Starting a new blog
Well i'm still going to post here as well, but this is a dedicated weight loss blog for me @ BiggestLoserWannabe.com So what do you say John wanna lose some weight and try to get on the show?
Back from our Vacation
Well the vacation was wonderful, as hopefully most are. I was concerned about the weight I might gain, but unfortunately the food seems to be one area the cruises have cut back on. Or I may have just gotten used to food being prepared well, which is a possibility here in the DFW area. The food on the cruise wasn't bad per se, but I only gained 2 lbs. from the week long adventure, so I guess it was a good thing.
Here's a teaser photo from the trip.
I really enjoyed the time I spent with my wife, and got some fun photos along the way. I also learned to play gin rummy, at first I must have been doing something wrong, because I lost almost every game. I suppose always waiting for that perfect card to complete my hand was a bad strategy. By the end of the week we were pretty evenly matched, and it's now a card game I actually like to play. Historically I am more of a domino fellow, say 42 and my ears perk right up. I'm not great at 42, I'll try and keep up with you if your really good, and I just don't play enough now to get great. But as far as cards go spades was really the only card game I was pretty good at, and liked. Check back and I will post the rules of a odd Turkish game we learned from a waiter on board I call "Turkish 52", no it's not 52 card pickup.
So it's time to continue my journey toward a better more healthy weight, from the vacation I really walked my feet off so I want to find a way to continue that. Improving my choices on my quantity I believe is another huge step, but keeping it present in my thoughts will also help. There's another point of my life I want to try and tie to my weight journey and that is my prayer life. I'm beginning to look for inspiration in the scripture along these lines so if you have anything, post it in the comments. The fact my body is a temple is a given, I'm just starting renovations. 
~ John
Here I go again.
First i'd like to thank my brother John for giving me the opportunity to share this forum with him in an attempt to encourage one another to make the necessary changes to lose weight. A little bit about me, i'm Johns younger brother and have always enjoyed a fun bit of competitive spirit between the two of us.
I was at my heaviest back in October 2006 and at the time was hospitalized due to an infection known as MSRA or mersa as the media refers to it in my right calf. The doctor said it was due to an infection in my leg that had gotten out of control because of my lack of activity and weight. She said my lack of activity caused the lymphatic system to not circulate the infection for my immune system to be able to successfully battle it and I only had one choice to lose weight or die. The thought of widowing my wife and leaving a six, four, and three year old without a father made it a very real motivator.
I went on to lose close to a hundred pounds, quit my job of six years and start a non-profit dedicated to educate parents of overweight children make the necessary changes to lose weight and lead healthier lives. What I learned from this is that I did not have the necessary skill set to run a non-profit and was trying to accomplish five years work in six months. Ultimately due to poor planning and not having a clear road map after five months I had exhausted our financial resources and realized I didn't have the educational background necessary to be a credible expert in the field of weight loss for children. This set back caused me to stop working out and eventually put all but two pounds back on. Anyway enough about that I won't bore you with anymore details right now, more to come....
The word "Hope" and a new Benchmark
Have you ever had your hopes set for a certain level of something. You say to yourself, I can weigh X but please don't let me weigh Y when I get on this new scale. Well it wasn't a full on Z but it was over the Y I had held out hope for. So I am going to say to get to what I would consider a milestone for me is to lose 15 lbs, That would get me back under the magic Y major number. Believe me my Y number would be most peoples Z number or more for sure, but everyone needs to start somewhere. Now I am not starting this weight right sizing effort at a particularly easy point as I am about to go on vacation, but I hope to be very active on my vacation and come back not to far above where I am now.
Hope is a funny word, too frequently we use it even when we are pretty sure something is not going to happen. I hear us say frequently my hope is based on Jesus, or rests in Jesus, surely this isn't the same hope we mean when we talk about our weight like I just did or about our favorite team winning. Is there a better word I should be using? Because I am sure my hope does rest in my relationship to Jesus, and through him to the forgiveness of my sins, but i need another word for trying not to go overboard on vacation. 
A new start requires a benchmark
I ordered a new scale to help in the benchmarking of knowing where I am. I have a scale, it only goes up to 400 lbs, and sadly I am beyond that. How much beyond is anyone's guess, but as of Wednesday it won't be as my "My Weigh XL550" is set to arrive at my office. So soon I'll know how far I have fallen, as at some time last year I had lost back down to 365 at one point. But you have to start somewhere, and I think that means figuring out where you are beyond simply my hometown.
The weeks results
My wife and I have been using the Weight Watchers system to lose weight since January, and I have to admit it has been successful despite my own actions. But yesterday my wife cried "Uncle", the meeting style support is just not her bag. So we are going off the reservation, embarking on it alone with just each other for support, or will we? Most of the folks in the group are friends, and we will see them at Church multiple times a week, so perhaps encouragement won't be a factor.
The e-tools provided by Weight Watchers although interesting have never been a real factor in adherence, more a tool supposed to help you see why what happened on the scales happened. But if that were the only way I knew what happened then I would be delusional. I was there, I know I ate the Arby's BLT and a Beef n chedder, and that's more than I should have. But I have a better attitude now toward making these incidents occur further apart than they used to. The old me paid little to no attention to the frequency of these binges. Now I am more thoughtful, I want to succeed and lose weight, so I actually think about what I'm ordering. I realize the only way to successfully lose weight is to exercise and watch the portions and type of foods I am eating.
So where am I at, we'll I am adjusting to my new scales from the Weight Watchers ones. Since they appear to be about 5 lbs. lighter than the WW ones I will subtract 5 lbs from my starting weight and call it good. As long as the numbers are decreasing thats a good thing, I didn't gain it all in a 6 month period, and I can't get rid of it in one 6 month period. But I might be able to do so in 4, so I will keep after it.
I pray my wife will also continue to be mindful, I want to grow old with her in a good way, where we can go do things and be comfortable and healthy. She is a tremendous gift from God and seeing my Dad go through a painful illness with my mother makes me appreciate the days I have with her now even more. Pray for us to be stronger and continue the walk toward a more godly healthy lifestyle, weight control and godliness that's another topic, I'll hit that one in the future.
Oh, and to date I believe I have lost somewhere around 57 lbs. I'll try and check in here weekly since I won't be doing so at the group, and I'll pocket the $80 I used to send to Weight Watchers.
