Back in the saddle again

Hi everyone, yes it has been a long time since anything has been posted. Life has been hecktic! Yes, I'm still on the program and yes I'm still loosing weight. Down 46 pounds so far in 2 1/2 months.

What is also exciting is that I've lost almost as much as much as my oldest daughter weighs.

Woa!

It's been a while, mainly because there hasn't been many changes in the last week. One week ago my weight climbed to 257 (6 lb gain) last week because I decided to fast. That did two things, put my body in starvation and kicked me off the program.

So in 7 days I lost everything I gained, plus 3 more pounds! Not to bad if you consider in that it takes 3 days to get back into the fat burning state.

I'm down to 247.8 now!

A new low.

Down to 251.8 now! What can I say, follow the program, you will lose weight. There is still a long way to go, but I'm on the way.

The body is amazing

The body is designed to protect itself from any and all threats to it. Over the weekend I participated in a church event that caused my body to go into a starvation mode. To that the body senses that it is not being nourished and will store anything that comes into it. I was shocked to see that I gained 5 pounds from this experience. But I have no worries.

On Monday I began the program anew to continue my weight loss journey. So far I'm beginning the third day on the program and have lost 4 pounds to be back down to 253.0, only one more pound to go to get down to my lowest weight.

That's what is great about this program. No matter what happens, it is easy to follow and works.

Another day, another pound

Well, I'm down another pound this morning, 252.6. It's great to still be losing weight on a program, it's been the most successful thing I've ever done to lose weight.

We are excited as a few friends have decided to join us and lose weight! This really works.

Life is getting better as time passes. Now instead of the kids challenging me to a race, I'm doing it to the kids. Also it's nice to be able to run and jump without joints hurting.

Well, it's a beautiful day here. Gotta run!

Good times

This is getting more exciting each day. Today I'll be sitting on a scholarship board, and being the end of the week, most of my clothes are in the laundry. So I decided to start looking through my skinnier clothes and found some that haven't been worn in at least two years. It is so exciting to finally be getting into some old clothes and hopefully get out of the newer fat clothes.

The scale said I was down about another pounds, 253.8.

Holding steady

Just really quickly, I've stayed the same from yesterday. My body is still adjusting from the long hike. Still at 254.4. Gotta run.

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for not getting another post up so soon. It was a very busy weekend for us and an exciting one too!

We had two tasting events where we invited people to com look at the program. We had a few people show up to each one and a few people decided to join us! We are excited to help other people look weight and get healthy.

For us personally it was very exciting. We went on a short difficult hike to the top of my parents property that overlooks the valley. Just two months ago I would have passed up the opportunity without giving it another though. Last weekend we decided to try it. I was able to keep up, have energy, and not feel like my heart wasn't going to jump out of my chest.

Also, for the first time in years I put on an XL shirt. Just 2 months ago I was at the point of having to start getting XXXL shirts and new larger pants. Now my clothes are falling off of me, my belt needs to to have another hole cut in it, and I am able to wear my old skinnier clothes.

The scales said 254.4. I've leveled out temporarily, probably because of the long hike. On Saturday we exerted a lot of energy to climb up the hill, my body said, "Wait, I'm suddenly needing a lot of energy, I need to hold on to everything that I can in case I have to work this hard everyday." Probably in a few days my weight will drop significantly as my body settles down.

Big events coming up

Kara and I are excited for this weekend. For the first time we are hosting two tasting/training events this weekend in La Grande and Haines. Since starting this program we have been thrilled with the support, results, education, and quick results we're been seeing. We really want to share this with others who have struggled over the years with weight who may have given up hope as I had or for those who just need to loose a little to get healthy.

The first event will be Friday, 6:00 p.m. at our sister in laws house in La Grande. (Contact us if you need the address.) The second event will be at the Haines Methodist Church Social Hall, Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. (Again contact us for an address.)

We are so excited to get out publicly and share this wonderful program with others who want to acheive optimal health. This program is the best thing I've ever seen in the diet world.

This morning I lost just over a pound, I'm down to 256.6.

Burn baby burn

Well its always a nice surprise when you wake up nearly 3 pounds lighter than you were the night before! I'm down to 257.8 this morning.

Just for the fun of it this morning I put on a shirt that I outgrew over about two years ago, and it fits. That means that I've now taken off two years of fat!

Another interesting thing happened to me yesterday, it was up over 18 hours. By the end of the day I was pretty tired, but my mind wasn't completely worn down like it would be after 14 hours before starting this program. The amount of energy I have is amazing! This is what it is like when your body ins functioning the way it is designed to.

That's about all for now.

Man, I love this program

I've been back on the program for only a day and lost a pound already, 260.4. Now remember, I have not reached the fat burning stage, that should happen by Thursday. None-the-less I'm on my way again. The first day wasn't too bad, I did get hungry a couple of times because my body was making adjustments. Nothing significant to report on that.

Lately I've talked to a lot of people who have tried different weight loss programs, the Wait Watching program. It works, but you have to wait. Cabbage soup, Atkins, and that celebrity endorsed weight loss food that you see advertised all over TV. I spoke with two friends who were on that latter program, they had success, but guess what? They gained it back because there wasn't a transition period, there wasn't any education or habit changing philosophy, and support throughout the program, even after it. So now they are looking at the program I'm on because people get all of the aforementioned items, plus more.

