Wednesday, December 31, 2008

For A Community To Be Whole

Happy 74th Birthday, Millard Fuller. Who is Millard Fuller? In my opinion he is one of the biggest "should be more famous" people in the United States. This is from the website of an organization you probably know:

Millard Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity International in 1976 and served in executive roles until 2005. His leadership helped forge Habitat into a worldwide Christian housing ministry.

Now Millard Fuller heads The Fuller Center for Housing and the following is from their website:

The Fuller Center for Housing is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide. By forming partnerships with local organizations, The Fuller Center provides the structure, guidance and material support that communities need to build and repair homes for the impoverished among them.

Here are two quotes:


For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people's love and concern for each other.

Faith without works is as dead as a doornail.

Millard Fuller




The Fuller Center for Housing

Fuller Center - Who We Are

Fuller Center - How We Work

Get Involved

Millard Fuller fan club

Twitter quote 120 http://tinyurl.com/BMW777193 at ThinkExist.com

Resolution Poll

Because I had some success this year with my New Year's resolution (for which I asked God's help), I am trumpeting the idea that you can do it, too. Here is a very quick poll to get you thinking in that direction. If you are someone who does goals and not resolutions, so be it. Like somebody said, "Just do it."

Click this link to make your voice heard and maybe be an inspiration to someone else. http://tinyurl.com/BMW777192


Keep walking!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

There Are Always Flowers

My parents grew carnations and roses and were co-founders of The Valley Center Florist when I was growing up. The coming new year has me thinking about them. Who do you think about when you think about flowers? Do you want to see the flowers?


There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

Henri Matisse


Matisse's Dishes and Fruit

Henri Matisse at Artcyclopedia.com

Twitter quote 119 http://tinyurl.com/BMW777190 at ThinkExist.com

Moral Obligation Of U.S.A.

I found an short(really!), interesting poll about the obligation of the United States toward the world. I'll bet it's self-evident to many. Whether or not you are a christian, I urge you to click below and cast your vote in this Christianity Today poll. Add your voice right now!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/features/poll.html


Keep walking!

Enthusiasm Of An Inspired Moment

Herb Elliot mentioned "resolutions made in the enthusiasm of an inspired moment". Now is the time to make New Year's resolutions. How do you make yours? I didn't make one for a long time and last December 31st, I finally made one. I asked for God's help and it has turned out well. (I don't think I'll gain 20 pounds between now and January 1, 2009 to mess it up!) I urge you to make more than one resolution and differentiate it from goals. If you haven't made a resolution in a while, you can do it now. Ask for our creator's help.



Training was a time where resolutions made in the enthusiasm of an inspired moment were put to personal test.

Herb Elliott


Herb Elliott News Timeline http://tinyurl.com/BMW777187 (Google)


Twitter quote 118 http://tinyurl.com/BMW777186 at ThinkExist.com


Don't miss Twitter (video) 117 -Thank you to Guy Kawasaki - Here's what I Tweeted - If U visit only 1 tweet 4 the rest of 2008 - THIS IS THE ONE http://tinyurl.com/BMW777185

Monday, December 29, 2008

Laughter Is The Sun

From the man who gave us Les Miserables...


Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.

Victor Hugo


Hugo-Online.org

VictorHugo.gg


Twitter quote 116 http://tinyurl.com/BMW777183 at ThinkExist.com

Sunday, December 28, 2008

We All Need Reminders

Here's a reminder to keep on loving.


Don't brood. Get on with living and loving. You don't have forever.

Leo Buscaglia


LeoBuscaglia.com


Twitter quote 115 http://tinyurl.com/BMW777181 at BrainyQuote.com

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Disneyland Christmas Present

Today we are going to Disneyland which is a major part of our son's Christmas present. We will pick up our son's girlfriend in about an hour and then we're off! Yes...I will be walking and I'll let you know what the pedometer says. Did the temperature in the car really read 39?

Keep walking!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

The How Of The Bahamas!

