Off and pedaling into the sunset

Approximately one year ago I decided to do something positive regarding my health. I wasn't feeling all that bad but I certainly wasn't feeling all that great either. There is no denying that being in better condition would make me feel better and I just decided it was time to do something about my conditioning before it was too late. Karen and I also had just seen the movie "Julie and Julia". The movie is about a girl who decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook and blog about the experience. We absolutely loved the movie. It inspired me to start this blog about my attempt to get healthier. I talked about my foods, my exercise, and tracked the results. Now you can only do so much of that so along the way I shared some memories and stories from my past along with a little commentary about life in general. I had no idea how much fun it would become. This experience has been a blast. This blog also has helped me stay in touch and feel more connected to those of you that have been reading this. The renewed connection has been the biggest blessing of all.

I have reached the point where I feel that I've done all I can do here. You can only type " I lost a half of a pound this week" so many times and I've been out of memories and stories for some time now. For the record I weigh 215 today and I am about 70 pounds healthier than I was a year ago. I still feel I have room for improvement and I hope to weigh around 205 pounds before the end of the year. I know you are all supportive of me and that support will serve as my motivation from here on.

I just really want to thank you all for reading along over the past year. You made me be accountable and were such a major factor in any success I have had in my effort to get healthier.

One last time... I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 08/07/2010

I roller coastered through the week this time. After gaining 3 pounds over the weekend I ate well most of the week and ended up at 215.2 pounds. That is even with last weeks weight but it is not a gain. I can live with it.

I am playing golf tomorrow and that is great exercise. I hope to actually go through the weekend with a loss this time and carry that through the week for a new low next week. Wish me luck!

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for Friday 07/30/10

When is a new low not a bad thing? When you are talking about your weight!

Today I weighed in at 215.2 lbs. That is a new low weight and that is always a great thing to report. I am approaching the one year anniversary of when I decided to get healthier. At this time I am 68 pounds healthier than I was a year ago and that makes me smile.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 07/23/2010

I think I know why I haven't lost any weight in three weeks. Karen has been on her summer vacation and she has cooked me some wonderful food that I have enjoyed tremendously. It has good and healthy but I may have an additional serving or two or three along the way. I haven't gained any weight and I can live with it for now.

I weighed in at 215.8 this morning. I still hope to get to 210 and there really is no timetable for me to get there.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 07/16/2010

Well first of all let me state the obvious. I did not weigh in here last week. When I thought of it I wasn't at the computer and when I was near a computer I was not thinking about my weight I guess. I don't have much to report actually. I have gained a couple of pounds each week end and lost them through the next week for the last few weeks. I weighed in at 216.0 this morning so my weight has been flat the last two weeks. No gain is good and I can live with it.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 07/02/2010

Finally!

I was stuck on a hump that was 217 pounds for almost a month but I finally got over it. I weighed in at 215.8 this morning. I lost about two pounds for the month or a half pound a week. If I can stay at that pace I will be 210 by Labor Day. I can live with that.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 06/25/10

Well it's more of the same. I weighed 217.2 this morning. I have been between 217 and 220 for a month now. The good news is I am not gaining weight. I am eating okay and I think 210 is still attainable. Eventually.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 06/19/2010

Well I am still stuck in neutral. The good news is I am not in reverse. Today I weighed in at 218.0 so I did not gain weight and I can live with that.

I am off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 06/11/10

Well I am at a plateau that is hard to get off of these days. I have weighed between 217 and 220 the last three to four weeks. I am eating okay. I guess I could eat better but I am not eating badly. It just has slowed down for now. I weighed in at 218.2 this Friday so I gained the pound back. I have decided that it's not the end of the world and that if "tomorrow" is another day for Scarlett then I shall consider "next" to be another week for me.

I had my first bike ride with Madi WITH OUT HER TRAINING WHEELS! She is officially a full fledged rider now and that just makes me so so happy.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 06/04/2010

I have been on a see saw it seems. I hit 217 a while back and I have been between 217 and 220 the last couple of weeks. There were a few celebratory meals and a Memorial Day BBQ and yada yada but losing got real hard for a while. I am back to 217 as of this morning and now I am setting my sights on 210. I hope to make it by Labor Day.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 05/28/2010

Well it was bound to happen. For the first time since last August I must report that I gained a pound from last week. I weighed in at 218.0 this morning. I am not discouraged. I know what I did wrong. Even when eating healthy things eating too much is not good. The term is portion control and I must regain focus there. It will be a bit of a challenge because we have the Memorial Day BBQ this week end. I plan to be very careful today and Saturday to allow me some extra room for Sunday. Then I have the rest of next week to get back on track.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 05/21/2010

Well it is getting harder to lose but as long I don't gain I can live with it. I weighed 217.0 for a .4 loss for the week.