Look everyone, no gimmicks. I have looked for something like this for years and tried numerous times to loose weight and have always met it with defeat because I didn't know how to loose weight healthily or modify my behavior or have this much fun doing it. Stop letting life pass you by! Follow the link to our web page on the upper right corner of this page and e-mail us or call us. It's time to get healthy and achieve optimal health, you won't regret it. I don't know about you, but I'm going to get there!!!! (And stay there!)

Everyone's burning question: IMPORTANT!!!!!! READ THIS!!!!!

As you know it's been a month and I've lost 30 pounds now. I've encountered my first big challenge because UPS had a "natural disaster," that caused my food to be delayed a week causing me to run out of food. So it has been an interesting challenge this weekend having to live in the real world.

I'm so excited about this program and the results I'm seeing that I want to share it with everyone! So far, everyone has the same question (as did I at first), "Once you get off, can you keep the weight off?" I can now confidently say, "Yes."

On our way back from the credit unions annual meeting we stopped for gas and had to get some drinks and a little something to get back home. The Snickers and Reese's Peanut butter cups looked very tempting, but not impossible to ignore. I scoured the store trying to find something healthy. I finally found a low-sodium trail mix with no candy. As we returned home I was very careful to only eat a portions' worth and was satisfied with that. The whole reasoning behind it was, "I have an opportunity to eat anything, eating the wrong things and too much of some things would cause me to feel bad and gain weight. I don't want that."

Also at the meeting they served large slices of cake. Here again it was the same mentality. "I don't want to feel bad or gain weight, I don't need it."

When we got close to home one of the girls needed to go potty. Unfortunately we had to stop at a fast food place for her. While I was waiting for her, I read the nutrition facts that were posted on the wall by the bathroom. It was interesting that 1 whopping burger has almost as many calories as I eat in a day on this program. Out of curiosity the most calorie dense burger had nearly twice as many calories as one should intake on this program. Now also consider the fat contained in it as well as those wonderful fries. And don't forget that diet soft drink that contains high fructose corn syrup. (High fructose corn syrup cannot be metabolized by your body so it is instantly converted to fat and it also blocks the transmitters in your body that tell you that you are full.) Now really think, why do you want to put anything like that in your body? No wonder we Americans feel horrible and are missing so much of life. We are eating our selves to death. WAKE UP EVERYONE!!!!

I'm starting up again at 261.4.

My first big challenge

Well its a beautiful day here, even the less desirable days are better just because I'm feeling better.

This weekend has been interesting because my order was delayed due to a "natural disaster" and I am out of food now. My coach and I discussed what to do and she said, let's just eat sensibly until your food comes, that way you can stay on or close to the program even without the food. So that is what this weekend has been so far. It's been alright. I'll be hooking up with my brother today and he'll be bringing me some food to get me through the next couple of days until my food can make it here.

The scales said that I'm down another pound, 259.8. Not too shabby. I haven't been below 260 in years! This great, I'll catch up to my brother before long!

My 31st posting

Wow, it's been a month now since starting this program. The scales said that I am down to 260.8 this morning! That is a total of 28 pounds lost in one month!

This has been the most life changing program that I've ever followed. I sleep great, wake up with energy, feel confident, more optimistic, have no desire to eat junk, enjoy eating vegetables, more active, look better (says my wife), and have continued hope to see this through and reach my ultimate weight! I love this program and want to share it with everyone out there because it works.

Yesterday a manager from another branch came over to help with an employee review. The look on his face was priceless when he walked into my office! Also while the CEO was here the other day, I got a knuckle bump for my success in the program.

I really don't know how many people out there are actually reading this blog. I hope that you are enjoying this, if not hopefully it is at least entertaining. I'd like to say to you that life is great! If you need to shed some pounds, why are you waiting? I'm so happy that this program came along and gave me the tools to heal myself. The human body is truly amazing! We can be in horrible condition and if given the chance and tools, it can heal itself. The number of medications you are one are not merritt badges, those are bad. It's time to get healthy everyone. On the top right side of this blog I have a link to the program where our contact information is. Check it out! We'll I'm gone to enjoy life, talk to you all tomorrow!

Win some, loose some

So far since I have renewed my relationship with my scales they have been really nice to me telling me good things. However this morning they started lying to me. They said I gained a pound. Hmmmm.....

OK, maybe they aren't lying, the boss showed up yesterday and took me out to lunch. Now, on the program you can eat out, all you have to do is substitute it for your lean and green meal. Well, where we wound up wasn't the easiest to comply with, Chinese food. I did the best I could and found a chicken dish that wasn't breaded, but the menu didn't have any steamed vegetables.

In this instance I probably kicked myself out of ketosis (the fat burning stage) and now I'll have to start over. This process takes three days to get into.

So lesson learned, I can eat out on the program, but not chinese food. Next time I'll try to find a place that has something like a smoked chicken salad with a light vinaigrette dressing.

On to other news, my brothers first day on the program was yesterday. I'm so excited for him and can't wait till he gets into ketosis. Once you do, you feel fantastic because your energy levels shoot through the roof and you body is starting to function properly. So here's to you, keep it up!

