Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A "Bad" Week

I know it has been a while since I have posted. Life has been busy, as I will explain.

Thanks to the multitude of readers (Sara & Matthew!) who have been bugging me to keep up the post. There were days when I just couldn't and days when I just didn't. That's life but I have a new start today and will continue on until the next time I don't. (Now how's that for commitment!!!)

Early last week we heard that Donna's Uncle Bubba was not doing well. He has been going downhill and just 6 weeks ago they found cancer in his leg and other places. He passed away Friday. The visitation was Sunday evening and the funeral was Monday (yesterday).

Uncle Bubba was quite a man. You would never know it from looking at him, talking to him or even knowing him as family for 7 years. But he led a remarkable life.

He never finished high school. He went to Houston at 17 to do grunt work at a steel building company. Within about 10 years (I'm not too sure of the time line) he opened his own business and started selling and erecting steel buildings. After a period of time the business was very successful and he sold it for LOTS of money.

Knowing what companies like his needed, he started a business SUPPLYING the steel building companies with the supplies they needed. Another VERY successful company. He sold it around 7 years ago and "retired". The company that bought his business didn't treat their customers nor Uncle Bubbas old employees right so he opened a new business. In 6 years he now has offices in three states and is very successful again.

He was well respected by everyone in the business. His competition even flew their flag at half-mast when he died.

He lost a son in a car wreck 20 years ago. He has dedicated his wealth to helping youth. To show you his generosity and his wealth, he donated the funds for a new youth building at his church. They built it for over one million dollars. He didn't want anyone to know who donated the funds and he and his wife wouldn't even go to the dedication service.

He always said, "You can't out-give God". And I believe he tried. The pastor called him once to thank him for a specific donation. Uncle Bubba said, "Shoot! I gave you that yesterday and God has already doubled that on a business deal that I made this morning. Now I've got to figure out how to get rid of this money!"

At the funeral the pastor asked anyone who felt like Uncle Bubba had treated them like his own son to help them get started. Those at the back of the church said they counted around 75 hands up before they lost track.

Most people never knew how much he gave, not just in money but in inspiration.

This has hit the family hard because it was very sudden.

Needless to say, I won't make this post very funny. Suffice it to say that I lost most of my willpower over the last three days. We baked cookies on Sunday and I partook of WAY too many samples. We went to a family members house after the visitation on Sunday evening and I ate WAY too much pizza and chips (and dips and cheese and ......well, you get the idea).

Yesterday the funeral was in Houston with a luncheon meal afterwards. Then we drove to Brenham for the burial with another meal after that. I didn't hold back either time.

Then last night I decided that I had blown it anyway so....why not. I ate sandwiches (again) and had a couple of beers and the complementary peanuts.

So......when I got on the scale this morning, it read 250. Yep! Right back where I started. However, I know that it is all just "in transit" and will be "passing through" in the next couple of days. So it's back to the "old man grits" this morning and back on the bicycle.

Uncle Bubba's story (most of which I just learned this weekend) has inspired me to do better in my business and get a lot more focused. I plan on transferring that over to this diet and make it work.

Michael

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The West, Texas Kolache Diet!

Well, I'm not sure how scientific it is, but I'm willing to give the old college try to the West, Texas Kolache Diet!

I was in Ft. Worth to shoot kids halloween pics at a country club on Sunday evening. I got through around 9 p.m. and was loading my car when it started raining. No, sorry, it wasn't rain. It was a WATERFALL! The last two trips up two flights of steps outside in the dark IN THE RAIN meant that I was wet. My equipment was wet. My shoes were sloshing. A TV fell down three steps and landed in the water and I just left it there in the rain for several minutes while I took the rest of the load up to the car. I still haven't plugged it in to see if it works.

I finally got everything thrown in the car and went an hour north to spend the night with Matthew.

Yesterday on the way home I stopped in West, Texas. That is just north of Waco on I-35 and they are known for their kolaches. In fact, while I was there I asked them if they had ever figured up how many pounds they have ADDED to the collective weight of all the people they have served pastries to. They just laughed.

Needless to say, I had one.

Ok......two.

