The Momentum Has Stalled A Bit

The past week has kind of sucked for the weight loss. I started getting really bad cramps early last week. I tried to take in more salt and talked to my Dr. and also started taking a little extra Magnesium to help. I think these two things combined with the fact that I ate and drank in celebration of our anniversary over the weekend in Nashville has resulted in a weight gain for the week.

As depressing as that is, this is a new week and I am back on track. 

17 Is A Good Stat

Today marks 90 days until the election. Today also marks a loss of 17 pounds for me. I am still about 9 pounds away from my pre-quarantine weight, but I am headed in the right direction. I was successful at getting in exercise at least 3 times this week and I was successful at drinking only protein shakes and water. One week of success does not make one successful in an endeavor. However, this week has seemed a little easier. I actually went out to dinner with Kim and Robyn last night and just watched them eat at a Mexican restaurant.

With just 90 day to go I am committed to shakes only for the majority of those days. However, I have realized that there will have to be a couple of occasions in which I have a little food. One of which will be this Saturday night. Kim and I celebrate our 22^nd anniversary of getting hitched. I am not going to take Kim out for our anniversary and make her eat by herself. However, I feel differently about what I will eat. The protein shakes have put me in ketosis, and I don’t want to mess that up. I will look for a broiled fish option and leave the potatoes for after the election.

When I graduated from high school one of the things my dad gave me was a small statue of a golf club hitting a ball which said, “In life, as in golf, the follow through makes the difference.” I am often reminded of that as I set these health goals. Somedays are harder than others but following through on those goals are a worthy pursuit. The success of the last week has brought me more satisfaction than any food could have over the same period of time. That  is something I will probably need to remind myself of often.

Under 100 Days to the Election. This is About to Get Real.

Last week did not bring a large amount of weight loss. Actually, last week came with the gain of one pound. Its not like I don’t have excuses. I know you don’t want to hear them, but I practiced them, so you have to read them: It was Kim’s birthday week. We bought a cake. I cooked a big birthday dinner. We had friends over for a whiskey tasting. It was national tequila day. We spent a day on the lake. Last week had days that ended in y. I have more, but you get the idea.

I have over 100 pounds I need to lose…again. That is really defeating to say. I have done it four times in my life. Once in high school. After the end of football season my senior year I decided to just kill it. I hardly ate and I worked out all the time. By the time graduation rolled around I was almost half the person I started out as that year. The second time was the year Kim and I got married. I could not let her look better than me in the wedding pics! She still did, but I was at a decent weight. The third time was when I started this blog in 2006. I decided I wanted to run a marathon, so I lost 145 pounds or so (380 to 235)  ran a couple of marathons and did a couple triathlons. Most recently, I worked with a doctor in Arkansas and lost about 110 pounds back in 2014. I was able to keep it off the longest, but it came back. Not as high, but still unhealthy.

I mentioned last week, I was reading a book by Dr. Nick Yphantides. It chronicles his journey of going from 467 pounds to his ideal weight over a baseball season, Seriously, he quit his job, bought a van and went to every major league park over an entire baseball season drinking only protein shakes to lose weight. What is so interesting about his story, is that he has kept the weight off ever since, we are talking almost 20 years. He admits he had to do something drastic to stay engaged because he had so much to lose, but he also started formulating the plan to keep it off from the very start. Do you know studies suggest that only 5 to 10% of people who lose over a 100 pounds keep it off for more than a year!

I can’t quit my job and I could not see a baseball game right now if I wanted to. However, I do have a doctor friend to help make sure I don’t kill myself and I can stop eating solid food and stop drinking calories of any kind and only drink protein shakes and water to lose weight. I have aligned my time frame with the election. I started a couple days ago. It was 100 days until the election. As anyone who knows me well knows, I have at least 100 days of crazy in me.

The election time frame works well for me symbolically. I realized our country was not made up of the people I thought it was, and I realized our systems were not always good. I lamented this realization and I daily lament the difference between what I thought leadership looked like and what has been rewarded. I use food to cope with or distract me from that at times, and it got really bad after 2016.

