Rough Start...

Sunday, I did very well. I ate my eggs and my grilled chicken, and munched on raw veggies at our church chili supper. The good news is, in the ensuing 4 days, I am down 7 pounds. The bad news is, I lost it largely because I have been sick since Sunday night. So I'm not really posting anything until this passes. I'm not eating too badly, but not really considering it as "weight loss". When I'm better, I will simply log a new starting weight, and go from there. I haven't given up or anything, just an involuntary pause.

Three years ago...

Three years ago, I began blogging about my weight loss journey. I had applied for a spot in "Augusta's Biggest Loser", a local weight loss competition, and I was chosen to be a participant in the third (and unfortunately, final) season. In the six months from November 2, 2009 to May 14, 2010, I lost 143.4 pounds, and pushed my weight down to an astonishing 199.4 pounds. The last eleven days was a starvation/exercise marathon that took me from 208 to 199. I have recounted in earlier blog posts that I kept the weight in the 215 range for a good while, and then it started creeping up as I got lazy with my eating, as well as my gym membership ending. The months from November 2011 through May 2012 were particularly devastating, as my work schedule was just crazy, and I ate what I could, whenever I could. Things kind of came to a head for me yesterday when I had one of those "he came to himself" moments after an all-you-can-eat breakfast (I did), and a church dinner last night where I piled my plate high with many of my favorite foods.

 

In a word, I know exactly what to do, and I'm not doing it. My treadmill sits unused; my heavy bag and weights are right where I put them when we moved; and I put things into my mouth that feed my desire instead of fueling my body. It's time to turn it around.

 

For anyone curious as to what I'm doing: diet - high protein, low carb. Target calories about 1000 per day. Water - all I can drink. Exercise - treadmill, heavy bag, and walking 5 miles per day. Dumbbell and body-weight exercises 3 times per week. Rest - will be going to bed earlier at night to get more sleep (tonight not withstanding - Falcons vs. Cowboys.   )

 

I will be writing frequently -- for me, weight loss is largely a matter of focus, and writing my thoughts out is helpful to me. Warning: if you don't want to hear about it, don't read my blog.

 

Let's DO this!!

Rough Start

Last Tuesday, I posted my weight of 259 pounds. On Thursday, I started feeling sick, and that sick feeling lasted all the way through the weekend. While I wasn't feeling well, I didn't work very hard on my eating plan, and defaulted to "easy" food. Sunday morning I got on the scale, and it read 266 -- a seven-pound gain over 5 days. Not what I was hoping for, obviously. Since Sunday, I have been very careful, and am back down to 259.

Exercise-wise, on Monday I started running again, building towards an eight-minute mile. This morning, I did intervals of running and walking, with my last "run" interval at 9.0 mph on the treadmill.

Because of my setback over the weekend, I'm now 2 pounds behind on my goal. 255 would look really good next Tuesday....

Back At It, Again....

Hi, all.... well, it's been nearly four months since I last wrote a blog entry. Partially because I have been extremely busy with life in general; partially because that busyness has led to a lot of stress eating, poor food choices, and little energy to get much exercise in. I haven't given up; there have been periods when I have done extremely well with my diet. But they have been few and far between.

Sunday, I read a blog post by Shay Sorrells from Biggest Loser season 8. Shay was the heaviest woman to ever appear on the show (weighing in at 476 pounds). She lost 172 pounds on the show, and another 52 pounds by the season 9 finale. But she has been struggling, and documents how she even got to the point that she was not even acknowledging to others that she had ever been on the show. Her new starting point was one of honesty, and she wrote a blog about the seven mistakes she made after leaving the show.

So.... in the interest of honesty and transparency, I am re-starting my blog, and letting everyone know where I am at in my journey. I ended Augusta's Biggest Loser in May of 2010 with an "official" ending weight of 199 pounds. I probably only weighed 199 pounds for about an hour, having nearly killed myself that week to push the scale down. I actually used my vacation time the week leading up to the weigh-in, spending the week in the gym, and out in the yard, doing everything I could to notch that magic number on the scale. I was eating basically nothing but cabbage soup, taking in about 500 calories a day. I knew I would win... I knew that weeks ahead of time, just by doing the math. Coming into the last 11 days, I calculated that if I could hit 200 pounds, my closest competitor would have to lose nearly 25 pounds in that 11 days in order to catch me. So I did it, just for the ability to say that I had reached my goal of getting below 200 pounds. As soon as I got some food in me, and got re-hydrated, my weight almost immediately rose to my pre-starvation weight of 208 pounds. I managed to keep myself at a pretty respectable 215 pounds... for about 6 months. Then I moved into the season of the candy and sweets holidays -- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas... by November 2010, I was up to about 231 pounds. I struggled with the 235-lb mark for a while... then 240... then 250.... Through this holiday season, I've been struggling around the 255-260 mark. So from where I wanted to stay, I'm up about 35-40 pounds.

