I Love To Wash Dishes

I love to wash dishes.


Okay...that may be an exaggeration.  Maybe not an exaggeration, but at least a misstatement.


For a time, Cheryl and I hosted a "young married couples home group" for our church.  During one of our times together, we were talking about the idea of serving each other, working together, etc.  All the things you normally talk about in "young married couples home group".


One of the young husbands (as opposed to me...I was the old husband in the group) was saying that he didn't like to do dishes.  I said that I LOVED to do dishes.  That confused him...so I explained.


What I meant by this was that when my wife asks me to do the dishes, I love to do them.  I don't really love to do dishes, per se, but what I do love to do is bless my wife. 


I promise I'm not trying to sound like I'm Superhusband. Not in the least.  My love for doing dishes is at least 50% selfish. 


You've probably heard the expression that "if momma ain't happy, ain't no one happy".  It's true.  If washing a few dishes makes "momma" happy...them I'm happy to do it.  So when I say I love to do dishes, I obviously have something of an ulterior motive.


(Here comes the clever application of the previous life lesson to getting healthy...)


I'm not a "runner" like some people.  I don't run for the pure pleasure of running.  I run because it's good for me.  I run because it's good for my family for me to be healthy.  


I LOVE to run...just like I LOVE to do dishes. 

It's Been a Bit

It's been almost two weeks since I last posted something, so I thought I'd drop a quick note.  Tonight I had a couple of personal firsts.

First, I ran entire lap.  An entire lap!  If you don't know about the "track", then this doesn't mean much to you.  The "track" is a little over 2,000 feet...a little shy of a half mile.  For you runners out there, that may not seem like much, but to me, it was a milestone!  When I first started, I could only run about 100 yards before I was exhausted.

Second, I shaved a minute per mile off of my average time.  I only went 1.8 miles instead of 3.1, but that was due to it getting dark, not giving out.

As I continue to trim down and increase my stamina, I'm looking forward to seeing those numbers get better and better.  I don't expect to be able to run the entire 5k for the Gobble Jog, but I want to run as much of it as I can.

See you on the pavement!

Record Turnout!!

We had a record turnout today for the Monday night rualk.  Tonight, we had 4 people!!  It's becoming the place to be.

Everyone likes steps, right?  Five steps to be debt free.  Nine steps to a happy marriage.  Eleven steps to the perfect cheeseburger.

I admit, I'm no expert, and I don't have everything figured out, but here's four EASY steps to starting a workout program.

1. Figure out (or at least take a guess at) what you enjoy doing.  Walking?  Tennis?  Weights?  Aerobic dance?
2. Make sure you physically capable of participating in said activity.  (I'm not trying rock climbing any time soon.)   Consult your physician if necessary.
3. Choose when you are going to get active (not what year, but what day(s) of the week and what time).
4. FIND A PARTNER.  Get someone to join you.  Keep each other accountable.

That's it.  Simple, huh?

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If you decide to give my steps a try, let me know!

(88 days to Gobble Jog!!)

My First 5k

Tonight I rualked my first office 5k course.  It wasn't an actual race, but it was the honest-to-goodness course that will be used for the Gobble Jog on Thanksgiving Day.  I learned a few things (some of which you probably already knew) while I was tackling this.

1. Concrete really is harder than asphalt.  Really.  Since this wasn't the actual race, I was confined to the sidewalks, all of which are concrete.  By the end I could really feel it in my ankles and knees.
2. Both uphill AND downhill are difficult.
3. Though a small difference, 2.9 miles and 3.1 miles are not the same.  My normal route at home is 2.9 miles.  Today I went 3.1 miles.   Just .2 miles...no biggie, huh?
4. I'm a stroller by natural.  I saunter.  I have to constantly remind myself to keep my speed up when I'm not running.
5. Don't wear shorts that are too big when running a 5k.  They fall off at inopportune times.

It's approximately 90 days until the Gobble Jog.  I think I'll run it again in 30 days, and then a final time in 60 days.  Hopefully my time will improve with each attempt as I am lugging around less and less of me.