A few weeks ago I noticed that there was a free poker tournament online so I said to myself, "If it's free, why not?" The first round of the poker tournament was 10,000 people strong. The game was No-Limit Texas Holdem. Texas Holdem is a poker game sort of like seven card stud and no-limit means you can bet from the minimum bet all the way to your entire stack of chips at any time. If you lose all your chips, you're out of the tournament. In order to advance to the next round I had to finish in 18th place or higher. The tournament would be stopped when there were 18 people left. I made it(!) and moved on to round two.

There were 1349 people in round two and in order to win ANYTHING you had to come in first place. In a poker tournament that means that you are the last person to have chips. Eventually you have to win all the chips that originally belonged to 1349 players. Second place got zero - not even a gift certificate or a cup of coffee. I outlasted the entire field of players and was very thankful to win. What did I win?

First, I won a trip to the Bahamas for two adults. Second, I won $1000 to help with air fare. Third, I won another $1000 to help pay for food (which is not cheap). (And, the hotel kicked in another $150 for food since they are raising their prices the day before the tournament starts.) Last, but really and truly not least, I won a $10,000 seat in a poker tournament that last year paid $2 Million to the winner! All this came about because I happened to notice a free tournament and decided to give it a try.

My beliefs also come into play here. While I don't know what the ultimate outcome will be and I certainly hope to be the big winner in the Bahamas, I feel the need to mention something else. I prayed during the second round many times and I visualized being victorious in a race. I saw the finish line of a foot race with the tape across the winner's chest. I also thought of the boxer's hand being held up at the end of a bout. I definitely had some mathematically unusual occurrences during the poker tournament. I had some excellent cards and I never had (what I consider the toughest spot to get out of) two kings with my opponent having two aces and more chips than me. I'm pretty sure that I had all my chips in the pot when my opponent had more chips than me about a dozen times before I made it to the final table of nine players. When you are "all-in" that many times and still prevail, that is definitely a cause for celebration, as well as being statistically unlikely.

Do I believe that God was with me in this tournament? Yes. Do I believe that means he wants me to win in the Bahamas? I don't know. I hope so. We will see. I'm sure that whatever happens, it will be a chance for me to share a little about my beliefs to those who are open. I'm not interested in creating a debate here or forcing my beliefs on someone. If you don't buy it, you don't buy it. I still live in the United States of America. Here you can have your beliefs and I can have mine. We can agree to disagree when it comes to that. However, this is an appropriate time of year to consider what this whole season is about. Like Tiny Tim said in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, "God bless us, every one!"

Keep walking!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

We're Going To The Bahamas!

Just got home from Los Angeles. Marianne and I were able to get passports in less than a day! I'll share more of the story tomorrow. I am so tired (a good kind of tired) that I can barely think to type this. Check out Atlantis.com.

Keep walking!

Friday, December 19, 2008

You Are A Soul

This quote seems profound to me. Happy December.


“You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”

C.S. Lewis

CSLewis.com


Twitter quote 114 http://tinyurl.com/BMW777178 at ThinkExist.com

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Another Down Day

Some people might see the title of this post and assume it's a downer, but it is definitely not. I've titled a bunch of posts recently in a similar way and I wanted this to be different, but it could have read,

"I've Lost Over 15 Pounds In 17 Days!"

This morning the scale read 112.5 kilos, which is another .3 kilos down from yesterday. Just in case you're wondering - no, I'm not hungry all the time. I'm RARELY hungry at all. Once in a while I get hungry for a few minutes before it's time to eat. I can live with that and I know you can, too. (Maybe you don't have a weight loss goal because you simply don't need one right now. Is there someone who could benefit by reading my blog? Who do you know that would like to be motivated,encouraged or inspired by my unfolding story? Copy & paste this URL - http://theBigManWalking.blogspot.com and send them an email or message! Thank you, by the way...)

Let's do the math. I started at 119.6 kilos 17 days ago, so by subtracting 112.5 kilos we get 7.1 kilos. We multiply that by 2.2 and get 14.2 plus 1.42 which equals 15.62 pounds lost in 17 days. My total weight is now 247.5 pounds. I had actual cream in my coffee this morning. Today I didn't have anything but coffee and tea until around noon. I don't do that everyday, but that's just what felt right. I was not hungry. If you've been reading my posts you know the name of the book and you can see Amazon links on the right side of this blog. Get yourself or someone else a Christmas present! Are you ready to make a New Year's Resolution? That's how Big Man Walking got started in 2008.

