What A Great Day!

This morning I weighed in at 252.2 pounds. Because I started using Isagenix when I was 276.2 pounds, that means that I have lost 24 pounds in 41 days!

Then, in the early afternoon, Steve and Sue Landis picked me up and we proceeded to pick up our new team member, Lisa. All four of us went to the Isagenix Celebration in San Diego and it was truly great. Awesome, even.

I'll share more about my Saturday food leading up to today in a later post. I've got to get to bed because I'll be up before six to get ready for the Monday Isagenix Celebration. Click on the title of this post to get a look at what Celebration is about.


Keep walking!

Sometimes You Just Gotta Walk

Here's a little bit of an update:

I did gain weight in The Bahamas. I want to stress that the walking was effective. I'm sure I gained a pound or so LESS because of all the walking. For you skeptics, that's just the way it works. Your body does physical work and it burns calories. There is no magic (except in romance). I DECIDED that I was going to eat basically what I wanted after a couple days at Atlantis. I had never been east of Florida before and I was not going to miss out. I chose to eat more and a wider variety, knowing the consequences. I had already done a little of that New Year's eve.

Regular readers may recall that earlier on New Year's eve I weighed myself and that final weigh-in for 2008 was 112.2 kilos. I started the year at 123.2 kilos and that difference of 11 kilos means that I lost 24.2 pounds. Some (females, especially) are amazed how much weight a man can gain in a short period of time. If you're really curious, email me. I am back to "being good" with what I eat and this morning I weighed in at 113.7 kilos. That is down from our arrival home Sunday night.

New readers may actually wonder, "What are you telling us all this stuff? Do you just like to hear yourself speak(/write)?" [ Let me think...MAYbe...I did once tell a mentor that I treasure my own company! ;-) ] My hope is that by seeing what is actually going on with a real person you can be encouraged that YOU can do it, too. No matter what it is for you, you can do it. (And, for 90%+ of us, walking is something we can do and it helps our bones and our brains!) Weeks or months or years from now you can revisit my blog and as long as I'm alive and coherent (some already see this as iffy) enough to post, you will see me making progress. I know you can do it. I'm DOING it in my life right now!

I want to acknowledge our creator here. (If you don't believe, you obviously have the choice to skip ahead, but please don't stop reading this blog entirely. People who care about you want you to reach your goals and be around when you're old to do things like bounce your grandniece on your knee or teach her math and science or read Where The Wild Things Are to your grandson.) In 2007 I wanted to lose weight and I barely achieved that goal. I lost 1 pound in 2007. On December 31, 2007 I asked God for help in losing weight and getting in better shape and in 2008 I lost 24.2 pounds. (Thank you.) I also want to thank you who are reading my blog. Knowing that you're out there (especially when you comment!) means that there are some people to whom I'm accountable. That helps me and it can help you, too.

Right now I'm going to do it - some walking - because no matter what else is going on, sometimes you just have to close your mouth and stop what you're doing and saying and get out there AND DO IT! And my loyal dog, Mellow, will be a little happier. Somebody said, "Just Do It!" That's what I'm going to do. Right now.


Keep walking!

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!

Weight Blip This Week

On Tuesday I weighed in and found I had gained a little. Excuse? Easter! It happens. The key is to not give up because of a bump in the road (or chocolate eggs in my tummy). The weight? 115.6 Kilos, which was up .2 or .44 pounds. Not a lot, but the wrong direction. Finally, to be fair, Easter was not the only culprit. I walked less in the two weeks after the accident, though I did make it to nine miles a couple days ago. I have never stopped walking. I never will as long as I am breathing. Come back and see that I'm still going. Take heart in your own struggle with weight, exercise, or goals.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

Tired And Still Walking

One car and three people means a lot of driving and getting up earlier than usual. I was fairly tired today and good and tired right now. Still I walked. Not even near a record day, but I walked. You can, too. Walking. Running. Working out. Swimming. Whatever you're doing, keep doing. And hey, soon, the situation changes and you do more than you expect. Tomorrow I'll have a rental car and ironically I'll drive less. And that means more walking. With my pedometer, too.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

How Life Can Almost Change

Last night my son and I were driving home from his induction into the National Honor Society and we stopped at Vons. After a little shopping, we got on San Marcos Blvd. and turned left onto Rancho Santa Fe Rd. and within seconds our lives almost changed. Someone turned left right into our path and we ran smack into them. Thank God for airbags. I'm a little sore and Stuart is a teensy bit sore and the other guy seemed fine. I think the Buick is totaled. I am so glad we weren't driving the smaller car I used to have.