Cutting down

Well I got to make my first hole in my belt. Its about 2 1/2 inches down from the smallest original hole. You have to know that I've had this belt for many years and this is the first time that I've ever had to cut another hole in it! I'll get a picture of it up this weekend.

This morning the scales said that I only lost 2 ounces since yesterday. But I did lose 3 pounds yesterday, so I can be patient.

We wish the best to my brother, he is starting the program today! We'll be there to support him!

I'm just going along and suddenly.....

OK, this is really cool. My health coach said this would happen and it finally did. On the program you will be going along losing weight and perhaps plateau for a few days and suddenly lose a bunch of weight! Well it happened to me yesterday.

For some reason I've been getting hungry lately about an hour before I'm scheduled to eat again and its been tough to not give in and eat a little something. But it all paid off this morning. I LOST ALMOST 3 POUNDS IN ONE DAY!!!!!!! I'm down to 260.8. That means that I've lost 28 pounds in 28 days!!!!!

Everyone out there, THIS PROGRAM WORKS IF YOU STICK TO IT. I don't have any cravings for junk food or to eat unhealthy things. (But I may get hungry sometimes.) The support network from the health coach, the doctors and nurses calls, various web sites, conferences, and others who are on the program is incredible. I have no idea why anyone would even attempt to do anything else!? I've watched friends on the WAIT watching program just slowly lose weight in more time, high protein diets come and go, low carbs fail and the list goes on.

There is a reason that this has been backed by Johns Hopkins University!

I REACHED MY FIRST GOAL!!!!!!!!!!

When I started this program, I was way off the chart for being at a healthy weight for my height. Today on my 27th posting/day I am finally on the Body Mass Index Chart. I had to loose 25 pounds to do so! Now, I am still in the red zone on the BMI chart which means I am at high risk for coronary diseases, but I'm well on my way to getting down to a healthy weight. My healthy weight, according to the chart is between 140-153, so I still have a long way to go until I get into the green zone on the chart. My next goal to get into the yellow zone which is at 196.

My six and four year olds are full of energy like all are at those ages. When we are outside they are always challenging me to a race. In the past I have always passed up on the opportunities to race, but lately I have taken them up a few times. I am no longer winded just running or even walking short distances.

Well I better run now. I am at 263.2 pounds. Still loosing about 1 pound a day!!!!

Almost there

Well I'm holding steady. Still there at 264.4. But hey, I have still lost almost 25 pounds in fat so far. When you get a moment just Google "5 lbs of fat," and look at the pictures. It is amazing how big that is!


Well, I gotta run this morning.

What could be better?

I have to admit that I hate diets. Good thing this isn't a diet! This is my 25th posting so far.

Yesterday my wife invited some friends over to have our own little Easter egg hunt. It was fun watching the kids run around and scoop them up. It amazed me how fast they picked everything up. Now if they would just pick their toys up that way! Perhaps we should be hiding candy in the toys as an incentive.

We also had the nice surprise of my father and brother coming over. They brought us a drier, because ours was on the fritz. It was fun showing them how our place had changed over the last few months.

I ran around all day mowing the yard, working in the garden, getting our sprinklers out and lots of other odds and ends. I can remember a time when I lost weight, feel great (both mentally and physically), and had so much energy to get out and do things. It's nice not to be a slave to the TV anymore. I can easily walk away from it because there are so many other good things to be doing.

Well, the scales said 264.4 this morning. That's another pound down and just one pound away from reaching my first goal of 263! (That means that I'll actually be on the body mass index chart! I won't be off the chart any longer!!!!!!!

Back to the 80's

Another weekend has come and another day to spend working outside. Spring is coming to the area here. So far we have planted 12 raspberries, 3 blueberry bushes, 50 strawberry plants, 2 rhubarb roots, 50 elephant garlic plants, 10 regular garlic bulbs, 18 broccoli plants, spinach, lettuce, radishes, peas, corn, cilantro, and bunching onions. Yesterday after work I noticed that some of our plants finally starting to break through the ground! I can't wait until we can eat out of our garden!

The scales said that I held steady at 265.6. Although my weight is staying the same or only going down a little over the last few days, I still think that I'm still loosing fat. This last week I have really tried to follow the program to a "T", which if you do you will loose weight. Does everyone remember those parachute pants that were popular in the 80's? That's exactly what my pants felt like yesterday at work and even the jeans that I put on this morning! My legs were really sore this last week, like when I was weight lifting and building muscle. Now the soreness is gone and they feel a lot stronger as I have become much more active running around with the kids, bending over and squatting down to work outside. No matter though, I'm still feeling great with plenty of energy to enjoy life. "Come what may and love it!"

Keepin' on keepin on

Enjoy the simple things in life. Like many other people out there, I'm pulled 6 ways till Sunday and it seems like that light at the end of the tunnel is like the proverbial rainbow that one can never catch. Last night Kara had to go to some scrap booking thing, so that left me home alone with the kids working out in our garden. The two older ones ran off to the neighbors house to jump on the trampoline. (They made it home all their teeth still last night.) So the two littlest ones were with me in the garden. When Briggy finally got over his fit of mom leaving him behind, he enjoyed digging holes. The littlest one was really cute last night. I have my garden plotedout in a grid with a small white string making where everything goes. She happened to get inside one of the squares and thought that she was fenced in. But she was pleased as punch to be outside, she has a big smile on her face the whole time.