(and a cookie)

Then when I get on the scale this morning, it reads 244. What? That's down 2 1/2 pounds.

I KNOW it can't be attributed to two days of heavy walking and probably not eating right. (I think I know how to hide that last sentence so Donna can't read it!) I KNOW it can't be hauling 6 loads of equipment up and down stairs in the rain. In a hurry!

It HAS to be those kolaches!!!!!

So the next time anyone goes through West, Texas, please stop and get me a couple of dozen kolaches. An assortment of flavors will do, but the pineapple and the blueberry are the ones that worked for me. I figure one pound per kolache and the half-pound goes to the cookie!!!

Seriously, the scale did read 244. I even got off and jiggled it a little bit to see what was wrong.

So I'm back on the routine again. Yogurt and granola for breakfast. Butter bean soup for lunch. A couple of handfuls of sunflower seeds for snack. We'll see what is for supper.

I feel much better and my clothes aren't quite as tight. Now I need to get back with the exercise. Stephen got a new bicycle and is riding it in Wisconsin. I guess I need to get my old one out and dust it off and ride with him. At least at the same time that he does.

More later as life goes on.

God Bless you!

Michael

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Hello, Out There!!! Anybody Holding Me Accountable?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Anybody listening?

Just checking!

I haven't posted in four days and NOBODY has emailed me and asked me, "What is going on?" Nobody has accused me of being a slacker! Nobody has called to see if I'm even alive!!!

The purpose of this BLOG and me laying my soul bare is to get support from those that love me.

Oh well. (Here comes the pity party) I guess I'm all alone in this world. I guess NOBODY loves me. Think I'll go eat some worms.

******

Sorry 'bout that. I couldn't help myself. I had to let some of my dramatic expression seep through.

It HAS been a busy three days. From picking up some used bee equipment that had been donated to the club on Wednesday morning to putting bees in my observation hive for Thursday and spending most of Wednesday afternoon cleaning up the donated equipment in the rain, it was a busy Wednesday. Then Thursday morning I went to Waller county to give a demonstration to 650 4th graders at their Ag Day and then came home and drove the load of donated equipment to the beekeepers meeting and auctioned it off. I got home around 10 that night.

Yesterday was a bit slower but I had blown my diet a little and was up about a pound and didn't want to admit that. It's a lot easier to admit it later when I'm back down than it is at the time.

So see, you SHOULD have called me on it! I expected more out of you. Now get back out there and tackle somebody!..... Uh.... Sorry. I'm not a football coach, am I?

Anyway....I DID blow it and got back up to 248 but I'm down to 246.5 again.

We went to Houston last night to see our niece Zoe dance at the half time of a football game. We ate with Danny/Katie/Caroline at Carabbas. EVERYBODY ELSE got something EVIL to eat. I ate a salad. Not bad....but just not the same.

But I AM back down to 246.5, so I guess it was worth it.

I GUESS!

Anyway....time to start again. Old Man Oatmeal for breakfast this morning and hopefully a salad for lunch. I have the Brenham 25th class reunion this evening so I have to watch myself at that.

Now that I have made a big deal out of nobody picking on me, I will tell you that I will be out of pocket for two days. I have to drive to Ft Worth tomorrow morning to shoot halloween pictures at a country club tomorrow night and I will be spending the night with Matthew. I'll continue this "thing" that I do starting Tuesday morning.

I WOULD like to see how many of you are checking in on me. If you get a chance, please email me. All you have to do is say "Me" and I can tell who it is by the email address. Probably. Maybe. I don't know. Some of you have some weird email addresses.

Until next time.....God Bless.

Michael

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

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Good morning everyone. As you can tell, it has been a couple of wild days and I needed to get my creative juices out before they blew up like my nose has.

I finally went to the Doctor yesterday and he couldn't really find anything wrong. I've just been snotty sick for 8 days. So he gave me some medicines and is hoping that will make it better.

You know what they say: Doctors practice medicine. They practice and practice. They just never seem to get it right.

The good side is that the Snot Rag Diet DOES work. I am now at 245.5. That's 5 pounds and headed down.