Keep WALKING!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Lost Almost 15 Pounds In 16 Days

This morning I stepped on the scale and saw a number I haven't seen before - 112.8. When you multiply 112.8 kilos by 2.2, you get 225.6 plus 22.56 which equals 248.16 pounds. I'm now safely in the 240's and it's been a dozen years since I was there. I started at 119.6 a little over two weeks ago and that difference of 6.8 kilos is 13.6 plus 1.36 which equals 14.96 pounds. I'm sure a lot of people would say that that is close enough to 15 pounds. What do you think?

I think I like Perfect Weight America!

Keep walking!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

On Being Tired

Yesterday I was really tired after many hours of activity and pretty long days at the end of the week. Just being over the cleanse and walking more did help. Some might wonder "Why not more energy?" We do have a capacity as humans and I was running up against it. So how did the cleanse and the walking help? Before the cleanse, if I had gotten this tired, I would probably have been in a grumpy mood.

You can even honestly say that the grumpy mood would be my responsibility, and you'd be right. But what made it easier for me was to have the better circulation benefits from walking and so much of the "crud" cleansed from my body. When I have the toxins built up and I'm as tired as I was yesterday, it doesn't feel good at all. With my body cleansed I was simply tired. Very tired, yes, but it was a more gentle kind of tired. I was either way less grumpy or not grumpy depending on which family member(!) you ask. That's a big benefit in my book.

Keep walking.

(BigManWalking has walked over 1000 miles in 2008.)

Saturday, December 13, 2008

1000 Miles This Year!

This morning I logged my hours at Lime.com. I had high hopes starting out this year for walking and for how helpful Lime.com would be in keeping track of my mileage. My opinion of Lime.com is that it is too cumbersome. Sometimes it takes too long to open a page and sometimes the page comes up blank. I sent them an email a long time ago and haven't seen a response. I recommend keeping track of your miles, but somewhere else.

Now, the good, no, GREAT news. After checking my records at Lime.com, I'm pretty sure they will confirm that I went through the 1000 mile mark for the year on Thursday, December 11, 2008! Yes! I feel good about that and we will celebrate at some point, but not by eating! Part of the reason I am walking and keeping track is to encourage you. Of course, it's good for my health, but I really, truly want to inspire you to walk more. Or, if you are exercising regularly and more ambitiously than that, you can add walking and that can allow you the opportunity to slow down and appreciate your surroundings and your life. You can walk 1000 or even 1500 or 2000 miles or more in a year. Some of you may have to start with 250 miles in 6 months. Others will be fine with more than that. You can do it. You can do it. You can do it. I did.

Keep walking!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Design Meme

Today I find myself in awkward position. I did not anticipate the time crunch on Friday and yet today is the day I introduce BigManWalking's Blog of the Week. I want to spend more time and do a good job for this week's winner, DesignMeme.com. My fatherly duties will take me away from the internet for a good long while, so I will get back and do a proper post either tonight or tomorrow. For now, visit DesignMeme.com and check it out.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Shakespeare On Diligence

Keep on going. Shakespeare said it hundreds of years ago. If you're a writer, keep writing. He did.


"That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence."

William Shakespeare (King Lear. Act i. Sc. 4)


The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare

Study Shakespeare

Twitter quote 113 from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations at Bartleby.com

Walk A Little Bit At A Time

Different people have different expectations and capacities. If you've been regularly working out, you might not be challenged by walking four miles. I'm sure some who've read my blog wonder why I don't just get on a treadmill and jog or run the mileage. If you are working out regularly so that a four mile run or more is no big deal, then my hat is off to you. I want to encourage you to keep pushing yourself, but not to the point of injury. I believe you want to keep from being injured so that you can continue to exercise without interruption. So I guess I'm saying that you should really, truly go for it - within reason.

