Fruits, Vegetables, Lean Meats..oh my

I am really enjoying adding real food back into the diet. It is more challenging to control portion sizes, but this is going to be my real world so I better get used to it. I want to continue to lose weight, so I am still trying to limit my calories under what I would need to maintaine weight. The workouts are going well and I am really looking forward to the 1/2 marathon in April and the triathlon in May. The next weigh in is Thursday. I hope to report a loss of a couple of pounds, really what I am hoping for is about 3 pounds and be in the 240s!!

IT IS OFFICIAL I HAVE LOST OVER 100 POUNDS

101.7 to be exact. They actually hugged me at the weight loss center last night. I am pumped up about this milestone to say the least. If you count when I started this blog I have lost 128 pounds since August of 2005. Kim has told me recently that she never realized how big I was, but now that she goes back and looks at pictures compared to now, she is amazed. I am hoping to get some pics up of this whole journey very soon. I just stink at getting all that technology to work together, ok, I don't really, I just stink at getting the time to make it happen. I have bought another pair of 38 jeans because my 42 just got too big, so now I have two pair of jeans that fit. I think when it is all said and done I might be in 36s, who knows.

The workouts are going well and the long run this weekend is 5 miles, and I will do that on Sunday. I am close enough to the the 240s that I really want to have a good week and see those new numbers next week. There is something about not having to put the big sliding bar on 250 when you weigh on medical scales. I think I am just a week away from letting it stay on the 200!!

Thanks again for all the support, and encouragement, Kim and Carolyn, Greg and my Dad, and Dave and some chic from New York that made comments for awhile I have never met, and my mom who has done this along side me and been very successful herself. I am so blessed to have such a support group, and these are just the ones that come to mind from looking over the comments, there have been many more that have encouraged and I am very appreciative. It cannot be overlooked how big a part that plays and that is why I am asking you to help a couple of my Friend's

My friend Debbie is starting this same journey very soon on the same program and will have a blog and I will let you know the address as soon as I do. I know she can do it, but it is never easy, so be sure and look for way to encourage her. Also my friend Damon is about to go to Germany for back surgery and is going to blog at damonwright.blogspot.com he could use your support too. Be sure and check it out. It has been a long painful journey for him and hopefully he will fin relief very soon.

Thanks

I am in lust

Having lost a lot of weight and about 35 pounds from my goal I am pumped and I have always said that I wanted a motorcycle when I reached my goal. I think more level heads and that fact that I am the father of young children have prevailed and I will probably not go through with it.

But I do have a need to have what is left of my hair in the wind and some of the good things about a motorcycle, but in the safety of a four door jeep for the whole family. I think part of it is that I have always had big cars and trucks because I have always been big, but now that I am not as big for my next car I want to get something a little less big and a little more fun, so here is what i am in lust with!

It may be a while, but I love me some Jeep.

Thanks Debbie!

I was kindly reminded last night at house church by my good friend Debbie that I have not updated the blog in over a week. This would not be a big deal if I had not told all you faithful readers that I would keep you updated on the 1/2 marathon training. So here is your update.....I have been running a whole lot.

Really I have made all my workouts including 5 miles on Monday and a great swim workout yesterday with by buddy Von, a student at ASU. It was really tough to make up the workouts from this weekend while in Gatlinburg at the only Hampton Inn in the country without a workout facility and 4 inches on snow on the ground, but I have been able to make up those missed workouts.

I weighed this morning and it looks like I will have only lost a couple if any pounds over the last two weeks when I weigh in tomorrow. But with big celebrations at Upper Crust and Texas de Brazil, and a weekend in Gatlinburg all in that time period I have to say I feel like not gaining any weight is a victory. I don't want you to think that means I am happy where I am, I still will lose the last 35 pounds or so, but after 12 hard hard weeks I have enjoyed adding fruits and vegetables and the occasional indulgence.