We waited for the police and paramedics and they checked me out and let me go. I haven't walked today as much as I would have liked. One car and three people meant I'm right back on the [driving] horse several times today. I still have some time tonight for walking. I'll say it again - Thank God for airbags.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

Walk For More Than CardioVascular Health

Yesterday I got a call from a good friend I've known since high school. He was enthusiastic about the walking I've done in 2008. He also wondered where I could fit it in.

If you don't worry about the cardiovascular benefits and simply concentrate on walking whenever you can, you can get a lot of steps in. Literally right before I sat down here I took the 419th step of a very short walk with the dog which took about four minutes. In fact, I started this post and left to pick up my son. Now I'm back and finishing the post and using a few minutes wisely.

How many times do we decide that "I've only got a few minutes" and so we decide to "kill" those few minutes. If you take short walks of 4-8 minutes 10 times a day, that could be between 4000 and 8000 steps or more per day. You still burn calories even without much cardiovascular benefit. You still gradually build bone when you walk. Even if you only did the really short 400 step walk five times a day above whatever you're currently doing, that would be 2000 steps and that's about 10 pounds a year. Just remember to NOT eat more than you're currently eating. And remember the pedometer.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

Don't Sit Down!

Back in 1993 I made an amazing discovery. When I come in the house, if I simply don't sit down I will get the next task done much sooner. Seems simple enough. The key for me is remembering to stay standing up.

This morning I took the dog for a little drive and got the paper. After giving the dog a little food, I set down my drink on the kitchen table and stood reading the paper for just a minute or so. I went back downstairs and got the dog and we went right out and started walking.

A few weeks ago I started breaking my day into three mini-days. I learned this over ten years ago from a life insurance organization started by a man named Hubert Humphrey - no relation to the politician. My understanding is that Humphrey started this practice and taught it to us. At one time I felt it was a little silly, but I have found that now that I am choosing this, I like it and it helps me focus on getting things done.

My dog, Mellow, and I walked about three miles and I got back to the house just before 8 am, the end of my first mini-day. Because I didn't sit down I had time to do the best I have done for three weeks before 8 am. I know this for sure because after I got back I sat down and I have been at the computer a little under an hour.

Incidentally, I was also motivated after I stepped on the scale and got a pleasant surprise. I had expected to "break even" for the week, but my new number is 117.7 kilos which is just under 259 pounds. This is the first time I've been under 259 pounds in 11 or 12 years.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

(Don't sit down!)

Over 10 Miles In Eight Hours

Earlier I was closing in on 300 miles since 01/01/08 and I blasted through and am now nearing 310 miles. Some days you can get inspired. Keep doing what you're doing every day and then all of a sudden you get a burst of energy or inspiration or encouragement - you get the idea. You don't need to break personal records every day, but keep going and some days you will. My body's buzzing. I'm feeling good and my feet are only a touch sore thanks to my shoes. You can do it. 50 or 100 yards or five or ten miles. Remember, you are competing with YOU.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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Click on the title of this post to see Ooma.com's blog about me and the other winners. We haven't had a phone bill at our house since December because of Ooma. No, I don't work for them, but they did send me a nice T-shirt and blanket(!) today.

Help the hungry and increase your vocabulary for free at FreeRice.com.

Probiotics Pancreatitis Connection?

Faithful readers will remember that my brother was going to the hospital on New Year's Eve 2007 while I was making my resolution to walk and lose weight. My brother suffered from pancreatitis and weeks later a friend from church did, too.

Lime.com just alerted me to a New York Times article about a possible connection between probiotics and the severity of pancreatitis. That's my take on what I read. You can read it here.