Now, for those of you who don't think that a four-mile run is a walk in the park (no pun intended), I encourage you to keep walking. During my 10 day Perfect Weight America cleanse I didn't walk much so that I could demonstrate its weight loss power. Yesterday I started the actual diet, also called The Maker's Diet, and I'll be reporting on my weight less often. I know that some people can get discouraged when they see that they've had weight gain over a day or two, and that happens. Most people can do just fine weighing themselves once a week. You have to stick with it and you probably won't lose weight on the diet at the same rate as the cleanse.

When I went to bed last night I had walked four miles throughout the day. I'm not necessarily going for a big cardiovascular workout when I walk. Sometimes and sometimes not. If you're ALWAYS looking for the cardio, then you might dismiss walking for five minutes. I want you to walk more than five minutes a day. Really. I know you can do that. The thing is, the miles and fractions add up. You can walk five minutes 12 times a day and that's likely to be three miles. Starting yesterday morning before 7 a.m. my dog and I walked 1.5 miles. I got busy and didn't get back to walking until four hours later when we walked 2.0 miles. Last night I walked .25 miles twice and that's how I came to walk 4.0 miles total. Why am I using .25 and 2.0 to describe my mileage? Because if you aren't thinking this way then I want you to start thinking of a quarter mile (or even a furlong - one eighth mile) or .25 miles as significant enough to keep track of.

When you keep track of your miles you can have a record to look back on and that's encouraging. If you're encouraged you'll keep going. You will look for opportunities to walk one half, one quarter or even one eight of a mile. I'm tall so 500 of my steps is a quarter mile. If you're shorter than me it's likely to be around 600 steps to the quarter mile. If you go to a local track at a community college or high school, you can count your steps as you walk around it. That will be close. Or you can get a pedometer. I have done both and a pedometer is easier if you can find one that works and doesn't break. My wife just got me another cheapie Sportline and the last one worked well until it broke. My good buddy in San Clemente has a more expensive Omron and it has worked for a while. I'm sorry to say that those are the only ones from personal experience that either work for a lot of miles or don't break down. In fact, when my Sportline (calorie step distance) pedometer broke, it was not the pedometer but the clip that kept it on my belt which broke.

Let's be clear. If you have a pedometer it can help you more accurately keep track of your mileage. If you keep track you will be more encouraged (or you will see the need to improve) and you will keep going. If you let it be ok to not ONLY walk for cardio, then you will become used to adding up the smaller units of walking. Remember, for weight loss 35 miles equals one pound lost. It's right around there for everybody. Don't get into fuzzy/mystical thinking here and say that it doesn't work that way for you. If you are human and make all other factors (eating, mostly) equal then you will lose a pound for 35 miles walked. Some people eat more and don't notice and that's a challenge. Well, don't eat more because you're walking more if you want to lose weight through walking. I started off this year by not changing my diet one bit for the first seven weeks and simply walking more. I lost seven pounds in seven weeks. You can read some of those posts here. You can make more walking part of your way of life. It makes a big difference over the long run. Even if you lost seven pounds during the first seven weeks of the year every year you would be doing better than most. But don't settle for just better than most. Achieve health and wellness.

Keep WALKING!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I Lost Over 13 Pounds In 10 Days!

On the front cover of Perfect Weight America, Jordan Rubin asks the question, "Do you know YOUR perfect weight?" I know this- I'm above my perfect weight and I have been for about 20 years. I'm not telling you what I'm about to tell you to get sympathy, nevertheless, it is factual. I have basically gained weight since my mom died in November of 1987. I'm not making any judgements about that. My weight has gone up and down, but mostly up in the long run (like the stock market - despite the current once in 80 years financial unraveling). Unlike the stock market crash in 1987 I don't want my weight to get back up to where it was - I want to keep going down for a while.

Before 7 am I walked the dog 1.5 miles and it took a little over 30 minutes. I'm just about ready to go again. I weighed myself and here is the final number for the 10 days (but I'll keep going) on the Perfect Weight America cleanse - 113.4 kilos. Sooo, I started at 119.6 minus 113.4 equals 6.2 times 2.2 equals 13.64 pounds! I have lost over 13 pounds in 10 days in a healthy way and I feel great! I have more energy and I'm excited to keep going on Jordan Rubin's regimen.