One of the coolest things about this weight loss journey has been and continues to be how it has impacted the relationships I have with my friends and family. I am by no means saying that I am the inspiration to anyone who has decide to get healthier in the last 12 weeks, but I have found that when someone else is doing something it gets kind of contagious. That is how it started with me, I was looking at pictures of my cousin in a road race and thought, "man I have got to get back at it" Just yesterday my friend Russ Adcox read my blog and in his blog he went out and ran 3 miles www.russadcox.blogspot.com, and recommitted himself to some goals he had already set. I have gotten calls from men that go to church just to talk about weight loss, my dad has lost some weight(thanks to the succses of my mom), and my friend Debbie is starting the same program next week!! (GO DEBBIE!!) My friend Greg Brooks and I are still running, something we started together over a year ago and will go to Nashville together again. My wife and I are going to do a triathlon together, I get to workout with some of the college stud ens like Von. The fact that our friends Ryan and Angie are going to meet us for a triathon this summer, and firends Kevin and Jenny are going to go to Chattanooga to do a tri with us. I love getting in shape and losing weight, but as most of things that motivate me, the best part of this journey continues to be the relationships that have come from it and have been strenthened by it.

Quick Update

Like I have said I will not have an official weigh in till next Thursday, but things are going well and I think I have lost a couple of pounds this week on my scales. But the big news is that I bought a new pair of jeans today...they are size 38!!!( I started this at size 56) This pumps me up big time for some reason, there is something about being back in the 30's.

This weekend I am going to be out of town, but hope to continue on the 1/2 marathon plan on the hotel treadmill, I got 3 miles in yesterday and hope to swim this afternoon.

I will update again soon.

Reporting In

The last week has gone well. I have gotten in all my workouts and am staying on program. At this rate it looks like I will lose my 100th pound this week, but will not get an official weigh in till next Thursday because I will be out of town. Remember now that I am in maintanice my weigh-in day is Thursday.

My long run of 4 miles went great Sunday and I plan to run 3 today.

Workout

Yesterday was a beautiful day, it got up to 60 degrees. Kim and I ran a couple of miles and then I worked on some swim drills for a little while. Today the 1/2 marathon training plan call for a 3 mile run. Unfortunatly today is cold again, so on my way home from work I will stop off at the gym and knock it out.
The transition to maintance seems to be going well, no serious digestive problems with the veggies (or pizza on Monday) but I am trying to do the shakes only till Friday, we are going to eat at Texas de Brazil in Memphis! My next weigh in is supposed to be a week from tomorrow, but I just realized I will be out of town so it will be two weeks from tomrrow. I will keep you all up to date.

I Have Lost 97.6 Pounds in 12WEEKS!!

The first phase of the journey is over and it has been a great success. Kim invited our friend's to eat Pizza to celebrate and I want to thank them for coming and supporting me through the last 12 weeks. Thanks to Greg and Carolyn, Chris and Polly, Dan and Scarlett, and all their kids that came tonight. I still have 35 or so pounds to go, but it was great to have some real food again.

I also want to thank my cousins David and Cathy for their support on my blog and words of encouragement. They have meant a lot.

The most thanks go to Kim and Kiley and Robyn for putting up with me for the last 12 weeks. I know I have been a little on edge.

I cheated tonight with the Pizza, but I am back on shakes with some of the prepared foods from HMR and VEGETABLES starting tomorrow!! Then next week I get to add fruit. My weigh ins have been moved to Thursdays, so hopefully I will be able to report over 100 pounds lost. I will continue to update the 1/2 marathon and triathlon training daily or at least e couple times a week. I was supposed to run 3 today, but ran 5, so the training is off to a good start.

Today is the end of phase 1

Tonight I will weigh in and get my 12 week weight loss total. I am hoping I will be in the 250's, I can tell you it is going to be close. I will not be dissapointed if I come up a little short becasue I know that I am going to lose this last 40 pounds and if I come up one pound short today, it will come off next week. I am going to cheat tongight and have pizza. But I will not have an entire pizza like I would have 12 weeks ago, I may just have a couple of pieces, because I for sure want to stay on track and keep the numbers going down in the right direction.

Today starts the training program for the Nashville 1/2 marathon. So starting today I will update the blog with the workout for the day and how it went and all that good stuff. Today calls for running 3 miles, so that is what I will do this afternoon before I go weigh in tonight. I will try and get on tonight to post the final 12 week total.

Closer to 220 everyday!!

ONE WEEK TO GO ON SHAKES ONLY

I lost 6.7 this week, that brings the total up to 88.9 and my weight down to 266.2!!! I would love to have a really big weight loss this week and end up with 100 pounds in 12 weeks, but hey if I am in the 250s at this time next week that will be awsome for me. I am pumped to start the next step of phasing in fruits and vegetables as I continue the weight loss journey to 220!!!

