RV Podcast #208: Is the RV Lifestyle Making You Fat?

Today’s interview has to do with weight gain and unhealthy eating habits and examines the way the RV Lifestyle can contribute to both. For me it’s true confession time. And from this week forward, I’m going to do something about it. This week, you’ll meet Dr. Jason Olafsson, whose Custom Health Centers have helped more than 10,000 people lose weight and regain control over their eating habits. Specifically, he’ll address the RV Lifestyle and why you, too, need to pay attention to his insights. Plus, we have lots and lots of RV news and tips, your questions and a great off the beaten path report. Click the player below to Listen Now or scroll down through the show note details. When you see a time code hyperlink, you can click it to jump directly to that segment of the podcast. [spp-player] Show Notes for Episode #208 Sept. 5 2018 of Roadtreking - The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK [spp-timestamp time="2:10"] MIKE First off, we want to celebrate a major milestone! Our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel now has over 50,000 subscribers! We had a contest on our Ask Us Anything Live YouTube show the other night asking viewers to guess the rime and day we would hit that mark. And the winner is Thresa Abramson. Her 3 PM Monday prediction was the closest to the time we hit that mark... which happened at 3:39 PM Monday. Theresa wins two T-shirts from our shop.rvlifestyle.com store. Now...on to 100K!!!! JENNIFER That is so exciting. 50,000 is a lot and it’s happened pretty much over the oast year and a hakf or so… we’re very happy! So… you are doing a true confession this week about losing weight. I’m impressed. Are you going to tell everyone that you are going on Dr. Jason’s program? MIKE I am. And I’m then going to give weekly progress reports on how I’m doing on our Sunday night “Ask Us Anything” Live YouTube show. I’ve done just about every weight loss program out there and am hoping this one is the one that results in a permanent lifestyle change. JENNIFER How will you be able to do this in the road? MIKE It’s a sensible plan, with real food, organic food, lots of fruits and vegetables and healthy fats and, besides, Dr. Jason specializes in long distance clients, using technology and video conferences. Anyway, we’ll talk more about it in the interview if the week, especially the part that relates to the RV Lifestyle. JENNIFER We are coming to you this week from our Michigan sticks and bricks home where we’re catching up on some chores and appointments before we hit the road again thus coming weekend for a very busy fall travel schedule. Essentially, we’ll be crisscrossing North America from this weekend through just before Thanksgiving, chasing down RV Lifestyle stories, attending Roadtreking gatherings and making appearances at RV shows across the country. MIKE Speaking of those shows, lets share the location and dates. We'll be attending America's Largest RV Show in Hershey, PA Sept. 15 and 16; RV Open House in Elkhart, IN (not open to the public, for dealers only) Sept. 21-22; and the RVIA California RV Show in Pomona, CA Oct. 5-6. We'll be doing meet and greets those days from 11am-1pm at the Erwin Hymer/Roadtrek displays as well as some live on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel and Facebook reports. And of course, we'll be touring the shows working on special videos for you on what's new. JENNIFER I can’t wait to get out there. Meanwhile, it has been a very bust week for RV News. Here’s the RV stories people need to know about: RV NEWS OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="10:18"] MIKE Is Roadtrek's parent company for sale? I wish I had $1 for every time I've been asked that question this week. It all started from a story that broke a few days ago from Bloomberg that Thor Industries (maker of Airstream vans and trailers) was among several firms interested in buying German motor-home maker Hymer GmbH, the parent company that owns Roadtrek Motorhomes and the Erwin Hymer Group of North America. The story claimed Hymer’s family owners have received offers from four suitors and could make a decision about a sale in the next couple of weeks. It was also speculated that if an outright sale wasn't made, the privately owned firm was considering going public with an IPO on the Frankfurt stock exchange. I reached out to several of my contacts at Hymer and all said that because private talks in Germany were underway, they were instructed not to discuss the matter. Hymer is in Europe like Winnebago is in the U.S., a huge corporation with many brands and a reported value in excess of $2.2 billion. If U.S.