These are tough pounds; it's not like when I started Biggest Loser. My official starting weight was 342, but I knew that I was not at my heaviest then. I'm pretty sure at times, I was well over 350, probably pushing 360. So I've basically kept 100 pounds off for nearly two years now. But I'm not satisfied with that.

Last week I tried on my "big" coat -- the suit coat that I went on TV with to show how much I had lost. It still swallows me up, which I am thankful for. But I also tried on the suit coat that I wore to our finale, and I see how much work I have to do. So here's my goal: as of today, January 3rd, I weigh 259 pounds. I am going to try and lose 39 pounds by my birthday in April, an average of a little less than 2.5 pounds per week. (By comparison, during Augusta's Biggest Loser, I averaged over 5 pounds per week.  I started January of '10 at 280 pounds, and by my birthday that year, was down to 212 pounds.)

I will update my blog at least each week with a progress report, in the hopes that this will help serve as accountability for me. I'll also update it periodically with what I'm doing to reach my goal.

Ding.... "RUN."

So I'm grousing about my weight, and I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have to start running. For real.

 

I hate running. I hated it when I was a kid... I hated it in college... I hated it during Augusta's Biggest Loser. Now I'm not talking about interval training on the treadmill... I don't mind that so much. But running out on the road (or in a parking lot) -- I'd just as soon not. But if I don't get some serious calorie burning going on, I'm going to be in trouble.

 

I've seen some of these "Couch to 5K" programs before, but I never really paid them any attention. After all, I wasn't "on the couch". But has time has moved on, and without the support of a team, I've been moving closer to "couch" than to "5K". I've never run more than a mile, and I could barely do that. I did better sprinting during our workouts than distance/time running. But there is that motivation to get moving.

 

One of the things I said during my interview with CSRA Active magazine was that before Augusta's Biggest Loser, my life was about "I can't". I can't fit into a seat; I can't climb much; I can't find clothes to fit; I can't, I can't. After our finale, I said that now, my life was about "I can". I guess it sounded like a good quote, because they printed it as a pull quote. A year and a half later, I find myself questioning my ability in many different areas.

 

So I set to work finding out all I could about the Couch to 5K (C25K) program that, if all goes according to plan, will have me running a 5K by Thanksgiving. Isn't there a Turkey Trot or something? Anyway, I found an iphone app that does it all for you. (Except for the running.) Not having an iphone, I went to the android market and found an equivalent app. I set it up, got dressed to run, and headed outside. I turned it on, hit "Go" on day one, and the guy said, "Warm-up." Five minutes later... Ding... "RUN". So I ran. When it said "WALK", I walked. And around and around the parking lot we went, "Michael" and I. (I discovered later the female voice -- "Allison" -- was British. No thanks; it kinda felt like that gal that used to host "The Weakest Link". Wasn't interested in that.) I lost count a few rounds in, but it wasn't that long before he said, "you are halfway done".

 

The second half went pretty much like the first half, including sore knees, a gimpy ankle, and knives piercing my lungs. (Did I mention I hate running?) And then, the words I was longing to hear: "Cool down."

 

Day one, done. Three days a week for the next nine weeks means I have 26 more days of this routine. Wednesday and Friday are a repeat of today, and then next Monday, we bump up the running and reduce the walking. This is exactly the kind of program that I have traditionally quit after about a week and a half. But I'm going to give it my best, and we will see what happens.

 

All this, coupled with proper nutrition... I hope to be back down in my goal weight range by Halloween.

Getting back on track...

If this seems like the hundredth blog post I've written about getting back on track, it's because weight maintenance is a life-long, never-ending battle. Anyone who says, "I'm going on a diet" is already doomed to fail, because they have already established in their mind that there will come a time when they can go back to "normal" eating. While there is a place for treats and indulgences from time to time, the "new normal" knows they have to be few and far between. When "few and far between" becomes "more often than I should", it's time to get serious.

 

I'm going on vacation in 3 days -- the first vacation I have taken since I started my weight-loss journey 20 months ago. This may seem like an odd time to clean up the diet; the old me would have rationalized that I'm going to be eating out a lot next week; worry about the calories when I get home. But I want to make sure that when I AM eating away from home, I'm careful and diligent. And frankly, my waistline can't wait another week! So.... lots of protein, minimal carbs, upping the exercise, and hopefully some time to learn how to rest again.

Wow -Two Months....

Well, it has been two months since I last penned a blog entry; but writing about my weight loss journey kept me motivated, and so I decided to take my digital "pen" in hand and write something...

 

As I write this, it's about 6:45 AM on Tuesday morning at youth camp. Thanks to the marvels of technology (with a D-minus to T-Mobile for failing to deliver a decent data signal out here in the middle of nowhere), I am able to read, write, etc., and share with you who may be reading.