Let's get active!

Major Victory?

Major Victory is the alter-ego of a Marvel Superhero named Vance Astrovik.  Vance Astrovik was born in Saugerties, New York, the only son of a small-town butcher Arnold Astrovik and his wife Norma. Going into the U.S. Air Force at the age of 18, Astrovik (who changed his name to Astro when he was 21) became the youngest man to be accepted into the astronaut training program several years later. In 1988, Astro volunteered for the first manned interstellar mission ever conducted by the United States, Project: Starjump.

His ship, Odysseus I, was not equipped for faster-than-light speed; hence the journey to Earth's nearest interstellar neighbor, a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, would take about 10 centuries. To protect him from aging, Astro was covered with a skin-preserving copper alloy (which was upgraded with adamantium in the Guardians of the Galaxy series) body-suit, and his blood was transfused with a kind of preservative fluid. Astro was launched into space from the Houston Airport in the fall of 1988.

While on his way to Alpha Centauri, the ship automatically awoke him from his suspended animation in order for him to perform routine course adjustments. During the periods he was awake, sometimes for a year in duration, Astro eventually went insane from loneliness on several occasions, returning to a semblance of normality only after the ship automatically put him back in suspended animation again. During his long periods of sustained dream-state activities, Astro's latent psionic powers emerged. By the time he arrived on Centauri IV almost a thousand years later, he had full control over his psychokinetic abilities.


Major Victory is also what I experienced today when I had my blood pressure taken at work!!  Over the last few years, my blood pressure hovered just below "high".  At my last employee physical, it was 143/93.  That's actually pretty high, especially the second number.

Then there's today!  Today, my blood pressure was 111/71!!  Your eyes did not deceive you!  My blood pressure is totally normal!!!  Normal!

Places I've Vanquished

Below is a list of all the places I have vanquished in the past month and a half.

Stevi B's Pizza
McDonald's
La Parilla
Marietta Diner
Burger King
Firehouse Subs
Subway
Pizza Hut
Willy's
Starbucks
All Star Pizza

So what does that mean, "vanquished"?  It means that I not only ate there, but I controlled my portions, made good choices, and in most cases took some food home with me.  In the past, if Cheryl and I ate out and we brought something hope with us, it was because it was poultry, and I couldn't eat it.  (In case you didn't know, I'm allergic to poultry...that's why they call it fowl.)

Not so anymore!  Every time I walk out of a restaurant know that I've eaten right, I know I've taken another step in the right direction.  All this different eating has changed my taste buds.

For the last few days, I've been craving...salad.  Salad!  Can you believe it?  I've also started to really have a taste for peppers.  Bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, green...any color), banana peppers, pepperoncinis, jalapenos, you name it!

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Have you had any small victories lately, like going to a restaurant and not over doing it?  Walking instead of sitting?  Water instead of Pepsi?

Quick Weight Loss Secrets

Would you like to lose 5 lbs a week, each and every week, until you reach your goal?  With no expensive meals, supplements or videos to buy?  No gym membership required?  Do you want a workout plan that's all plan and no work?  A plan that let's you eat what you want and not change your activity level and STILL lose all the weight you want?

Unfortunately, it doesn't exist.  But on the flip-side, there is a super simple 2-step plan that works every time.

1)  Eat less
2)  Be more active

That's the plan I've been on for the past month and a half, and it's working great.  But, like many simple things in life, simple doesn't necessarily mean easy.

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If you're struggling to do one of these two simple steps, allow me to make a suggestion.  Pick one step.  Pick the one that is the most difficult for you.  Now, decide right now one thing you are going to do to take a step in the right direction for that step.  Here are some examples.

Eat a healthy breakfast.
Park further from your office.
Don't drink your afternoon Dr. Pepper.
Go for a walk after dinner.
Don't have seconds at dinner.
Shoot some hoops.
Turn off the TV.

Take a step in the right direction, and let me know how it goes!

110 Days Until Gobble Jog

I just thought I would give you a quick status update.

