing any shopping around, still to the state . And but it was my lack of steward. For what I knew could be done. And then this is what the real Cokes of it was is that it wasn't that I didn't have the desire to change no different than somebody who struggles with any challenge in their life.

[00:06:36] It's that I just was unwilling to make the decision and cut off all other possibilities. And it was as though when I was standing on that scale. It's like God opened up my mind and said, okay how many hundred pound overweight men do you know, at 65 and are older. And what was interesting is I'd spent [00:07:00] about a decade prior to that helping senior citizens with health insurance, barrel insurance, funeral insurance, and I'd sat in probably, I don't know, two, three, 4,000 homes.

[00:07:14] Training agents always with older people. And I never, I could not remember one single individual ma a man. Now ladies will likely love longer. A lot of times in poor health, even though they're they may carry a lot of weight, but a man, I couldn't remember one man. It was over 65 that had more than a hundred pounds.

[00:07:33] Now they're out there. In fact, I've had, I've got clients who are that situation, but they are really a unicorn they're so unusual and the reason, and it just opened my mind up. And while I've thought about my weight every day of my life, Repeatedly through the day. That moment was the moment I realized that I was likely gonna be dead in 10 years or less.

[00:07:54] And that was five years ago this month. And it was really a [00:08:00] surreal moment. And what was interesting kind of a segue on that is I like most people, I walk around with my cell phone in my. And in my whole life, I'd never taken a picture of a scale, but that morning I decided that when I saw that it was like a disaster, like if your neighbors had a tree fall in their house, you dial 9 1, 1, you go make sure everybody's okay.

[00:08:24] Try to save who you could. Very next thing you're gonna do is any red blooded human being out there now with the cell phones, you're gonna take a picture of that disaster. And so I took a picture of that 300, four pound reading, cuz I said, I will never see that. and 260 days later, it was gone.

[00:08:42] Scott Maderer: Which is that 260 days later you'd dropped to 1 75.

[00:08:47] Is that right? 1 75. Yep. Yep. Yeah,

[00:08:50] Alan Thomas: go ahead.

[00:08:51] Scott Maderer: You you had that moment of never again, but how how'd that happen?

[00:08:58] Alan Thomas: And that's a great [00:09:00] question. I, and I get that a lot but I'll give you an example. We all know how to. Okay. It's no different than what you talk about in your coaching and your stewardship.

[00:09:11] Talk about money. We all know how to spend less than we make, but it's not convenient at times. It's not easy at times. And we tend to put it off for long period of time and thereby ending up thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands in debt in these places that we can't feel like we can't escape from.

[00:09:29] And that's exactly what weight is. It was, I had been on probably if you name a diet, I'd been on it twice. You name an exercise plan that were guaranteed results. I'd been on it four times or whatever. I'm just throwing numbers out, but it's probably my wife and I sat down one day and we listed approximately 70 different diets.

[00:09:46] I'd been on I'd read books. I had, I'd tried all these things in the keyword. There is try. And it tried all these things, but I never committed once. I never committed to where it was no way. And I'd lost 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds to gain. 10 20, [00:10:00] 30 extra on top of it back because there was always, it was always a good idea to do it later.

[00:10:07] It was always, it was a little bit like wimpy from the cartoon pie. It, I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. I was gonna pay that debt of overeating back down the road. And it never, that day never came until it came. Yeah. One of the things that I've said before is some days not on any calendar.

[00:10:25] Scott Maderer: I'm gonna do it someday. I'm gonna do it someday. Show me that date on the calendar, yeah. And people, listen it and say you asked me how that I did it. And I didn't give you an answer. That is the answer. Oh no, you did the decision. But I'm saying this for the person who's out there saying I wanna know.

[00:10:43] Alan Thomas: Did he do keto? Did he do paleo, did intermittent fasting? They do all these things. And the re the reality is I could write a book on diets before. That date, but I just wasn't applying anything that I already knew how to do. And probably

[00:10:57] Scott Maderer: all of those

[00:10:58] Alan Thomas: diets [00:11:00] work. All, every one of 'em, you

[00:11:02] Scott Maderer: know, it's not a it's not a you hadn't choose chosen the right diet or the right exercise plan it's that you hadn't committed to any of.

[00:11:12] Them

[00:11:12] Alan Thomas: You amen. You

[00:11:13] Scott Maderer: played around with them. If that makes sense. And I love the analogy of money because I think in stewardship we talk about type talent treasures and I think it our weight journey does have some analogies with both our time and our money in terms of a lot of it is about that commitment, that intentionality, that making that decision much more than it is.

[00:11:40] Did you budget using a 70, 30, or did you do this did you use this tool or that tool? Or did you use your time management? Do you use GTD or do you use Steven Covey stuff? Yep. They both work. it's all, they all work. [00:12:00] it's what are you gonna do? So why

[00:12:02] did you turn from

[00:12:03] that?

[00:12:04] I get that. You made the commitment for yourself, but why did that lead you to becoming

[00:12:09] a weight loss coach?

[00:12:11] Alan Thomas: It was I went on a fairly public journey and a lot of people watch my journey there. There's no way to hide it. And this is another. Thing that sounds off track, but it's really has such a big bearing is everybody know, knew that I was morbidly obese, but I thought I could wear the dark.