I am off and pedaling for now.

Ahhhhhh......

When I started my quest last August to get healthy I knew that daily exercise was just as important as eating right. The thing about exercise for me is I have to enjoy it to stick with it. I hated running (even when I could run and was quite good at it) and had never really got into walking. So I did what all boys love to do and I rode a bicycle. I rode almost daily for a couple of months but by October 1st the chilly morning and night air ( the only times I could ride) made the curtailing of the bike rides a necessity. Throughout the fall and winter and early spring I finally learned to enjoy walking as a form of exercise. Walking is great for me because I am at the dealership most of the day and these days I am not busy a lot. Our showroom is big enough to make it an indoor walking arena and that is exactly what I did. I turned former dead time into exercise time and it has been great. But there is nothing like the bike ride. Riding down the street with the wind in your hair is a feeling no other exercise can compete with.

I had my first ride of the year Wednesday afternoon. All I can say is "Ahhhhhh......"

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 05/14/2010

Well I kind of blew it last Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we had a day long hot dog roast at work and while I didn't eat them all at once I had a couple too many hot dogs and a little too much potato salad. Sunday night we had a Mother's Day Mexican restaurant event and I must have had a few too many chips there. As of Monday morning I had gained almost 3 pounds but I got it back off...barely. I weighed in at 217.4 this morning for a .6 loss for the week. I'll take it.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 05/07/2010

This was a good week. A lot of the times I put on a pound or so over the weekend and it takes half the week to get that back. Then I have just a couple of days left to lose something from the previous week. This week I held my weight through the weekend and really cruised through the rest of the week. I weighed in at 218.0 for an even one pound loss for the week.

Not exactly what we hoped for

Karen and I did our gall bladder treatment this past Saturday night. We did not get the results we hoped for but I am still glad we did the treatment. I know we cleaned some of our insides out and that is a good thing. We may have used the wrong type of olive oil and we will probably try it again in a month or so.

Oh by the way.... a cocktail of 8 oz olive oil and 8 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice, while good for you, tastes GROSS.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 04/30/2010

If you have not read what I posted yesterday be sure and do so. I consumed three apples a day the last 4 days as a part of the cleansing routine for the gall stone treatment we are doing Saturday night. That added about 300 calories a day to my diet. I tried to cut back on chips and two of the days I did. The other two days? Well...the devil made me do it.

I weighed in at 219.0 for an loss of .8 for the week.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

I think this beats the heck out of surgery

Karen had an attack Monday night that scared her badly. It was an extremely intense pain just below her ribs. It took a few hours for the pain to subside. After talking to several people we have decided it was a gall stone/gall bladder thing. I am certain that if we go to a Doctor he will recommend removal of the gall bladder. It is a profitable surgery for the medical profession and it is just the way things are these days. I believe that removing a body organ that serves a purpose in the name of profit is something that goes on all the time. But it won't happen to us this time.

To make a long story short we are trying a home remedy that a good friend put us on to. Here is a link to what we are doing :

http://www.natural-cancer-cures.com/remove-gallstones.html

As prescribed I have been eating apples all week. I can't say I look forward to drinking the home remedy but I guess it could be worse. There is no eye of newt included.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 04/23/2010

I know I repeat the same thing a lot but once again I must say that I don't get how you can eat the same things two weeks in a row and lose nothing one week and a lot the next. I weighed 219.8 this morning for a 1.4 pound loss for the week.

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm off and pedaling for now.

They say change is good

And for the most part I completely agree that change is good. I needed to change my health situation and last August I decided to do something about it. I changed some things about my lifestyle and eating habits and lo and behold my body changed too. That is just one example of something I have changed for the better. There are a lot of things I have changed over the years. Sometimes the changes were good and sometimes they were bad. The thing about me is I am quite human. I am not very good at doing what is right all the time. I really want to change that. I want to change my self for the better. I think I know the answer to changing for the better. The answer is to trust the one thing that has never changed. Actually I should say we need to trust the one person that has never changed.

