THE HOLIDAYS

This is gauntlet time for people trying to lose weight. First there's Thanksgiving, then there are leftovers, and after that, Christmas and New Year’s Day with all the football and snacks and stuff. And then, there's the guilt and the resolution to lose weight this year.

The question is how to maintain weight loss during those days when food, good food and plenty of it, is everywhere. During the Christmas season I have been invited to at least half a dozen Christmas lunches or banquets. So what does one do? I could decline the invitations, but that would be rude and not in my best interest professionally or pastorally. With respect to these invitations to holiday feasts there are only two options, or some combination of the two. First, I can simply eat smart. I can eat small portions and only healthy choices. Second, I can eat a little more and then exercise a little more. Or I can do a little of both--small portions and exercise more.

With respect to the family meals and the all the leftovers--pies pleading to be eaten, cookies calling, turkey tempting me--I must simply exercise self-control. Also, I pick one day when I can just eat as much healthy food as I want to. I’ll make smart choices, but not limit the amount I eat. (Chances are that because I’ve been eating smaller portions now for a couple months, I won’t be able to hold much anyhow.) I will need to stay away from high calorie foods such as desserts. The problem is that I love cheesecake. I could eat the whole thing, but I will probably only have a small slice, if I have any at all. Also, I will be engaging in high calorie burning activities. During Thanksgiving I'll be walking the hills of West Virginia hunting. I'll jog and hike as well.

A good goal for the holidays is to get to New Year’s Day without gaining a pound. It's a victory if you don't gain, even if you don't lose anything. After New Year’s you can get back into the routine and start melting away those pounds again.

Verse of the Day: 1 Thess 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. NKJV

I Hate Plateaus

Growing up in West Virginia and spending a lot of time on those thar hills, I discovered that a plateau is a landing, or a short interval in the ascent or descent of the hill.  One could get on a plateua and walk around the hill without much effort.  The problem is that you don't usually don't go down or up.  In fact, you end up going in circles. 

I was rejoicing earlier this week because I'd lost down to the 220s.  In fact, I was down to 229.0.  However, for the past 3 days I've been holding at 229.4 lbs.  I don't like that.  Unfortunately, my shedule this week is such that I haven't been able to do the kind of workout that I want to do.  In fact, if I get to run on the treadmill at all today, it will not be until after 10 pm. 

I know that if I stay the course I will break through this plateau, but I love seeing the weight drop each time I get on the scales.  So far, the best exercise I've found for shedding pounds is walking/jogging up and down Stone Mountain.  Sadly, it takes about 30 minutes each way to get to the mountain, so it isn't as convenient as I wish it was.  Still, I plan to walk it Sunday afternoon.  In the meantime, I'll be watching my caloric intack since I'm limited in my exercise regiment for the next couple days.

Verse of the Day: Mark 9:23-24
23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." NKJV

What a Difference Two Weeks Makes

Here's a picture of me at about 230 lbs.  I took it last night just after I got off the treadmill and posed.  I'm such a poser.  I'm finding that good running shoes are worth their weight in nylon.  My feet feel great. 

I did it.  I jogged/ran a mile in 8 minutes and 50 seconds.  That's 50 seconds faster than I did it two weeks ago.  I want to run the mile and a half in 11 minutes and 30 seconds because that's the qualifying time for Navy recruits.  I want to know that a 49-year-old dude could qualify.  I heard a report that 75% of young people do not qualify for the military now because 1) they have criminal record, or 2) they did not graduate from high school, or 3) they can not pass the physcial, or 4) they simply cannot not qualify on the exercise/run tests.

I took some measurments and found that my neck has gone from 19 inches to 17 inches and my waist has gone from 40+ to 37 inches.  Also, as of this morning I'm officially in the 220s.  I weighed 229 lbs, and I haven't seen the 220s in about 4 years.  So I'm happy now.