[00:12:31] There were suits dark enough. And there were, and even if you do vertical stripes yeah I was in the clothing business for 25 years. I sold a business in South Carolina. And so you can't hide it. You just can't hide it. And so people seeing what took place, the first question everybody asked.

[00:12:50] Here's the question they're asking. They won't say it this way. They're saying, what is your magic pill that you have so that I can continue doing the behavior that I'm doing and still lose weight and have [00:13:00] everything be in other words, can how I can go out and use every one of my credit cards and still end up not owing any money as guy using the money metaphor.

[00:13:08] And so people started coming to me and oh, how

[00:13:10] Scott Maderer: can I eat everything? I. All the time that I want and sit on my butt all

[00:13:14] Alan Thomas: day and not gain weight. that? That's it. And I started, so I started helping people just. Sporadically people come to me and ask me and it was not something that I thought about doing.

[00:13:28] I was doing some business coaching because I had a lot of sales background, a lot of own business, all these different things that made most sense but it was never it was just funny and our good friend Dan Miller Dan and who 48 days worked loved.

[00:13:46] Dan's mentored me since two. He's been on the show. Yeah. Since 2004 or five, two first, early part of 2005, I started working with Dan. He coached me and he said to me a, he [00:14:00] said, why? He said, why are you not a weight loss coach? And I said, Dan, I don't want I laughed at myself. I said, that is just silly.

[00:14:09] I don't wanna tell people what to eat and what exercises. That's just silly and so FA fast forward about a month from that. And it's just interesting how God brings things in your life when you're ready. And somebody reached out to me, they heard my story. They as an individual that was pushing 400 pounds and and said some things you said made sense, will you help me?

[00:14:35] Will you coach me? And I'm like, and I really, this was my attitude about it. I was very, I was like, I really don't wanna do this. I said, I think I even said those words. I don't wanna do this. I said but I hear you. I know where you're at. I know how to fix it. I said, I'll do three sessions with you.

[00:14:54] And I and I said, and here's what the fail be. And I said, [00:15:00] but I'm never gonna tell you what deep, I'm never gonna tell you what X does do. And I said, cuz that is not your. and golly when it start, he started dropping weight, like crazy. And I was in a mastermind of some other people and they started laughing at me they said, Alan, you're not a you teach the mind part of the weight loss that don't, you don't have to tell 'em what they, and so I never do.

[00:15:28] I never do. And it's so funny. And I just funny story one and I. One of, one of my clients who came to me, cuz almost anybody who's overweight has been on enough diets where they already know those principles. They just had to platinum them. But this individual came to me about eight little a year ago and was 440 pounds.

[00:15:54] I didn't realize he was in a wheelchair if he had to walk more than 10. Very successful [00:16:00] hotel executive. He had gotten heard in a fall up in the Northeast on some black ice he'd slipped. And so he went from being overweight to be morbidly obese and he When he came into our rethink dieting program I said I'm not gonna tell you what to eat.

[00:16:17] I tell the people that front, I said, I'll do I'll guide you on how to track some things. But I said, I'm not, we don't, we work on the stuff you've been missing. And and he said it was so funny cuz he hadn't been on a diet before he said, I've never been to diet. I don't know what did I said let me ask you this.

[00:16:36] If your wife, who I know you love dearly and who loves you and your two daughters who I'm positive, you love dearly. Cuz as he talks about 'em all the time, I said, if they were being held at gunpoint and God forbid this ever happened this a ugly metaphor, but it was one that got his attention. I said, they're being held at gunpoint.

[00:16:54] You and all you had to do was lose one pound, just one pound over the next seven. [00:17:00] And you couldn't stop eating. You couldn't cut off a body part. You couldn't right. Do anything that wasn't quote healthy. Now I know you don't say you don't know but you've gotta stay that your doctor would applaud.

[00:17:12] What would you do? And he paused. He's very humble individual, very quiet. Not a loud person like I am. And he stopped for about 20, 30 seconds, it. I thought he'd hung up actually and he said, cause we were on just just phone. We weren't we're on zoom. And he said, Alan, I guess I could eat less.

[00:17:35] I said, that's where we start. And now think he's 130 or 140 pounds down right now, walking and still going on his way to 190 pounds. It was always the decision. It was never the diet. Now here's something interesting. From a stewardship side from a financial side, this individual has had the most success.

[00:17:59] He. [00:18:00] Ever seen in his career, he's been inter recognized internationally with this company, his CEOs they've created a word around his last name. That means like a, get it done word for their company, that, for this massive company. And he and it just happens almost every well, pretty much every time.

[00:18:18] There's always something it's almost like God's saying Alan and Scott and everybody else on planet earth, if you'll do the simple. Not the easy, but the simple, if you'll do the simple, I'm gonna open up the floodgates of heaven for you, and you're gonna get to see what this is real, what life to the fool really is about.

[00:18:37] Yeah. And

[00:18:39] Scott Maderer: that's actually in the Bible. yeah. If you look for it, it actually tells you that we just don't believe it, but that's right. Here's why

[00:18:47] Cuz it's because I've had

[00:18:50] people that I've working on their money and they come back and they're like, I lost. There you go. And I never told them to go on a diet.

[00:18:57] It's not, cuz they're starving themselves. It's not I've [00:19:00] had people that are working

[00:19:00] on their productivity

[00:19:02] that come back and they're like, but my money's getting more in, in order, and I think it's because the joke that I tell people, that's not a joke is you come to me for help with time or with money.

