Big Poppa Smokers & BJ's Brewhouse - Summer 2013

This is the video that has been taking up so much of my time lately. It looks like MEAT ME's videos have finally paid off. Sterling Ball of Big Poppa Smokers asked me to shoot his summer video launching his new partnership with BJ's Restaurants. They are using his Sweet Money rub on their ribs, and his Jallelujah rub on their french fries. Together they are packing quite the flavorful punch.

Sterling isn't lying when he say's, "As a consumer you are not expecting this good-a-rib at a restaurant!"

I co-direct this video with Ryan McClain, Sterling's Director of Event & Entertainment Marketing. We spent about 2 days shooting a recreation of the original magic that brought both Big Poppa and BJ's Restaurants together. Following the shoot I spent another 3 weeks editing and finally finished with this wonderful gem.

I would like to personally thank Sterling Ball aka Big Poppa, for the opportunity to create such a high quality product. They were a blast to work with and I look forward to creating more awesome videos in the future.

You can order Sweet Money and Jallelujah rubs right off Big Poppa's Website.

Finally success,
Sean Rice
aka MEAT ME

What it takes to be Grand Champion: Pechanga BBQ Competition 2013

That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind. How to be the best in BBQ on a consistent basis? How to create the perfect BBQ that judges are going to love at every competition? Well it seems Left Coast Q has it figured out, 5 Grand Champions in the last 11 competitions. Which means 2 more and they get an automatic entree into the Jack Daniels. 

There is really only one way to find this out and that’s to head out to a competition and see what everyone has been up to. I arrived at Pechanga just south east of Temecula. It’s hot, crazy, and chaotic with 70 barbecue teams competing, which is huge, since the largest comp ever held in California maxed out at a total of 77 teams.

As you can imagine with more teams competing the competition gets much harder. Along side the traditional categories of chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket they added the Iron Chef category; as if cooking for 18 to 20 hours, serving a couple thousand people and trying to bring your A game isn’t enough they add an open category. Don’t worry they can handle it, their professionals, well… Most of them. 

Meat Inc. gets their team together around 9:30 am to go over the game plan. They need People’s Choice tickets, and have the upper hand being by the entrance. Sell, sell, sell. Do whatever it takes to get the food out. 

This is a great place for people with families to bring their kids, plus it’s pretty hard to find a kid that doesn’t like bacon.

A lot of the teams find themselves in the position of hurry up and wait. You sit around waiting for that one widow to open when the meat is ready and then you go right back to waiting. At these events half of the fight is not getting distracted by what other people are doing, you have to stay in the right mind set to keep up with your game plan. Some times I feel like people go and chat with other teams as if it’s part of their game plan.

Then there is the drudgery of putting together the turn in boxes and preparing them with parsley. Any one who usually gets stuck with this job is the BBQ Bitch. Make It Squeal BBQ Team couldn’t have said it better on the back of their shirts.  Some have it down and only spend 10 minutes on a box, others spend hours on end making it resemble the perfect putting green. I give these people credit it takes a crazy person to want to do this job.

You also have to keep the little ones preoccupied and no one does this better than When Pigs Fly taking with the job of trophy protection signage. It’s a tough task but only the highly skilled typesetters can pull it off. “Do Not Touch Trophies” it might be bad luck but who wants to find out.

These events are complete chaos and this photo says it all. You have to deal with fire and safety, the health department, the needs of 70 BBQ teams, tending to the KCBS judges, and making sure everything goes smoothly for the people attending the event. This is all done by one Henry Sylvestre. As you can imagine it’s pretty hard to keep all these people happy but he does, and some how manages to put on a pretty successful event at the same time.

Food prep can be a long extensive process that only ends once everyone has gone or there is no food left. Meat Inc.’s ABT’s are no simple task to build. Jalapenos are hallowed out and then filled with cream cheese and salami finally wrapped with bacon. They will make and sell over 1,000 of these along side, moink balls, smoked bologna, ribs, chicken, candied bacon, pulled pork and some brisket. They have some how figured out an assembly line style of a system that produces food non stop.

