Weight Loss Wednesday Month 1

Here are my goals:

1. Lose 5 pounds by June 1st (240)
2. Lose 10 pounds July 1st (235)
3. Lose 25 pounds by October 1st (220)
4. Lose 50 pounds by May 1st (195)
5. Walk a 5K this year (no idea about time because I have never done one)
6. Run a 5K next year (no idea about time because I have never done one)
7. Do the MS 150 next year

So, I  have already missed my first goal, to be down to 240 by the 1st. I weighed today and I was at 243. That means that in the last month I have only lost 2.2 pounds, not 5.2. There are some good reasons for that, so here they are in no particular order:

1. I went on vacation for 10 days and ate horribly the entire time. There was cheesecake and BBQ, chips and sausage, ice cream and fast food plus a lot of frozen cokes and sodas!
2. I hate cardio, so I have done none.
3. I am too exhausted by the time I get off of work to do anything physically other than lift weights.
4. I love chocolate........and fried foods...............and Hardee's shakes and burgers..........and sweets.........and red meat.........and grease. 
5. I am lazy!!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see, they are honestly not that good of reasons. In fact, they are poor attempts at to justify staying how I am and that is not acceptable. I am going to not let myself fall into their traps again. Instead, I will tackle my excuses one at a time.

1. First, when I go on vacation there are always healthy alternatives to eat. I am challenging myself to do that when I go on vacation in July.
2. I may not like cardio, but I am going to like not being able to keep up with my kids as they get older and want to play even less. I have to do this, and there are no really good excuses.
3. I do enjoy lifting weights. I also like riding my bike, which is fully functional and gathering dust in my garage. I need to start walking at least twice a week, to eventually turn into jogging. I also need to ride my bike, and if that does not work then I need to show my wife how much I love her and do some Zumba with her. She loves it and I can handle the embarrassment.
4. I also love fruit, fish and chicken. I just need to eat them more. I am even beginning to enjoy vegetables.
5. I was also a drug addict, alcoholic, smoker, etc and I no longer do those things. I just need to get more motivated.

Part of being more motivated means that I need some constant reminders. One reminder is that I don't ever want to be a hypocrite, yet I am being one. I am sharing with others the love, hope and grace of Christ I talk about how the Holy Spirit can transform us and cause us to sin no longer. Then I engage in sloth and overindulging in food. Those are sins as well. My body is a temple of God, and I need to treat it as such. Why is this so hard?!?!?!?!?!?

Then I remember that unlike drugs, alcohol and cigarettes which I only wanted I NEED food in order to survive. It is on the bottom of the pyramid in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs because food and liquid are vital to our survival. Unfortunately, it seems that the better most food tastes the worse it is for you and that stinks!

I just have to be smarter, which has never been one of my strong points. So, I  need to focus on my kids and the fun we can  have if I get into better shape. I need to remind myself that being in shape is spiritually, physically and emotionally important. I give a message of hope that a better life exists when I am in shape. I will remember all of this, and I will not relapse on bad food and laziness. This will not fail, but if I can not meet my next goal in time I see a Daniel Fast and a lot of meditation in my immediate future. I will meet my next goal, which is to be down to 235 by July 1st.

I am ready to do this, but I ask for your help. If you talk to me, ask me how I am doing at keeping focused. If you live in the Springfield area and ride bikes or play tennis, maybe we should get together. Give me a call. Thanks for your help, and here is to me losing 8 pounds this month!! I CAN DO IT!!

Weight Loss Wednesday Baseline - 245.2

Not going to lie, when I stepped on the scale and saw that I had regained over 25 pounds of the 40 pounds I had lost I was more than a little disappointed. Not surprised, but disappointed. I knew that it would be bad, as I have not been exercising regularly and my eating has been..................let's say it has been comforting. Translation, I have been stressed lately with various things in my life and have been comfort-eating to deal with them.

I am still struggling with an addiction. That addiction is to food. I have an on again, off again struggle that is getting to a point that I hurt because of my weight. I need to do this and stick to it. I am an addict, and my addiction has switched over the years from drugs to power/money to women to alcohol to food. Now I have one last frontier to conquer and it is now or never!!

My body is supposed to be a temple. I am supposed to make my life a living sacrifice and I am not doing that at all. I have instead turned my body into a shack at best and my daily life is more of an amusement park than a sacrifice for anything. I need to get busy doing what is right, which is taking care of my body and not being a glutton and lazy.
Luckily, the best man from my wedding who also happens to be my workout partner from years ago contacted me about working out again. I told Robert (that's what I call him because that is his name) that having a workout partner sounded like a great idea. It is motivation to go to the gym. If I don't show up, it means that I have stood somebody up and I don't do that anymore. He said something that caught my attention. "I am almost 40, and I want to get back in the gym before it is too late." That hit close to home, as I am 40 and if I don't get into the gym soon I probably never will. So, back to the gym it is.

Robert and I are meeting to work out 4 days a week. We are going really light and slow for the first couple of weeks. We will be doing FST-7, which uses a lot more repetitions and lighter weights than we were using the last time when we did Max OT workouts. I have gotten to the age I can not afford to get hurt in the gym anymore, and lifting low reps/high weights sometimes injures me. So the focus of FST 7 will be great.

I am hopeful that I can combine the workouts with a couple of days of bike riding 10-25 miles depending on the day. I enjoy riding bicycles, and if I  have just an hour I can put in 10 miles and if I have an afternoon once I build up I can put in 25-50 miles like I used to 5 years ago. It is so relaxing, listening to worship music while riding through nature focusing on all I have to be grateful for.

Next week I will start focusing on my eating habits. I am probably going to use the Weight Watcher's points plus system. As an addict, I like to manipulate things and the way their system is set up it will allow me to manipulate numbers. I find that appealing. It needs to be a lifestyle change not diet or I will not stick to it. I feel that with the point system I can incorporate that into my life for good. It allows for cheats and you can eat a ton of fruits and vegetables!

Finally, I do not run, PERIOD! If you see me running, you had better start running too. I run for 2 reasons currently, to barbecue and from spiders. Not any spiders, either. I mean like 8 Legged Freaks type spiders. I bring this up because I plan on walking more now and when I get to 220 pounds I am going to start jogging. My goal is to jog a complete 5K next year.

Here are my goals:

1. Lose 5 pounds by June 1st (240)
2. Lose 10 pounds July 1st (235)
3. Lose 25 pounds by October 1st (220)
4. Lose 50 pounds by May 1st (195)
5. Walk a 5K this year (no idea about time because I have never done one)
6. Run a 5K next year (no idea about time because I have never done one)
7. Do the MS 150 next year

In closing, I could use some help in my endeavore to get back into a shape that is not round. If you are trying to lose weight and would like an accountability partner, contact me please. I would not mind finding someone to play tennis with or take bike rides occasionally. So, if you like to ride bicycles or play tennis, get a  hold of me. If you have any advice, suggestions or feedback please get it to me.

As a disclaimer I am not interested in the supplements out there such as Genesis Pure or Visalus. I know that they have worked great for people and I will not argue that they are good products, but I want to focus on whole natural foods and exercise.