I'm not going to review what I have eaten over the past few days. I'm not sure you feel like that right now especially after reading about the Snot Rag Diet. We'll start with a new slate ( uh...PLATE) tomorrow.

Please have a great day! I pray that God blesses you the way He has me!

Michael

Saturday, October 17, 2009

I was a BAAAD Boy!!!

Chinese Food. That's my downfall. I could eat hot and spicy General Tsoe's Chicken cold for breakfast!!!! Fortunately, Donna likes Chinese food, too. Not as much as I do, but it's our favorite food.

Well, the Chinese Buffet in town has changed hands and everybody was talking about how much better it is now. So, we go check it out. And it is a buffet. I think you can tell where this is headed.

I actually didn't eat as much as I wanted, but I was pretty satisfied.

I guess I did ok throughout the day, though, because I was at 246.5 this morning.

Time to get outside and clean up the barn. I have bee stuff stacked everywhere and it looks like a trash pile. Then I have a class reunion to shoot tonight so I don't have a lot of time before I have to leave for that.

Tomorrow.

Michael

Friday, October 16, 2009

Wow! God put airconditioning outside!!!

Finally. Some cool weather. I love the cold. I know it means that things outside will be slowing down, but "for everything there is a season". I will miss being able to spend evenings outside and I will certainly miss working with the bees as much. But sleeping in the cold is one of my favorite activities.

Maybe the cold weather is a good sign of things to come. I was down again this morning. 247. That's 3 pounds in 10 days. It seems real slow for me on a daily basis but that is still ahead of what I want for an average.

Yesterday I had the "old man" oats for breakfast with 1/2 cup light yogurt and 1/2 peach. 250 calories.

Lunch was in a hurry since I worked bees in the morning and was late for an appointment in town so that was 3 pieces of supper sausage (150), a piece of cheese (110) and the other half of peach (50). A total of 310.

Afternoon was a "53 piece" snack. I get the "red skin" peanuts and after all 53 pieces are gone, you look down in the 1/4 cup container and see all of those pieces of skin and you think....."hey, that's technically part of my snack so you use your tongue to try to get them all out and then you act like Lucy on one of her episodes with Tennessee Ernie Ford where she is playing poor and uses her finger to try to dab up every little last piece of potato.

Supper was a "drive through" baked potato with bar-b-que and cheese. Probably 500 calories. That makes a total of 1060. Oh, ya, I forgot. Donna brought home a left-over piece of Red Velvet cake. I had three bites. I don't even want to think about how many calories were in THAT. I am proud, though, that I only ate three bites.

I didn't ride the bicycle but I did work with the bees for about three hours. That involve a lot of lifting and walking and I was pretty tired after that so I am counting that as my exercise.

Praise God for all that He has done for me!

More tomorrow.

Michael

Thursday, October 15, 2009

A little progress

Well I guess I finally got the superglue out of the scale. It moved a little this morning. 247.5.

I did pretty good yesterday. Oats for breakfast. Plain. I felt like an old man eating his oats. It wasn't too bad. Maybe I AM an old man eating my oats! 160 calories.

Lunch was two cups of Donna's soup. 500 calories. (Yes, it's gone. There was some left but I gave it to the dogs. I guess we got our moneys worth out of that meal.)

I rode the bike for 15 minutes. No telemarketers and not too hard to make that time.

I worked the bees twice. Once to find queens and separate them and then later to install the new queens on three hives. Then I had to start over with three more hives. I'm headed down this morning to finish the second three. So there was a little exercise involved in that. It's too muddy to drive the car down so I had to walk and carry everything.

Supper was a bowl of chili and then a pancake and 2 pieces of bacon. That was quite a combination but that's the way it worked out. I estimate 500 calories.

I managed with no snack so that was good. Around 1200 calories for the day and feeling good.

Well, as my father used to say, "Daylight is burning" so I better get busy.

Onward to see what life is going to bring today. I'll fill you in later.

Michael

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Finally! I found a good use for telemarketers!

Yesterday was a good day in life. Not so good a day in weight loss. Still at 248.5. Maybe the superglue is too strong.