Aaron Black of Meat Inc. is always trying to top his people choice numbers from the year before. He is finding that his lavish good looks and fire cracker personality fueled with a cocktail and a microphone aren’t bringing in the numbers like they used to. So he has enlisted the help of a beautiful dame to drawn in more people and it seems as though for now it is actually working.

Beautiful women and barbecue have always been a popular item at competitions. If your team is composed of a stunning array of vivacious beauties accompanied with some tasty barbecue chances of success are pretty eminent. If you just happen to have some irresistible bacon you may just steal the show.

Hawaiian shaved ice is to be taken very seriously. In these sizzling temperatures it tends to serve more as a need than a want. You can tell by the intimidation in the little girls eyes, she is more worried about the fate of her slushy than her photograph being taken.

Chicken. Everyone has a secret way of doing chicken. Scrap the skin, remove the bone, don’t remove the bone, soak in butter, and of course season and sauce multiple times but don’t get any on the inside of your turn-in-box or you’re screwed. I have seen it all. Everyone thinks that their way is best and it is cause it works for them. If you’re Left Coast Q you have tons of trophies to back you.

At the end of the day you are going to do what makes you happy and what you believe the judges want. That is what gives you the confidence to take 1st place chicken. If you believe in your process 100%, and combine that with perfect chicken size, appearance, taste and texture I’d say your chances are pretty good.

If you don’t win, you know why. You didn’t believe in what you turned in. There are so many variables involved if one fails it throws off the rest of the entire process leaving you with a box of shit to show the judges.

People will go crazy for your food. They will want it, and if you tell them it’s the best they’ll believe you. Of course a pretty smile and a trophy always help, but there is the case of Peoples Choice winner H&H BBQ.  They had a really long line, but when I asked people no one really knew what they were standing in line for.

Which also proves my theory that people  in general, really don’t know what they want and need to be told. It’s the same reason really popular night clubs have a line out front when there is plenty of room inside. It’s free marketing, why not?

Ribs, Pork, and Brisket and of course there is only one way to cook them in order to win and that is usually known only by the person who wins first place in each category or is there more than one way?

It seems like a lot of the same KCBS judges are seen at a lot of the same events, and if a lot of the same teams compete at these events why isn’t the winner always the same? Who knows, but I can only come to one conclusion.

You’re probably wondering what that is… What is the secret to winning? What is the one thing you need to pull out a GC at almost every other event, Left Coast Q knows, but they aren’t telling me. So I can only guess…

Are you ready? I have followed a lot of the greats that have strung along multiple GC’s together and they all seem to have one thing in common constant consistency across all variables. Barbecue is a chemical science, and when you are able to duplicate results you can adjust the variables just enough so the final product is exactly what you want.

So how do you do this? There are thousands of variables in BBQ how do you duplicate results?  It’s basically the same way a bowler can bowl a perfect game, or how a pitcher is capable of pitching a perfect game; it takes a shit ton of practice and that has to be done at an obsessively perfect level.

The teams that are winning over an over again, Left Coast Q, Simply Marvelous, Big Poppa Smokers, and Slap Yo Dadd barbecue ALL the time. It is their life. They live it, eat it, breathe it, and sleep it. If their not talking about it their doing it and when you are that familiar with a process that you do almost daily, changes in your variables become second nature. You develop a 6th sense for barbecue.

Left Coast Q is extremely focused. BBQ Comps is all they do. They are not selling BBQ products, they are not doing TV shows, and they are not teaching classes. They just BBQ week after week after week. I believe that staying focused, as in any form of competition, gives you that much more of an edge. For Left Coast Q it shows, on top of winning 5 of their last 11 they won Pechanga by 16 points. That’s a lot… People need to get their shit together if they think they even have a chance of competing with these guys.

Don't get me wrong of course your food has to taste good. It needs to have that perfect balance of sweet, salt, and spicy flavor. It needs to have the perfect texture, it needs to snap in your mouth when you bite into it, and it can't fall apart or be to hard, but how do you do that? How do you know when it's perfect?

This I actually have the answer to... It needs to be boring. Yep you heard me right. Harry Soo said it best, it needs to be "Extraordinarily Ordinary BBQ". Each bite must tell a story. It must take you through all the flavors and can't be even slightly dominated by one or the other.