One more thing before I post, Twitter, and get out the door...I will have to check my records but I'm pretty sure that I am at my lowest weight in over a dozen years! And, 113.4 kilos translated to pounds is 226.8 plus 22.68 which means I weigh 249.48 pounds! It's been a while since I was in the 240's! Yes!

Keep walking!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

9 Day Total - Down 12 Pounds

Yesterday I had mostly yogurt (by choice) as I was a little tired of the soup and then I had the salad with avocado and cheese and raw nuts and it was all really good. After "breaking even" the day before I thought maybe that adding the nuts and cheese and yogurt was going to take me up in weight just a little. After all, this is the Perfect Weight America cleanse, not diet. The diet will start tomorrow. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that I weighed 114.1 kilos this morning and if you look through previous posts you will see that I was 114.4 before today. That's a .3 kilo loss! I'll start from the beginning of the 10 days to make it quicker...started at 119.6 kilos minus 114.1 equals 5.5 kilos multiplied by 2.2 equals 12.1 pounds. Yes!

Keep walking!

It Is Often Easier To Ask Forgiveness

If you're like me you have heard this quote with slight variations many times. I have heard the intent of it used and/or abused by some sales trainers, but there is truth to it. She is apparently the originator of the quote.


"It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Grace Murray Hopper


On Grace Murray Hopper from Yale.Edu

Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Murray Hopper was a remarkable woman who grandly rose to the challenges of programming the first computers. During her lifetime as a leader in the field of software development concepts, she contributed to the transition from primitive programming techniques to the use of sophisticated compilers. She believed that "we've always done it that way" was not necessarily a good reason to continue to do so.

More about her at Yale.Edu

Twitter quote 112 from ThinkExist.com
(2nd quote on page)

Monday, December 8, 2008

Eleven Pounds In Eight Days

I was hoping to be able to say 12 pounds down in eight days, but this phase of the Perfect Weight America cleanse is where we add yogurt and raw nuts. It is pretty amazing, though, how good plain yogurt is when you haven't had sugar in several days. I really like Alta Dena plain yogurt and it seems creamier to me when you stir it up (even though there's nothing extra in it). When you spoon it out of the container it's just slabs of yogurt, but when you stir it up it's a smooth and creamy mixture that's almost sweet.

Two more days and I can have organic coffee. Did I mention we've only been drinking water?

Keep WALKING!

Making the Most of Your Family's Christmas

From Homeword.com...

Revisit some old family traditions that you haven’t enjoyed for awhile and take the initiative to create some new ones. Some of the previous generations did a better job than we do with building family traditions. The next time your extended family gets together, take note of how much of the conversation is centered around family traditions and stories. You may here the same stories at each get together – but these traditions and their stories create family togetherness. Traditions are important for families because they provide opportunities to keep your family legacy going. From the simple to the silly to the sentimental, traditions can create meaningful memories. As a parent, one of your jobs is to look for ways to promote special moments and traditions for your family – ones that will create special family memories that your kids will keep forever. So for example, the holidays are a perfect time for baking, so if it’s been some time since someone took a swing at making Great-Grandma’s Apple Pie, dust off the recipe and see if you and the kids can do it justice. And how about family playtime? I know of one family that has a collection of board games they only play at Christmastime. I’d suspect your family has a tradition or two – a recipe or a board game for example – that needs revisiting this year. Relive some familiar memories and take advantage of a chance to make a few new ones as well.


The post above is just one section in
The "Four R's" of Making the Most of Your Family's Christmas Author:
Jim Burns, Ph.D.
at Homeword.com

Mercy Has Placed Within Our Reach

Lately ThinkExist.com has been more than occasionally funky in it's operation so I decided to check out some quotes from a source that has existed long before the internet, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. I found a good one by poet William Wordsworth and you can read the whole 12 lines of the poem by clicking on the link below. This quote is actually the final two lines of his poem, After-Thought. When you search After-Thought & William Wordsworth, you get a different poem. I'm inclined to trust Bartlett's just like my teacher in high school did.