I vowed to exercise more. So after a breakfast of cooked oats (it's still OK. Not as good as it was last week.) I climbed on the exercise bicycle. Headed to nowhere. Three minutes in and just about to hit the time warp in the upstairs bedroom when the phone rings. Stop riding and climb off and answer the phone. Some guy from Austin wants to know if I take care of my septic tank and if so what do I use! WHAT? I said, "Oh, for crying out loud" and hung up.

After I climbed back on the bicycle, I realized that it was like starting over. That two minutes was a nice rest and I was able to go another ten minutes. Soooo, I guess that telemarketers DO serve some purpose. Now if I can just schedule one to call at 5 minutes into my exercise, I can live with that.

Anyway, breakfast was 200 calories. Lunch was 1 1/2 cups of Donna's soup. Estimate 400 calories. I had a snack around 4 of "53 pieces" of peanuts. 160 calories.

In the evening I had to run to College Station to pick up some queens. No, I don't know any guys that dress up as women. And if I did I wouldn't tell you! These are real bee queens that I am going to use to "de-throne" some of the ladies in my hives that are being lazy. Now if we can just get some clear days without rain so I can perform the be-headings. On the way back I got really hungry so I ate another "53 pieces" of peanuts (I REALLY did count them out. They last longer that way.) so add another 160 calories.

Supper was 2 cups of Donna's soup. (It's getting on in age and if I don't eat it, it will just go to the dogs. Besides, as she was making it, she grabbed cayenne pepper instead of regular pepper and when she "shook" it in, the lid came off and it got REALLY spicy REALLY fast. Just the way I like it.) Estimate 500 calories.

I also rode the bicycle another 5 minutes in the afternoon. (Hey, you don't want to overdo it!)

So, 1400 calories for the day and 17 or so minutes on the bicycle.

Overall, except for not loosing much weight, this hasn't been so bad. I think my body is getting used to less calories because I'm not as hungry as I used to get. Of course, it may be that I'm not counting my calories correctly. But my aim is to get on the bicycle more often.

Oh, where are the telemarketers when you need them?

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Not tonight, dear, I have the sniffles!

Sorry, folks, but I'm tired, I have a sore throat and the sniffles. I'm going to bed. Catch up tomorrow.

Michael

Monday, October 12, 2009

Little Bo Peep's Calories

Well, some of Little Bo Peep's calories found their way home and added that 1/2 pound back on. I was at 248.5 this morning. I thought I closed the gate so they couldn't get back in.

I blame it on Rod Leer. If you don't know Rod, he's my former boss who asked me to take photos at his parent's 50th anniversary yesterday. They had a good old fashioned polish Catholic brunch at church. As I left, he loaded my arms up with the most AWFUL kalotches and Cinnamon rolls and cheese rolls. I mean, they were just terrible. Just like MOST country cooking is. I HAD to take it. His sisters made it and I wasn't about to offend them by not accepting. And when I got home, I ate as much as I could so Donna wouldn't have to eat any of it.

So....I blame Rod for my gain.

Today I started with my usual breakfast at appx. 200 calories. Lunch was a salad (35 calories), a bowl of beans (150 calories), and a piece of cheese between two corn tortillas (200 calories). 385 calories.

For supper we had a skillet supper that Donna made with sliced up baked potatoes, some chopped up brisket and some kidney beans. I'm not sure but I estimate approximately 500 calories.

Total for the day is 1085. I did take a couple of bites of Rod's evil pastries, so I guess I can add 200.

The trouble is...I didn't exercise so I don't think I will make much progress in the morning.

More tomorrow.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Good Beans! Good Chili!!!

Great pot of beans. Of course....I cheated a little bit.

I seldom make a pot of beans that tastes the same time after time. I generally add sausage or meat or whatever else I can find in the refrigerator that sounds good.

At the same time, the beans that are made at the annual Chicken supper at my little home church are what I am used to as "beans" and are just what I want. Unfortunately I can't make mine taste like that. Sooo...at the chicken supper where they make 30 gallons of beans, I get them to save the juice that they would throw away. I put the juice in 1/2 gallon containers and freeze it. When I make beans, I cook the beans plain and then add the juice. Whalla! Chicken Supper beans that I like!