If you take a bite and you say to yourself, "It's too... whatever." You're fuck'd, that's just how it is. If it's too anything you are out of the running. If it's too soft, sweet, spicy then it's too far out of first.

You're shit has to look good. If that is something you struggle with then hire a food stylist for a day and work with them to help you make your shit look good. If something looks good you already have a biased in your head that it is going to taste good.

Now I know people say that the temperature of the food doesn't matter... That is bull shit cause if it comes down to a tie break the hotter food will have the edge. It's the same reason beer companies sell you how cold their beer is, "Ice... cold... refreshing... you could blow me beer." They have no control over how cold it is. It just sounds better.

This right here is a picture of a beautiful Grand Champion sample plate provided by the champions themselves Left Coast Q. See how pretty it is? And yes it is all perfect in taste and nothing was too anything. I had a feeling based on their recent success that they would win so I asked that they prepare this pretty plate for me so I could show you what perfection looks like.

You can think I am wrong, you can think I am full of shit, or that I don't know what the fuck I am talking about but the fact of the matter is you are ones competing, not me. You know what you do, you know what works, you're just making excuses for not being your own Grand Champion or you just don't want it bad enough.

Here is a link to the final results to the 2013 Pechanga BBQ Competition on the KCBS website.

I wish you all the best of luck and I hope if the planets align correctly Left Coast Q will let me document their journey to the Jack Daniels for all of you to see. *clearing throat* Matt now would be a good time to text me and say, "Hey Sean wanna shoot a documentary on our trip to the Jack Daniels?"

To be continued...

Good LUCK!!!
Sean Rice
aka MEAT ME

P.S. More episodes to come on Meat Inc. I have been busy and trying to produce a youtube show by yourself is hard. So hang tight and I promise you more content soon.

MEAT, INC. - Wildomar BBQ Competition - Teaser

Here is a little taste of what happened on Day 1 and Day 2. I hope you enjoy! I am starting this year's barbecue season off with a bang. Based on the success of El Fuego Fiasco I have decided to feature the team MEAT. Inc. at Wildomar The Ultimate BBQ Showdown, East vs West. Aaron Black and his team are ready to take this years competition by storm. I will be following them from the second they buy their meat all the way to the awards ceremony. You don't want to miss a beat. I hope to see you all at the competition.

You can get LIVE Updates from me at:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/meatmeblog
Twitter @meatmeblog

You can get LIVE Updates from MEAT, INC. at:
Blog - http://meatinc.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @meatinc
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/meatinc 

Wildomar BBQ East vs West featuring MEAT, Inc.

I am starting this year's barbecue season off with a BANG. Based on the success of my documentary on "El Fuego Fiasco" I have decided to feature the team MEAT. INC. at Wildomar The Ultimate BBQ Showdown, East vs West. Aaron Black and his team are ready to take this years competition by storm. I will be following them from the second they buy their meat all the way to the awards ceremony. You don't want to miss a beat. I hope to see you all at the competition.

You can get LIVE Updates from me at:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/meatmeblog
Twitter @meatmeblog

You can get LIVE Updates from MEAT, INC. at:
Blog - http://meatinc.blogspot.com/
Twitter - @meatinc
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/meatinc

MEAT ME on a Date: X Bar

So like many active singles out on the dating circuit I have run into a select few of the good, the bad, and well… The less fortunate. This again is only my opinion, so it listen up! I have been on dates all over this city. There are a lot of problems one might face when trying to get to know someone.  It’s loud, it’s busy, the seating arrangement creates space between you and the other person. There is nothing on the menu that both of you like, or the food is just BAD.

I may have found just the solution. My current date works in the Westwood/Avenue of the Stars area. Between the UCLA college students and the high brow restaurants, it’s hard to find a place that has just the right food and ambiance to get to know someone. The X Bax found me they are located at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the Avenue of the Stars. This place is quite, very open, delicious, and most of all the perfect place to sit down and intimately get to know someone.