 

This week, I am getting a fresh remembrance of the power of shared experiences. We have a camper with us this week who is a PHC client. Those of you who followed our journey in the media know that PHC is the weight loss center that held my hand every step of the way until I reached my finale weight. When I saw that we had a teen who was a PHC client, I realized that it had been a very long time since I have talked to someone who was going down the same road I had been down. I am watching my p's and q's this week, conscious of what I eat (mostly!), and running/walking every chance I get. I normally log about 17,000 - 20,000 steps per day at camp, and have been looking forward to this week. When I am tempted to just let my guard down and eat whatever I want to, rationalizing that I will "walk it off", I look across the way and see Katie sitting there, sipping on her water while her friends are scarfing down Yoo-Hoos and ring pops. As a leader, I have access to eat what I want, whenever I want it; very thankful that in spite of all the "kids" food we have here, we also have fresh veggies, fruits, wheat bread, and other items to keep me (and Katie) on track!

 

Getting ready to go back on TV for Biggest Loser; Nandy's "where are they now" story airs tonight. Sometime in August they will come knocking on my door for a follow-up interview; THERE'S some motivation... if the camera "adds ten pounds", then I have a lot of work to do!

 

Praying today for my friends who have shared my journey with me: Linda in south Georgia; Stephanie in Missouri; Eric in Wisconsin; and most of all, my new little PHC friend who is trying to fight the battle of a lifetime at the tender age of thirteen...

One Year After Finale...

One year ago today (well, the actual date would be Saturday, but it was the third Friday in May), I stood on a scale and set an Augusta's Biggest Loser record with a 143.4-lb weight loss. Others lost more, both in season 2 and season 3 - but no one had surpassed losing 41% of their body weight. There was a lot of pressure (including some from myself) to push down below 200 pounds by weigh-in time on that Friday night. The last eleven days were a furious push to the finish - my trainer gave me a four-hour per day workout routine; the weight loss center had me on about 600 calories per day. I started that eleven days at 208 pounds, and lost 9 pounds by the final weigh-in.

 

Extreme? Yes. Recommended for everyone? Categorically, no. But for me, in that moment, I learned that I could do anything that I set out to do. And that was totally worth it!

 

Where am I at, one year later? Well, to be quite honest, I weigh about 18 pounds more than I want to weigh. I'm fighting the "spare tire" along with all of my middle-aged friends. I don't exercise as much as I was exercising last year; I'm not quite as strict with my diet. Last year I bought several pairs of denim shorts with a size 34 waist, and I am still wearing them this year. (Before ABL, I was wearing size 48, with elastic or drawstrings, and that was a stretch.) In November of '09, my shirts were a 3X, and my girth at my navel measured a staggering 59 inches. When I began writing about my experience, I wrote a list of things I couldn't do when I started. These included rolling over in bed without running out of breath; squatting down to pick something up off the floor; and climbing the stairs to my office without getting winded. It has been so long since those things have been hard that I don't even remember what it felt like to live life so restrained. The only thing on that list that is difficult is the squatting, and that's due to creaky knees!

 

I keep mementos of my weight loss journey around me all the time. I still have the pictures on my desk of myself and my teammates; on the wall is a copy of the article in the Augusta Chronicle about ministers and obesity, which featured my picture on the front of the religious section; and I still have the notebook that I put together with photos, my blog entries, and other things that remind me of where I was and what I did. (I also still have half a box of CSRA Active magazines with Nandy and me on the cover, if anyone wants one!)

 

I'm always conscious of what I eat; if I cheat, I'm aware of what I'm doing, and I try to compensate for it. I am still very careful with carbs, sodium, and red meat. One of the things that surprised me when I was finished with ABL was how much I had learned without realizing it. During some of our sessions at PHC Weight Loss Center, we were given a lot of information - almost too much to absorb in one sitting. I still have notes from those sessions, but I no longer need to refer to them. One year later, much of it is just second nature. I have a whole new set of "defaults" - things that I do automatically. If I'm at a restaurant, I'm looking at salads and grilled chicken. I have not eaten a fast-food burger since October of 2009. I don't think in terms of "going on a diet" - to me, going on a diet meant putting myself on a self-depriving regimen of specific foods in order to lose weight, and that at some point in the future, I would no longer have to be "on a diet". Everyone is "on a diet" - your diet is simply what you eat. There are just certain foods that my diet no longer includes, as well as some that it shouldn't include, but that I still sneak a little of, anyway. My weaknesses? French fries, candy, and portion sizes.

 

I had a conversation with a friend recently about body image - for a very long time, there was a huge disconnect between the "me" I saw in photographs, and the "me" I saw in the mirror. The guy in the pictures was skinny; the guy in the mirror was fat. I wrote about this in my blog last March or so... since then, I have learned that body dysmorphia is a common condition in those that lose large amounts of weight. I "feel" fatter at 230 pounds than I did at 350 pounds.