And, of course, since I don't know EXACTLY what they put in the bean juice and since it is liquid like water......I just figure it as water and CAN'T count the calories!!!

I guess I need to be in "creative writing".

Donna made some chili. It was as good as my beans.

I ate a half a bowl of each.

I paid for it later. My stomach was upset and I had to turn down a session in the hot tub so I could go to bed.

So my list for yesterday starts out with something Donna mentioned from work. One morning when you fix oatmeal, fix an extra portion. The next morning take the cold oatmeal and mix it with lite yogurt and some kind of fruit. It's really pretty good. Oats-70 calories. Yogurt-50 calories. 1 large peach-50 calories. Total 170 calories. And Very Good.

Mid morning snack-1/2 apple-35 calories.

Lunch- Sausage & Cheese. Estimate sausage at 150. Estimate cheese at 200. Misc (onion, peeper) at 30. Total for lunch at 380. Total for the day so far...585.

Afternoon snack-peanuts-170 calories. So far...755
.
Supper was the beans and chili. Beans (Actual beans) 35 calories. Bean juice-estimate at 100 calories. Chili-Estimate at 200 calories. Total for supper at 335 calories.

Total for the day....1090.

I must have missed something. Maybe I'm not counting or remembering very well, but I guess I'll have to leave it that way for now.

Today (Saturday) was kind of weird. I took photos at the Blinn Band Reunion so I started out with a quick breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt with 1/2 apple. Pretty good for the second day. 170 calories.

1/2 apple for snack. 35 calories. Daily total 210.

At lunch I was at the Blinn banquet and I ate very well. I mean....the food was good and I also ate correctly. Beef and Chicken fajitas with a small serving of refried beans and a small serving of rice. Lots of pico de gyo (sp). I estimate 600 calories. So far, 850 calories

I ate three cheese sticks when I got home. 250 calories. So far, 1100,

Supper was individual frozen pizzas. The box said 400 calories per serving. We topped it with pineapple. 25 calories. Total for supper 425 calories.

Total for the day...1425 calories.

Things are going great. I'm not that hungry and I have been fairly active. Donna and I walked a mile this afternoon in the cool weather and it felt great. I didn't exercise yesterday but I did shoot the Little Cub Cheerleaders in the rain and cold and wind. I squatted down quite a bit and my upper legs are sooooo sore today that I KNOW I exercised a little.

Now if I can just figure out how to get that superglue out of the scale, I bet I'll have lost 10 or 15 pounds at lest. We'll see in the morning!

Thanks for following me. I realize that all the "calories this" and "calories that" is not the most exciting thing to read about, but maybe you will enjoy drooling over my descriptions of all the food that I am preparing.

More tomorrow.

Michael

Friday, October 9, 2009

It's Pinto Bean Weather!!!

First cold front of the season. Allll Righttt!!! Time for a big pot of beans.

Fortunately, beans are good for my diet. Fortunately, I LOVE beans. (I think I mentioned that before).

I apologize for not posting yesterday. Someone put superglue on my scale and it read 248.5 yesterday and today. I guess I'll have to take the whole thing apart and see where it is stuck.

It has been too long since I posted to remember what I ate Wednesday. I remember thinking that it was a little more than before so I imagine it was close to the 1500 calories.

Breakfast yesterday was the cut oats again plus 3 slices of ham. 140 + 30= 170 calories.

Snack was 1/2 of an apple. 50 calories = 220 so far.

For lunch I had lentils and Donna's soup followed by a few spoons of lite vanilla yogurt. 140 + 200 + 50 = 390. 610 so far. (gee, how did that add up so fast?

I confess to a couple of handsfull of peanuts twice during the day. 160 calories = 770 so far.

For supper we had HEB brisket (100 calories? (We bought it and cut it in three pieces and froze it so the wrapper is long gone. I think the calories are low but the fat is high. It's a good thing I'm not counting fat!!!)) boiled potatoes (125 calories) and corn bites (the kind that are fried). I had the equivalent of THREE SERVINGS!!!. My first "can't quit" craving. (Corn- 330 calories. OUCH!) Total for supper- 555 calories. Total for the day....1325. Hum. Not as bad as I thought it would be.