Last Friday I brought my date in around 5 pm, 30 minutes after they opened. We started off with a Chimay and few appetizers on the menu. She’s not really big on spicy foods so we got the Chicken Lettuce Wrap, Meatball Sliders and took a chance with the Fiery Chicken Morsels. Everything came out looking beautiful not to mention the service was top notch, here it’s all about the details.

We were seated by a large fire pit; while the heaters kept us warm and cozy. We started taking bites of all the food and with out question, it was delicious. I pulled out my microphone to start taking notes about the food, being the profession writer she is, she playfully started poking fun at my description of the chicken – I called it “twangy”. She asked me about the spiciness of the chicken. I gave it a 1 out of 10. She takes a bite and looks at me as if she no longer has feeling in her face. I guess when you are constantly trying food your mouth gets a little used to it.

At this point, aside from setting her mouth a blaze, the date is going pretty well. Even though most dates might get annoyed that you’re taking pictures, tweeting, instagraming, face-booking and constantly making comments on every little thing; she was actually starting to get pretty into it. She started hamming up the role of “I on a date” with a MEAT blogger.

When it came to ordering burgers she went took the healthier route. I went with the, “What are my taste buds going to love” route.  I can say both burgers were equally delicious, if not just as good as some of the best places I’ve eaten at. Now with both of our stomach’s full we got a chance to sit down with the chef Julie Picco and find out what was behind all of this delicious food.

MEAT ME: Is there an overall goal with the menu here at X Bar?

Julie Picco: All of our outlets are California style cuisine. Over here we try to do everything shareable with the exception of our burger. So nothing comes in oversized pieces we try to make it a little fancier than just your average bar food. We have Latin and Asian influence because that is essentially California. Beyond that it’s whatever Chris (Kitchen Head), and I (She runs the kitchen at night) try to collaborate on the menu.

MEAT ME: How often do you guys change the menu? Is it seasonal?

Julie Picco: We were changing it once a year over here, but we leave it vague so we can bring in seasonal ingredients when we feel like it. We were doing specials as well. We changed it about 6 months ago and now we just changed it again, got rid of some items that weren’t selling and switched a few things out. We have been trying to do it about twice a year now.

MEAT ME: I noticed with your Build-A-Burger that you have the Meyer’s Natural Beef. Where are you guys sourcing your beef?

Julie Picco: Meyer’s is the name of a farm. It is a Hyatt standard that they use at all Hyatt hotels. I think it is a company that has naturally raised cattle. It is not just one farm but it’s a company that makes sure all of it’s beef is up to certain standards. Every Hyatt you go to, especially a Regency should have Meyer’s natural angus patties. It is a company wide standard. – The veggie patty we make here with brown rice and beans we didn’t want it to just be a garden burger, which a lot of places do. We do that in house. The other items we switch up when we feel like it, like the King’s Hawaiian bread, that was something we decided to do as a sweet option.

MEAT ME: Yea that was great. That’s what I got, it was my favorite.

Julie Picco: Yea this one we don’t change the menu as much on the other side we change it 4 times a year religiously so seasonality and being local is what we strive for.

MEAT ME: So the Meatball Sliders, how are they made cause I noticed they were very delicious. I was expecting “meatballs” and it was way different?

Julie Picco: Oh yeah. They have been making those meatball sliders since before I even transferred here. We have been making those forever. I think it might have been way back when Chef Manny redid the menu years ago. Chef Manny is amazing, he is the Executive Chef here at the hotel and he has been all of Southern California for a long time. It has 3 meats in it.

MEAT ME: Really? Wow!

Julie Picco: It has veal, pork, and beef. It’s really good, we make them in house in small batches and are simmered in a red sauce. It’s probably one of the least So Cal items on the menu.

MEAT ME: Yea it’s funny you mention that, the only other time I had heard of that was when I was in Mississippi and I met with a USDA approved Halal butcher, Two Run Farms, who prepared special mixtures of ground beef for local restaurants. Each restaurant had their own mixture.  Cause when I read meatball sliders I thought that name was an insult to what I just ate.

Julie Picco: Yea it makes me think of Italian Grandmothers. I am from Chicago and I was like I know this… I understand this.

