Big fat update 5

Date I started trying to lose weight: 7/8/07
Starting weight: 205-209 lbs.
Goal weight: 158-162 lbs. (revised lower)
Current weight: 178 lbs.
Total pounds lost so far: 27 lbs.

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Since July, I have been weighing myself every day... sometimes multiple times a day. Initially, that was helpful in keeping myself accountable. It was also encouraging because the early pounds came off very quickly.

My last "big fat update" was a couple weeks ago. I had finally reached 180 lbs. Then, for nearly two weeks, the scale stopped moving down. That trend started with a two day denominational conference meeting and a large bowl of Peanut M&M's that was placed right in front of me the entire time. I love Peanut M&M's and I indulged myself. I reasoned that since I had been so good and disciplined for so long, it wouldn't have that much of an effect on me. I was wrong. I ended up putting on two pounds instead of losing weight.

I weighed myself last Sunday and I was back down to 180 lbs. At that point, I decided that it would probably be best at this point if I stopped torturing myself with the scale every day. For a little while, my plan is to only weigh myself once a week. I was VERY encouraged by what I saw this morning. It has probably been about six years since I weighed 178 lbs. I really can't remember. But that's what the scale said today. That brings my total weight lost to 27 lbs.

A few days ago I read that drinking a gallon of water, every day, can help your body lose weight. Apparently, it keeps the kidneys functioning at full capacity so the liver can focus on filtering the fat out of your body (instead of spending its time helping the kidneys function properly). I'm probably not explaining that 100% correctly, but that's the gist of it. I also read that if you eat poorly at a particular meal, its a good idea to drink a little extra water to filter the impurities out of your body. I have been drinking a lot of water and it really seems to help.

Most of my meals are very healthy and not excessively large, but I have also read that it is a good idea to choose a day, every 7 -10 days, to eat one or two meals that don't fit with your diet. It tricks your metabolism into thinking that it doesn't have to stay in conservation mode and your body interprets that as a permission slip to get back to burning more fat.

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Open letter to my chubby belly....

Dear belly,

For far too long you have made my lower back hurt. You have hung out like a porch awning. You have made the location of my belly button painfully obvious when I'm wearing a sweater. You have made my jeans feel tight. You have made it difficult for me to bend over and tie my shoes. You have caused me pain when I have had to sit for a long period of time. You have made me feel obligated to swim with a shirt on.

Now, you're going away. You're dying a slow but obvious death.

You lose. I win.

Love,
Your master

iPod shuffle

I bought something new the other day that caters to a few of my interests at once.

As you already know if you read this blog with any regularity, I'm working hard to get back in shape. I still have plenty of work to do, but I'm encouraged by my success so far. I'm also a VERY avid fan of many kinds of music.

For the past few months, I have been walking regularly. I usually walk a few miles at a time and I truly enjoy it.

I have an old-school iPod that I bought back in August 2004. When I bought it, I didn't know anyone else with an iPod and most people hadn't even heard of one. Now, everyone has one and the new generations of the device have features that make my iPod seem quite dated. But it works and I really enjoy keeping it in my car (and keeping my CD's at home).

Last year at this time, I flew to Chicago for a meeting. Sitting next to me on the plane was a guy with a 1st generation iPod shuffle (the one that looked like a stick of gum). Since that time, I have wanted to buy one, but didn't feel justified in buying an extra iPod since I already owned one.

Now that I'm walking and exercising regularly, I have found my excuse to splurge. I bought a silver iPod shuffle the other evening and have really enjoyed it's company ever since. It's so small (about the size of two postage stamps) and I love the fact that I can clip it to my shirt or my pocket. I even splurged and bought some super comfy "marshmallow" earphones.

Life is good.

Daniel's finger

How do you make your children stop doing something, without inadvertently teaching them something bad?

For example, my 3-year-old son, Daniel, got a cut on his finger. He proceeded to repeatedly show everyone his band-aid during yesterday's Men's retreat. The only problem was the fact that the cut was on his middle finger.

Making things worse, he realized that his middle finger is the third finger on his hand. Being that he is three-years-old, he decided that his middle finger is now his favorite finger. So in addition to showing off his band-aid, he keeps raising just his middle finger and declaring, "I'm three."

I will admit that part of me is finding this very funny, especially since people are clearly shocked every time he does this. I explained to him that he needs to stop, but I don't want to tell him that "raising your middle finger is bad." If I do that, he is more likely to repeat that information to his brother and sisters, thus making this a bigger issue than I want it to become.

Sooooo, if you happen to see us over the next few days and Daniel sticks his middle finger up and declares, "I'm three," just say, "That's nice," and pretend he didn't just offend you.

Big fat update 4

Date I started trying to lose weight: 7/8/07
Starting weight: 205-209 lbs.
Goal weight: 160-165 lbs.
Current weight: 180 lbs.
Total pounds lost so far: 25 lbs.

I appear to be losing 2 lbs. per week. According to what I read, that's a healthy pace to keep. Losing too much more than that is apparently unhealthy.

I was encouraged last week when my wife and I were at the Wyoming Valley Mall. My pants are all getting excessively baggy, but I didn't want to buy new clothing too soon (and then only end up buying more new clothing later).

Andrea noticed a rack in JCPenney with Levi's shorts on sale. They were all nice and they had been marked down to $9.99 from their original price of $44.00. I tried a few pairs on and realized that I had lost 4 inches off my waist. That was a big surprise to me. Of course I bought 6 pairs.

Time for questions

From time to time, some of the readers of this blog have submitted questions about the Bible or the Christian life to me via email. I would like to use the next podcast to address your questions.

Soooo, if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, please email it to me by clicking here. I would like to record a new podcast for tomorrow, so if you have a question, please send it today.

Stump the podcast "iPhone"

I'm experimenting with something new for "Stump the Pastor."

From time to time I will be posting some audio commentary on topics of current interest to me. I was reading a brief news excerpt today regarding Apple's decision to cut the price of the iPhone by $200. Apparently, some people are upset about this decision. Why? Because it benefits others and they're jealous.

You can read the story here: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070906/D8RG7O7G0.html

You can listen to today's podcast by clicking here.

I would really appreciate some feedback on how quickly the podcast took to download, should it be in a different format, was the audio clear, etc..... Thanks.

Big fat update 3

Date I started trying to lose weight: 7/8/07

Starting weight: 205-209 lbs.

Goal weight: 165 lbs.

Current weight: 182 lbs.

Total pounds lost so far: 23 lbs.

I imagine that these weight updates are probably a little boring to read compared to some posts. I chose to do this because I believe that by making myself publicly accountable, I will continue to be motivated to lose weight.

I'm getting used to eating less. I took Andrea and the kids out to Perkin's tonight. I didn't order an excessive amount of food so I was surprised that I actually had to take some of it back home with us. I couldn't finish it. I think my stomach and voracious appetite are shrinking.

I'm hoping that by the end of this month, I will weigh about 175 lbs. I haven't weighed that much in years.