I did walk about three miles.

Now If I can just get the scale unstuck!

Gotta go put on my pot of beans.

Michael

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Bed Time...I'll Update tomorrow.

It got later than I thought and I can't post while I watch TV. My mind is too simple, I guess.

Anyway....my wife/girlfriend/best friend/helpmate is in bed and I seldom pass up an opportunity to share that experience with her.

So my post for today will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks for understanding.

Michael

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

WOW! This is EASY!!!

Amazing!!!

I got on the scale this morning and it read 248.5. One day....two pounds!

Lets see...two pound per day into 50 pounds.....That's 25 days.....So by November 1, I should be at 200 pounds!!!

Why didn't I do this before?

What do you mean....."It doesn't work that way?" My math is correct!

Ok...Ok....I know....It's all water. Ok....so I won't drink any water for the next 25 days. How's that?



Back to reality.

But the scale DID say 248.5!!!

I guess not eating anything late might have something to do with it.

For a snack yesterday afternoon I had peanuts. I LOVE peanuts. Any kind of nut! (That's why I put up with some of YOU!) My doctor even said that nuts were good for you.

What he failed to mention is how many calories were in those nuts.

So I go to look at the can of peanuts and see that one serving is "around 53 pieces." So I get out a one-cup measurererer and start counting. "One peanut. Two peanuts. Three peanuts. Wait a minute....that was a half. Here's another half to make the rest of Three peanuts." I figure that when the one cup measurererer is full, I will eat those and then keep counting.

Unfortunately....when I got to 53 peanuts, the bottom of the cup was barely covered!!! "Around 53 pieces" is ALMOST 1/4 cup! I'm used to eating 1/4 of a can of peanuts. So much for the "good for you" and "tastes good" at the same time foods.

So, add 160 calories to my total.

I also had a fairly large peach that was getting soft. (Hey...give me half a chance, I can justify eating food that is going bad!) Probably 100 calories.

I also forgot about some thin slices of "shaved ham" that I had for breakfast. 70 calories.

For supper we had scrambled eggs with some sausage and 1 piece of toast.
Estimated at (two eggs-200, sausage-200, toast-70) 470 calories.

That totals 1280 calories for the day. Hey.....not as bad as I thought.

I WAS a bit hungry in the evening but it wasn't real bad. I think I had a little reserve stored up in my stomach that probably won't be there within 48 hours.

I rode my stationary bike today. My goal was 20 minutes. I pushed myself beyond that and when I couldn't take it any more, I looked at my clock. A total of 10 minutes. A TOTAL of 10 minutes. Did anyone notice a time warp happening this afternoon?

Anyway.....Things are moving right along. I just need to incorporate more exercise (without the time warps) into my day.

Thanks for being here. I DID have to resist urges to eat something several times but I was able to "step...away...from...the refrigerator" because I knew I'd have to tell all on here and I didn't want to get slammed the first day!

More tomorrow.

God Bless you and keep you safe.

Michael

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Day 1- Let the games begin!

Day 1--Time to get going.

My weight this morning was 250.5. Ok....I know that 1/2 pound is not much and at this time is only 1/500th of my total weight. But I'm going to claim every victory that I can. Besides, some day when I don't do very well, maybe that ".5" might come in handy!!!

Breakfast-1 serving of steel-cut oats. 140 calories. 2.5 grams of fat. It tastes like oatmeal but is kinda crunchy. You can add fake sugar or cinimonononon (I could never get that right) or a pat of butter and its pretty good. After three days of that for breakfast I'm not near as tired of it as I thought.

Lunch- 2 servings of lentils. 70 calories each so 140 calories with no fat but 8 grams of protein. I added some pinto bean seasoning and they were pretty good. I DO like pinto beans. I also had 1 cup of Donna's homemade soup. Not sure of the calories, but let's say 200 just to be safe.

So far I have 480 calories. I will have a couple of handfuls of peanuts for a snack and we'll see what happens at supper.