MEAT ME: Yes we also had the Fiery Chicken Morsels…

Julie Picco: Yes the spicy boneless buffalo wings?

MEAT ME: Yes. (I look to my date) That’s basically what you had called it?

My Date: Yea.

Julie Picco: The fiery ones have always been the most popular, but now we have different flavors. With this last menu change we decided why not give them some other options cause we would have people say, ”I don’t want it to be spicy.”

My Date: One a 1 to 10 spicy scale what would you call this?

Julie Picco: This one for me, our buffalo sauce I would consider to be a 6 or 7. It’s not spicy.

MEAT ME: I was thinking it was a 1 or a 2.

Julie Picco: It’s more salty and vinegary than spicy to me.

My Date: Thank you, that’s what I thought.

Julie Picco: See for me I don’t like buffalo wing’s, I am not a buffalo wing person. I like a milder heat. We have our Chipotle BBQ which is actually pretty spicy, and then we have our Garlic Herb which is for the “lover” of non spicy foods. It’s light.

MEAT ME: It was very good and then we had the Chicken Wraps.

Julie Picco: Yeah, the Chicken Lettuce Wraps, we had them on the menu last time as a cold item and it just didn’t sell. So we had them heat up the chicken and add a few mushrooms, which keep it moist. Yea we changed it up, we try and change up everything when we can. Our Tacos are really popular too.

MEAT ME: So what is your favorite item on the menu?

Julie Picco: Mine?

MEAT ME: If you had friends in town visiting, what are you making for them?

Julie Picco: If I got friends coming in I am making the Sausage Brocollini Flatbread, that’s a new one that I think is really great. I also really like the Short Rib Taco’s, I am a big fan of them.

MEAT ME: Damn it’s really hard to get everything. I guess I’ll have to come back on another date.

Julie Picco: Yea you can’t order everything that’s totally understandable. Oh, and the Pork Belly Crostini’s. They are really good. We never really put any pork on the menu, we had pressure to put this on there… We get in the whole pork belly with the skin on, then we braise it in hard cider, and then regular apple cider, spices and all of that good stuff. Then we take the skin off and make it in to Cracklin.

MEAT ME: That’s what I thought.

Julie Picco: Yes so the bottom is still soft and sliceable and we slice that and warm it up in a sauce so you can eat it. It hasn’t been selling because people don’t understand it, but it is really good. Everybody here wanted it on the menu.

MEAT ME: I always recommend pictures. Sushi Restaurants have it down. How do you explain a California Roll to someone who has never had one? That usually does the trick.

Julie Picco: Yea we have been trying to figure out a way to explain it to people, may be we just need a giant poster up on the wall.

Now back to my date, I wanted to find out how I did and if bringing her to the X Bar met her expectations.

MEAT ME: So what did you think of the X Bar?

My Date: It is fabulous, wonderful experience, so happy I came (she blushes and laughs). What? What am I supposed to say?

MEAT ME: Compared to other places I have taken you to… Would you recommend it to someone as a good date place?

My Date: Hummmm. I mean you are asking the wrong person…

MEAT ME: We’re on a date? Right?

My Date: (laughs) Haha. Yea, I guess I would. I am not the best person to ask. Dating? I mean lets go shoot some things, or vandalize stuff so something like that is an AWESOME date.

MEAT ME: So compared to the extreme dates I have taken you on, how does this compare? On a mediocre level…

My Date: Yes, on an average human level? It’s an 8… May be? On a scale of 10.

MEAT ME: Really?

My Date: Yeah! It’s nice, it’s very pretty, it’s not cold, it’s spacious. The music is not too loud. It’s not like obnoxious, R&B, Little Wayne bumping in the background it’s like actual music. So that’s exciting. Everyone is really nice, that works here, customer service is A+.

MEAT ME: So what did you think of the chicken wrap?

My Date: I thought it was really good. It was my favorite?

MEAT ME: How did you like the lettuce?

My Date: (Laughs, smiles) Crisp and green.

MEAT ME: What about the Fiery Chicken Morsels?

My Date: I thought it was quite “Fiery”. Spicy.

MEAT ME: What about the taste?