[00:19:14] The real truth is the only thing I help with is talent. Because at the end of the day, it's all about how you handle yourself. And I think health. Food and weight falls into that same category. It's not actually

[00:19:25] Alan Thomas: about the diet

[00:19:28] Scott Maderer: air quotes around that. It's about the mindset, the attitude, the belief, the,

[00:19:34] and so how do you actually get into that from

[00:19:37] your point of view, with what you do, you, if you're not gonna tell people what to eat, you're not gonna give 'em the diet plan.

[00:19:42] You're not gonna tell 'em exercise. Whatever alphabet soup exercise plan is out there today. And I don't even know 'em so I'm terrible. It's I can't even quote one, but if you're not gonna do that, how do you actually help them lose [00:20:00] weight? What is the stuff that they've been ignoring?

[00:20:02] So to speak? We,

[00:20:03] Alan Thomas: we teach 'em to stick to it. We teach 'em to go the distance. They, it we go the distance and for our kids, For kid if a child, if we've been blessed with four children who are all grown. Now, my youngest we no longer have a teenager in the house. As of December, I've got, my youngest is 20.

[00:20:23] And and, but we do anything for our kids. We go the distance for them, no matter what it took, no matter what it took we would leave no stone unturned. We would do, we would go the distance. But when it comes to our. when it comes to handling an area that is not easy. I'll grant you.

[00:20:42] It's not easy and it's never gonna be easy. It's not meant to be easy. It's meant to build a muscle that, that we've ignored. It's a discipline muscle. And so when we go the distance, we can accomplish almost anything and we gain. And this is so interesting. [00:21:00] We teach perspective. We teach.

[00:21:02] We te and when somebody says to me, oh, slow and steady wins the race and weight loss. I want to, I wanna scream. I wanna do other things that are, that won't say on your podcast, but because we gain weight, most clients like, and I work with people that might have 20 pounds to lose, and I work people that might have 300 pounds to lose and everything in between.

[00:21:24] But let's say somebody's got a hundred pounds of weight to lose. And they're in they weigh their ideal weight 30 years ago. Okay. So there's a hundred pound gap that took 30 years to achieve. So call it 30. We'll call it 33 pounds a year 33 pounds total over that, over those 30 years. So that's a little over three pounds a year.

[00:21:48] They. Math doesn't lie. It's just kinda like what you do. Math doesn't lie. You can't you can't argue with the spreadsheets when the numbers add up. It just it is an exact science, so they gain three pounds a year [00:22:00] or a little a little better than three pounds a year. And when they lose a pound a week, they consider it slow.

[00:22:07] Explain that to me. So here's the perspective that I use with a lot of people. And I encourage anybody to listen to this, to apply these principles a pound a week, a pound a week is if they that's 52 pounds in a year. And if they gained three pounds while I'm doing math in my head and I went to university of South Carolina.

[00:22:28] So it might take me a second but three pounds what is that? 16, 17. What did I do that? 16, 7, 17 times about 17, 17 times faster. And I'm totally doing this on the spot but 17 times. 17 times let's suppose that you drove to your supermarket. They have Safeways out there or what, you know what grocery?

[00:22:54] Scott Maderer: I'm in south Texas, so we have HEB, so

[00:22:57] Alan Thomas: okay. Yeah. So you go to [00:23:00] the HEB at the gro grocery store and you drive, you probably average 45 miles an hour. And so let's 17

[00:23:08] Scott Maderer: times faster.

[00:23:10] Alan Thomas: so let's go to the grocery store at 765 miles an hour and see if you miss your turn. And so that's what we're doing.

[00:23:18] A pound a week or two pounds a week, or whatever that number. Is and it's not to say, so when somebody says to me slow and steady, I just wanna scream because it's not slow it's perspective. So we teach, but it is steady. that? That's it. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta be steady. Steady's absolutely.

[00:23:37] But it also doesn't go up. It doesn't it's not a straight line down. Oh, no, absolutely. And one of, in one of my, one of my clients. But when you said 3.3,

[00:23:45] Scott Maderer: 3.3 pounds a year, that's the average that doesn't mean they actually gained three pounds any of those

[00:23:49] Alan Thomas: years, sure they might've gained ten one year. They might've gained none one year but on the

[00:23:54] Scott Maderer: whole and they may have lost some, one year and actually made progress and then's right.

[00:23:59] None did it [00:24:00] all of that. Yep.

[00:24:00] Alan Thomas: That's right. But we are, but we're all living with whatever weight, whatever health, whatever. Financial situation that we're in, I believe we're all living based on living a level based on our beliefs and what we're tolerate, what will tolerate. Sure.

[00:24:18] So if I'm willing to tolerate two 50 gosh, I could tolerate two 60. And I could compare myself to the guy sitting next to me in church, cuz he weighs two 90 and I look pretty good by beside him. So I'm always gonna look for him when I'm sitting next to church. These are things that I used to when, if you really wanna see the overweight people go to the beach, I live a mile from the beach, the Atlantic ocean.

[00:24:37] We live on a mill island, Florida. If you really wanna see the overweight people go down there, you can feel really good about yourself. So you it's constantly a comparison game, which, but with that. And it softens and it's I'm okay. And people say that weight doesn't matter and all these things but the truth is it does matter.