Finally, letting you know this is a little scary for me. I may see you; you may come over. It is really hard to tell people you are going to do something and then not do it. I guess that is why I am putting it in writing. No bourbon, no Big Green Egg steaks, brisket, or butt until the election. As crazy as it sounds, at this point, it is better than the alternative to me. I will celebrate on election night, hopefully in more ways than one.

Week One, Kind of Good, Kind of Bad

How disappointed can one reasonably be with losing three pounds? That is how disappointed I am today. Yes, I am happy I lost some weight, but I feel like my effort was greater than three pounds worth of reward received.

I do appreciate the notes and texts of encouragement over the week, the great suggestion for a really cool food tracker, offers to join workouts, and general support. It is going to take a lot to reach my goal by 12/20/2020 and I know my greatest weakness is the ability to justify not missing out on something (usually an event, or get together) that usually involves food that I should limit or try to avoid.

I pulled a book out this weekend that I read way back in 2006 called, My Big Fat Greek Diet. It is the story a physician who weighed in at 467 pounds and decided to do something about it. He quit his job, sold his house, and spent the entire summer crisscrossing the country to see baseball in every MLB ballpark while only drinking protein shakes. It worked for him. It reminded me that sometimes big change is easier than incremental change and that if he was able make it on liquid alone for almost 9 months, I should be able to kick it up a notch on the will power.

I went for a couple of walks last week but missed my goal of exercising three times for 30 minutes. I ate really well early in the week and eliminated alcohol early in the week, but alas, the weekend came and I was able to justify eating and drinking too much. I was on track to lose at least 6 pounds and had at one point during the week but the week did not end well.

Here is to getting on track and staying there this week.

12/20/2020 Is Coming.....and I Need a Little Help.

This blog has not seen any action in a long, long time. Some of these older posts are hard to read. I evidently did not put a high value on proofreading. That said, I feel the need to utilize it again for two reasons. One, it chronicles the most success I have ever had at getting healthy, and two, I made a commitment back on December 20, 2019 to be much healthier by December 20, 2020. I have failed miserably on my own to this point and thought the accountability of the blog might help get my rear in gear.

I have to be honest with you. Sometimes I like being bigger than most people. I have been rewarded for it at times. The first time I remember was when I had my regional television debut on the Bozo Show, live from the KAIT 8 studios in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I was selected to play the “Pop the Balloon” game. I was pitted against a scrawny little kid. We had to run to get a balloon, bring it back and pop it. We needed to do this three times to win. Sure, he beat me to the balloon, but when he got it back to the bench, he kept bouncing off the balloon as he attempted to sit on it to pop it. This was no problem for me. I popped those three balloons before he popped one and walked away with an official Bozo Show backpack. The big guy wins! In high school, it was beneficial on the football field, I was hard to move and I could knock people over. As an adult, I can usually drink more than anyone I go out with and never get hungover. Being large has its advantages.

I have not been invited to a balloon popping contest in awhile and now I would get charged with assault for running at people to knock them over, and my liver doesn’t really care how big I am, it is the same size as yours and needs a break. Living large has really lost its advantages. It even has disadvantages, like, getting out of breath walking upstairs, not looking good in skinny jeans, and fear that I may die of a heart attack when I go to bed to name a few. That is why I am committing to you (my accountability partner) that I am going to get much healthier than I am currently by 12/20/2020. I believe I can lose an average of 10 pounds a month between now and then. I will weigh each week and let you know how I do. You can ask me when you see me or message me and ask how it is going. I am committing to at least 30 minutes of exercise at least three times a week, it may go up, but I am starting small. You can ask me about that as well.

You may be thinking, I really don’t want to be your accountability partner here, I understand that, you could just be here for my political insight and witty banter. That is cool, but I have found, especially through this pandemic, that I do best in community. I want to share my goal with you and know that some weeks will be good news and we can celebrate together and some weeks may not be as good and I need to let you know that as well. This is not a highlight reel; this is a journey and I am inviting you to come along.

Down Another 3.7

It was not as much as I would have liked but I am still going down. Almost 30 pounds in three weeks is not a bad start. I have another 30 or so and I will be under 300 for the first time in a long time. I am not losing as fast because I just don't have the time to workout as much as I used to. If I get in 30 minutes a day it is a victory.