82.3 Pounds Down in 10 Weeks!

I lost about 4 this week and have now lost over 80 pounds on this diet. I am pumped, and depressed at the same time. I am pumped that I have lost so much, but I am a little bummed that it looks like I won't be able to lose 100 pounds in the twelve weeks. Kim says that is makes her sick that I have lost all this weight and still find something to be bummed about, but hey you have to keep putting goals out there that are tough to reach. It looks like I will be able to get in the 260's safely and that is only 40 or so away from my goal of 220. They have kind of suggested that I go on maintance for the last 40 pounds, but I have not decided for sure what to do. I just don't want to lose half a pound a week for the rest of the year, I want to get there pretty soon, so I may start some real food, but will stay pretty much on the diet till I get to goal.

TWO MORE WEEKS OF SHAKES ONLY. Thanks to all of you for all your comments and support on this journey. Is is far from over, tonight I kind of freaked out when I thought about how I am going to keep all this weight off, but I know with friends like you guys and my aw some family I have the support system in place to make sure I keep it off.
Thanks
Brad

Reporting from Arlington Texas

The last couple of weekends have found me on the road. Last weekend at Gulf Coat Getaway in Panama City Beach Floida and this weekend at Winterfest in Arlington Texas. I have to admit that I love seafood and I love eating in the Dallas area. But with all the college students with me last weekend and my good freind John Woodruff with me this weekend I have had little problems with staying on the plan. It is really hard to cheat with so many knowing what you are doing and knowing that the end of this intensive 12 week core of the program will be over in just 2 and half more weeks. I am hopefull of a big loss this week to get back on target to loss 100 pounds in the 12 weeks, but I have not been able to run as much. I currently weigh 275, I started the journey at 355, so that means 20 pounds in three weigh ins. This will not be easy and I will not be greatly dissapointed if I come up a little short, but it would be nice.

I did run three miles yesterday on the treadmill here at the hotel and I ran a mile at 6 miles and hour, which is an all-time high speed for me. I was excited to get through 3 miles in just over 30 minutes. My goal is to average 10 minute miles someday.

I have a chance to re-state my goals, both short term and long term, so here it goes. 1) Finish the 12 week core strong and loss as close to 100 pounds. 2) Get down to 220 with maintance 3) The Nashville 1/2 marathon April 28 4) The Local triathlon May 5. 5) Another tri to be determined during the sumer 6) and finally the Chicago Marathon in October. The long term goal would be an Ironman race in 2008, but that is a little down the road. I will really have to improve my swimming to do that.

Thanks for keeping up with me, I will give a weight-in update on Monday, I hope to get in the 260's!!

Quick Update

I am now in the 270's I lost 5 pounds this week and with three weigh ins to go getting closer and closer to the 250's. I have been running 5 miles two days a week and 3 miles 2 days a week. Things are going well and I will start the training program for the 1/2 marathon soon. I will try to post again soon, sorry for being so short, but it's crazy!!

Short Week

I had only had from Wednesday to Monday of this past week to count towards my loss and I weighed in at 281.8 a loss of 5.8 that gives me a grand total of 73.8 in the last 8 weeks. I am really excited about that, I am also excited about the 4.5 miles I ran yesterday, but I am most excited about my trip to the department store.

I went in Dillard's to buy a new belt, because I am having some trouble keeping the ole pants up, and I don't want to buy a lot of new clothes right now. So I get the belt and on my way out I go past the regular size Polo section (not the big and tall Polo) I am very familiar with big and tall Polo because they have the biggest cut in the thigh and butt area and that is what I usually need. Anyway I decide to see if I can fit into a pair of jeans. The biggest size their "normal size" jeans go to is 42. I got a pair and went to the dressing room. THEY FIT!!! They were the type of jeans that come with a couple of holes already in them (not just the holes for your legs) and looked a little worn. I am cool with that, I am hip. But I was a little concerned about the integrity of the fabric around the hole. Anyway I went back over to the jean rack and was looking around and this kid sales guy comes up and says, "are you looking for the ones without the holes?" with this smug kind of , you are too old to get it man, kind of attitude. So I said "No, I am just concerned about the integrity of the fabric around this particular hole placement" Then he looked at me like, yeah you are too old, and he said we have jeans without holes. I said " I will take these with the hole, thank you very much!"