After that we all came in and ate dinner together and cuddled upon the coutch for some mind-roting TV.

In all it was an enjoyable night.

Shifting gears now. I have to admit that there have been a few times when I said to myself, "What am I doing? How long will I have to be on this?" Thankfully these few moments have passed quickly! This is not without it's challenges, but it also has its rewards too. I spent nearly a decade getting to the point where I was, and hopefully it will unravel in about 5 months time! When I step back to look at the big picture, my determination to success is re-focused and I have even more desires to stick to the program and become a success both in the short-term and for life.

On that note, I dropped just over a pound since yesterday. I'm down to 265.2! (Two pounds away from my first goal!

Holding steady

Well its' another great day. I got home yesterday and planted 50 strawberries and a neighbor gave me about 25 elephant garlic plants too! Hopefully tonight I'll plant blue berries, asparagus, and a whole bunch of other plants.

Life is great when you feel good, there are so many good things out there that passed me by because I had metabolic syndrome. Not any more. I'm up moving around more, working with my children out in the yard and garden, even racing with them. Last night my oldest daughter wanted to race me and I took her on. It was fun!

Well I'm still loosing, a couple ounces at a time, 266.6.

Three weeks in: lifes good

OK, life is great, what more can I say. I feel that I'm finally going down a successful path to getting healthy and feeling great. There hasn't been a part of my life that hasn't been effected. I never want to go back to how I felt before!

We are excited to have our neighbor sign up. She is getting married in 2 months and wants to drop 40 pounds. She can do it! We will be there to support her the whole way.

Anyhow, I'm still flat lined at 276.6. One of these days I'll get off this ledge and continue dropping.

Going forward

I'm happy to say that my bother has decided to start the program! We are excited that he has decided to get healthy and make some life changes. We are anxious to see his success and his health improve. We are behind you the whole way and wish you the best.

We are loving this program and meeting others how have been on the program. It is such a great support network of people who are genuinely interested in your success. I don't think that I could find a better group of people.

Lots of people who have asked me about the program have inquired what my motivation is. It is simple:
1) Family: I love them and they need me!
2) Quality of life: I'm tired of seeing life pass me by!
3) Make permanent changes: I have wasted enough of my life not feeling good!
4) Preventative action: I am predisposed for certain illnesses that run in my family.
I don't want that.
5) Inspire others: I want everyone to feel the way I do. I'm excited for life, feel great, have
energy, sleep well, blood pressure is down, have mental clarity, no prescriptions...etc.

I want to end by thanking everyone who is reading this. Thank you for the support. Please let me know what changes you are doing! I'm 276.8 this morning.

Stay positive everyone! You're more important than you think. You need to find your own well of happiness that you can draw on whenever needed. Make your list of positive attributes.

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Hi everyone, this has been such a great weekend going to Boise and meeting Dr. Anderson. I was very impressed with everyone there from top to bottom. I don't think that there was a disingenuous person in the crowd. Instead there was a non-competitive spirit among everyone and everyone was happy and rejoiced for each others successes.

Meeting Dr. Anderson personally for 5 minutes was truly a high point in the conference. He looked me directly in the eye asked me how I was doing and he went on to encourage me and give me advice as I continue. At that point I knew that he had a genuine interest in those participating in the program.

Anyhow, check out the picture after being on the program for nearly 3 weeks. It might not look like not but I'm down 20 lbs and feeling great! My old buddy the scales said that I was 276.6! I went on the road and even lost weight! How often does that happen?

Day Seventeen: Stress & Dr. Anderson

Hi Everyone! Yesterday was a great day. We drove down to Boise to attend a conference with Dr. Anderson, one of the co-founders of the program. On the way down I was able to reflect back on he last two weeks. I have noticed that as stressful events have come up at work, I have been able to work my way through them without feeling my blood pressure rise. It has been easier to focus on the task at hand and work my way through things in a logical manner. That in itself is huge. I have been able to simply work through the problem and even remain happy while doing it.

We attended the first part of the seminar this weekend with Dr. Anderson at the Grove Motel in down town Boise, Idaho. I was very impressed with how personable he was as he gave us an introduction to the program and his personal history. As a critical care medical doctor he was frustrated seeing people come in on their death beds and just bandaging them up as they came in and left. He wanted to find a solution for people to be healthy and not be in a position where their quality of life is degraded due to poor health and be on medications and start practicing pro-active medicine. Much of what doctors are doing these days are re-active medicine. They are prescribing pills and things for people, but it does not get down to the root of the problem. From this he came up with this program.

For a lot of us out there, our problems are results of our "American diet" which allows for calorie dense foods and a sedentary lifestyle; resulting in bad health. We need to make changes to our diets and really realize the life-time impacts of what we are putting in our mouths today! What I love about this program is that my tastes and preferences are changing. I no longer have cravings or desires to eat those calorie rich foods any more. Rather I prefer eating my lean and green meals.

Well I'm on the road with no scales for the next few days, so I'll have to update you all late on what is happening.

