Sunday Weigh In

Drumroll please.....Today's weight is...

211

That's two more pounds down and 36 more to go.

My goal this week is to increase my cardio from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Let's see if I can't drop 3lbs next week!

Onward...

The Power of 'No'

A few years ago I embarked on yet another attempt at losing weight. That time I was using Body for Life (again), eating 6 small meals a day and working out 6 days a week, with one day as a "free day" to eat whatever I wanted and not work out. I started it around the holidays and was doing okay. I went to a holiday dinner with colleagues at a restaurant in the Inner Harbor and had a sensible meal with no alcohol. When it was time for dessert, I was the only one in the group to say no. It felt REALLY good. Now, I didn't do that last weekend and I paid for it. But I did do it yesterday at a kid's birthday party where everyone was raving about how good the birthday cake was. I simply said "no thanks," and that was it. No cake. Even when my daughter stopped eating her piece half way through and it would have been so easy to finish it, I didn't.

Sometimes "just say no" really does work. It works especially well in groups. Remember, if you make a decision to shed that excess weight, tell somebody. So if you go out to eat with them, they can keep you accountable (if they're good friends, that is). Say no to dessert, don't take the menu, and move on. That way, even if you wrongly change your mind you will have to answer to everyone at the table and live with the raised eyebrows you draw from ordering that cheesecake. It doesn't mean you have to be a dessert Nazi. Sometimes a scoop of full fat ice cream is what you need. Don't beat yourself up about it, but don't get into the habit either. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and if necessary get on the scale the next day to see just how much damage you've done!

Sunday Weigh In

Drumroll please...today's weight is...

213!

That's two more pounds down (for a total of 20-22 pounds), 38 to go. I seem to be back on track after a week of better eating and harder workouts. This week I'll kick up the treadmill a bit and maybe dust off the Tae-Bo tapes I bought almost 10 years ago!!

Onward...

Sunday Weigh In

Drumroll please...Today's weight is...

215!

That's up two pounds from last week. I have met the enemy, and he is "eating out." I ate out at restaurants three time this week. Two times I had salad, and last night at The Cheesecake Factory I had a chicken/shrimp/rice curry dish....and a strawberry shortcake. :(

I won't let it get me down. I'll learn from it. No more eating out if possible and if I do, light dressing on the side and no dessert unless it's fruit. I'll also have to plan my meals better. I got caught without lunch a few times this week and had to do Chick-Fil-A; not good.

Onward...

Rich, Fat, and Happy

People are getting fatter and fatter. The book will examine the economic drivers behind the obesity epidemic and the financial impact of obesity on society. Although the author does not discount personal responsibility, he asserts that economic incentives encourage the production and consumption of high-caloric foods and are the major factor behind the rise in obesity. At the same time, a multi-billion dollar weight loss industry has developed to profit from obesity. Both ends of the spectrum — the companies that encourage obesity and the companies that provide weight loss products –are profiting handsomely from obesity. The losers are employers, the government, taxpayers, and the military. With the dramatic rise in obesity in recent years, the public interest stake in the obesity epidemic has become so large that we need to look at new solutions to combat the problem. The author asserts that we need to revise our farm subsidies, create incentives for healthy behaviors, discourage the production of high-caloric foods, and look at potentially controversial measures to change behaviors.
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Obesity now a 'lifestyle' choice for Americans, expert says
by Karin Zeitvogel

Thu Jan 10, 12:34 PM ET

As adult obesity balloons in the United States, being overweight has become less of a health hazard and more of a lifestyle choice, the author of a new book argues.

"Obesity is a natural extension of an advancing economy. As you become a First World economy and you get all these labor-saving devices and low-cost, easily accessible foods, people are going to eat more and exercise less," health economist Eric Finkelstein told AFP.

In "The Fattening of America", published this month, Finkelstein says that adult obesity more than doubled in the United States between 1960 and 2004, rising from 13 percent to around 33 percent.

More here

Sunday Weigh In

Drumroll Please...Today's weight is...

213/215!!

Why the two numbers, you ask. When I got on the scale yesterday, it told me I weighed 296 lbs. Clearly, it was broken. Karen had been having problems getting a consistently accurate reading on it for weeks and so I decided to buy a new scale. My weight on the new scale is 213. I doubt seriously that I've lost 4 more pounds since Tuesday. I put the old scale on the bathroom tile instead of the rug and it said 215. So there's clearly a differential between the two scales.

In any event, I've lost at least 20 pounds!!! Not too shabby for about 6 weeks of work. So, using the new scale, I've got 38 more pounds to lose to reach my target.

And away we go...

THIS IS IT!

My Theme Song for 2008:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=a6q9pwJy-nw

Happy New Year!

217

That is the weight at which I begin 2008. 18 pounds lighter than the 235 I reached by Thanksgiving just 4 1/2 short weeks ago. But there are many miles to go before I rest.

I did a hard run today to kick off the New Year. 30 minutes on the treadmill, just over 2 miles, at varying degrees of intensity, ending the run with a solid minute uphill at 9mph. It felt pretty awesome!

A new year dawns which always brings with it the excitment and anticipation of new beginnings. I don't believe in making New Years Resolutions. They usually fail. So instead, I'm setting goals for myself this year. SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).

• To walk closer with God and trust Him more. That means spending time in His Word daily, as well as in prayer.



• To continue to get healthy. My goal is 175lbs by June but it's also to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.



• To be a better, more loving and patient husband and father.



• A new job!



• To clean out and redecorate my basement so that the kids have someplace to play and we can host next year's Christmas get together with "the boys."

This year I'm focused on a specific verse of scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-22:

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.

May you all have a happy, safe, and prosperous 2008!