[00:24:56] It does matter. Is it okay to, is it okay to be a hundred [00:25:00] thousand dollars in debt? I come back an argument that it is sure, but you can make if I have a 10 million income, a hundred thousand can pay off by Tuesday probably or whatever. But the point I'm making is we believe we support with beliefs, what we really want.

[00:25:17] And so we'll work with our clients on changing that when, and you have to become, you have to become the ideal weight person before you get there. You have to become a good steward of money before you get a bunch of money. Isn't that interesting how that works or it just goes away. I football pro football players and baseball players.

[00:25:37] We can probably tell story after story on that lottery winners 40% of lottery winners are bankrupt within five years of winning the lottery. How does that happen?

[00:25:45] Yeah.

[00:25:45] Alan Thomas: Yeah. It's because it is because the it's so the magic pill is becoming the person yep. That makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. If you,

[00:25:54] Scott Maderer: in other words, if you become the person that's not going to.

[00:25:58] Never again. , [00:26:00] yeah. It's, I'm not gonna do that again. I'm not gonna be that person again than it has more likelihood of actually becoming real because you've already made it real in your mind.

[00:26:09] Alan Thomas: Yeah, and and obviously we have strategies that we use that that are really effective, but the strategy's not what's important.

[00:26:17] It's what do you really want? What do you really want? And so it and it's so funny when one of my clients said he's he's been with us just a little over six months. He came in our program at 70 years, old, 353 pounds. Two fused vertebra uses a Walker with the tennis balls on the end because he can't walk without support, but I knew we could help because has bad knee.

[00:26:51] Oh, he's you name it. He also heart condition. Don't forget. So he has every reason in the world to believe that he can't do it right. He could come up with every coping [00:27:00] mechanism in the world that was just say, would you please pass the single serving size of Doritos, that mark family size?

[00:27:04] I know that's not true. They're single serving. And or whatever and use that excuse. But he made decision about August of last year. And he made the decision. It's interesting. He hadn't been under 300 pounds since the seventies. And so I have people all the time, tell me why can't lose weight.

[00:27:24] Cause I can't exercise. I said, that's not true. I don't say that to them, but I know it's not true. And this individual, he is down, he's down 70 pounds. So far, I think 69, 68 pounds or whatever it is, he's in the two eighties right now. And if you ask him his ideal weight is around 180 or whatever, he, there's no question in his mind that he's getting there.

[00:27:47] He knows. He knows how to do it. And it had nothing to do with, it had nothing to do with me, giving him a dime. I didn't give him. And he can't exercise physically. It's impossible for him right now. [00:28:00] No, he's hoping one day, but here's, what's cool. Is he now he doesn't have any children his own.

[00:28:05] And, but he was playing with, he has three children that are like his children they're wrong. Their friend has their, they treat him like a father with a lot of respect, like a dad. And he was messaged me the other day, but playing with them, playing with their children.

[00:28:21] What's so cool. Is he might not have been here cause he was a, he was an anomal. I rarely talked to somebody over 65 that has over a hundred pounds. And like I said earlier, and he's anomaly, but it's so cool to sit and he knows that his best years are headed. So a

[00:28:39] Scott Maderer: lot of, it sounds like in, in the language that the listeners have heard me use before when it comes to money or productivity or all of these things it's finding a big enough why to actually follow through and do the thing , sure. Cause you already know the, how it's not the, how that's actually the that's the problem. A lot of times we're focused on the, how, when it's [00:29:00] actually the why that we need it's not the, how. So other than the obvious impacts that on health. I think everybody knows that being overweight heart condition, bad back, bad knees, this, that, and the other thing.

[00:29:14] What other kinds of costs have you seen to somebody remaining

[00:29:20] Alan Thomas: obese? No that's and I love that question because I got a similar question the other day I was on a a business entrepreneurial podcast and and they were asking me about that and really, I don't feel like I have a health offer.

[00:29:37] Okay. And the reason I say that now, does it affect your health to be overweight? Obviously it does. But does it really matter that it affects your health? 70 plus percent of the us population is overweight and. And right at 50% or obese. So I guess it doesn't matter, but it's interesting. It does matter clearly I'm be, I'm being tongue in cheek with that, but the point is it [00:30:00] impacts your business.

[00:30:01] It when you're morbidly obese or even a little overweight, It impacts your business. It will make, it'll give you a monkey on your back. That you're thinking about. When you walk into that meeting you'll have promotions that you miss because of your weight.

[00:30:17] I've had that I've talked to many people that's happened do they're positive. That's why they didn't get it, but they still carried the weight. And so it's costly. It's a business offer people when people say what about relationships? It. Impacts relationships. I've literally had people on the phone with me that had an individual one time that was on the phone that had struggled with her weight and their wife told them while they were on the call with me, that she and the kids had already left because of the way he was handling his weight.

[00:30:46] It made me wanna cry. It just made me broke my heart. I've had people men, and women talk to that. Their relationship is broken up over the way they're positive of that, that I've. So when you ask, what else does it impact? It impacts [00:31:00] everything. It is the foundation and here's, what's the saddest of all it, it's a spiritual issue.

[00:31:05] And this is what breaks my heart the most is that as believers, when we go out and we. Have a billboard on us that reads I'm not discipl. It's unattractive to nonbelievers. And this is not me, shaming people. I've been there. I've sat between the elbows of a man that was 300 plus pounds.