Verse of the Day:  Prov 29:18
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (KJV)

My Fat Picture

How fat was I?  This is a fat picture of me without my beard.  Bloated and pathetic looking.  I love this picture.  It was a real motivator for me.  When I first saw it I didn't even recognize myself.  I was at about 250 lbs. in that picture and now I'm at 230 lbs. and falling fast.  I hope to be in the 220s by the end of the week. 

Sometimes we need to see something like this to understand just where we are in life.  It's a wakeup call, a reality check, a slap in the face, and all the other cliches you can think of.  I'm still too heavy, but I have engaged in a lifestyle change that I hope will bring better health and vitality, and perhaps make me look a little better too.

I ran Stone Mountain in 33 minutes yesterday.  What an exhilerating run.  It's only 2.6 miles, but it's brutal.  Tonight I'll be timing myself to see what I run the mile in.  My last run/jog was a mile in 9 minutes and 40 seconds.  I'd love to be able to run it in less than 9 minutes tonight
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So how do I look now?  Well, I haven't taken a picture today, but I'll post one tomorrow for the sake of comparison.

Verse of the Day: 2 Cor 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV)

Travel and Weight Loss

I traveled to West Virginia from Georgia to speak in the funeral of a dear friend who passed last week.  The trip is about 10 hours, but because I forgot my wallet and found out after driving an hour, I had to come back home and it ended up being a 12 hour trip up and about 11 back.  The problem with traveling is trying to eat the right food.  It is hard to get good food on the road.  I drank way too much Coke Zero and ate pork rinds and chewed lots of gum. 

When I finally got to West Virginia it was dark but I wanted to run so bad that I took my flashlight and my gun and ran up the hill in front of my mother's house.  It felt good to get out, stretch my legs and get the blood pumping.   I was only there two days but both days I ran the hills.  On the way back from West Virginia I stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge and took the 178 steps down to the scenic overlook.   It wasn't much of a workout but it got my blood pumping. 

Yesterday, I was feeling a little down and I felt like I needed something to pick me up so I hiked up Stone Mountain here in Georgia.  It is quite a hike and I felt a real burn in my legs by the time I got to the top.  It took me 43 minutes to go to the top and back down.  After the hike I felt much better physically and metally.  [Gotta love those endorphins!] I have a season pass so I plan to go at least once a week to climb the mountain. 

So, I didn't weigh myself until this morning and I weighed 233.4.  That's a new low, not by much, but a new low nonetheless.  I'd like to drop a half-pound by morning and be in the 232s going into next week.  At 232 even I will have dropped 20 pounds since September 23rd.

Verse of the Day: Joshua 14:12
12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said."

Approaching A Milestone

Here's the deal, I was stuck at 235.6 lbs. for six days.  Of course during those six days I celebrated my birthday by pigging out at a Korean buffet, so the fact that I only gained a little over a pound from my low of 234.4 wasn't a big deal.  However, with renewed vigor I have been watching what I eat and running on the treadmill.  So today when I weighed in at 233.6 I was elated. 

I watched America's Biggest Loser again this week and was super motivated by it.  I love that show!  I saw the woman who was voted off and how she continued to lose weight after she was off the show.  I missed the first episode but when they showed a retrospective of her journey they replayed an incident where the contestants were running a mile just after they arrived.  She passed out and was taken to the hospital.  Then, after returning home and losing a lot of weight, she continued to train and eventually went back and ran that mile in 11 minutes and 22 seconds.  So I decided to see if I could beat her time on the treadmill. 

When I started my own journey on September 23, 2009 weighing in at 252 lbs I managed to walk at 3 mph for 20 minutes.  At that rate it took me 20 minutes to walk one mile.  Last night I jogged the entire mile starting at 6 mph and ending at 8 mph.  I finished the mile in 9 minutes and 40 seconds.  In addition to weight loss and increased endurance, I'm wearing 17 1/2 inch (neck) shirts (I was at 19") and I've lost 2 inches on my waist size.  I'm wearing some of my older clothes that I was planning on throwing out two months ago.

My goals going forward are to weigh less than 230 lbs. by the end of the month and to run the mile in 9 minutes or less. 

Verse of the Day: Phil 3:13-14
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.