May 5, 2006
Day 119
Google eyed
So I did a little bit of Google searching today.
Like most everyone, I search my name from time to time.
I am proud to say that my articles are the first to come up in the “Dan Nied” Google search. Apparently, there is a horologist by the name of Dan Nied, also a watchmaker (which may be the same thing as a horologist, I don’t really know). Dan Nied has been quoted in the New York Times (It certainly wasn’t me, Dan Nied the writer. It must have been the watchmaker or horologist. I didn’t read it.)
There is a Nied Corporation in Marshall, Mich. I should have looked for a job there when I was out of work for a year. Just to let you know, Dan Nied is the CEO of the Nied Corporation.
Quick update: Apparently horology and watch stuff are the same thing. I didn’t know that.
Apparently Dan Nied is also the director of some sort of school, but I think that’s the watchmaking school or something, so that must be the same guy.
There is also a Myspace page from a surgeon named Dan in Michigan who is better looking than me and has hot chicks posting the words “Dan Nied” on his page. I am thinking about sending him a cease and desist order.
Dan Nied is also a pastor at Grace Family Church in Belvidere, Ind.
And a little league baseball coach and an undergrad at Kansas University.
But you don’t care about those Dan Nieds. You only care about this Dan Nied.
Right?
So let’s go over what I’ve found out about myself from Google.
Apparently, this blog is being syndicated to every kind of website not willing to pay for content. I have no problem with this, I am kind of flattered (though I don’t think it takes that much talent to get other sites to pick up your stuff.).
Let’s see, there are at least five different diet sites that feature entries from the 100 days blog. There is also a pro-Wyoming site that has a direct link to the Blog Critics articles in which I mention my trip to the least populates state in the union that also gave us the great Dick Cheney.
This one is my favorite: a site devoted to stomach pains. But don’t forget about the site devoted to elliptical trainers.
You know how companies will send free shit to celebrities who mention their products on talk shows? Well, apparently I haven’t reached that status yet. I’ll have to start saying that I work out only on Lifevalue Elliptical Systems, the smoothest workout you can handle.
Of course there has been only one regular product placement in this blog. Of course I am talking about those greedy motherfuckers at Subway. Hey Subway, do you know how much free publicity I’m giving you here? How bout throwing a sandwich my way once in a while you stingy fucks!
Anyway, I bring this all up because 1) I really don’t have much else to talk about today. 2) I found an article I did in 2003 about a guy, Tony Trupiano, who lost 200 pounds in 16 months He used a drug called Leptoprin to get there And, while I am happy to say that I am Leptoprin free to date, I will also say that any bit of inspiration my fellow chunkies can use is good. So if you want to read the article, I’ve posted it below.
Apparently, Trupiano is running for congress now, so I may get a cease and desist order of my own if this is copyright infringement. However, I DID write the story. These are my words and I certainly am not making any money off them. So I guess I am free with the legal stuff.
Also, Tony Trupiano has a website, www.tonysweightloss.com which, oddly enough, has a weight loss diary. I didn’t find that out until two minutes ago. So take what you will from this guy. People seem to be inspired by him.
By the way, this was published in the Dearborn Press and Guide on Feb 9, 2003. I wouldn’t want those motherfuckers at Heritage Newspapers, the parent company based in Southgate, Mich. (Yeah, the ones that fired my ass. Fuck you.) getting all mad at me for using an article I wrote for their shitty, poorly-run company.
Trupiano inspires by example By Dan Nied, Staff Writer
"Tony,
…I have done pig hormone injections, ear staples, 500 calories a day and a stomach staple. Didn’t work on me at all. At most, I lost 35 lbs."
- Anonymous e-mail to Tony Trupiano
"I’m a pied piper, I’m a leader. I’m not afraid to say that. It’s not an ego thing."
- Tony Trupiano
It’s not the public relations degree from Alma College that makes Tony Trupiano a leader. It’s not that he has hosted a syndicated radio show for much of his life that makes him a Pied Piper, mildly identifiable by voice, yes, but not a pied piper.
It’s not his job as a media consultant.
The reason Trupiano receives over 1,000 emails every day from people looking for inspiration to lose weight is because he found the inspiration himself.
Sixteen months ago, Trupiano weighed 450 pounds. He’s lost 204 pounds and his goal weight of 180 is only 70 pounds away.
"I’m blessed, I’m blessed," Trupiano said from his Dearborn Heights home. "I was able to do it. I have tried every conceivable diet program in the world to nothing but failure. This weight loss has been a blessing. I no longer see food as something I need to fear. When you come to the realization that you don’t have to fear the donut, that’s empowering."
"Tony,
… It seems as though every time I decide that I am going on a diet, someone has to treat the office to a donut or cake. Today they brought in my favorite, cheesecake! It's just sitting there on the table for anyone to go for it. I am trying so hard to be good. I am going to hang on for as long as I can."
- Email
Trupiano has heard the struggles before. Actually he hears it about 1,000 times a day from obese people looking for that extra guidance. They want him to provide the cure for their problems
It’s how he shares his story, how he guides people looking for the cure to obesity.
Trupiano answers every single one.
"A lot of people don’t ask for a response and I just respond very quickly," Trupiano says. "Those that require a more thoughtful response, I save and in the evenings, I’ll spend a little more time answering those emails. I try to make them as personalized as possible because I realize that these people are in desperate need of help and I have to take it seriously"
The ones that take longer, they are horror stories of obesity and fear that life will be lived in lethargy and incapacitation. They turn to him because it is a fear that Trupiano has lived through.
His weight loss is documented on thetonyshow.com in what he calls a "typo-ridden diary". The site has made him a beacon in the eyes of people who feel helpless.
"Tony,
You are very brave to share your honest thoughts, feelings, results triumphs and standstills. The entries where you celebrate the fact that you haven’t gained back any weight are the ones that mean the most to me."
- Email
Trupiano has made himself into somewhat of self-help guru.
The Tony Trupiano Radio Show, which was taken off the air last year but should return in March on the Michigan Talk Radio Network, also dealt with issues of self-betterment.
In January, Trupiano released his second book, The Emancipation of Thomas J. Everyman. He says it is a response to all the advice people have solicited from him.
It is the first in a five part series that will trace the life of Thomas J. Everyman into common situations that people find themselves in. The subtitle of Emancipation is "10 steps to Discovering Your Personal Power". The book is about controlling one’s life and living as well as possible.
Trupiano is currently working on the other four installments of the series.
But he doesn’t expect the series to bring him and money or fame.
"This is not lucrative," Trupiano said. "Sometimes you just write a book because you have something to say that you think people can benefit from."
"Tony,
Your words cut to the heart and helped me realize I just can’t avoid my health any longer. Nobody knows what it’s like to be obese unless they’ve been obese."
- Email
He likes being someone that people look up to, and losing the weight gave people a reason to look up to Trupiano.
"I’d like to think that at some level I’m a mentor," he says. "I like being accessible."
Tony Trupiano is a bit of a mentor, someone who has walked the path of the people he guides now. A pied piper. He’s also someone that people look up to.
"What I say to people resonates with them in a non-threatening way," he said. "I know I’m not always right, but I always try to answer honestly."
And that’s what makes him a leader.
Posted by west at May 5, 2006 3:35 AM