 

Many of you who followed my journey and read my blogs last year have said to me that you don't have "the willpower" to lose weight. Overcoming bad habits is NOT easy - in any area of life - but it's totally worth the effort! Don't give up. On the night we all found out that we had been selected, they had the previous year's winners talk to us about the competition. Bernard got up and said, "if I can do this, ANYONE can do this." I thought he was crazy - but he was right, and I extend the same advice to you: If I can do this, you can, too.

 

 

Thoughts on Starting Over...

After 6 weeks of either my wife being sick, or of me being sick, the weight is up. It happens - it's not a huge deal.

 

In the book "The Biggest Loser Success Secrets" (which I highly recommend), Pete Thomas offers this bit of advice: everyone is in one of three phases with their weight - they are either gaining, losing, or maintaining. Those who are successful at keeping their weight off are those people who are able to shift easily from one phase to another. I've just gone through a phase shift - losing again.

 

A lot of people can maintain their current weight without too much thought or effort; I am not one of those people. Just as a diabetic  who is serious about controlling their diabetes has to monitor everything they eat, I have discovered that I have to be that diligent about what I eat.

 

The battle is fought in the mind. If you can win the battle of the brain, you can win the battle of the bulge. Fortunately, I'm currently in the right state of mind - throwing out the bread from a grilled chicken sandwich, skipping the french fries, accurately recording everything I eat, and putting into practice everything I learned during my weight loss journey. Now the trick is to stay in this mindset until those 20 pounds are gone.

 

I'm looking forward to the "snug" clothes becoming loose-fitting again!

Something different... (this is about Bible translations - if you aren't interested, skip this one.)

This post isn't about weight loss. I'm very sick this week, my weight is up, and when I am able to get back to it, I will get back on the straight and narrow. I promise. My doctor and his nurses were impressed that I am still within 20 pounds of where I was at my Biggest Loser check-up last May.

 

When I am lying around doing not much of anything, my mind tends to race. One of my facebook friends (and college classmates) posted a link about how horrible the publishers of the NIV are for releasing a fourth corrected version, and about how all the modern Bible versions have caused 21st century Christianity to descend into a morass. And on many levels, my friend is correct. There are  versions that are translated from faulty manuscripts (including the NIV), and there are versions that are translated with sketchy methods (also including the NIV). But staunchly defending the "Authorized Version 1611" is asking for trouble, because the logic of doing so defies logic (intentionally redundant). The AV 1611 is written in an English that in many ways, is foreign to us. The average English-speaking person would be hard-pressed to make out Psalm 23 without already knowing what it says. The AV 1611 also included the Apocrypha, a collection of books that almost no one outside of the Catholic church would even consider to be scripture, much less interpreted correctly.

 

Those that would argue in favor of the modern translations usually argue from the standpoint of them being more easily understood, from the standpoint of churches that use them are alive and seemingly thriving, and from their massive popularity, especially among younger people. Bibles have been made into comic books and canteen/tin-shaped devices, and every other way has been tried to make it "cool" to carry a Bible with you.

 

I read from the King James Version (1769, not 1611 - word spellings were standardized in 1769); I study from the King James Version; I teach and preach from the King James Version. I have reasons for doing so, because of not only how I was raised, but because of the several studies I have done on my own.

 

And then I run into Romans 1:20 - "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Ask any 5-year old to draw a picture of "outside" - you will probably get a pretty standard-looking landscape of a blue sky, a yellow sun, white clouds, a green tree, and green grass (unless you live in West Texas or one of those other states, which have their own unique beauty). If I can take the liberty of paraphrasing a little (OK, a LOT), I see God saying this: "If all I gave you was a starry sky at night, rolling clouds, incredible sunrises and sunsets, trees that rustle in the wind, majestic mountain peaks, and a world full of unexplained mysteries, then I've given you enough information to know Who I am, what I expect, and how much I love you." In a nutshell, that's exactly what God told Job after 39 chapters of Job's wondering, "Why:"

 

Even in our enlightened age, there is evidence of God in the things we are discovering. A report came out late last week that said that currently, humanity has produced 295 exabytes of information. To break it down more simply, if every bit of information we have on computers and other storage devices were all burned onto CDs, the stack of CDs would reach past the moon, or enough information for every person on the planet to have 15 personal libraries. Pretty impressive, right? Not so fast. That is only equal to approximately 1% of the amount of data in the DNA of a single human being.

 

Do Bible versions matter? Of course they do. But I have a sneaking suspicion that God is interested in more than who has the smartest scholars on their side to support their position. I think His questions for us will be more along the lines of, "how much did you love Me, and did you love others as you would love yourself"?

 

Sound familiar?

 

My Favorite Things...