Day sixteen: Sorry I'm late

Hi everyone, I apologize for my tardiness in posting this morning. We left our home very early this morning to get to Boise for a big conference dealing with the program. One of the main doctors over the program will be here in Boise this weekend to speak to the coaches and do further training. We are excited to learn more and share what we can with others.

Life is going great! I feel so good, better than I have in years. More energy, optimistic outlook, more self-confidence... I want everyone to feel this way! Why wait another day feeling the way you do? Within days my life started changing, yours can too!

This morning the scales said the same, 269.2. I'll keeping on keeping on, no stopping until I reach my ultimate goal.

Day fifteen: I'm below 270!

Great news! I'm down below 270, which is huge! I'm finally getting down to wights that I haven't seen in years and feel great! I have so much energy anymore, last night I even had a hard time falling asleep; but I still feel rested and full of energy this morning.

I have almost reached my first goal of 263 lbs. I follow the body mass index chart to determine a healthy weight based upon my height. My ultimate goal is 175 lbs. But the first goal is to just get on the chart, which at this rate should be in 1 week.

I have a few questions for those following this blog, what is everyone doing out there? I know that some people have decided to make changes in their lives and get healthy. So how are you doing? How much have you lost? How do you feel?

My scales said 269.2 this morning! I'm well on my way!

Day fourteen: Staying positive

I wrote a little bit about this yesterday and before, but I'd like to come back to it. As my health is improving, I find it so much easier to stay positive. Not just about loosing weight or self-esteem, but life in general. It is true that we are living in times that most people have never seen before. There is a lot to be discouraged about if we give in to watching the news or listen to people as they share their woes, but it is much easier to keep a smile on my face and help others gain a more positive outlook on life.

A dear friend of mine that I met in Chile told me a story about a friend of his who worked for the CIA. This man was an agent who was sent to follow people and monitor situations. As the years passed, he became increasingly negative about life, himself, family and so on. He had many difficult times socially because he was always focused on negative things throughout the day and finding faults with people. His personal life began to crumble and almost lost his family when he realized what was happening to him. He started trying to find simple things in life that were positive and pondering upon those things throughout the day. As he learned the importance of positive thinking his life began to turn around and started healing relationships with those around him.

I don't want this to sound over-simplistic, but just want to encourage people to find a few small positive things in their lives. Ponder them throughout the day. Trying finding the good in people first. A wise piece of advice given to me many years ago is, "Everyone is my superior in at least on thing." As I have tried to find the one thing in at least each person around me I have come to appreciate others more.

The scales said 270.2 this morning. Staying positive!

Day thirteen: Clarity

Good morning everyone. Aside from the more energy, loosing weight, feeling more confident and having fun, there has been another blessing from this program. It is a lot easier to focus and stay focused on projects and work. My mind doesn't wear down throughout the day like it used to and by the time I get home, I'm still ready to work and focus on projects here.

Thought for the day: There comes a time when you need to be honest with yourself. How do you feel, how is your self confidence or even your self worth. The sooner that you can look yourself in the mirror and accept who or what you are, the better. Learn to forgive yourself and begin a list of positive attributes about you. Keep it posted, like on a mirror where you can see it frequently to remind you who you are. Also, learn to forgive others, not forgiving can really canker you, leading to a lot of unhappiness. Remember that most people forget to tell you how much you are appreciated by them, yet people never hesitate in criticizing you for even trivial things. Lift where you stand, and that means those around you too.

The scales said 270.6 this morning! I'm averaging about 1-1 1/2 lbs a day and feel great! Well, back to my scrambled eggs. Have a good day everyone!

Day twelve: Perseverance

Traditionally this is about where it would all end for diets. I would have moderate success and then level out or cravings would get the better of me. This time it is different.

Our bodies need basics (carbohydrates, proteins, fats...) in our daily diets to function properly. When we go with out, our bodies naturally begin craving what we have denied our selves. At this point I would naturally give in to temptation and go back my old habits and the weight would pile back on.

Since this program is balanced to meet the needs of our bodies, the cravings are not there. (Except when my 4 year old daughter is eating a bowl of cereal in front of me saying, "Mmmm, yummy. You should try this. This is so good, can you see it?" That is torture! But I'm determined to make this work.

My dad used to drive me nuts when he would say, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Yes it is cliche, but it is true. As adversities have come up in the last two weeks (baking birthday cakes, taco wagons, cereal, spaghetti...) there has been a great inner strength to overcome and continue going. In large part that is due to my wife/coach, and everyone who reads this and cheers me on. Thank you to everyone who is out there reading this and supporting me, this has honestly been fun to do. Painful at times, but fun. I wish you all luck who have decided to begin making changes in your lives. Please share your successes or thoughts!

Anyhow, it is all paying off. The scales this morning said 271.8!

End of day eleven: Energy above all else

Hi everyone! It rained yesterday, a lot. Normally going out in the rain is about the last thing I ever want to do and because I wasn't feeling good, I would use the weather as an excuse to stay in. Well, having all this new energy is great. I had to put it to use somehow, so despite the cold rain, I was out getting stuff planted in our garden for the year.

It's great to feel great! The scales said 273.0 this morning. Hopefully soon I'll jump off this plateau!

Keep up the good work everyone!

End of day ten: Momma said there'd be days like this...