My Date: (Laughs) It tasted like successfully made chicken wings without the bones.

MEAT ME: Really?

My Date: Yea.

MEAT ME: It was like a party in your mouth?

My Date: Yea it was “twangy”. (She mocks me)

MEAT ME: What a great description!!! That is brilliant!!! (I return the mock) You should be a writer.

My Date: Funny you should say that…

MEAT ME: (we laugh) What did you think of the Meatball Sliders?

My Date: I didn’t have any but based on your reaction I would say they were delicious.

MEAT ME: Would you like to try a cold one, and not judge the temperature? Were you intimidated?

My Date: I forgot. I had all that food and my burger, so I am full now.

MEAT ME: You know what? We’ll skip it. What did you think of your burger?

My Date: It was good. It was MEAT like. (Laughs) It was a successful hamburger! I mean they didn’t fuck it up… I don’t know what you want me to say? (Laughs)

MEAT ME: That was a great description!

My Date: I mean it wasn’t over cooked or under cooked. Bread was fluffy. (Laughs)

MEAT ME: You got excited, but didn’t climax?

My Date: Exactly! Pretty much. The fries were really good, and delicious.

MEAT ME: Would you recommend this place to someone else for a date?

My Date: Yes I would.

MEAT ME: Well, did you at least enjoy your date?

My Date: I mean aside from the guy that was on the date, who was totally retarded.... He kept drooling all over me... (Chuckles & smiles)

MEAT ME: All right. This is ALL totally going be in the post.

My Date: (Laughs out loud and smiles) Other than him, it was totally a great place to go on a date.

There you heard it. Right from the source, I am a trophy as well as wonderful food companion. I would consider this a success I was not physically harmed, the police weren’t called, and I still have not received a restraining order. I would consider myself lucky. She’s a comic, she’s endearing, she’s a profound intellect and not to mention the obvious… She’s stunningly beautiful.

I am no master, but if you want to make it easier on yourself and eliminate half the problems you might face on a date, I would take them to the X Bar.

You can check out X Bar at the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles at http://www.xbarla.com/index.html

Live, Love, Eat MEAT,
Sean Rice
aka MEAT ME

Health, Hamburgers, and Heart Attacks: My Diet and How I Lost 60 Pounds

I've delayed putting this post together for awhile now, but felt as though the sooner I did it, the odds of helping/motivating those of you that might be struggling with your own weight problems and resulting health issues/concerns, will increase exponentially.

Let me first start out by saying that, NO ONE hates to hear the words "Health, Hamburgers and Heart Attacks" lined up together in the same sentence, more than I. However,  as many know all too well, the only real certainty in life,  is death. It doesn't matter if you love lettuce and broccoli, or the 100% Bacon Burger at "Slater’s 50/50," or the Triple Bypass Burger at "The Heart Attack Grill" in Sin City, at some inevitable point in time, we're all going to kick the bucket.

In fact, just last weekend quite tragically, John Alleman, the spokesperson for the aforementioned Las Vegas establishment, "Heart Attack Grill," passed away at the much too early age of 52. Though he was never officially on their payroll, almost everyday, he could be found coaxing customers into the restaurant and immensely enjoying the delectable food they offer. He frequently appeared on the menu  and promotional T-shirts, becoming somewhat of a representational icon, showcasing what was truly great about the eatery.

In the vein of promotional enthusiasm, I, like Mr. Alleman, have done similar things with places like "Currywurst" on Fairfax. One day last sumer, they were giving away 100 sausages to the first 100 people that followed them on Twitter. Out of support, respect, and my borderline problematic obsessive love of sausages in general, I went down to "Currywurst" that day dressed in my sunday best; and by "sunday best," I of course mean, a hot dog suit and a sign that read: “FREE SAUSAGES." I wasn't doing it for the classiness said ensemble radiates, or the hoards of ladies it attracts either. No, I did it for my love, my deep deep (borderline problematic) LOVE of Sausages! And of course, in gratitude and support for the owner, Kai Lobech, whose wonderfully delicious food struggles to survive in the heart of a Jewish neighborhood. Proof that the commercial relators in Los Angeles are assholes, but... that's another blog post altogether.