[00:31:28] I know what it's like, and I know what it's like for people to look. There's a reason why God talks about gluttony and. And obesity and overweight is an example of Glu because it, the only get to be that is to overeat and that's Glu. And I know Glu can be talked about for other areas too but specifically, when you talk about those things, think about this.

[00:31:48] Think about the man this or woman is goes, who is talking to somebody who is a nonbeliever and they're listening to 'em and [00:32:00] they're, and maybe that individual's a drug. Or maybe they're an alcoholic, or maybe they run, maybe they're in faithful or wife and they're speaking to them and they're a hundred pounds overweight or 75 pounds overweight, or 200 pounds overweight, whatever the amount is.

[00:32:14] And they're speaking to that individual about getting discipline in that area, their life when they're wearing it on the outside and they can't hide it. So it is that to me, it is the greatest spiritual issue of the 21st century. Is weight. It, there is no doubt about it. You can, I can fake it with money.

[00:32:32] I can fake it with my relationship. I can fake it with every other way and I can hide it pretty good, but I can't hide. I can't hide an extra 50 or a hundred or 200 pound, whatever the amount is. And when you, and when a pastor stands at the front of the church and I say this, I love not out of, not a hate or condemnation, cuz I've been that person.

[00:32:51] When you start thinking about. Paul said when he said, but I dis disciplined my body and [00:33:00] keep it under control less after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. Ouch. And so when people ask whatever it costs you everywhere I've talked to couples that haven't been intimate in decades.

[00:33:18] How long is that gonna LA the relationship's gonna last, they, their children my own children, my, my second oldest son said to my wife before this was before I lost weight. And I didn't, she was kind enough not to tell me until after, but she said dad doesn't love us enough to lose weight.

[00:33:34] And I can keep going. There is not one area of life that is not impacted by this. This is the only area. That's the only area of life that affects everything. Cuz it is the foundation. It is where you've gotta handle it at some level. Now I don't tell people what they should weigh either.

[00:33:52] That's another thing I wanna say to you, but if you feel like your weight is holding you back period, in any level then you weigh [00:34:00] too much. That make sense. And of course, I'm not speaking to people that struggle with that keeping weight on, I'm not, I'm talking about people who struggle with excess weight and they know good and that they should do something about it.

[00:34:11] And they've quote tried a thousand times like I had, or a hundred or 70 or whatever. It's not the diet. It's not how many pushups you can do. It's are you doing the best with the, what? The gift that God's given you? And if if our body is a temple, then how are you actually taking care of that temple?

[00:34:33] Scott Maderer: In terms of and one of the things that I I've been in and out of church throughout my life and I've come back to it. And one of the, I was raised Methodist. And so one of my jokes as a Methodist is where two or more Methodists are gathered, a chicken must die because we sure everything revolves around food.

[00:34:55] And I think that's true of a lot. Of church environments. And what I've [00:35:00] seen happen is it's almost like being overweight is held up as. A badge of honor as in here have another serving it's kinda what they say. Sure. Yeah,

[00:35:12] Alan Thomas: sure. Yeah. And I think I mentioned this to you off air.

[00:35:17] You walk in almost any church in America and because of our culture our culture if you walk in as a leader, maybe you. Deacon, maybe your pastor, maybe your the wife or or may spouse of a pastor or one of those. And you walk in and you've had a glass of wine before church or bourbon or scotch or whatever.

[00:35:44] And I'm not saying this is the right thing to do. I'm just saying you just had one and you walk in they, and some of the other leaders smell alcohol in. They're gonna pull you aside and you're probably, or your spouse is probably gonna fall outta leadership until you get that straightened out.

[00:35:59] But it, but you [00:36:00] go into that Wednesday night supper and you weigh a extra 50 pounds or a hundred pounds or whatever overweight, and you have three plates of fried chicken biscuits, gravy, all the fixings. The only questions you get asked is what do you want for dessert? And it's ignored. Just like you said, it's completely ignored.

[00:36:18] And in most cases, and, or it's talked about one time rather than lived out and it's, and what's, so what's so sad is that it's the greatest opportunity that we have too, because every, and I think it's enrolls. You can, I'm not a Bible scholar clearly but Romans Paul talks about, we all have weight that we care differe.

[00:36:43] So each individual has weight, a weight that they carry. You could be standing in a room with a hundred men and women that look like they stepped out of a James Bond movie where they're all perfect size. They all don't have any extra body fat. They look like they work out every day. [00:37:00] And you're the only one that weighs extra.

[00:37:01] I promise you all those people have weights at their care and it might be in, in relationship to their, of their fidelity to their spouse. It might be in relationship to to maybe they've made a bunch of bad decision. Maybe they're they've taken things from their business. They've stolen from partners said bad things.

[00:37:19] They've done awful, all these things that they're carrying with them and that they can't seem to get control of. And you start losing weight around. It's so interesting to me. And this is probably one of the things that's fascinated me more than anything is the people around you get impacted without you saying a word, you don't have to tell 'em what to eat.

[00:37:39] You don't have to tell 'em tell 'em that you're losing weight. They see it. And then all of a sudden they have hope that they can overcome their weight. That might not be anything to do with physical. And it's the coolest thing. I know one of, one of my clients, he sent me a. Message. This has been two, three years ago, now it, but he [00:38:00] sent me a message and it was a Facebook message of his sister that was leading a Bible study on a Facebook group.