Well I worked really hard to follow the schedule and eat every 2-3 hours. Did pretty good all day, felt great, and had tons of energy when I got home. But the scale lied to me this morning, it said 274, just a few ounces over yesterday. Oh well, I'll keep after it. My coach said that there would be days like this when you wouldn't loose anything, but it would catch up soon enough in inches too.

I did notice that my body is shedding weight in areas it never had before! My pants around my legs felt loose. It was an odd feeling, in the past it was always my waist. But as long as it keeps coming off, who cares!

I asked my coach, she said that our bodies are designed to store energy for times in times of plenty for times when there isn't much. Right now my body is loosing a lot and perhaps my body is catching up and saying, "Wait what is going on?" Apparently that is when you plateau for a little spell. No worries though, there are ways of getting off. From talking to my coach and other people on the program they said that when they got off the plateau you would experience another dramatic weight loss. Cool how our bodies work!

Well, it's time to put this energy to good use!

End of day nine; Challenge and education

One of the most difficult things for me on this program is eating every 2-3 hours. Yeah, it sounds horrible doesn't it?! But it really is hard to do with my job. People come and go at the drop of a hat which makes it difficult to eat right on schedule so that I stay in the fat burning state.

Through the trainings and classes available in the program I have learned a couple of things that have plagued me and I'm sure most other people out there. There are two major problems with Americans, our sedentary lifestyle and metabolic syndrome.

What is the metabolic syndrome?

The metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of metabolic risk factors in one person. They include:

• Abdominal obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
• Atherogenic dyslipidemia (blood fat disorders — high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol — that foster plaque buildups in artery walls)
• Elevated blood pressure
• Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can’t properly use insulin or blood sugar)
• Prothrombotic state (e.g., high fibrinogen or plasminogen activator inhibitor–1 in the blood)
• Proinflammatory state (e.g., elevated C-reactive protein in the blood)

Read more at: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4756

As for the Sedentary life, it is exactly what it says. We do not move enough; we have too many conveniences around us. We have done so much just to allow us to sit and do nothing. It is catching up to us. Obviously our bodies need some exercise to be healthy, but a lot of times we simply don't feel like it because we have low energy or just don't feel good, metabolic syndrome plays into this.

While being on this program my energy has increased significantly. This is helping me overcome the sedentary life style. As I loose weight and my body starts functioning correctly, I will over come metabolic syndrome! By day three my energy levels uncreased significantly helping me get out of my chair more and be active. Now (only 9 days into it) I don't want to watch TV or sit around. There are too many important things to do outside.

At the same time I'm loosing weight and my metabolism is now starting to function the way it should. The belly is disappearing!

Time to make changes my friends. Food is not our friend! Think about fast food, it's a fast way to a heart attack! I shudder even thinking about eating fast food or watching my children eat it. Remember you get what you pay for, a $0.99 burger can cost thousands in medical bills.

We live in a most wonderful time when the human life is being extended and medical technology allows us to perform amazing procedures. Yet many things we do daily compromises our quality of life and the length of it; why wait until you have problems! LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE. This is what we need to be doing with those closest to us. I have found living as I did in the past, I have missed out on so many little things that makes life important. It is time to start living again.

The scales said 273.2 lbs this morning. Which is exciting for me! I am now 10 lbs away from reaching my first goal of 263 lbs. Why is that important? That means I will be on the Body Mass Index chart. Before I was off the charts, that is where most people begin though.

Let's get started everyone, a new month is upon us which means spring is on its way. Don't let this spring and summer get away from you.

End of day eight: I'm loosing my pants!

Life is great as usual! Still melting away. I was so excited yesterday because I kept having to pull my pants up all day, and my belt was on the last notch! Trust me, I'm having a party when I cut a new notch in my belt. I'll post pictures for everyone because this is a big deal, it will be the first time since I bought the belt about 5-6 years ago that it will need to be re-sized.

People have been asking me what my motivation is and if I'm getting accustomed to the food or have cravings. My response to these questions is that my biggest motivation is that I DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO THE WAY I WAS!!!! I am loosing weight, feeling great and have a real hope of getting down to a healthy weight of about 170 lbs. (Although my first goal is to get on the Body Mass Index Chart, because I'm way off, but getting closer every day.) I have no cravings to eat fast food or junk food because I know where that leads to; weight gain, feeling bad, poor health... come on, you know what I'm talking about! I like most of the food I'm eating and want to try different variations of it. There are ways of making sorbets, waffles, muffins, pancakes.... This is getting kind of fun.

I'm also really appreciating the continued support from my coach. There have been a number of times that I have called her with questions or thoughts as I continue with the program. It is a tremendous resource of support, knowledge, cheering me on...

Also it is interesting to see how the weight is coming off. In the past is would just come off my belly. My belly would loose quickly and return again in full force. This time it seems like my body is shedding lbs all over. People have commented that they can see a real difference in my face as well as all over. Just another testament that this program works!

So I have to ask everyone out there, ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED? I hope so. So do something about it. Ask me or my coach questions, but because this is designed for exactly how you are living right now and those participating do not have to make major changed to your life!

Anyhow, the scales are becoming my friend and I am looking forward to getting out of bed each morning to have our little weigh-in. This morning it told me a great secret. 274.6 lbs!!!