I guess I am aiming at around 1500 calories per day. I should try for 1200 but I think I would get hungry and binge in revolt. Let's see how I do at 1500 and I can always lower it if it's not working or if my body gets used to that amount without a mutiny or cravings.

I also walked for a mile this morning. I could have gone further but it was 6:45 and still dark and I had forgotten my cell phone and I knew that Donna might call from work and get worried if I didn't answer. I'll try to walk again this evening.

All in all.....not bad for.....uh.....6 hours worth. Is it time to go weigh, yet? Am I down 2 or 3 pounds so far?

Gotta go get busy so I don't get hungry.

Thanks for listening!

Michael

Monday, October 5, 2009

Onward....toward a new beginning!!!!

It's October 5 and I am one of the most happiest (Ms. Santleben would just hit me!) men in the world. I have a wonderful wife, 8 wonderful children (I'll let you figure that one out), 3.5 cute grandchildren, and a comfortable home. I am retired (thanks to my wonderfully tolerant wife) and am living my dream of pursuing photography and beekeeping. God has trully blessed me in a multitude of ways.

So why do I need a new beginning?

Because I want to CONTINUE living this good life.

The problem is that I weigh too much.

Oh, I've been this way for most of my life. And I have coped by being active and wearing BIG MAN clothes.

I have also had a "very tiny" heart attack and had two sets of stints put in my heart. I have high blood pressure. I have diabetes. I have high cholesterol. And I just plain feel uncomfortable!!!

If I could lose 50 pounds, almost all of my health problems would go away!!!

I can't say that I have "tried them all" when it comes to diets. If I had, I would be 150 years old since there are so many out there.

I can't say that I have tried real hard. I have tried, but who is to say what "real hard" is to the average person?

I can't say that I haven't lost weight. I have lost up to 25 pounds before. Guess what! It found it's way home again!

I can say that I have spent plenty of money on diets and gyms. (Gee, I wish I had all of that back now!)

I can say that I have quit lots of diets and gyms.

I can say that I have a pretty good amount of will power......for about a month. Then it just goes away.

I can say that I have heard that you won't lose weight until YOU are ready to lose weight.

Soooo.......

I'm ready!!!

I am hereby calling upon anyone who reads and follows this blog to be my personal assistant and trainer. My coach and cheerleader. My friend and mentor. My angel (or devil) on my shoulder that whispers in my ear when things get tough and I am tempted. My "big brother" that watches every step....er.....elbow bend on it's way to my mouth.

HELP!!!

And if you will commit to help me, I will committ to post here daily (or as close to daily as possible) with my progress. (Gee, this is getting hard!)

I will list my weight each morning.

I will list what I ate that day. (Ouch!)

I will list what extra exercise I did that day. (Oh....that one hurt!)

And I will list what my feelings are about life and how this effort is progressing.

I ask YOU to keep me and my efforts in your prayers.

I ask you to hold me accountable. If I don't post, ask me why! If you see something that I am doing wrong, TELL ME! If you have suggestions, MAKE THEM!!!

I also invite any of you that feel the same way that I do to join me. The more the merrier. Let's do this together.

If you have done this and succeeded, you know how hard this is. Let US know how you avoided the evil calories.

And if you are naturally thin and have never had a weight problem.......GO AWAY! I (we) probably don't want to hear about it!!!!!! (Just kidding. But please don't rub it in!!!)

I don't plan on being at 150 pounds by Christmas. And you won't see me in a bikini next summer! (No...I'm not a pervert. I'm just letting you know what I WON'T do!) And even if I DO get down to....oh, say,....150.....you STILL won't get to see me in a Speedo!

My initial goal is a 50 pound loss. I want to average 5 pounds per month. While that makes this a ten-month goal, I won't care if it is sooner or later. I just want to see progress.

OK....enough of the FUN STUFF. It's time to start. I didn't realize how hard it would be to bare my soul this way. However, it's easier (and healthier) to bare my soul this way than to bare my belly in public!

Thanks for supporting me. I look forward to the LIGHT hearted times we will share.

Michael