Almost 25 Pounds in Two Weeks

Week number two is in the books. I only lost 5.4 pounds this week. That was not real exciting. However, I have been told that it might pick back up next week. Looking back over this blog I see that on the second week years ago, it was also the lowest amount I lost the whole program. With that said I expect big big things next Tuesday.

I can tell that my shirts are a little more lose and I already have a little more energy. I will update further upon my weigh in next week.

BOOM

First week of the program and I lost 19.1 pounds. That is one more pound than I lost on the during the first week last time. That is more than I expected because I have not had the time to get as much physical activity in as the last time I did the program. However, I have been walking about 2 miles every other day.

Unlike the last time I did this program I don't have as much time to blog. At this point  I have not even made my blog public again. I am not telling a lot of people I am doing this again. I think I am a little embarrassed that I gained so much weight. I also don't want to make a big deal about it. All I am doing is trying to get where I should be. However, I like to chronicle the weight loss and put it out there just in case it might help one other person decide to try to get healthier. As my weight goes down I am hopeful that my blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure will go down as well.

I look forward to updating you on another loss next week. Last time, the second week loss was 7. I hope to be close to that once again.

Joy in the Journey

“My best is yet to come.” That phrase originated during a run as part of a process that resulted in me losing over 145 pounds to get healthy. At the time it meant that I would no longer rely on memories of the good old days, when I played a little football, to be the crowning athletic achievement in my life. Later, those words started the essay I wrote during my law school admittance process. When I wrote those words I wanted to emphasis to those who would be reading my essay that I planned to do better in law school and my career than I had previously. It was not that my life was not full and exciting enough at the time. I just wanted them to know that no matter how great the past was, I was ready to make the future better.

            I lost all that weight in 2006, almost 7 years ago. Over the last 7 years I have continued to be blessed by a beautiful wife and two awesome children. I have had great friends and church homes. I have been able to complete law school and currently have the privilege to practice with wonderful people at the largest firm in Arkansas while helping to open our offices in Jonesboro.

            Unfortunately, I have gained much of that weight back. However, I still believe my best is yet to come. I started the same program here in Jonesboro that helped me lose the weight the first time yesterday. I have a long way to go, about 130 pounds to lose but it is a matter of health. I am not getting any younger and I am certainly not getting any healthier at this stage of my life by doing the things I am currently doing. I get healthy for my family, to be around long enough to practice law to have made it worth it to go back to school at 32 and to engage in the activities that we enjoy like swimming and hiking and bicycling. I can’t sit around and tell stories about running the Music City Half Marathon, or the Chicago Marathon or the triathlons I competed in years ago. To get healthy again, my best must be yet to come.

Running Down a Dream, The Sequal

I read a blog post today from July 30, 2007. I titled it “Running Down a Dream”. It was about a long run that Kim and I did. Someone had stolen our water from our first stop and it was one of the hottest and humid nights we had run in. However, we finished and we were a little made about it. I talked about how you have to get a little made at being unhealthy to run down the dream of health because it never comes to you while you are standing still. You have to run, or bike or swim…something to it. You also have to make good food choices along the way. That seems like a lifetime ago.
This week I am closer to 330 than I am 230 and I am on blood pressure meds and gout meds. I have been a little upset about it, but not mad. Last night I kind of got mad. Angry that my friends were talking about doing a big bike ride and they were standing just beside me, but not including me in their conversation. They know I am not in good enough shape to bike 40 miles. I am not that person that ran down the dream of good health. I have been busy running down educational dreams and career dreams and family dreams, neglecting my health and weight. I am not mad at my friends for talking about it in front of me, I am mad at me for allowing this to happen.
Five or so years ago when I started my diet I did so because I did not want my best to be behind me. Meaning that I did not want the peak of my athletic and health goals to be the glory days of high school football, I wanted more. A short 5 years later (including a new city and two years of law school) later, my glory days are still behind me, just a little more recent past. I ran two marathons, three triathlons, and numerous other races, but I am only in good enough shape to talk about those things with my friends, not actually do them. That sucks.
The bulk of my weight loss came from the HMR program, and it did help me get the weight off quickly, but I don’t think I can do that again. I am combining concepts from many previous diets into a new healthier eating plan. The pillars of my new plan are 1) Limited Choices (I am shopping for a breakfast and lunch meal of the week. 2) Portions (I am making dinners that include a small protein a carb and vegetables) 3) Simplicity (nothing fancy) and finally 4) Daily exercise (probably no triathlon coming anytime soon, but perhaps some running races.
I am 35 and should be in pretty good health. I have no major knee, hip, or back problems. The only thing that stands between me and my health goals is disciplining me to plan meals and carve out the time to exercise. It is no surprise that this is not happening while I carry on doing the same old thing. It is time to start another journey and run down this dream before it runs out of sight.