Was thinking earlier about my favorite things that help when I'm losing weight. In no particular order:


Sugar-free/fat-free jello and pudding. Hard to find sugar- AND fat-free pudding, but I use fat-free jello puddings when I want something really sweet. Only 60 calories each (but you have to make sure you watch your carbs). The sugar-free gelatin cups are 5 calories each, and are really good - even the generics at Walmart and your local grocery store.


Barbeque sauce. There is a brand of barbeque sauce that is low calorie, and super-low in sodium, called Wing-It. One of our Walmarts carries it - look in the specialty area. It's great with chicken, and even in tuna.


Lowfat cheeses. Laughing Cow is famous for their lowfat cheeses, but Sargento makes a reduced fat line that is really good, especially the Colby Jack sticks. Their products are 50-60 calories per serving.


Arnold Round Sandwich Rolls. These are 100 calorie mini-buns, wheat or multi-grain. Another good choice is Nature's Own Whitewheat Hamburger buns taste like white, but are really wheat, and while not as fibrous as other wheat breads, they have the same calories, carbs, and sodium as the Arnold rolls.


Apples. PHC taught us that apples are a dieter's best friend. My favorite? Plain old Red Delicious apples.

The Prodigal Returns Home...

I told myself that I could eat pretty much what I wanted to through the holidays, and then, after normalcy returned, I would just "drop" the weight I had picked up. I'd always been able to do it before; my pattern for nearly 4 months had been to go up a little bit, but be back down to my 216 pounds by time for weigh-in. That worked for a long time... but after I got through the holidays, I realized that it wasn't just "coming off" like it had before. A few fast food biscuits here and there - stuff I knew better than to eat - a dessert every now and then... and I looked in the mirror and didn't like what I saw. Worse, I had pushed up to a weight that was close to a plateau for me in the past.

I had delayed a visit to PHC, because I was feeling the pressure to be "good enough" before I went back to see them. I was actually supposed to go the week between Christmas and New Years, but I couldn't go then - there was still too much dessert at home that I had to eat my way through! I got on the scales, and when I was pushing 236 pounds, I realized that I was at a turning point. My clothes weren't fitting properly, but I couldn't get rolling again.

I just had a choice to make of whether to let it continue, or go get some help. Honestly, I am not a "go-get-some-help" person. I am the stereotypical male who won't ask for directions, won't ask a store clerk where something is, and won't accept help for anything in my life. I chose to go back and get some help. So Tuesday afternoon, I went back to PHC.

Of course, the folks at PHC were very glad to see me, and they were not condemning or panicky at all. I found out later that Donna had been in a bit of a panic, because I had emailed her and told her I was up, and asked how much would they charge me to put me back on a plan. I got on the scale, and their reading was a little less than mine had been at home.

The bottom line is, my target weight for maintenance is 215 pounds. My official weigh-in had me at 231. Sixteen pounds to go.

For those of us who have been 100+ pounds overweight, sixteen pounds sounds like a drop in the bucket - a couple of deck chairs on the Titanic. But go the dairy section of your local food store, and pick up a gallon of milk in each hand. Or, to get the full effect, arrange the handles so that you are holding both gallons in one hand. THAT is roughly sixteen pounds. That's what I need to lose.

I have not stopped to think whether it's been emotional eating, habitual eating, or convenience eating. Probably a little of all that. I have documented my new-found chocolate addiction (which I have given up); overall, just too many carbohydrates and too much eating out.

Savannah put me on 1200 calories a day - 3 proteins, 3 dairy servings, 3 vegetables, 3 fruits, 3 starches. She gave me the dreaded "green sheet" - the food diary that I have to report with. I always hated filling those out, but the accountability is crucial. She took my blood pressure (which could not have been accurate - she came up with 167/110), and sent me on my way. Some of you who are reading this and are trying to lose weight, I would seriously re-consider the advice of those who are telling you to eat 2000-2500 calories per day. If you need to lose 200 pounds, a rate of one to two pounds a week is not sufficient, unless you think you can maintain a weight loss plan for three years. (I'm not a nutritionist or a dietitian , I'm just a guy who lost 140 pounds in 6 months.)

That night on the local news, they featured the founder of PHC in 26's "26 Women to Watch", a series of stories about women who make a difference in our area. In nearly every camera shot, there is either a picture of me, or our Biggest Loser team, or the posters they made up for our finale with our weight loss on them, or the T-shirt we all signed. And I realized that I have a lot to live up to, still! Hopefully their clients can find some motivation in seeing our stories.

I have not strayed from the plan, and so far, so good. I have lost 4 pounds in 3 days. And it's not "just water", because I was already doing all the stuff to get rid of water weight. I'm hoping to be around 225 when I go back to PHC - that will leave me with just 10 pounds to go, after one week.

Stay tuned...

Seven Habits of Highly Successful Losers...