End of day seven: Education & Support

I would have to say that this is one of the most important elements that makes this plan work. You are never alone throughout, unless you decide to isolate yourself. Kara and I went to a little training meeting last night where we listened to one of the regional directors speak. Twice a month we have these and they are fun to go to because you learn more about the program, healthy living, new recipes to make with the food: such as muffins, waffles, pan cakes... Also there are phone conferences that we take part in twice a week where we get further training from doctors, scientists, nurses, dietitians and other health professionals. This is unlike any other program out there.

In two weeks we are planning on going to Boise where one of the leading doctors will be speaking and training. I am excited to attend this and learn more because everything is so common sense once you start learning.

One thing I noticed today was that my craving for "unhealthy" foods is curbing. Which is nice because that taco wagon still sits across the street. Kara was asking me how I felt about fast food and if I still wanted to eat it. I has to say NO! I'm finally on a path that will work. I'M SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED! I have no desire to go back to the weight that I was, I want to lead a normal, healthy life. And enjoy it!

The scales today said 276.0! For anyone just tuning in, that is 12.+ lbs in the first week!

Recap: Feeling good, feeling confident, no desires to return to my unhealthy habits, I want to share this with everyone because it works, this plan is designed to make you successful in your goals.

Congratulations to all those who are have decided to make changes in your lives! Keep up the good work and keep sharing your successes. For those reading this, you may be surprised that people across the country are reading this and reacting!

End of day six: Come what may and love it

Good morning everyone! Life as normal around here. Last night as a family we all went out to the garden and started planting radishes, lettuce and spinach. Hopefully things will grow soon.

The blog this morning is a little different. We need to focus not only on physical health but mental. Lately there has been a lot of bad news that is causing people a lot of mental stress. Several months ago I listened to a church leader who spoke on this topic. In short, life happens. We will all encounter adversity, but the real test we face is how we react. Do we let it bring us down, or do we square are shoulders and go forward? A lot of people have been coming in my office for months singing the blues. I just say, "It's tough isn't it? You may be in a tough situation right now, but you are not alone. Everyone out there is expierencing these same things. You need to realize this and go forward and live your life. Just do it more prudently and do the best you can. Come what may and love it."

Anyhow the scales said 277.6 this morning, no change. Yet when I put my belt on, it was down a notch!!!

End of day five: Hope & Confidence

Day five was Sunday. It is always nice to get to church and be fed spiritually. Everything was so enjoyable today as I continued feeling better, having more energy, and a renewed confidence in myself as I'm around other people. In recent years my self esteem has decreased as the pounds have increased. I was never happy or content with how I looked and felt around other people, always wishing to be the skinnier person. At times things seemed despairing as diets came and went and the pounds went and came back, plus some. I was almost ready to convince myself that there must be a genetic problem that is causing the pounds to stay and this was just my lot in life. I'm sure that there were many times that I was very unpleasant to be around, especially with people close to me just because of those feelings of inadequacy. I'm still a fat man, with a long way to go, but I am confident that this is the right path to be on to become healthy for life. My final goal is still a long ways off, but this time I feel that I have found the solution to my weight problem and life-time habits.

One of the main reasons for this great confidence is that this is just not a diet. THIS IS A LIFE CHANGING PROGRAM!

Well The scales are looking good, 277.4! Tune in tomorrow for a recap of the first week

End of day four: the honeymoon was over

This was easily the most difficult day so far. We celebrated our two oldest daughters birthdays, threw a little party for them and invited some of their friends. Kara needed help getting everything ready, including baking and decorating the cake! As usual she was busy cleaning while I worked in the kitchen.

The entire day the kids would sneak in, grab some Cheetos, peanuts, candy... everything that was off limits. Normally when cooking I'll taste things just to be sure that they are turning out alright. But thanks to the support of my wife/health coach, I DIDN'T EAT ANY OF IT!!!! (It was misery!)

Suddenly the realization set in that this was the end of the line for eating most things that I enjoyed in the past. Oh yeah, we had some great times...... In fact they come with me everywhere I go, but that is changing!

As of this morning I am 279.2 lbs. I'm not sure why I plateaued so quickly only 5 days into the program. Perhaps it is because on Friday I was using so much energy working outside all day and consuming so few calories; then later my body decided to retain a few more calories when I was less active? I don't know, I'll ask my coach when she wakes up.

To everyone following this, thank you! Good luck to all who have decided to make some changes in their lives as well, report back and let us all know!!!!

End of day three: ENERGY!!!

It was a gorgeous day in Oregon on Friday! The sun was out, it had warmed up to the 60's, no breeze... This just keeps getting better! It has been years since I have had this much energy! As a teenager my job often require very long hours, 12-18 hour days were not uncommon, there were even times the sun rose twice in the same work day. Since those wonderful days I have longed to have that energy and stamina.

Who says "Engery is wasted on the youth?" Not anymore, it's back!!!

In recent years my weekends would go like this: get up, work for a few hours outside, feel tired, come in for a snack or drink, sit down in front of the boob tube, and hours later I'd get the shoe horn out to peel my large posterior off the couch and finish working. Never finishing everything that needed to be accomplished.

Today was total different! The whole day was spent outside preparing the garden and finished other tasks that had been started earlier this year. I had only a few short brakes when it was time to eat something or to get a drink, otherwise there wasn't anything that could keep me in, not even the TV!