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever"

There are many chapters in the book of my 53 years of life. There are chapters where I remembered daily to pray that I would become better and on those days and I did become better. There are days where I forgot to pray that prayer. Truthfully there are many chapters where I forgot to pray at all. There are some very low points in my book. But the good news is that God never changed. When I look to him and ask him to lead me and make me better he always has. His word tells me he still will. Today I asked God to take control and make me better. I know he did. Now I just need to remember to repeat the process tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day...

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 04/16/2010

I don't know if you can count this as a loss but I weighed 221.2 this morning and that is 2/10 of a pound less than last week. I'll take it.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Tv Talk

GLEE SPRING SEASON STARTS APRIL 12 !!! YAY !!!

24- I never ever thought I would say this next sentence but it is what I feel. They have announced this will be the last season of 24 and I am glad it is ending. I don't think there are any more new ideas left and they really haven't come up with any this year. It has been a great wild thrill ride for all these years but it is time to close this show. I still love it.

Dancing with the Stars- One of our favorite shows but it harder to get into this year. When Pam Anderson and Kate Gosselin leave it should get better but they are making it hard for me to watch.

Survivor- I love the All Star seasons and this one is awesome. One of the best ever. You have to admire Russell...you don't have to like him but you have to admire him.

Lost- I have enjoyed the final season. They are explaining things to my satisfaction although there are still many questions not answered yet. If you have never watched it do not start now. It would make no sense at all.

American Idol- I think they have 4-5 future Stars this year. There will be only one winner but several will be around for a while. The weird thing is the tension between Ryan and Simon. I think there is resentment over Simon leaving. The show will not be as good with out him and it will be the beginning of the end.

Minute to Win it- New game how that is a hoot. Has Guy Fiererri from the food network as host. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet.

Grey's Anatomy- Not great and not bad. I think I'm losing interest actually.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 04/09/10

The week started with a little gain Friday. We did Chinese buffet to go Friday night. I eat less than I used to but I still eat a lot I guess. Some meals I just can't help myself. I had to eat well the rest of the week to keep up my momentum. I ended up weighing 221.4 this morning for a 1.0 pound loss for the week. I should be in the two-teens soon.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly Weigh in for 4/02/10

This was a good week. We had good weather Sunday and I got to spend most of the day doing yard work while I was cooking for our family's "last Sunday of the month get together". One hour of mowing and two more hours of general yard work burns most of what you can eat in a day. I love the spring.

I weighed in at 222.4 today for a 1.2 pound loss for the week. Still hoping to be at 210 by July 4th and I am on pace to make it.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 03/26/10

I have a new favorite thing and that is spices. I know turkey burgers are healthy but the blandness has always been just too much (or little) for me. Well this week I made some that were the best I ever produced. I used a liberal amount of onion salt and pepper and then a light dusting of garlic powder on the patties. I wrapped them in Saran Wrap and let them sit for 3 hours. MMM MMMM GOOD !!!

I weighed in at 223.6 this morning for a full pound loss for the week. *happy dance*

Which reminds me.... DANCING WITH THE STARS is back!!! I liked the first week. I have no early favorite this time so I will just see how it plays out.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

The jogging trampoline

I have mentioned before how I have used the small jogging trampoline as a form of exercise through the years. A good friend just sent me a link to an article on just how good an exercise tool this is. Check the article out at :

http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/rebounding-for-detoxification-and-health.htm

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 03/19/10

This week was a roller coaster up and down week. The good news is I weighed 224.6 Friday morning. I am FINALLY under 225!

Great new food alert...Stouffers has this frozen Philly sub sandwich. It is microwavable, cooks in 3 minutes, only 370 calories and is even better than Lean Cuisine Panini...try it and you will like it.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 03/12/2010

The thing about weighing yourself daily is you have to be prepared to go insane. There are some days where you get a false weight. For example I have had days where I lose 2 pounds from the previous day. I didn't eat anything different or do any additional exercise but the weight decided to fall off anyway. I get all excited over this and eat very carefully that day to make sure the weight stays off but the next day I will gain a pound back. It can be maddening at times. But this was a good week. I either weighed the same or lost a couple of tenths a day each day. I weighed 225.6 this morning for a .8 of a pound loss for the week. My new goal is to be 210 by July 4th and I think I can make it.

By the way the weather is getting nicer and nicer and I think Karen and I will be back on the bikes soon. That makes me smile.