Long Update

It has been some time since my last update, but it has been a great time. We went on vacation a couple of weeks ago to Seagrove Florida. Seagrove is along the famous 30-A on the other side of Seaside from Destin. We love the area, and I have to say that it was the best weather ever for vacation. The humidity was low the water was perfect, more calm and clear than I have seen in the 12 years we have been going. We had a wonderful time and celebrated Kim's birthday while we were there.

The end of the summer is here. Orientation starts next week and I have become somewhat reflective of my time with the girls this summer. I am not sure that I have ever felt so under qualified and over matched as I have been this summer. Not that it has not been a blast, but I had hoped to really savor each moment, but spent most of the day just trying to survive and keep them from hurting themselves or each other. I had grand visions of reading time, craft time, library trips, and just overall smooth days, what I got was a messy house and a lot of trips to the pool. But each week there was at least one moment, a golden nugget of time that both girls were at peace and I was able to be in the moment, and we just had fun, either wrestling or just having them share my lap while we watched Barbie and whatever her latest adventure was, or another episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Overall I wouldn't trade it for the anything.

School starts a week from today. I am as ready as I can be. Everyone says that law school is a lot of work and pressure and I am sure it is, but I think I am putting more pressure on myself than anything else. Since I am starting so much later in life than most I feel I have a lot of ground to make up. I don't want to just go to law school, I want to do REALLY well at law school. I am not sure that I would work for a big firm, but I want to do well enough to have lots of choices when I graduate, and I know this first semester goes along way in sitting the pace. I will try to keep the blog somewhat updated during school, but no promises.

Under a Month

Orientation for law school starts Aug 12. I am not quite at peace about it, but I am feeling pretty good. I am trying to really enjoy the calm before the storm. It is hard to believe my time as a stay-at-home dad is almost over. I sat out on the deck with Kiley a couple of nights ago listening to the crickets while Kim tucked Robyn in. We talked about how much fun we have had this summer and I was trying to prepare her a little for when school starts for both of us, and how things would change a little bit. I was working on getting her excited about her school starting and I think she is more excited about just being around other kids her age, and not her little sister all the time. I think my biggest fear about law school, especially after this summer and knowing my tendency to be an extremist at whatever I do, is that I will balance life and not let these next three years of their lives slip away and not even realize it.

On a related note, our annual trip to Florida is next week. We leave Monday for a week in Seagrove, which is just outside Destin on 30-A. We usually go with Kim's family, but his year they are not going with us, just us and the sitter we are taking along so we can go out a couple of nights. We had considered not going this year but we decided it might be our last real vacation for the next few years. As matter of fact I was talking to my neighbor, who is a partner at the Rose Firm here in little Rock about it a couple of weeks ago. I was kind of probing him for information, they had just gotten back from vacation and I was telling him I was excited about our upcoming vacation, but that I was afraid it would be our last one for the next three years, with school and clerkships and all. I was really expecting him to say something like, don't worry you will find time to get away, or I am sure you can work in a vacation, but his response was not near as positive as I had hoped. He said, "Don't worry, if Kim is anything like my wife, they won't have any problem going on vacation without you." I am really going to soak up my vacation next week.