At the time of the sausage give-a-way, I weighed in at a waif like 238 pounds. Now, for someone 5’11” my ideal weight should be in the 168 to 188 pound range to be considered "healthy" as a 32 year old male. With the constant consumption of unhealthy meals I was eating for my blog, paired with simply not giving-a-shit, my self-esteem and drive were taking a major nose dive. Not to mention, I also have a heart condition known as "Atrial Fibrillation"(an electrical issue, not plumbing). Atrial Fibrillation causes my heart to race irregularly, from 180 to 230 beats per minute, when placed under any kind of strenuous activity. I can't die from this directly, but if I stay in “A-fib” longer that 24 to 48 hours, I run the risk of forming a blood clot in the left atrium of my heart, and if that sucker travels to my brain, stroking out is usually the end result. That, I can die from. Don't worry though, I'm on constant blood pressure medication, mild blood thinners, as well as a beta-blocker to help prevent and treat my Atrial Fibrillation.

Now, as I'm sure you can imagine, being in a state of less than optimal health like I was last year, doesn't exactly help my situation. The horrible eating habits I had acquired made me feel completely hung-over after large meals, and on a general whole, feeling like shit most of the time. Enough was enough, I was tired of waking up and feeling awful everyday, so I went to see my cardiologist, get some test done, and try to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. While getting a treadmill stress test, echocardiogram, and EKG, I also was told by my family, that every male on my Mother's side has died before the age of 33; always due to some type of heart complication. The last male to pass on, was 5 years ago and he died at 23.

That's when it all hit me: “I'm the ONLY remaining male on my Mother’s side of the family, and I need to make a choice as to whether I'm going to continue down this destructive eating path I'm on while resigning myself to the family curse, or am I going to step it up, change the game, and be the one who out lives them all?"

In September 2012, with the desire to change course boiling in my blood, I buckled down, and reconfigured my diet immediately. No more giant meals that left me immobile after completion. No more eating an entire pint of "Ben and Jerry’s" before bed. I had been wasting money every month on a membership to 24-hour fitness that I rarely used, and made the executive decision that needed to change as well. During this time, I also decided to take on the responsibility of being the live-in caretaker for my 83-year-old Grandmother (some of you know her as Olga or Baka). This was a new start, and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from being the best that I could be. At this shaky and uncertain moment of transition, I realized, there are guarantees in life. I would I never be at the wonderful and hopeful age of 32 again, and not only did I WANT to make the most of it, I NEEDED to make the most of it. I owed that to my friends, my family, and most importantly, I owed it to myself.

I broke my daily diet down to:

Breakfast: (200 to 250 Calories)
Protein Drink
Banana or Apple

Snack (180 Calories)
Nature Valley Bar
Granola Bar

Lunch (200 Calories)
Tuna Sandwich *tuna out of a can, with mustard on wheat bread
Soup *anything under 200 calories
Salad *dressing on the side dip the tip of your fork in the dressing before each bite

Snack (200 Calories)
Yogurt *fat free
Granola Bar
Banana

Dinner (200 to 350 Calories)
Turkey Patty *I get these frozen at Costco with a wheat bun
Hamburger Patty *I get these frozen at Costco with a wheat bun

Vegetables *quarter to a half a cup of frozen eat with breakfast, lunch or dinner

Snack/Dessert (100 Calories) *eat no later than 12 hours before the time you will wake up
Popcorn *100 Calorie Packets
Peanuts * 1 Cup of Shelled Peanuts
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bars *Weight Watchers Brand only 80 Calories

Vice: 1 to 3 Diet Cokes before 4pm (basically for me to avoid any heart issues I couldn’t have caffeine in my system while I was working out)

***CHEAT MEAL: Make sure you have a fucking cheat meal on either Saturday or Sunday (whatever day it’s up to you). I am not going to lie I had times where I would sit at a BJ’s and eat the Ahi Tuna Tar Tar appetizer, half an everything pizza, and a pazooki for dessert. That is almost 2,000 calories in one meal. I DO NOT recommend this but if you are like me and you are trying to break a food addiction this is one way to wean yourself.