I'm off and pedaling for now

Weekly weigh in for 03/05/10

Well some weeks aren't easy and this will be registered as just such a week. Sunday we went to church, skipped breakfast, and then went to a chinese buffet to go. I got small portions but I apparently just just got too many different small portions. On top of that most of the food was of the fried variety. The meal put a couple of pounds on me that it took all week to get back off.

I weighed in at 226.4 this morning for a 4/10 of a pound loss for the week. Not a great week but losing 4/10 beats gaining 4/10.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 02/26/10

All in all this was a good week. I actually gained a couple of pounds over the weekend but eating right the rest of the week did the trick. I weighed in at 226.8 for a 1.0 loss for the week. My goal is to lose one pound a week and if I do I will weigh 213 on Memorial Day. I am on pace right now and that's all I can ask for.

I can't wait till it warms up and Karen and I can ride our bikes again! Until then we just ride in spirit.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

What was I thinking?

When I started this blog for some reason it seemed like a good idea to start an email account specifically for this thing. I checked it regularly for a long time but got very few messages there. I hadn't checked it in a while I guess because I just checked it this week and had several messages in there! I apologize that it took me so long to respond to them. They were mostly messages of encouragement and I appreciate them greatly. I have kind of killed that email and if you notice I now have my personal hotmail email posted which I check more regularly.

Side note and TV talk... THE AMAZING RACE IS BACK!! It may be our favorite TV show of them all and if you have never watched it try it this Sunday at 7 pm on CBS! I think it is the most exciting hour of TV each week! Karen and I love it.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 02/19

I want to take a moment and talk about what's on the menu these days. I rotate three breakfast meals. Karen makes me a wheat toast/bacon/cheese/egg sandwich that is wonderful. I have mentioned the Jimmy Dean Delight breakfast sandwiches before and they are still in the rotation. I have discovered Owens breakfast burritos. Two is the recommended serving and it is a 350 calorie compete meal. I rotate those three for breakfast. I have a lunch meal and a supper meal. One is usually a frozen panini/flatbread sandwich and a 1 ounce serving of chips. The second meal is what ever Karen cooks for us. She is a great cook and always cooks healthy meals. Sometimes, if I am still hungry, I have a salad later in the evening. Most often though I do not have the salad. Most days I consume from 1800 to 2000 calories and then a brisk 15 minute walk burns off 200 of those for a daily net between 1600 to 1800 calories.

I weighed in at 227.8 this morning for a loss of 1.4 pounds for the week.

*HAPPY DANCE*

I'm off and pedaling for now.

This is my therapy

I believe we all need a therapeutic hobby. This is the thing that when you need a break you can retreat to this activity and it will just calm you like nothing else seems to do. I have such a hobby and that is cooking outdoors on my grills or smoker.

Cooking outide....just saying it and the mental image of it is relaxing to me. I have always enjoyed cooking even when I wasn't very good at it. We all start out grilling burgers and hot dogs. From there we move on to grilling steaks. Not everyone goes to the next level of slow smoking using indirect heat but it was at this point when this became therapeutic for me. My brother-in-law Rex (Karen's brother) and I cooked many a bad brisket before we learned how to cook a good one. I enjoyed cooking just as much when I knew very little about what I was doing as I do today. The results aren't guaranteed and it does not always turn out perfect but when it does turn out just right it's proud papa time all over again.

I am very excited to announce that I will getting a new smoker soon. The one I have now I like a lot but the firebox is almost rusted out. It is also really a little smaller than I prefer. I have been saving up for a while for a nifty little unit they sell at Academy Sports and Outdoors. Memorial Day and July 4th are right around the corner too. I will be doing a lot of holiday cooking as usual. I will have room in the smoker for more meat so if anyone wants me to cook a brisket or chicken or ribs just bring the meat and I will tell you when to come pick it up.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 02/12/2010

All this snow makes me miss Christmas!

I weighed in at 229.2 this morning for a .6 loss for the week. Any loss is good.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 02/05

I finally had a week that makes me smile! I weighed in at 229.8 this morning for a 1.6 loss for the week. I have lost 54 pounds total since starting this program last August.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 01/29/2010

I feel like I am in hibernation. It is cold and dreary outside and that is what I consider to be good hibernating weather. My metabolism feels slow and I even feel like my brain is stuck in low gear these days. I am so ready for spring to get here but we are not even half way through winter. We shall persevere however and get through this period of the doldrums. Happy days will be here again.