HOT HOT HOT

Well summer is here and the kids and I have been going to the pool just about everyday. I have to say it is a little weird being the only guy at the pool with a bunch of kids and women. Robyn has no problem making friends (or stealing toys) depending on how you want to spin it. I have had the opportunity to see Robyn and Kiley both lose all fear of the water. Kiley has no reservations about jumping off the diving board, going down the BIG slide, and today I taught her to do an underwater flip. She is really doing well. Robyn is still using the inflatable arm things, but she is doing great too. She jumps in and kicks to where ever she wants to go and slides down the the small slide in the big pool with no problems. I have found that the pool is a great way to get the kids tired during the day and I get to work on my tan.

Today was FREE MOVIE day at the Rave theater, they were showing Surf's Up. I remember my mom taking my sister and I to the free movie days back in Jonesboro when we were kids. Back then you had to take in bottle tops from Coke products and they showed old Elvis movies or things like Escape from Witch Mountain or the Apple Dumpling Gang. I don't remember there being a lot of kids there back in the day. I am not sure if the fact we are in Little Rock is what makes the difference or if the times have changed, but I think every kid in Little Rock was at that movie today. There were big yellow school buses and there were small 15 passenger vans. and there were a bazillion cars. Kiley and Robyn were well behaved and did great, but I was a little nervous around all those kids, and once again I believe I saw one single other adult male.

School feels like it is going to start very soon. I got the orientation schedule last week and I have to report on August 12. It looks like they teach you how to do law school for the week before it actually starts. We have to go the 12th and 13th and then they give us two days to work on our assignments, and then we go on Sunday the 16th for four hours and then we go another two days and get off another day to work on assignments and then we get one day off and the regular schedule starts. I am getting excited and nervous as it draws closer. I hope Kiley and Robyn have enjoyed all this time I have been able to spend with them, because I have a feeling life is going to change pretty drastically starting August 12.

One last pretty cool thing we have gotten in the habit of doing most afternoons after Kim gets off work is to go down to the River Trail and ride bikes. I get the honor of pulling Kiley and Robyn in a little pull behind. There are a couple of serious hills we go over and I am not in near as good of shape as I have been at times. The cool thing is that the girls can tell when I am struggling up the hill (maybe the sweat is falling down on them) and they start yelling "GO DADDY GO" That has been the coolest part of the summer.

Time Flies

It seems like just yesterday I was updating my blog and had great intentions of updating at least weekly, well that was over a month ago! I don't understand how stay at home moms have time to go to the bathroom, much less update blogs. I have managed to keep Kiley and Robyn alive and in pretty good health over the last month. We have had some adventures for sure, but nothing too exciting. I think after a while you begin to take the funny moments and crazy things in stride and don't even realize how funny they are. Like Robyn learning how to use the word "mad" and telling Kim that "Daddy mad at me", and Kim telling Robyn that she is sure I am not, and then Robyn saying "OK, I'm mad at Daddy!" Then Kim asking why? and Robyn in a very deep possessed by demonic forces type voice telling her that "I WANT CEREAL BAR"

I have also been wittiness to Kiley turning into Hannah Montana this summer. Every time I turn around she is singing her desires to me, from what she wants for breakfast, to where she wants to go, sometimes I feel like I am in a bad musical.

Of course we have mad our share of messes in the house from glasses and light bulbs that get dropped, to spills,and stains. It's hared to keep up with them all the time.

I have not worked out near as much as I have wanted to, but last week was good I weighed and had lost about 12 pounds since the last time I had weighed, so at least I think I am eating better. With less than three months to go before law school starts I am beginning to think I may not make my goal of lowest weight ever, but if I could just lose 25 or so I think I would be happy. It goes and comes, but I guess it is something I will always struggle with.