Working outside was easier than it had been for a while. I noticed that bending over, kneeling down, and getting back up were easier to do. Now, there is still a lot of weight to loose, around 100 lbs would be ideal, but the amount of energy was incredible. I guess that's because there is a lot of energy stored around my belly.

My neighbor even took notice and mentioned that it looked like I had lost some weight. Only three days in the program and it is already making a noticeable different.

My tastes and cravings have changed. Although a big chocolate chip cookie sounds good, so does a tuna fish sandwich. (I hated tuna fish!) Vegetables are sounding better and I look forward to eating things like radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers...

The only adverse thing I've noticed is that I get really thristy. In the program one is to drink 8 glasses of water a day. At first this was a challenge, but now I can't get enough!

This morning the scales read 279.6 lbs. Not too shabby for just ending the third day!

Keep the comments coming! It sounds like there are several followers of peolpe who have just read the blog who have decided to take actions themselves. If you like, go ahead and post your results here too. Sharing in each others successes will only make ourselves stronger! I just ask that you be very honest with your self in what you post, even if it is uncomfortable or emeressing. (You'll get over that quickly.) I'll post new pictures at the end of week one!

End of day two

Good morning everyone! Again I woke up before my alarm and feel great. According to my coach, my body is entering the FAT BURNING PHASE. Hence because this is happening I have a bunch more energy. Normally by 9:00 pm my body says, "OK, that's enough for today;" but last night I was still going strong at 10:30 and had to force myself to lay down!

Day two was fairly similar to day one. No head aches or muscle pain, except for some sore muscles from working out in the garden the night before. Along with my weight loss goal, is to also grow much of our own food out of our garden.

I greatly appreciate the phone calls from my health coach. Yes it is wonderful hearing from my wife while at work, but the phone calls have been a great support. Just having someone call for a few minutes during the day and ask how things are going, how I feel, and give advice and encouragement is the greatest source of support for me to be successful. Another reason why this program will work for anyone!

I did have a few cravings today, mainly for the taco wagon that sits across the parking lot. They make one good burrito! Otherwise I experienced a little more hunger throughout the day, but it wasn't anything overwhelming. By the end of the day when I have my lean and green meal, I really look forward to that bed of lettuce with lean ground beef and a bit of low-fat Italian dressing. Not that the food for the program tastes bad, its just that vegetables are tasting really good; maybe that's how it should be?

Coming home from work I felt a little bloated and constipated, but that was short lived. So far, knock on wood, I haven't felt too poorly during the first two days.

Thank you to everyone who has logged-in to see this and leave me comments! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Please keep them coming. For those who have tried to leave comments but were unable to, you have to become a "Registered User." It's free, the registration is just to keep spam from showing up.

And for the moment you all are waiting for...... The scales said 280.2 this morning!!!

End of day one

Day one went pretty well. I ate peach oatmeal for breakfast, a chocolate shake mid-morning, a chocolate bar for lunch, chicken & wild rice for mid-afternoon, a strawberry shake in late afternoon, and my lean and green meal about 7:30 last night.

The program warns people that the first few days are the toughest as your body is adjusting one may have headaches and or muscle aches because your body looses sodium and potassium. In this events I make a beef bullion soup (for some added sodium) and Crystal Light Infusers with potassium for potassium replacement for any muscle aches.

During the first day I tried to eat every three hours, but found myself hungry about every 2 1/2 hours, which is fine. No head aches or muscle aches to speak of, about 4:00 PM I felt a little light headed, but those who know me would say that is normal.

On the program, one is to weigh themselves everyone morning after showering, that is to maintain an accurate record. As of this morning I weighed 282.7! (When I started I weighed 288.2, that was at night with clothing, so I did loose some weight on the first day, but not as much as it seems.)

Also I woke up with energy before my alarm clock went off!!! Lately it has been difficult to do that with changing over to day light savings time, hitting the snooze button and getting up at the last possible second. As my body is transitioning into the fat burning stage, in day two, I feel more energy and more alert!

In the beginning...

Greetings to anyone reading this,

Most of my life I have struggled with my weight and longed to be more fit. Now at 29 years old I weigh 288.2 lbs and need to shed the weight. For years I have tried a number of different diets and met them with moderate success, but after a while it all came back. I am at the point of being sick and tired of being sick and tired, it is time to make major changes not only for myself but my family that I love so much.

Last winter I went to the doctor to get a prescription for a sinus infection that would not go away. The doctor took my blood pressure and quickly forgot why I was there. She began warning me of the path I was headed down and that I was too young to be in this shape. Yes I was embarrassed to be like this, but she was right. It is time to start living better for those I love!

I began looking at many different diet plans out there of every conceivable nature. Some of them are very popular and some seemed ridiculous. One day I noticed a couple of people at the credit union who were melting away. One of them began to tell me her story of battling her weight her whole life and that a friend had introduced her to this program.

In short, everyone I spoke to who was on the program, was excited about it and mentioned how easy it was to follow. Everything I read was practical and coincided with everything I knew about healthy weight loss.

So here is to some great changes that will be life-long! Come back frequently to updates, progress, successes and pictures! And don't forget to leave me comments and even questions, I'll do my best to answer them!