The skinny on going big on TV
Nutrition entrepreneur Rob Nevins.
Posted: 28 December 2009
WALLINGFORD — About three years ago, Jeff Oliphant was uncomfortable with his weight and with his body and knew he needed a change. He’d known Rob Nevins since high school, he said, “and I felt comfortable knocking on his door for help.”
About 10 months later, Oliphant had dropped 100 pounds and, more importantly, he said, was armed with knowledge about food choices that made him feel in control.
“It’s a knowledge; some people might say it’s a secret,” said Oliphant, a 44-year-old Orange resident. “Whatever it is, Rob has a way of communicating it.”
For more than two decades, Nevins has promoted his technique of helping people develop eating habits that will make them lean and healthy. While he tries to shift the focus from a common goal — weight loss — people typically find losing weight goes with the territory.
“I always say the scale lies; trust your size,” said Nevins, who in person comes across as a bundle of energy.
In recent years, Connecticut residents have been the main beneficiaries of Nevins’ approach. He helps about 47,000 Nutmeg State clients in four offices around the state, including his main office in Wallingford.
Now, thanks to a Guthy-Renker infomercial that has had ubiquitous television airtime in the last year, along with a Web site, Nevins has increased his client base exponentially. Guthy-Renker is the direct-marketing company behind Proactive Solution, Principal Secret and a number of other products.
Sounds like a dream come true.
“It totally is,” said the 46-year-old Nevins. “There are only so many people I can see in one hour. There are millions of people who need help.”
In the first quarter of next year, Nevins will increase his exposure thanks to QVC, one of the world’s largest multimedia retailers. And he is also poised, thanks to deals that still need to be completed, to take his exposure to an even higher level.
The most important thing, he said, is that he hasn’t had to change his approach.
“The product has not changed,” he said. “It’s basic nutrition and physiology. I’ve stayed the course. But because of Guthy-Renker, it means I can see so many people in the course of a day.”
Nevins said he’s thankful he wasn’t asked to make changes for the world’s largest direct-response television company. The only alteration was a name change, from the “Living Lean Lifestyle” to the “Skinny Switch Secret.” His infomercial won Guthy-Renker an award for best integrated campaign during the annual Electronic Retailing Association Awards Gala, held in Las Vegas in September.
Nevins does not, in fact, peddle a product, but a customized meal plan he says is designed to rev the body’s metabolism in a way that will burn fat and build and maintain muscle. Nevins designs the meal plan based on what clients like to eat, and every two days of strict meal planning are followed by a day in which the rules get relaxed. Most clients are going to eat five times a day, and the approach involves drinking plenty of water.
Nevins says he doesn’t want people to feel they have to give up the foods they like, and feels it’s important for people to treat themselves now and then.
“Generic dieting will always give you generic results,” he said. “It always has to be customized — but it’s a live-it, not a diet.”
Exercise is not high on the priority list, but many find they want to start exercising more once they see body-changing results.
“My goal with everybody is this,” he said: “What do you weigh at the beginning of the month? You come out of every month leaner and lighter than you went in to it.”
What Nevins knows, said Oliphant, is that “when we see results, we want to continue to see results, and we’ll stick with you.”
The meal plans Nevins crafts do not require anything more than what you can get at the local supermarket. Clients who meet with him or his staff in person return every three weeks over a four-month period to help make sure the approach is working. He helped build a software program that basically does the same thing for online customers, he said.
“A lot of people have come to me and want to know what I’ve done,” said Oliphant. “I don’t miss an opportunity to explain to them what Rob’s program is all about.”
Nevins will be explaining it himself during free open-house programs held in the Wallingford office, designed to help people start off in the New Year. The dates are January 6, 13 and 20, all beginning at 6 p.m. The address is 850 N. Main St. Extension, Building 2, Suite 3B.
He’s online at www.robnevinslivinglean.com and www.skinnyswitchsecret.com.
Submitted by Jeff Kurz on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 18:24
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