Last week I pulled my Achilles tendon.  Just slightly, but I did pull it.   I've taken it easy this week, but still tried to do what I could.  It's feeling better.  I'm going to try for a real workout on Monday.

As of this morning's weigh-in (which occurs every Saturday in my bathroom), I have lost a total of 36.4 lbs. from my "official starting weight", which is pretty exciting.

My countdown clock on my computer desktop tells me that I have 110 days left until the Gobble Jog.  That's more than 15 weeks.  If I can average losing 2 lbs a week, I should be down 30 lbs more by the Gobble Jog, which would be about 65 lbs total.  However, my goal for the Gobble Jog is to be down 75 lbs.

Hope to see you there!

I Think I Teared Up

In case you haven't been keeping up, I've commandeered the empty sub-division next door as my personal walking track.  The other night I took it our for a one lap test spin.  Today I hit it a little harder.

I did three full laps (in addition to walking to and from), which equated to about 40 minutes of hard walking.  If you were to look at the map, you would see that the track is a modified figure 8.  The "straightaway" in the middle is about 100 yards long.  Here comes the exciting part.

As I was starting the second half of my second lap, and I came up to the straightaway...I started running.  Almost without making the decision.  I don't know whether I just wasn't working hard enough walking or what, but I took off in a brisk trot.  That's right...a BRISK trot.

(Please realize, the only "running" I've done in the past eight years has been to McDonald's.  I wasn't even really sure if I could run without hurting myself.  We'll find out in the morning about that.)

Now, the strangest part.  I ran the straightaway, and when I slowed back to a walk, I felt great!  I had a rush of adrenaline, my heart rate was up, and I felt great!  I actually got chill bumps and I think I might have teared up a little.  Why did I tear up?  Do you know how long it has been since I have equated working out with feeling GOOD?

So, my challenge to you today is get out, get active, and make your body feel good!

Make a Choice

This evening, I went to dinner at the Marietta Diner.  It's a pretty popular place, and they are well known for their ginormous desserts.  In general their portion sizes are HUGE!


You may have noticed that the title of this blog is "Make a Choice".  Tonight, that's what I did.


In the past, I've been a constant victim of the "I'll start fresh on Monday" or "I'll start after the holidays" syndrome.  No more.  I wanted so bad at dinner to just eat the way I always have and "start over" tomorrow.  But there's a cost every time you do that.  It pushes your goals back.


So tonight, I made a choice to eat a half of piece of bread with a little butter, instead of 4 pieces of bread with a layer of butter.  I ate two small pieces of their spinach pie instead of a half dozen.  I had water to drink instead of sweet tea.  Cheryl and I split a dish of Broiled Stuffed Filet of Flounder...and we still brought home enough for my lunch tomorrow.


I can't really tell you what the difference is in calories between this meal and the meal I would have eaten in the past.  I'm guessing that this meal was 1/4 of the calories.  It felt good to box up half of my plate and leave not feeling more stuffed than the flounder.


Tonight my choice was moderation.  Each choice is a separate choice, and each GOOD choice, is one step closer to my goal.


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If you're reading this and you could stand to shed a few pounds, I want to encourage you to not wait.  Right now, pick one thing that you are going to do differently tomorrow.  One positive choice you are going to make.


Let me know about it.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

A little early for Christmas shows, huh?  The title fits today, because at lunch I made a step in the right direction. That's the way I thought of it.  It reminded me of the song "One Foot in Front of the Other" from Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.

What was the step, you ask?

Last night for dinner we had black beans and brown rice, so today I had leftovers for lunch.  When I opened up the container and saw that it was FULL, I thought to myself, "That's a lot of food!"  I ate half of it, put the lid back on it, and stuck the rest back in the refrigerator.

I've never done that before, except maybe with a whole pie, or entire meatloaf.  Scratch that...I would eat the entire meatloaf.  So for me, that was a step in the right direction.

Also, just as a side note, I weighed this morning.  I am 16.2 lbs down from my baseline weight.  Only 133.8 lbs to go!!  Umm....maybe I shouldn't think of it that way...