Another quick story. I am wearing a pair of pants today that are size 42 that I have had in my closet for almost 7 years with all the tags still on them. About 7 years ago I was at my parents house and we were going to go to a deal at their church to celebrate my grandfather's years of service and I needed a nice pair of pants. My wife and mom were out shopping and Kim just bought me a pair of what she thought I wore. She brought them home and they were way too small. She said she would take them back, but I said no no NO!! I will lose a little weight and get into them soon. I have kept them in my closet this whole time and today my readers, I TOOK THE TAGS OFF and put em' on. It was a good feeling.

Big Big WEEK!

Yesterday I weighed in with a loss of 9.1, to bring the total weight loss in the last 7 weeks to 69 POUNDS! My weight is now 287. I am moving down and quickly. I also ran a little over 4 miles yesterday and am feeling real good about starting the 1/2 marathon training soon.

I have been asked a lot about how long I will stay on the shakes only plan, here is the deal. This diet that St. Bernards weight loss center does called HMR has a 12 week core plan. I chose the most limited one with the shakes only, you could do shakes and meals or shakes meals, and fruits and vegetables. At the end of the core you decide based on how close you are to your goal what you want to do next. You can continue just like you have been, or you can add some stuff, or you can go into maintenance and start adding real food back into your diet. I am leaning towards just adding fruits and vegetables and shakes till I get to 230 or so, then I will start adding "real" food back in until I get to goal and find out how many calories a week it takes to maintain 220 or so. Then they want you stay in the maintenance program for about a year so you can go through all the major holidays and birthdays and vacations and all that stuff and stay at your goal. I think it will be good. I will keep you updated. But for now I am focused on FEB 5, if you see me writing a lot about that day or talking about it's because I am going to have a real meal after that weigh in before I start the next phase, right now I am thinking PIZZA, but steak is a real possibility.

I have 5 more weigh-ins to go and I need to lose 27 pounds to get to 260, that is a little over 6 pounds a week. This is a short week, but I am going to really try and work out a lot between now and then so I will start out on the right track. I will keep you posted.

Here I am last year

This is me running in the Grizzly House 5K with my lovely wife last year. I weigh about 325 in this picture. I should weigh in the 280's when I weigh in today. I am just experimenting with pics because I want to start and chronicle the change from 380 to 220.

Another big week!

The official weigh-in was moved to Wednesday this week and next for the Holidays. I lost 7 pounds this week to bring the 6 week total to 59 and my weight down to 296. I am really excited. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will continue to do the shake only thing through Feb 5, then I will incorporate fruits and vegetables into the program. I hope to get real close to 250 by then. At the current rate, my goal of 220 may be attainable before I know it!! Also my running is going well. I ran 4.5 miles yesterday and felt really good. I will start the training plan for the Nashville 1/2 marathon the first week of Feb. Thanks for all your support! I will keep you updated.

UNDER 300 POUNDS!!!!

Today is the day, I stepped on the scales and it read 299.6. I am under 300 pounds for the first time in a long long long time. It has to be almost 7 years since I was under 300 pounds. The scale I am using here at the house is the same one that I tiped at 380 last year, so I have lost over 80 pounds in the last year. I am sure that when I have the official weigh in at St. Bernards on Wednesday I will have another good loss. It may not be as big as the last couple of weeks, but it will bring the total on this program up to over 55 pounds in the last 6 weeks. My next big goal is 250, I hope to be in the 250s by Feb 5th. This is a pretty big goal, but the way things are going I am going to dream big.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Down 9.7 POUNDS today

That brings the 5 week total to over 50 pounds!!! I am scared to death as to what this week will bring. Christmas, the birth of our second daughter, and all just two pounds from the ever elusive 290's. I have run over three miles three times over the last week and have had a couple of great swim workouts. I hope that I will not lose much momentum this week. I will keep you up to date. Thanks for the support.

Gliding and Grinding

I run, kind of, it's pretty slow but it burns calories and helps feed that competitive side I have. Monday I ran 2.5 miles in 29 minutes and 59 seconds. I felt like I was flying, it was smooth, my breathing was great and I felt good after the run. I think that was the first time ,at least in a while that I had run that loop under 30 minutes. Today over lunch I went to run the same loop, and within the first hundred yards I was feeling a little fatigue. I thought to myself, ok, time doesn't matter let's grind this loop out and go get back to work. I did not even look at my watch to check my time at any point during the run because I knew it was going to be bad. So the end came and I looked down and it was 29:42. How did that happen? Monday I was gliding and today I was grinding, but it was faster? I think there is a moral to this story, but I am too busy to figure it out.