Over Coffee® is on hiatus for the 2016 Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  We’ll be rebroadcasting some of the most popular episodes from 2016 for the next few weeks.  Have a great holiday!

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Turkey, cranberries, cookies…parties, social events, family get-togethers.

And if you’re an entrepreneur, you can expect to have very little time, combined with more opportunities for temptation than usual, during the Christmas season.

Author/entrepreneur Maxwell Ivey, Junior knows all about staying healthy under less-than-ideal circumstances.  Max, who grew up in the carnival business, published his second book, It’s Not the Cookie, It’s the Bag, earlier this year.  Not a diet book, It’s Not the Cookie examines ways to modify your behavior and make healthy choices.

Max acknowledges that “it’s not easy”, for anyone who wants to lose weight.  Raised in the carnival business, Max grew up with unhealthy food choices and competitive environments.   At one time, he was morbidly obese, weighing over five hundred pounds.  After a health crisis, a doctor gave him a warning: lose weight or die.

Consequently, Max embarked on a behavior-modification program, losing enough weight to have gastric surgery.   With the surgery, he ultimately lost more than two hundred fifty pounds.  In his book, he shares what he learned about weight loss, and the techniques that worked for him in keeping the weight off.

Goal-setting for success is something at which Max excels.    He has built his small business, selling carnival equipment online through his website The Midway Marketplace, from scratch.   Max, who lost most of his vision at the age of twelve, is also a public speaker and life coach who helps others take action towards their dreams through his website, The Blind Blogger.

This past summer, Max was one of the writers selected from among more than six hundred applicants for the second annual Amtrak Residency program.  Look for him to be helping a lot more people achieve their dreams in the future!

(This podcast is for informational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice.  Please contact a healthcare professional with any medical or nutritional questions.)

On this episode of Over Coffee®, you’ll hear:

• What precipitated Max’s new healthy lifestyle;

• How Max decided to write his second book, It’s Not the Cookie, It’s the Bag;

• One of the misconceptions Max discovered, about “eating healthy”;

• Max’s recommendation for making exercise time productive, rather than boring;

• What “modern meditation” is, and how it can fit naturally into a workday;

• How to deal with busy schedules and limited food choices;

• A “survival tip” for traveling;

• Affirmations and how to stay positive during challenging situations;

• How Max stayed positive during his most difficult day as an entrepreneur;

• Max’s suggestions for getting through a rough day without bingeing;

• His “within-reach”approach for changing an unhealthy lifestyle;

• The reasons cutting down on coffee might be a good idea;

• The strategy behind his book’s title;

• Healthy and good-tasting foods to take to work;

• Max’s experiences as an author after publishing his first book, Bringing You Out of the Darkness Into the Light.