Long Week

I am not exactly sure what happened this week, all I know it things seemed pretty normal and then BAM a couple of things lead to a couple of bad KIDS, Ok not bad, just highly emotional. And I said long week, but really just last couple of days, and some of it may be my fault. I had a lunch appointment yesterday with one of the leaders at a church we are thinking about attending, so I got one of our friends to watch Kiley and Robyn for a couple of hours while I had lunch. I knew it would be pushing Robyn's nap time but it was gonna be worth it. When I went to pick them up they were both in a great mood and had fun and I got a good report. On the way home Robyn feel asleep, we are talking 10 minutes at most, but sure enough I got her home and she would not take a nap. At this point I need to tell you that I value you nap time at a greater worth then diamonds or gold! I'm serious, it is MY time to read or blog or whatever. Well I stood outside Robyn's room for an hour putting her back in bed every time she got up until she out lasted me. I just decided to let her stay up and go to bed early. (During our play time she decided that piggy back rides are much more fun when she jumps from the couch to my back from 5 feet away when I am not looking, but that is a story for another day)

Kim had gotten a chicken pot pie from Fresh Market, which is usually a winner, and all I had to do was stick it in the over at 4:30 (I set the alarm on my phone) About 4:45 the fire alarm was going off in the house, and this was a first not only does the alarm sound, but we have a little voice saying in a clam tone "There is a fire, please leave the house" So next thing I know Kiley and Robyn are on the front porch yelling back into the house that I need to come out because the fire trucks will be here soon! I told them that it was just an accident and evidently I was supposed to have put the pot pie on a pan so the crud didn't leak down into the burners, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THEY GAVE YOU DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX.

So Kim gets home and we sit down to eat and the pot pie taste like crap, Kiley starts by saying she doesn't like it, but she doesn't like most things when she is tired and I eat some of mine and it taste like that put too much of some seasoning that I can't quite pick out , but I am willing to eat it. Kim finally says she is ready to order pizza, but instead she made breakfast for dinner and I mowed the yard and we were ready for the kids to go down early. One problem was that the few bites of the pot pie Robyn and I are did not agree with us. She was up till about midnight crying and trying to poop, and about the time she settled in the cramps in my stomach got me up and I was up for awhile, and stayed close to the toilet (if you know what I mean)

So today, Kiley wakes up over an hour early and Robyn soon followed, they are taking their naps now and am going enjoy the silence....

Another Season of Life

Since my last post I have moved to a new city (Little Rock), decided to go to law school (UALR Bowen School of Law), and started my gig as a stay-at-home dad until school starts in the fall. Life as usual has been hectic and I am not sure I have lost a pound since I last posted, although I am pretty sure I have not gained more than 5 or six in the last 5 months. The blog is going to be taking a little twist, it started as just a log of my physical fitness journey, and I do intend to use it as such, but in the future I will also share what I am doing to prepare for law school over the summer, and how things are going on a daily basis being a stay-at-home dad.

On the fitness side of things I have done a lot of cool stuff as far as marathons and triathlons and such over the last couple of years, but as of this week I was really happy to just run 4 miles at a 12 minute pace. I can get in some weights and some treadmill each week and that is about it, so I don't see anything in my future much longer than a 5 or 10K, at least for the next 3 years or so. Kim and I are on Weight Watchers together, she is trying to lose 8 pounds before I lose 30, I am not sure how that is fair, but I am up for the challenge.

When we moved to Little Rock Kim immediately started her job with the Chamber of Commerce, so I had Kiley and Robyn everyday all day. After the firs day I started looking for a mother's day out program. But I decided to join the gym, they offer childcare while I workout, it was a good trade off. The day we went to sign up I took the girls to Chick-fil-A for breakfast and to play on the playground area while I read the paper and drank coffee. About 5 minutes into the front page Kiley comes out and tells me that Robyn has pooped. I asked her how she knew and she told me she could see it! I knew this was BAD, but didn't know how bad. When I got Robyn out of the play area (I really hope they clean them each day) and got her to the bathroom I realized I had left the wipes out of the bag. I stripped Robyn and threw away some of her clothes there and just got her home to the bath and re-dressed. After that Kiley, Robyn, and I went to join the Little Rock Racquet Club, where we went into a very nice office and filled out paper work. My intention was to get all joined up and then go drop them at the child care area and then go workout. While the lady left the room to get our I.D. cards Kiley, said, "Dad I have a brown spot on my shirt", I asked her if it was chocolate and she lifted it up to her nose and said, "No it's POOP!, I said are you sure she said yes, and I asked how she got poop on her shirt, (which I had not noticed for 3 hours) and she said she "must have gotten too close when she tried to help Robyn) So there I am in the office at the Racquet Club, about to go workout and drop a kid with poop on her shirt off to play with other kids in the childcare area, trying to get my 4 year old to stop yelling, "I have poop on my shirt!" so that no one else will know that I am a horrible dad....We went home, but we did go back, with a new shirt on.