[00:38:09] He says, Alan, and she she spoke better than I do. I'm not a great speaker. But clearly everybody knows that by now they she's speaking really clearly. And he said she couldn't talk without stuttering for 45 years. He said, do you know why that, do you know why that happened?

[00:38:27] And I said, no, he said, because you watched my journey and she said, I'm gonna battle my challenges now. What's I hear those stories. I'm like, oh my gosh, what's going on here? Yeah, but we are a witness.

[00:38:42] Yeah. And you don't have to talk. You don't have to say a word. Just have to do it.

[00:38:46] Yeah. That's so needed.

[00:38:48] Scott Maderer: That's always preach the gospel when necessary use words.

[00:38:52] Alan Thomas: Love that. Haven't okay. Haven't heard that before. So I love that. I,

[00:38:57] Scott Maderer: I believe that's some other Theresa quote, but I, [00:39:00] you double check me before you attribute it to her, but it's, I love that. No, I'm gonna, it maybe say same acquaintance too.

[00:39:05] It's one of those. But anyway, yeah, it's you always preached the gospel when necessary use words. Because. I think we live it and again, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Christians have to be perfect because , we're not, yeah. That's not the point. It's not about perfection, but it is about that journey.

[00:39:29] It is about progress. Are you moving that direction? Yeah. One of the expressions, again, people will have heard if they listen to the show very much is progress not perfect. Yeah. Are you going the right direction? Or not the 1% improvement you were talking about consistency and one pound and all of that if you improve by 1% each and every day across a year, okay.

[00:39:55] That's 38% improvement. Okay. It's 37 in infraction, but it's about 38% [00:40:00] improvement. But here's the question. And I'll ask you and let you play the Lister. If you did that for a decade for 10 years, So if every day for a year, 1% improvement is 38% that if you kept improving 1% every day and did that for a decade for 10 years, what's the percentage improvement.

[00:40:22] Alan Thomas: I don't ha I'm not that great at math. So you're gonna have to help me with that

[00:40:25] one.

[00:40:25] Scott Maderer: It's a five followed by 15

[00:40:28] Alan Thomas: zeros. Oh, wow. I love that. I love that.

[00:40:34] Scott Maderer: It's such a big number five followed by 50 zeros, five times 10 to the 50 power. If you want scientific notation. Wow. I love that. It's so big that

[00:40:43] it's not number the reason I don't say it is it's five buzz below whatever name that number has.

[00:40:49] Cuz it does have a name is because it's so big that you can't even really grasp how big that is. That's a huge. Number, and yet it's the same [00:41:00] math. Okay. It's consistency we grossly overestimate what we can do in a day. We grossly underestimate what we can do in a year.

[00:41:10] sure. Sure.

[00:41:12] Alan Thomas: And it's of that. Yeah. That, and it speaks so much to Somebody had said that recently. And I thought I'm trying to remember this, but the definition of what we're willing to do for something, speak to whether you can handle it, the definition of what you're willing to do for something.

[00:41:30] And so are you willing to go the distance? Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to do the work? It always fascinates me when somebody. They're willing to do the work if they just have a heart attack and then as soon into it all the sudden and then the settlings takes place almost every time they start settling doing better.

[00:41:52] Gosh, I sure would like that thing. And I'll tell you, I'm a believer that Jesus declared all food good, because he did he, and [00:42:00] to Peter he said, Hey, all, food's good. In, in Southeast United States, north Florida slang. It's all good. is what we would say. So does that mean, so I, this is another one of the things I always get fascinated by people say I'm eating good, or I'm eating bad.

[00:42:20] And I'm, there is no good or bad now, are there better choices? Sure. There are. I'm not ignorant to the fact but I love what, one of, one of my clients, again, I don't tell people what to eat but I help them understand what they've gotta do just from a cuz it's a math equation at some level.

[00:42:36] And it's so funny. This is probably a year and a half ago now, but he came to me no, it was about a year ago. Excuse me. Cause it was around Eastern. He came to me on one of our one of our calls. And first thing he said I gotta tell you about something. It was a Monday after Easter. He said, you know what I had for breakfast?

[00:42:57] And I said, no, he said apple pie. [00:43:00] I said, awesome. That's great. How'd you figure out how to do it. He said I started doing all this stuff like you did, like you teach me and all these things on Sundays. I couldn't figure out how to have it on for Easter Sunday. I just couldn't figure out. Now this guy lost a bunch of weight and he was losing weight that, and he was committed.

[00:43:15] He just wouldn't do it. And he figured out a way to have it for breakfast on Monday morning. Now he doesn't have it every day. Obviously it's a rarity, but. Figured out how it would work for him. And I applaud that. And so it's so interesting when people say, oh, I can't do this well, if you've got an allergy.

[00:43:31] Sure. If you've got something like that but this isn't about doing without forever. It's just, it's a little bit like when you're getting outta debt. You don't buy a Ferrari. But if all of a sudden you find yourself making a couple million a week or whatever, and all the debt's come, go by your Ferrari.

[00:43:49] If you want to, if that's what floats your boat . If you can handle it I have a past

[00:43:54] Scott Maderer: client that every year for his wife's birthday, he bra buys a brand new. [00:44:00] Yeah. Okay. And everybody's oh, how wasteful he's spending 70, 80, a hundred thousand dollars, whatever it is on this brand, new Cadillac every year.

