I have been working hard recently at getting myself in shape.  I have written about the successes and failures over the years on this blog.  Most recently with the support of my Biggest Loser group I have been pretty successful at losing weight.  I wanted that energy and momentum to continue over the summer.  My decision……to participate in a triathlon.

I know that this might not be the first option for anyone who weighs over 300 pounds but it has been enough motivation for me to exercise and stay active.

Now I am not totally crazy.  I want to start small with a sprint triathlon which is about an 800-yard swim, 14-mile bike, 3.0-mile run.  Exercise combined with my Chinch drinks (a new batch came yesterday!) I am continuing with the weight loss and getting ready for my triathlon

The first triathlon that I looked at was the Finger Lakes Triathlon.  I picked that because it was happening in mid-September so I thought that would give me enough time to get myself ready……to at least finish the race.

Well, I went online yesterday after I finished a 10 mile bike ride to register for the event but I found out that the event is closed!!! I was disappointed to say the least.

So I went online to look for more triathlons to participate in and the only other one in the area is Labor Day weekend!!!  It is called the Skinnyman (I hope they let me in) and it is a sprint triathlon.  This scares me because it is 16 days sooner so that is 16 days that I will me missing out on training.  I just hope and pray that I am ready!!

Since it is happening labor day weekend I would love to make a party out of it and hopefully get some support for the event.  Keep posted on the details!

I have I have written before, I gathered six other clergy in my conference for a “Biggest Loser Clergy Edition.” Well on May 31st our journey together ended.  I am proud to say that I won the whole event.  I am very excited about this!!!

I worked really hard and I am proud of the things I have accomplished.  In the process I lost 23 pounds!

I started out on this journey weighing 386 pounds.  Through this experience with  I have gained the confidence that I have not had since I was in high school when it comes to my health and my physical ability.

To be honest I was really worried last May (2008) when I started having chronic back trouble and my weight was creeping close to 400 pounds.  Now I have regained the confidence that I once had.  I have confidence that I can continue to get healthy and I can push myself to live a better life.

Inspired by my success I really would like to pursue a dream that I have had for a few years.  That is to participate in a triathlon.  September 20th of this year there is a triathlon in our area called the Finger Lakes Triathlon.    They have a sprint triathlon which is a shorter route.  The events will be:  swim .45 miles bike 13 miles and run 3.1 miles.  I believe that if I can commit myself to train for that event like I committed myself to this program I will be able to do it.

The final totals for our journey together as a group:   We lost over 50 pounds and we met our goal of walking 436 miles.  I would like to thank all those people who followed me and supported me in my weight loss journey.  Now I would like to invite you to join me in my journey in becoming a triathlete!!

One of the most popular “hits” on my blog is my list of 100 things to do before I die. I am not sure if people get past that list and read other parts of my blog but it is popular.  

I thought it was a cool thing to have and my intention was to really work on it.  I wanted to really work on the things in that list and if not do them, have plans on doing them in the future.  But for the most part that list has sat idle since I posted it. 

I now have a new list…..since there are so many parts of my life – personally and professional that I would like to improve I have created a list of 13 aspects of my life that I would like to focus on.  Each item I will focus on for a month and my hope is to get it to a place where I can feel like I am maintaining that part of my life instead of trying to make a change (if change is necessary).  

I will post the list in this post and then I will create a new page and I hope that you check in from time to time to see how things are going.  I am also going to look at my list of 100 things I want to do before I die and I will update it and see if there are connections that I can make to other parts of my life. 

The List:

13 Personal things to work on

1.        Weight loss

2.       Exercise

3.       Personal Organization

4.       Family Contact

5.       Friend Contact

6.       Budget

7.       Savings

8.       Spiritual Life

9.       Work on my Novel

10.   Work on my Devotional book

11.   Play my guitar

12.   Learn more about cheese

13.   Dog Training

13 Professional Things to work on

1.        Youth group

2.       Sunday School

3.       Senior Ministry

4.       Inactive Members

5.       Evangelism

6.       Community out reach

7.       Worship

8.       Read Two theology books

9.       Plan Grilled Cheese event

10.   Committee Organization

11.   Visioning

12.   Visitation

13.   Future planning

Saturday we measured ourselves and the results are in. I was not very happy with them which I guess is a good thing. If I was happy with them I might not be as motivated. The problem is my back. I think this happened when I did my weight loss journey for the first time. My back started to hurt and I did not go to the gym so I was down on myself and I quit. I am not quitting this time. I am going to eat right and then exercise when I get a chance to feel better. I can do the pool if nothing else. Little movement is better than nothing.

But here we go

This is from March 2, 2007
Neck: 19
Chest:56.5
Waist:59.5
Hips:52
L Bicep:17
R Bicep:18
L Thigh:30
R Thigh:30.5
L Calf:21
R Calf:21

This is from Saturday September
Neck: 19
Chest:55.5
Waist:59
Hips:49
L Bicep:15
R Bicep:16
L Thigh:30,5
R Thigh:30
L Calf:21
R Calf:21

Things are not as bad as they were in March. So I can’t say that I am at my worse measurement wise. But weight wise I am at 364.2 — I don’t like that number at all. I have dedicated myself to not joining the 400 club and I am not. I think each day that I creep that way I am getting more and more motivated to lose the weight.

Well those are the numbers. Thanks for all the messages of support that I have gotten so far. It really makes a difference knowing that there are people out there who care and who are encouraging.

I have realized alot of things the past year or so. One of the things I have realized is that I am addicted to food. Yes, that is hard to admit and to post on a blog, but it is true. The reason that I post this is that I feel I need to come to terms with it in order for me to move beyond this and to get healthy. As most of you might know I am in love with a company called Shaklee. We use their cleaning products because they work and they are all non-toxic and they are friendly for the environment. We take their vitamins and they help keep us healthy and we don’t have as many colds. We even (thanks to my parents) have an air purification system in our apartment. The kids had this cough for weeks and once we put that in their coughs went away, there is no more dust particles in the air and Logan’s Asthma is much better. However, the one thing that I have struggled with is Shaklee’s weight loss “system”. works for so many people including my family but I have not had long-term success. I have lost inches but because of this addiction I have not been able to maintain the success. But I have decided that I need to change and that I need to live a healthy life style. So I am back on it.

I started this morning with a shake and a banana. I had a power bar for a morning snack and now I am about to have a shake for lunch. One of the things that I need to do for myself is to have a weeks worth of a menu so I know what I am going to eat when. If I walk into the kitchen without a plan the next thing I know I am cooking up a storm and it is stuff that I should not be eating.

I will post the menu that I am eating under writings. I will also keep specific updates on this Shaklee blog. So bookmark this blog and keep track of how things are going.

I would love to get a weight loss group started. A support group committed to living healthy lives and getting fit together and supporting one another through the process. Let me know if you want to do that.

Well I am off to make another shake. I am glad that they taste good and they actually fill me up!
My Cinch Meal Plan