For Exercise: 

For the first month I only did 4 days a week.
For the second and third month I tried really hard to get in 5 days a week.
For the forth month till now I only do 3 to 4 days a week.
*If I couldn’t get to the classes even sticking in 30 mins of running or playing Dance Connection or Zumba on XBOX will make a difference, than just doing nothing at all.

Monday: Turbo Kick @ 7pm or Zumba @ 8pm
Tuesday: Bodypump @ 5pm AND Zumba @ 7pm *I didn’t start doing back-to-back classes until after the first 35 days.
Wednesday: Zumba @ 7pm
Thursday: Bodypump @ 6pm AND Zumba @ 7pm
Friday: Zumba 6pm
*This worked for me, I hate being on a treadmill cause I get bored as fuck an time goes by slow as shit, these classes seem to blow by so fast. Each one was always different and I found the instructors VERY motivating.

What Worked For ME!!!

In the first 30 days I lost 18 pounds. *1 month
In the next 30 days I lost 30 pounds. *2 months
In the first 90 days I lost 50 pounds. *3 months
In the last 90 days I only lost 10 more pounds. *6 months = 60 pounds total.
- Everyone is different; you will each lose weight at your own rate.

CAUTION: I was told that losing weight this fast was not healthy, but when you stick to the diet and the workout routine; the rate at which you lose weight is what your body wants to do (I don’t get how you control it). To each their own…

Things To Keep In Mind!!!

• Learn to eat until you are not hungry any more, DO NOT eat until you are full. Eating till you are not hungry is NORMAL, eating till you are full is your body setting off an alarm tell you, YOU”RE AN IDIOT for eating so much and it’s going to make you carry the extra food it has to process.

• Your stomach is roughly the size of your own fist, so your meals shouldn’t be any larger than your fist.

• You will feel like shit/death for the first 30 days of working out. I thought I was going to die trying to keep up. It wasn’t until day 30-35 that working out actually made me feel amazing and happy. You are never too old to do these classes. I am fighting with 80 year old Asian men in these classes for floor space. Don’t be embarrassed being a noob in these classes we all had our first day. Plus everyone is looking at the instructor and not you. Trust me (My first day I had a long beard, head band and Kermit the frog shirt on), they don’t give  a shit about you.

• You are going to plateau!!! You are going to work the shit out of yourself and be at the same fucking weight for 3 weeks. Do something to shock your body. It has gotten used to your new routine and is now holding on to your fat cause it thinks you’re a camel and going on a long journey. If you work out in the evening wake up early one day and double your work out time, or go on a 2 to 3 hour hike. Change it up and in the next day or so you will see 8 to 10 pounds vanish like your scale was broken.

•This is not an ALL or NOTHING game. Baby steps mother fucker. If you miss a day or 2, or 3, or a week: make it up the following week or don’t. Go at your own pace. It’s not a race. I personally just got tired of my hip fat running into my back fat. You can do what ever you want. There is no guilt in weight loss you are doing this for yourself.

• EAT MEAT at least once a day. I did, there are no carbs in MEAT. Have a different piece of meat everyday. I am not talking about pulled pork sandwiches on a French Roll dumbass. I am talking Rib Eyes, NY Strips, Chicken, Turkey, and Pork Loins. You can eat BBQ for your once-a-week cheat meal, but during the week you can eat all the lightly seasoned MEAT you want.

THE BIG PAY OFF!!!
This was not easy by any means, but once you start seeing results and feeling good about yourself it will become even easier. After the first 25 to 30 pounds people will notice the HOT n’ SEXY you that was underneath all of that fat. They will compliment you and they will encourage you to keep going. Your family and friends will give you more love and attention. People you don’t know on the street will start checking you out and hitting on you. You will get more ATTENTION than you could have ever imagined, you might even get free stuff.

LAST WORD OF ADVICE!!!
I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritionist. My diet is actually very high in fiber and my cause some people constipation and in some extreme cases hemorrhoids. This diet worked for me, and all my blood work has come back perfect. Sooooo snack on that for lunch.

Good Luck Fatty’s
Sean Rice (former fatty)
aka MEAT ME