[00:44:07] And I'm like, okay, let's do the ratio of proportion. Cause I know this guy's income. It's if you make a hundred thousand dollars a year, okay.

[00:44:17] Him buying this

[00:44:18] brand new cop. For our or your brand new Cadillac for his wife is comparable to you buying a hundred dollars used car once a year. That's

[00:44:26] Alan Thomas: exactly right.

[00:44:27] It's that's

[00:44:28] Scott Maderer: the same ratio.

[00:44:30] Alan Thomas: and think about all those employees for Cadillac that he kept in business that he's helping the economy. If he wants

[00:44:36] Scott Maderer: to stroke a check and buy her a brand new Cadillac every year, cuz that's makes her happy. It makes him happy. Go for it, dude. You're not being irresponsible with your money.

[00:44:44] I love by the way, he also gives. Bazillion dollars to charity every year too. And does other things, so plus has multiple businesses and employs people and yada, yada, yada. He's not getting rich the wrong way either, but

[00:44:58] so let's [00:45:00] I got a few questions that I like to ask every

[00:45:02] guest, but before we turn our attention to those, is there anything else that you'd like to share with the Lister about your coaching and

[00:45:09] Alan Thomas: what you do?

[00:45:11] Yeah, Scott

[00:45:12] Really the thing that I would say is. You can do this. Don't lose hope. Number one, no matter how many times

[00:45:20] you

[00:45:20] Alan Thomas: tried, because I was the worst of the worst. I was the worst of the worst. I had tried and everything. I tried didn't work until it did. And so you can do this and don't get hung up on.

[00:45:34] If you're looking for the magic diet, please know it doesn't exist. It doesn't, there is no way that you get there without doing some work, but it's not impossible. And like you talked about just a minute ago the five to the, with the 15 zeros, it's about making progress and it's about not quitting.

[00:45:52] And so just be encouraged. I that's the biggest thing, cuz I've sat there in a puddle of tears, literally. [00:46:00] Just beating myself up. Number one, stop doing that to. God doesn't make junk and he didn't start with anybody who's listening to this . And so when you, so what I would say is just realize it can be done, have some hope because it can and then get after it.

[00:46:19] Scott Maderer: So one of the questions I like to ask everybody, and we talked a little bit about stewardship earlier but I want to ask you specifically my brand has inspired stewardship. I run things through that lens. What does the word stewardship actually mean to you? And what has the impact of that meaning been on your life?

[00:46:37] Alan Thomas: It's I think God's pretty clear about it is that we don't own anything. Really we're, it's whether you're talking about from a purist standpoint, or you're talking about tithing you're just admitting that the rest is his and it's always interesting, but it really means taking care of what you've been given.

[00:46:59] Whether it's your [00:47:00] relationship with your spouse, whether it's your kids, whether it's your weight, whether it's your health, whether it's your money. It's everything. And I, none of us are gonna be perfect. We're not supposed to be, we're supposed to, we're supposed to grow and know where you grow is to try different things and to do stuff.

[00:47:16] But at the end of the day, there's, God's pretty clear with his roadmaps. He doesn't make it confusing. . We want it to be, it's simple. It's not easy, but it's simple. No I, no, no question about it but it's, but there's such a benefit. And when you are a steward of what your, of your resources and I love to think of like the two guys that, that told me about a guy named Jesus.

[00:47:45] H how much courage it took for them to come into my house in February of 1991. It wasn't easy. That was them being steward of their time. And hopefully it's gonna have a rip ripple effect in a thousand fold, [00:48:00] but because of what they did. And so I think it, it speaks to, but it mainly speaks to what Jesus really talked about it basically said, Hey, they're gonna know me by how you guys behave.

[00:48:13] And our testimony is how, what we do, whether it be with weight, which is the most obvious of all, or with money or with any of those things, people know. And it's really, I believe it's a nonbelievers window. To eternity is who is you? You're a pastor of a church that we used to send in South Carolina before we moved down here.

[00:48:38] He said I can stand up on the state house. We lived in the capital city. I can stand up on the state house very top of those steps, which is, I don't know, there's probably a hundred of 'em is pretty high up in air. He, I can till kingdom. He said but in your dry cleaners in your sales meetings, in your [00:49:00] businesses in your schools, he says y'all preach with your life more powerfully than I'll ever be able to do.

[00:49:08] And boy that I remember that sermon more than anything. And that's what this, that's what this weight loss journey is to me too. It is because cha I believe that God intends to change the trajectory of obesity and it will take more than a million men and women total. A month just to turn the corner.

[00:49:31] There's 650 million obese adults worldwide. The numbers are astounding. How many people die from obese related deaths and I don't want to get, I don't wanna get to heaven and have Jesus say to me you got here early. I really intended for you because we do have free will in this process.

[00:49:52] People say my days are numbered. They're numbered and keep eating and or go play in the middle of the interstate highway and see how [00:50:00] quickly those numbers change. And so those were the, and don't, I'm not trying to be a, the ocean here, but at the end of the day, we do have free. You have free will with your money and there's consequences, you have free will with your food there's consequences.

[00:50:14] You have free will with your relationships. There's consequences it's and he's you live in a cause and effect universe.