"Mercy has placed within our reach
A portion of God's peace."

William Wordsworth


The Literature Network's Wordsworth profile at
Online-Literature.com

Twitter quote 111 from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations at Bartleby.com

Sunday, December 7, 2008

I Lost Over 11 Pounds In 7 Days

Yesterday I had some challenges with pain in the middle of my back and I don't really know if it was related to the cleanse that my wife and I are on. We did this same cleanse during the summer and I had no problems. I ended up taking an Alleve in the morning and again in the evening and last night I had trouble getting to sleep which is not typical for me unless I'm excited about something. After using the jacuzzi a couple times and both my wife and me massaging the middle of my back, it seems to be much less of a challenge today. Marianne and I went to San Diego this morning and I watered the front while she watered the back of the house we are attempting to sell. I had only small twinges every once in a while compared to the howls yesterday afternoon as the Alleve wore off. Some of you may be wondering, "Why is he telling us all this?" I don't know if the cleanse has left me without enough calcium or magnesium or what have you, but we picked up a supplement this morning. I think if that is what's happening then it is in combination with the possibility that (as much as I don't want to share this...) I haven't walked enough recently. So this is full disclosure for those of you who are thinking about doing this cleanse. To be fair, however, I don't really know the exact cause of the back situation as it just came out of the blue. Maybe I've been sitting in this chair too long.

This morning the scale said 114.4 kilos, which is .2 kilos or .44 pounds less than yesterday and that brings my grand total after 7 days on the Perfect Weight America cleanse to MINUS 11.44 pounds!


Keep Walking!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

God Would Invite The Least Of These

This came from DailyKos a little while ago. Sounds like something out of the bible. Click the link below to read the entire post.

[A] Virginia businessman is spending more than $1 million to rent prime hotel rooms and promising that assorted down-and-out citizens — from the poor to the terminally ill to wounded soldiers — will have a perch of privilege on Pennsylvania Avenue for the parade.

Read More

Saturday! Six-Day, Eleven Pound Loss

My wife and I have been on the Perfect Weight America cleanse since Sunday morning last. We did this during the summer and now we know we can do it because we've already done it once. Somebody on Twitter said he tried something like this once and it was too hard on him physically. Yes, I did have a good headache for two days at the start, but it's just a headache. Because this is a cleanse you are getting rid of toxins that your body has stored up and in my case, going through caffeine withdrawal. You can do it and you feel better and more energetic the further into it you get. Don't give yourself messages like, "I could never do that." Give yourself messages like (and I know this is hard to hear for some), "I choose the pain of discipline over the pain of regret." Marianne has lost about 7 pounds and when I got on the scale this morning it read 114.6 kilos. I started at 119.6 so the math is pretty easy - 5 kilos times 2.2 equals 11 pounds. I am down 11 pounds in six days and I'm using a HEALTHY method!

Keep walking.

Friday, December 5, 2008

lifebeginzatpoetry

Because I choose to motivate, inspire and encourage, I am starting BigManWalking's Blog of the Week today. The first blog I have chosen for BigManWalking's Blog of the Week is from Michael Kwamena-Poh. His blog's slogan is "your life is your Mindset" and it's titled lifebeginzatpoetry. Michael connected with me through Twitter as michaelkpoh. I highly encourage you to read his "My Story" section before you peruse his posts.

lifebeginzatpoetry.com

Keep Walking!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Regular Walking Protects The Masai

Scientists have long been puzzled by how the Masai can avoid cardiovascular disease despite having a diet rich in animal fats. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet believe that their secret is in their regular walking.

There is strong evidence that the high consumption of animal fats increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Many scientists have therefore been surprised that the nomadic Masai of Kenya and Tanzania are seldom afflicted by the disease, despite having a diet that is rich in animal fats and deficient in carbohydrates.

