This morning I stepped on the scales to be surprised that despite last nights pizza I had finally broken 340 lbs. I was at 339.6 lbs. I know it is only 4/10th of a pound but symbolically it allowed me to see a bit of hope to hit 100 lbs. down hopefully sooner than later.  That would bring me back to the lowest point I have been at since 2007, one I lived at for barely 4 months.  This time I really feel the focus is not on the lbs. but on living a life that glorifies my God.  Ultimately if anything I do brings any glory to him then I am doing what I desperately want to do.

Thank you God for the blessing you have given me of a little success in restoring my body to a healthier form.  Nothing I do would be possible without the blessings you have given me.  One of the largest blessings is the wife you selected for me.  I love you Lord.

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

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….