In no particular order, here are seven habits of successful "losers":

1. Successful losers avoid sugar. Sugar does all sorts of things to sabotage weight loss, from adding calories to messing with your pancreas.

2. Successful losers avoid salt/sodium. The average person needs about 1200 mg of sodium per day;  you can get your entire day's worth in one Big Mac. There is a dish at P.F. Changs restaurant with nearly 8,000 mg. (Note: don't order the Double Pan Fried Noodles.)

3. Successful losers drink plenty of water. There are many reasons for drinking water, including improving liver function, reducing water retention, and eliminating excess sodium. (Divide your weight in pounds by 2 to determine how many ounces of water you should drink per day. A 200 pound person should drink 100 ounces per day.).

4. Successful losers exercise. There is a chart at the weight loss center that I went to that lists reasons to exercise... there must be a hundred, at least. Weight loss is aided by getting your heart rate up to about 75% of your max (220 minus your age is your max heart rate; roughly 75% of that number is where you want to be to burn fat).

5. Successful losers know what they eat, and how it affects their body. People who write down what they eat and track their calories are MUCH more successful at weight loss than those who don't. There are so many tools available with which to do this, from reading labels to the latest technology. I have become a huge fan of the website fatsecret.com and their very well-done phone app, Calorie Counter. You can simply scan the bar code on a product package, and it will automatically enter it into your food log. It will track your calories, fat, sodium, and all those other numbers that are so important. One button-click will sync it up with the website, from which you can print out your daily or weekly food journal. If you have a food that is not in their extensive database, you can add it.

6. Successful losers know how much they weigh. Some people weigh daily; some weigh weekly or bi-weekly. I've never seen a Biggest Loser contestant get on that scale for their starting weigh-in and say, "oh, I'm not as heavy as I thought I was." Unless they KNOW already, they are almost always shocked by how high the number has gotten.

7. Successful losers embrace a life-change, not a "diet". From shopping the perimeter of the grocery store, to just having that mental awareness that it takes to be committed, successful losers are in it for the long haul.

To those of you who are beginning (or resuming) a weight-loss journey, I am available anytime for advice, encouragement, tips, etc. I am willing to share with you what I learned during my own journey. I have promised PHC that I will not give away their weight loss plans, but they have no problem with me sharing the principles that I have learned from them (and that are freely available on the internet to anyone who does the research).

I hope 2011 brings you the change that you are looking for... be healthy!!!

Ed
 

Last Supper, And Looking Straight Ahead

Well, I normally recommend against "last suppers" before starting a weight loss regimen; why give yourself even more of a disadvantage before you start getting serious? But I did exactly that, because we had planned a chili dinner last night at a friend's house, and I decided that would be my last splurge before getting back into a strict routine. Chili, cheese, corn chips, sour cream, and hot dogs were on the menu, and I gave it one last "hurrah" before a serious weight-loss effort. It could have been done with a quasi-healthier twist (turkey instead of beef, low-fat cheese and sour cream, etc.), but I wasn't doing the cooking. So we ate, and I indulged in seconds, plus some chocolate afterward.

In spite of a really late bedtime last night (watched/listened to the Falcons lose their game), I set the alarm so that I was in the gym by 5:15 this morning. I was pleased to discover that after a half-mile warm-up, I was still able to crank out several minutes of running without too much effort. Running intervals and 15-degree incline walking made up my workout this morning.

As I write this, I am literally six inches away from a third of a chocolate pecan pie, and half of an apple cake, as well as assorted cookies, candies, etc. We set up a table in the dining room to handle all the desserts Brenda made, plus various candies, nuts, etc. that were gifts from other people. It sort of looks like a shrine to the "fat gods". But I'm done with them. I ate, I weighed, and I repented! I wrote my buddy Skip and told him about my holiday damage - he just wrote back and said that at least we know what to do about it.

The battle really does start with putting "blinders" on... I haven't looked it up, but I wonder how many times in scripture God told various people to turn "neither to the right nor to the left". There's a reason for that - to the right and to the left are temptations that will get us off track and cause us to stumble.

To all of you who are planning on starting after the first of the year - I'm not going to be critical. It's better to have a specific start date in mind than to NOT have one in mind, even if it means a couple of extra days of indulgence. But on the other hand, if you need to lose 40 pounds, why push it up to 45 before you start?

I'd love to hear what your plans are regarding your weight in the coming new year - drop me a line on facebook, or comment on this post. I will be posting more frequently, and will be refreshing some of the things I posted last year regarding diet, exercise, and motivation.

Do NOT Open email from me (besides this one)

Many of you may have received an email from me with weird subject lines. Someone sent me a suspicious email that I accidentally opened on my phone, and it may have emailed you. Just delete it without opening it, please. Hopefully there won't be any more!!!!

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Uh oh...

