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

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!

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.

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!

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

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

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

We Are In The Home Stretch

Today is the last day of November, 2008. One of my fondest memories with my dad was going to the horse races at Del Mar. Without getting into all the details right now, I'm pretty sure that the phrase "home stretch" comes from horse racing. That last bit of the race is so important - if you're going to finish. The home stretch is when you can actually see the finish line straight ahead. From where we are running our race we can see December 31, 2008.

Let's make sure we finish this race. If you have done everything the way you set out to do at the beginning of the year, congratulations and keep going until the end of the year. Don't stop and don't coast. Finish your race the way you've been running all year or even kick it up a notch or two - your choice. If you're like me and you're not as pleased with your performance as you thought you would be at this point, don't give up and don't give in. Keep going or find a way to dig down deep and boost your performance from here. That's a great way to end your race and your year.

I'm not going to go into the exact weight that I'm at right now. I can take comfort in the fact that the number on the scale is smaller than January 1, 2008. Marianne and I have been cooking a chicken soup all night. In Jordan Rubin's Perfect Weight America this chicken soup is on page 132 and he calls it the Perfect Cleanse. This cleanse takes 10 days and it is how we are starting our home stretch.
I haven't given up on this year, but I have had to modify my goals. I believe that we do need to be safe when it comes to our health goals and encourage you to finish the race safely.

I don't know how long the metaphor of running and winning the race has been with us, but I know at the very least it's in the neighborhood of 2000 years. If you think it might give you a boost, here's a link that compares running the race to living the life of faith.

Lastly, how much will you be walking or running through the end of the year? I encourage you to find the time. You can even do a half a mile at a time. I was at my son's soccer scrimmage right before we left San Diego County for Idyllwild the day before Thanksgiving. We would drop off our dog on the way and while we waited, I walked Mellow half a mile. That doesn't seem like much, but it adds up. It probably took me 10 or 11 minutes. If you do that even twice a day that's 365 miles a year. If that extra mile a day is in addition to whatever routine you normally engage in, that can mean losing over 10 pounds in a year. Over five years that's FIFTY pounds!

Be intentional about how much you will walk between now and the end of the year. I created a survey to get you thinking about it. Please take a moment to answer my ONE question Walking-Running survey by clicking here.

Forgiveness Quote Stands Alone

"Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis Foundation

Chronicles of Narnia preview

Twitter quote 108 at ThinkExist.com