Read the complete article at ScienceDaily.com

Abstract at British Journal of Sports Medicine

Currently Down 9 Pounds In 4 Days

While looking for the Perfect Weight America book I noticed that my sweet wife had moved it from its place of honor atop the microwave. Doesn't she know that's where it belongs now? The dog was no help while I looked at the bookshelf. I guess the near constant attention he was giving me meant that he needed to go out, but I just took him out 15 minutes (has it really been an hour?) ago. I made him wait. I found the book near the lamp at the northeast side of the living room and now here we are. The following is from "What the Perfect Cleanse Is All About" on page 132 of Perfect Weight America.

The Perfect Cleanse is a ten-day detoxification cleanse that should be done quarterly in January, April, July, and October. During your ten-day Perfect Cleanse, you will eat five times a day, every two to three hours. Most people eat breakfast around 7:30 a.m., followed by a second meal at 10:30 a.m., lunch at 1:00 p.m., a mid-afternoon meal at 3:30 p.m., and dinner at 6:00 p.m. The first day of each seasonal detox is crucial.

I wish I could say that I planned to do the Perfect Cleanse right now so that you could read about it and then do it in a few weeks. Marianne and I decided it was time to do it for two reasons. One (her reason), we'll get this out of the way and not miss all the parties and foods served there and two (my reason), we'll lose (much more) weight before the end of the year and so not be ridiculously far from the goal I set December 31st, 2007. (See- ask God to help you with your New Year's Resolution(s) on New Year's Eve.)

So here we are. Right now it's between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. on day five and I'll have some soup in just a little bit. I weighed myself an hour and a half ago and the new reading is...115.4 kilos. Now, remembering that I started at 119.6 kilos (and ignoring the fact that means less than a pound down per month since January, arrrgghh...oh, wait, I'm ignoring that fact...but, I digress...) and that minus the 115.4 equals 4.2 kilos. When you multiply 4.2 kilos by 2.2 you get 9.24 pounds. Voila! And remember - keep walking! (And buy the book and help send my son to Palomar and UCSD!)

Order Perfect Weight America

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Photography Is Truth

Happy Birthday, Jean-Luc Godard!

This quote reminds me that I need to change my picture online. I don't have that bushy beard anymore.

"Photography is truth.”

Jean-Luc Godard
profile

Twitter quote 110 at ThinkExist.com

I'm Down - 8 Pounds In 3 Days

This morning I weighed myself and I was 115.9 kilos. Marianne and I started this cleanse Sunday morning when I weighed in at 119.6 kilos. The difference is 3.7 kilos and that is just over 8 pounds. I had a headache from about noon on Sunday until bedtime Monday because all we drink is water and that means caffeine withdrawal. Tuesday I had just a shadow of a headache and today it's just a shadow of a whisper. We did this during the summer so I expect that tomorrow there will be an energy surge. This is the cleanse from Perfect Weight America and I highly recommend it. I also see it as a healthy way to lose weight.

Order Perfect Weight America

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Love, Britney Spears And A Food Drive

One of my new Twitter friends, avenuez, started a virtual food drive. She must have noticed my announcement that I have reached 1000 followers on Twitter and she asked me to send her message on. I did and have already received responses from vegasgeek, LindaEskin, and JenMitch. I also noticed sogeshirts retweeted the message as I looked through my Twitterstream. I hoped that I would get all positive responses to my messages sent on behalf of the virtual food drive and so far that has been the case. Why would people send on messages? I believe they looked at the site and found it worthwhile. In a way, I think it's deeper than that (I'm thinking of a four-letter word). When I checked my favorite quote site, ThinkExist.com, I was amazed to find a quote from someone you've probably heard of and today is her birthday.

I just had to take a break to finish cooking the soup I mentioned in my previous post, We Are In The Home Stretch. Several more Twitter followers have sent me messages letting me know that they have sent the message on. I'm sure others have simply sent it on without notifying me. Thanks, everyone and if you are reading this, I hope you will visit the virtual food drive and send a message to your friends about it. You could even send people to this blog and tell them to read "Love, Britney Spears And A Food Drive" and give them this link - http://tinyurl.com/BMW777157. There's more than one way to help. Please feel free to pick one!


"With love, you should go ahead and take the risk of getting hurt... because love is an amazing feeling.”

Britney Spears

Twitter quote 109 at ThinkExist.com