It's not been a good week since the end of my weekly visits at PHC. It's been a week of hot dogs, cookies, hot chocolate, and fast food on the run. Our outdoor Christmas spanned last Friday through Sunday, and the same schedule happens this weekend, as well. I haven't had to invest the long hours associated with our Christmas cantata, since we did not do one this year, but as always, there is more than enough work to fill (and exceed) the available time. The weight is up, the clothes are snug... those old, fat feelings are creeping back in on me.

 

I saw an online article on the Today Show's website called, "Where Are They Now"? They went through each season of The Biggest Loser, and, for those who would fess up, posted their starting weight, their finale weight, and their current weight. A few of them were within 10-12 pounds of their finale weight (some within 3 pounds), but on average, the men from seasons one through nine are up about 30 pounds. Very few are less than that away from their finale weight. I have been hovering around 12 pounds over my goal weight - 12 pounds that I desperately need to shed.

 

I start my days out ok, most of the time. My usual breakfast is a couple of eggs, a little cheese, and two strips of turkey bacon on a whole wheat 100-calorie bun. Sometimes I will add a piece of fruit to it, but that's how I start. Lunch is usually tuna, or a light sandwich, or salad. But I'm not eating frequently enough, or drinking enough right now, and without the pressure of the competition to keep me focused, I'm finding the holiday season this year much tougher to deal with. I guess the one difference is, I didn't really feel fat at 340 pounds; I feel wretched now at 220.

 

There's three weeks left in the holiday season... we shall see what happens. Stay tuned...

Another Milestone...

Today was my last weekly visit at PHC for weigh-ins. I am somewhat "off the leash" now - I only have to go once every two weeks to check my status.

 

I had them look up my stats today. When I started on my maintenance plan, I weighed 215 pounds on their scale (that's fully clothed, including shoes). During most of the summer, I held my weight at a very consistent 216 pounds. I recently regressed upwards, but all in all, I'm only about 6 pounds heavier than I was six months ago, and I'm currently on the way down again. My goal is to hit 208 on the PHC scale - that will put me right at my lowest reasonable weight, which is what I weighed before that insane push to the end of the competition, when I lost 9 pounds in 11 days just for the privilege of being able to say I broke the 200 pound barrier.

 

There was a fair amount of external pressure to get below 200, and I suppose it fueled my inner desire to do it, as well. But with a penultimate weigh-in of 208 pounds, I would have still won the competition - my closest competitor was 18 pounds away. I guess now the motivation to get back down to that 208 number is the fit of my clothes and the shape I see in the mirror. It won't happen by next weigh-in, because that would be a pound a day, and those days are long gone. Besides, I don't want to do it the way we finished. The push of the contest drove most of us to near-starving diets and excessive workouts (we're talking THE Biggest Loser-style workouts - 4-5 hours a day is what we were being encouraged to do, for the final 11 days, and those workouts would consist of the highest calorie-burning exercises our trainer could find). No, not going there again. It will come, though, in time.

Confessional, and Thoughts On Getting Back On Track

Well, I'm back to blogging.
 

I have officially hit the point on my weight loss journey where it's time to REALLY get serious. I looked in the mirror; I looked at the scale. I know, I know... "I'm up." My friends have heard it all before. But I am officially higher, MUCH higher, than I want to be.
 

I know where I got derailed. Before I lost weight, my thing was fast food and starches. I wasn't really too big (pun intended) on sugar and candy, particularly chocolate. But with the onset of our Awana children's ministry year, we began keeping chocolate and sodas in the Awana office as a respite for our Awana workers on Wednesday nights. Some of them are convinced that enough chocolate and caffeine will help them keep up with the stress, I think. Well, I would come through the office, or near the office, during the week, and stop by and grab a small handful of little chocolate candies. After all, they're really little - mostly those little bite-sized Hershey milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Mr. Goodbar, and Krackle bars. Sometimes bite-sized Snickers, Milky Way, and Three Musketeers. I'd scarf that handful down, and later on, I'd do it again. Two or three times a day I would do this. I wasn't stealing them, because I paid for them out of my own pocket... and I always made sure that there was plenty for the workers on Wednesday night.
 

I'd inch up a little on the scale, and would tell the PHC folks, "It's just water - it will come right back off." And more often than not, I was exactly right. I held my weight very well between 215 and 217 throughout the summer, at one point holding it dead on 216 for 6 weeks in a row. But Awana started up, the candy became easier to get to, and I began seeing the scale inch up. We went to Florida in early November, and I have to confess that I pretty much ate a whole bag of them on the way there (I was driving, and trying to stay alert). On the way back, I bought another bag, and ate some of those. I bravely put the rest in the Awana office when we got back.... and ate on them the week after.
 

