First Post

Staying in shape and controlling your weight...why is this so hard for me? That is really what this blog is all about but before I get into that too much, let's talk about my first love...the Bicycle.

My bikes of recollection start with the little one with training wheels that we all had. It was red and I got it for Christmas when I was 4 or 5. We still have the home movie of that Christmas and there is a brief shot of me pedaling away on that bike. My first two wheeler was a used bike my Mom bought me at Firestone or Western Auto or Whites...the memory is real but distant. It was a 26 inch adult bike that I could barely ride and I got it when I was in the first grade. Actually My Mom, older brother Dave, and I went there to get Dave a new bike. He got a brand new shiny bike which he could easily ride. I wasn't expecting to get a bike but got lucky. There was a used trade in there and my Mom offered them 5 bucks for it and they took it! I could barely reach the pedals but I remember riding that bike home down the Irving Boulevard service road and being so happy. In retrospect it was a tank but it was my tank. Then Dave and I got our first 20 inch banana seat bikes Christmas of my second or third grade year. We had matching gold stingrays. We rode those bikes everywhere for the next few years and they were our best inanimate friends ever. When I was in the 6th grade and had a paper route I got another 20 inch banana seat but this was a souped up purple monster. It was quite simply the most awesome bike ever. It lasted me through Jr. High and then got put to pasture. In early high school I do recall having a 26" 10 speed bicycle. It was Dallas Cowboy silver blue and I bought it at Kmart. They were all the rage back then and you had to have one. I never bonded with that bike though. I like foot brakes, not hand brakes. My sophomore year in High School I got my drivers license and I was done with bikes for a long time.

My first two daughters, Melanie and Kimberly, left their training wheels behind forever around 1987 or 1988. Daddy needed a bike to ride with them so I got a 26 inch cruiser. It was the Black Beauty and I really enjoyed riding that bike with my girls. I kept it several years but eventually it was sold in a garage sale . So I have been bike less for the last 17 years or so...until now.

I have always fought the fight with weight. I have had good years and bad years with weight control but unfortunately considerably more bad ones than good. I am at that point, at 52 years of age, where I either need to get healthy or I am putting myself in danger. It is time to act. The good weight years share two main constants and they are eating sensibly and exercising. I am not going on a diet. I am however making better choices on what I eat. I am a big believer in counting fat grams and keeping those counts low. Some people focus on carbs, some on calories, but I do fat grams. When I reduce fat grams and I exercise, I lose weight. It is pretty simple actually in theory but harder in practice for me but I have done it before and am doing it again. Low fat grams takes care of main constant number one. Exercise is main constant number two. For that I have returned to my first love, my bicycle. I found, on Craig's List, a guy who sells new bikes at 50 percent of retail. He buys department store overstocks at auction and sells them out of a storage building near Valley Ranch. HOW COOL IS THAT AND WHY AREN'T I DOING THAT? I got two bikes, one for me and one for my best friend and wife of 33 years (as of last Friday) Karen. We are off and pedaling! This will be my blog. As I am known to do I will probably make this all about me but I have to say that doing this with Karen pedaling right beside me means everything to me.

Okay, here is the bottom line. When I started this program I weighed in excess off 280 pounds. This morning I weighed 274.2 lbs. My goal is to lose 2 lbs. per week and be at 240 by thanksgiving, 210 by next spring. I may have to find another mode of exercise through the winter but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.