[00:50:20] Scott Maderer: That's what God

[00:50:21] Alan Thomas: created is how he created it. So I really do say that stewardship is the most powerful and the most attractive. Gospel that'll ever be preached.

[00:50:33] Like you said, I always, I wrote it down, always preach the gospel when necessary use words. And by the way it was saying a Sisi. I, he's pretty smart cookie. I've read some of this stuff. love that.

[00:50:45] Scott Maderer: So you talked

[00:50:47] earlier about wanting to leave ripples behind and a million people a month. And all of those things, let's say I invented this magic machine and I could pluck you out of the chair where you are today and take you into the [00:51:00] future a hundred to 150 years. And you were able to magically through the power of this machine, look back on your whole life and see all of the ripples, all of the impacts, everything that you've left behind.

[00:51:13] What impact do you hope you've left behind on the world?

[00:51:16] Alan Thomas: I hope that I can look back in, in the, through the window time, however long that is and see one individual that I impact. That maybe they got an extra day. Maybe they got an extra week. Maybe it's hezeki. I think he got 15 extra years cuz he, he bargained with God.

[00:51:38] And in, in that individual, I think there's for every person there is that. Destined conversation cuz we're relation we're relational beings in that conversation. You and I may be having our last right here. We don't know. We're not promised tomorrow. We're you're in great help. I'm in great help. But we are, but we're not promised tomorrow, but that last [00:52:00] conversation.

[00:52:01] That individual has impacts beyond anybody's wildest dream because that individual made it to their destination. I know I, it I'm reminded, and I really hadn't thought of this until you said it, but the client of one of the very first people that I started working with his individual that I actually Cole called him.

[00:52:18] He's he's pretty well known person in the online space and asked him if he wanted to help with his weight. And then he did. And so he became a. And it was pretty scary, but it was, it's proven to be a great decision for both of us. And he's the fact we lost 90 pounds and gained 30 pounds a muscle.

[00:52:38] That's all nice. But at the end of the day, what I told him that day, I said, what I dream of for you? And I don't say this to everybody, but I, but it hit me this first time. I think I ever said, I said is for you to make that last conversation and for it to really mean something and for you to arrive at that destination and it be something that impacts into the millenniums.

[00:52:57] That's what I wanna look back on and say, how [00:53:00] many times did that get to happen? Because I walked in what God was calling me to do. That's the cool stuff.

[00:53:06] So what's coming

[00:53:07] Scott Maderer: next for you as you continue on this journey. What's on the roadmap.

[00:53:12] Alan Thomas: We're. When I say all the time people you asked me earlier and I didn't even think to say this, but it is the truth. I this is something that shows me. I don't feel like I chose it.

[00:53:24] I really don't. And so really it's just impacting another man, another woman. Keep on going but honestly I wanna be part of changing the trajectory of obesity. I really do, cuz I think it's the greatest spiritual opportunity of, for Christians that will ever, that has ever existed. From as far as that we have a chance to really change something.

[00:53:47] We have the tools right here to do it and it's, and. Simple. It's not easy. And I have no clue how it's gonna be done. I have no clue what part I'll play, but I just know that it's out there to be [00:54:00] done. And to change that from growing to more and the way I, and this is my math, it's not the world health organization or any of those math, but just based on the numbers that I've researched it's gonna take more than a million people a month to turn it.

[00:54:15] And that's not even getting into the, you don't even touch the principle speaking from a financial side, you just, you're just getting into the growth

[00:54:23] Scott Maderer: you can find Alan, on Facebook as Alan Thomas transformation and on YouTube as

[00:54:29] rethink dieting, of course you can find out more about a and his coaching and hook up with them on his website.

[00:54:37] Transform

[00:54:37] my future.com. Of course I'll have links to all of this over in the show notes. Alan, is there anything else you'd like to share with the.

[00:54:44] Alan Thomas: Absolutely. And I I prepared something for your audience, if they will go. It's a training that that all of my clients have been through. And it really is a five step strategy that I use.

[00:54:59] [00:55:00] And it is everyone of my clients started here at this. But if they go to transform my future.com. And that's transform my future.com no spaces and put a forward slash and put I for inspired S for stewardship and P for podcast ISP. They can go there and they'll be taken to the training. And I've had P many people come to me who all they did will watch that train and say fashion.

[00:55:27] I lost 20 pounds, lost 30 pounds. I lost whatever. Just because it made sense. It's forewarn, I'm not giving you a diet. If you haven't figured that out, , I'm not giving you an exercise plan, but we give you real actionable things that you can do that will make a huge difference in your life. So definitely go there and anytime you're spelling, Alan, always remember my parents were, didn't have a lot of money when I was young, so they only could afford one L a N.

[00:55:50] So so in here, but but thanks so much for having me, Scott, it's been. Absolutely. And

[00:55:57] Scott Maderer: I'll put a link in the show notes as well to [00:56:00] that resource. Thank you for providing that for folks. I know that and here's the other thing I'd add to it. And. Even if you're not struggling, quote unquote with your weight, I'd be willing to bet you just cuz I know how these things work, that going through those and reading that and looking at those, that resource would help you in other areas as well.

[00:56:20] Cuz like we've been talking about throughout this whole thing, I think it's all interconnected at the end of the day. So thanks for being here.

[00:56:27] Thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast, as a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoyed this. Please do us a favor. Go over to inspired stewardship.com/itunes rate.

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