"Facts are our friends", Johnny Hunt likes to say, and so I finally looked on a bag of those little chocolates to see what kind of calories I had been casually tossing back. THREE of those little bite-sized bars are a serving, and they range from 40 to about 70 calories PER PIECE. Ten or twelve of those bars, and I was unwittingly (or deliberately ignorantly) consuming an entire day's worth of calories when compared to what I was eating during the competition (about 900 calories a day). Then breakfast, lunch, and dinner on top of all that, plus a couple of snacks, and I came to the stark realization that I was consuming upwards of 2000 calories a day. Note: you cannot lose weight on 2000 calories per day. For someone my size, that will be a slow, steady gain.
 

Wednesday night I watched, "Where Are They Now?", a Biggest Loser special. I watched as the former winners from seasons 1-9 (minus Michelle from season 6) came into a room for a healthy Thanksgiving meal. With the exception of Danny Cahill, every man had gained a pretty significant amount of weight. Ryan from season 1 had lost 122 pounds en route to his win, but has regained all but 10 pounds of his weight. They are not happy with him, needless to say. Matt from season 2 regained a lot, but continues to be quite athletic in spite of his weight. Season 3's Erik had regained most of his last year, but has taken 162 of it back off, with probably about 40 or so left to lose. Season 4's Bill Germanakos looks "okay", but I doubt he is much below 200 (his finale loss was 170 pounds down). Next was Ali from season 5, who is within 2 pounds of her finale weight. Helen looks "okay"; Danny looks terrific, and Michael still looks like he has a ways to go. I knew most of these results already, but it really brought home to me that if those guys who had all that time on the ranch, all that training, all that knowledge, and all that motivation could stumble, I was certainly not immune. Watching that particular episode has helped to fuel the fire again.
 

I didn't do TOO bad on Thanksgiving for lunch... I made sure I ate only white meat off the turkey, only one bite of ham, loaded up on veggies, and I did try to limit my desserts and starches. That was lunch - dinner was another story altogether. We went out to some friends' house around 7:30 PM, where we had been invited to get "a bite of supper". I ate more than "a bite"... and indulged in desserts. Cornflake candy (2 pc.), white macadamia nut cookies (2), half a chocolate chip cookie, and some kind of chewy bar that was very good - two bites of that.
 

I had a not-so-good meeting with my scale this morning. But I am pleased to report that today, I ate absolutely perfectly. In spite of us having tons of ham, macaroni & cheese, two pies and a cake, I did not cheat a single time today. My total calorie intake was right at where it was during the competition, and with the exception of having to do the workouts on my own, I am in full-blown contest mode. I had two eggs for breakfast, a white-meat-only turkey sandwich on a 100-calorie wheat bun with a slice of low-fat cheese for lunch, and a dinner consisting of 6 ounces of chicken and a cup of steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc.
 

To those of you who are still telling me that I look great.... I love you all, and I will politely and humbly accept your compliments. But I'm not going to pay you any attention!

Starting Over...

Well, I had to take an out-of-town trip... and as my wife pointed out to me, I ate too much chocolate, chicken and dumplings, biscuits, etc. on the trip and at my mother-in-law's house. I had not been there in a year and a half, so no one down there had seen "the new me". Took a few copies of CSRA Active to show the family, and also took my Biggest Loser scrapbook. It was fun re-living the experience of a whole bunch of people who had not seen me, but I knew that even as I was talking about losing weight, I was putting the pounds back on. I did make some attempts to eat right at meals, but I ate a LOT of chocolate trying to stay awake and alert. We stopped at Cracker Barrel, and while everyone was eating pancakes, I had a yogurt, and only a few bites of the HUGE muffin that accompanied it. We hit Steak and Shake about 7 PM Sunday night, and I had a decision to make. And of course, I made the wrong one. I ate what I wanted to, telling myself that I had not eaten at a Steak and Shake in over a year and a half, and I "deserved" it.

 

Got home late Sunday evening and crawled into bed; this morning, I decided to come face to face with the number on the scale... I was hoping against hope that it was not as bad as I thought. It wasn't... it was WORSE. Much worse. Could not wrap my brain around the number being so HIGH!! But I made a conscious decision to not beat myself up... and that I was not going to do the 4-day cleanse that frequently marks our attempts to get back on track. I just decided I was going to do it - get some serious exercise, get the food plan into gear, and do all I knew to do.

 

Fortunately, a big chunk of that number was water retention, which can happen not only with poor eating, but with the sedentary nature of traveling. My horrible number didn't last very long, as I dropped over eight pounds of water weight today; really, just in a matter of a few hours. I got myself back to the gym this morning, and did some serious treadmill sprints, step mill, and other cardio work. I ate absolutely perfectly today - zero cheats, more protein than anything else, and all of my carbs from vegetables and a protein bar. The only thing I missed today was the pedometer, but I will start tomorrow.

 

I know what to do; it's just a matter of doing it. And because it won't "get done" before Thursday, I will have some explaining to do when I show up at PHC Thursday for my weigh-in. And I will "deserve" that, as well!