I weighed 231.4 pounds this morning for a loss of .8 for the week.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for Friday 01/22

I went through a stretch in November where 2 pounds and even a little more were dropping each week. I am eating the exact same things still but lately it has been difficult. The good news is I am not gaining. It's just not dropping like I wish it would. I am not discouraged and this is a long haul run. It's just running uphill these days but I know we'll get through it.

I weighed 232.2 pounds this morning. That is a .6 of a pound loss for the week.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for 01/15/10

We had free donuts at the dealership this morning and they were so tempting but I passed on the chance. That's a good thing.

I weighed in at 232.8 this morning for a 1 pound loss for the week. I will take that.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

PPBC

I am not an extremely sentimental person. I know what an extremely sentimental person is because I know several of them. My brother is one, my wife is one, etc. There are things that I greatly admire about the extremely sentimental person but it still doesn't make me want to be one. There just are very few things that I allow myself to get all that attached to but there is one place very special to me that I want to talk about today.

My church is Plymouth Park Baptist Church. I am sentimental when it comes to PPBC. It was at PPBC where I first learned the story of God, his son, and his living spirit. It was at PPBC where I fell in love with my wife. It was there that I met many men of God who I have looked up to as role models for most of my life. It was the safe haven that helped me raise my daughters in a secure environment. Seeing my girls bloom into the wonderful young ladies they have become may not have happened with out PPBC. My love of singing was so wonderfully nurtured by Cliff McClellan and the music ministry at PPBC. It was at PPBC where we were able to introduce my grand daughter Madi to Sunday School and the pre-school bible stories that I know will only help her in life. And it is to PPBC that I still go on Sunday mornings to worship.

I don't know what the future holds for PPBC. As we all know the population base of Irving has changed. That specific area, The Plymouth Park Shopping Center, has changed too. The membership size is not not what it once was. I guess I have come to grips with the fact that I can't count on PPBC to be at that location forever. But it will live forever in my heart. PPBC has done what few people/places/things have been able to. It has made me attach myself and I will never, ever want to let go.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

Weekly weigh in for Friday January 8th

Phase Two of my attempt to get healthy is officially under way. Each Friday will be the weekly weigh in day for this year. My goal is to lose one pound each week and if I do that I would then weigh 213 pounds on Memorial Day of this year. I may or may not achieve this and only time will tell. What I can control is what I eat, how much I eat, and how much I exercise. From that point nature and physics take over and I really don't know where this will end. I just intend to control the three things I listed above and we'll see where I end up.

I weighed 233.8 pounds this morning. I am where I hoped to be at this time.

I'm off and pedaling for now.

TV Talk

ALL of our favorite shows are about to be starting. 24 will debut on Jan 17th and American Idol I think is Jan 12th. Don't have dates but by February Lost, Greys Anatomy, a new Survivor and Amazing Race should all be on. There is a spring season of Dancing with the Stars starting soon and a spring season of Glee too. I imagine we will have another Hell's Kitchen soon too.

Remember the scene in "Field of Dreams" where Shoeless Joe asked Ray "Is this heaven?" Well I know how Joe felt. Don't call me till summer...I'll be busy watching TV till then.

I'm back Friday with the weigh in...I'm off and pedaling for now.

2009 was a weird year

I have been trying, for days, to write a good bye post to the year 2009. I have typed, re-typed, back spaced, cut and pasted, and cleared more pages than I care to think about. I know how I feel about 2009 but expressing these feelings is proving impossible. In summary I think it was a bad year for our country and for Americans in general. That truly saddens me.

But on a personal level there are several good things that happened last year. My two oldest daughters married wonderful men. My two youngest daughters have started new careers and I am excited for them and proud of them. Those are the best things for me about 2009. Karen's work environment (a new principal at her school) made her life happier which makes me happy too. And then I decided to try and lose weight and write a blog about it. Getting healthier is a "no brainer" type of good thing. What I never realized that deciding to write this blog about trying to get healthy would help me strengthen so many of my personal relationships. I doubt that I will write this thing forever but I must admit it has enriched me while I have been writing it.

As for 2010, I guess we'll see. I do have great hope for 2010. I think it may be a great year.

I'm back Friday with the first weigh in of Phase Two.

I'm off and pedaling for now.