Journey

Journey has been the theme of my blog for some time now. Losing weight and keeping it off is a constant battle. I had great success at first and have put on some weight over the last year, that I am working at getting back off, but overall feel good about the understanding I have gained about myslef throughout the process.

I have realized that focus is one of the greatest keys for me to do anything well. When I was able to focus on weight loss it went great, when I through in school, work, running for city-council, and applying to law school, somethings got less focus than others. To a great extent grades were the primary focus right after work and family. I am happy to let you know that the grades have paid off and today I was admitted to law school. UALR Bowen School of Law in Little Rock is a great fit for my family and looks like the best overall choice when we put in the many factors we are considering. I tell you this becasue it is an important day, but one that came becasue of this weight loss journey.

I remeber running with my friend Greg one day and telling him how losing weight and getting in better shape made me feel like I could do so much more. It helped me the confidence to go back and finish up my bacholors degree, through that journey I was encouraged by numerous professors and friends to conisder law school. Today is not the end of my health journey, but I think it is a mile post that must be recognized. Because of my health journey my legal journey starts in August.

Down a couple

I have not had the chance to really blog that I thought I would, but I have lost a couple of pounds since last I blogged.

I graduate from Arkansas State University on Saturday with my B.A. in Philosophy. I have taken 12-15 hours each semester and 6-9 in the summers for the last year and a half to finish up my degree. To say the least it has taken some time and energy that I would have normally put into working out or eating well. Between school, work, family, and applying to law school I have been a little busy. But my last final is Thursday and I should have a little more time to put into getting more healthy. It is a few years later than I had hoped, about nine to tell you the truth, but better late than never. The plan is to start law school in the fall, again, better late than never. I am going to take this time between now and August to work on getting into the best shape of my life. I hope to start law school at my lowest adult weight and to have finished a half-ironman just before the start of school. So 3 pounds down towards that goal and just another 45 or so to go!!

UPDATE

Do you want my really good excuses as to why I have been out of touch for some time now? Well I have some really good ones, but I won't go into detail here, only that I have been super busy and blogging has not made my top 50 on the priority list in a while, unfortunatly neither has working out or eating well.

I started this whole weight loss journey around 380 pounds, my lowest was around 240 back in April or so of 2007. Today I weigh 280, so that is a net loss of 100 pounds and a horrible relization that I have gained about 40 pounds. I can't tell you how angery I am at myslef for allowing this to happen, but the main thing is that I start the journey of getting it off. Speaking of journey I was reading back through some of my older post and realized how much I wrote about being on a journey. I can tell that lately I feel like I am either there or not and that there is no in between. This is the kind of thinking that has me do super good one week and lose 10pounds, only to gain it back the next weekend.

I am on a journey and I have some new benchmarks to help me realize my weight goals. My first step is to just get back in the gym at least 2 times a week to do some lifting. My second mandate is to run or bike at least 3 times a week. My third and probalby most important step is to take in 2000 or less calories a day. By sticking to these simple priorities I hope to start losing weight weekly once again. I also plan to set a race goal soon, perhaps the Country Music 1/2 marathon (this was my goal two years ago when I started this journey) in April and some 5ks along the way.

The main thing is that I can no longer lose integrity with myslef by failing to follow through on the one aspect of life that should be a very high priority and that is health. I hope to have some good weight loss news by this time next week and maybe even report a workout or eating update along the way.

It Has Been A While

Things have been a little crazy lately and I am not sure they are getting less so. I had a great loss this week. I was down over 10 pounds. It is amazing what happens when you eat right and work out every day. Kim and I have decided to do a triathlon in September in Conway so I knew I had some getting in shape to do. I still have over 30 pounds to lose before I get down to where I would like to be, but I feel that I am finally back on the right track, now if it wasn't for leaving for vacation on Saturday I might have a couple of good weeks in a row. I am going to try hard to actually lose weight on vacation for the first time ever. I will let you know how it goes.