-based Thor was to buy it, there is lots of speculation on what would happen with the Roadtrek brand as Thor already makes a Class B RV - the Airstream Interstate. Most likely scenario is they would continue the Roadtrek brand just as they have separate brands for the other models they make, like Airstream, Starcraft, Keystone, Crossroads, Entegra and a couple of other RV brands. JENNIFER Theft problems of resources in national parks An interesting story aired last week about the problem of theft in our national parks. Visitors are stealing cacti at Arizona's Saguaro National Park, petrified wood from Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park, American ginseng from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and even burls from redwoods at California's Redwood National and State Parks, among other things. The items are often sold on the black market for profit. But when things are taken, they can't be replaced, and it is hurting our national treasures. To read more about the problem and what is being done to fight it, click here. MIKE California legislature moves to ban smoking from state's parks, beaches, to reduce wildfires California is moving to ban smoking at many of its beaches and state parks hoping it will help reduce wildfires. Last year California had a number of devastating wildfires and this year isn't much better. According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, Cal Fire responds to an average of 47 wildfires each year caused by people smoking. Efforts to ban public smoking at beaches and in parks have been tried before, but this time backers believe conditions are different. JENNIFER Georgia State Parks opens website to help campers track best fall colors Do you love fall camping? One of the best parts can be the breathtaking colors as leaves transform to brilliant golds, oranges and reds. Georgia State Parks is offering a leaf watch site to help campers know the best colors at various locations. It even includes a map for the country. Colors start to change in September in Georgia, with the best viewing in late October or early November. MIKE Strangers help carry injured woman down Colorado mountain Jennifer and I often say how camping and being out in nature brings people together, and often brings out the best in humanity. That is why I have to share this next story. It is about a woman who was hiking at 14,000 feet in Colorado when she injured her leg and could no longer walk. Strangers banned together to help her. Some active military even slung her 160 pound body over their shoulders, taking turns carrying down her the mountain - some 2.5 miles. This part of the program is brought to you by Harvest Hosts, a unique membership service that allows members to stay free overnight in wineries, farms and attractions across North America. JENNIFER'S RV TIP OF THE WEEK [spp-timestamp time="20:19"] When we went camping last month near Sliver Lake Sand Dunes in northern Michigan, we stayed at a family friendly campground with four of our eight grandchildren, our daughter Wendy and her husband Dan, and our son Jeff and his wife Aimee. It was not the type of place we normally camp, but we stayed because of all the activities available for children. One morning when we were enjoying our coffee and cleaning up breakfast, one of the families camping next to us came over to our site and asked if we'd like some homemade donuts as they had extra. The donuts were cooked over the campfire, and smelled so delicious. Our granddaughters Jovie, Hua Hua and Rachel each tried one, so I decided to try one, too, and boy, was it ever good! It reminded me of a sugar-cinnamon donut, like the kind apple orchards make fresh and sell during apple season back in Michigan. So, I asked the mom how she made them and it was so easy! She simply took a package of biscuit dough that you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store and cut it in the shape of a doughnut. She heated about a third of a cup of oil over the campfire in a cast iron pan. When the oil was hot she put the donuts in, flipping them when they turned brown. She put the donuts on paper towels to absorb some of the grease once they were cooked. Then the donuts were placed in a brown paper bag with sugar and cinnamon where she would shake them to coat the donut, covering it with the sugar/cinnamon mix thoroughly. They are that easy to make, and boy are they ever delicious, though they will be off limits for Mike in his new healthy eating plan. So even though this isn't my normal kind of tip, I thought I would share in case you are looking for something fun and different to cook over a campfire with your children or grandchildren. You could make it even more memorable for the kids by letting them cut their own donut shapes and letting them do their own brown bag shaking. I even found a copy of this campfire recipe on the internet, and I'll include a link in the shownotes, in case it is helpful. https://musthavemom.com/favorite-kids-camping-recipes-campfire-donuts-recipe/ And be sure to send me your tips and suggestions for the RV lifestyle. You can use the “Leave Voicemail” link at Roadtreking.com. Just click it and then use the built-in microphone on your computer or mobile devise to record a message to me. You can do it over as many times as you want, until you are satisfied.