The Fight: October 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

I am doing it!!!

10 days ago I started really going after it again. I started journeying my food, my calorie intake, what I am eating and when I an eating it. It has been amazing to see the change! Today I got on the Scale and it was 241.9 which means that if I keep this going I will be down into the 230's really soon. That's a mini goal of mine. Almost there...
I am lifting wights in the morning, 3 days a week, with my good friend Ted and it has made all the difference in the world. Thank you Ted!!! When I started 10 days ago I was at 249.7 which means that for the last 6 weeks I have been stuck in the upper 240's not because I was on a plateau but because I got complacent, satisfied with my looks and lost sight of my goal. It was getting hard and instead of working at it I started coasting but now I am back and feeling great and looking at my goal, 21 more pounds and I am there!!!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Starting again and aagain and again and...

Well, I guess if the Bible says to forgive 70x7 and beyond then I have the opportunity to start again and again and again and... do you get my point! Today I started to journal again, writing down my foods, water drinking, vitamins, exercise. It felt good, everything that went into the my mouth was written out on paper and it was a good thing! Accountability is always good and I need it. In order to have a lifestyle change and not fall back into old habits that have been knocking on my door I will have to maintain the accountability for a really long time and I am OK with that!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

My Struggle

Well, I saw my Dr. on Monday and this past month I lost no weight. I can't say that I am disappointed because I was kind of expecting it. I have all the great excuses, a week of vacation, a week of teaching a 40 hour class, missed several days of exercise, totally off my routine and schedule. Good excuses and they all work but still excuses none the less. The real reason is that I am really struggling with old habits and bad eating. I had to laugh... and cry..., I was bragging to Lisa that I had not had any teriyaki in a few weeks and what do I eat that very night??? Teriyaki!!! Dang it!!! That stuff is so full of sodium and not good for you. I really am struggling. An alcoholic can stay away from alcohol but a food-alcoholic has to eat, it sucks and my discipline has been weak. I know what I have to do, smaller portion sizes, no late snacking, start lifting weights and not just get a cardio work out. If I make these changes I will break through into the 230's, I am so darn close. I have been bouncing between 241 and 246 this past month, up and down, up and down. This time it is not a plateau but a matter of discipline and work. I have to count my calories, which is something I have stopped doing, track what I am eating and cut my portions. I am eating until I am stuff, not just full. It is so strange still to eat such a small portion and feel full. My brain tells me to keep eating. I have to stop listening to it!
Ok. This is a new month, the past is behind me and the day is ahead. Jesus said don't worry about tomorrow because today has enough problems of its own. So, today, I will count my calories. Today, I will watch my portions. Today, I already meet with Ted Cook who is going to start lifting weights with me starting Friday. Today, we put our plan into place and set up our new work out. Today, I will eat but I will not be controlled by what I eat. I CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!

My Story

Here is what I have come to finally admit, I am addicted to food. I am starting this journey weighing more then I ever had before, 391. Yep three hundred and ninty one pounds. You can check out my best Biggest Loser pose in the pictures. I alway knew I was big but like some people who look in the mirror and say, "I am fat." I can look in the mirror and not see how big I really am. I have dieted off and on so many time. I have lost 50 pounds, 60 pounds, 80 pounds, 30 and 40 pounds and just like most everyone I gained it all back and more. For the last year or so with the help of my wife Lisa, I have been considering getting the lap band surgery. I remember the free seminar we went to, "No way!". Surgery was to drastic and not for me. But I was challenged about my weight and lost 70 pounds with Isagenix. I gained 80 or so back. A couple of months ago Lisa and I decided it was time to do something drastic. Something had to change. I was diagnosed with diabetes, I have to use a C-PAP machine at night because I have sever sleep apnea, and I am taking medicine to control my cholesterol. I started talking to people I know who have had the Lap Band surgery. It worked and they loved it. More research and I decided that this was something that I needed to do. Something has to change.

The process. Two weeks before the surgery you start a liquid diet. The liquid diet continues for four weeks after to let your system adapt to the change that has been made. After the surgery my stomach will be the size of an egg. This means that my whole outlook on food has to change. As I said, I am addicted to food. My liquid diet is actually a fast and my prayer is that God will break the addiction in my life. When thus fast period is over I will not see food as the center of all that I do but a peripheral in my life. I won't stop at fast food places just because I can and want to. I don't want to ever have to fight that desire again. After the four week liquid diet I can start soft foods and then regular foods but my meal size will be 2 to 4oz. But with a new outlook on food, eating that little won't be a big deal.

The Fight