Back to it!

Man, am I out of my routine! The contests both ended. Vacation happenned. And I just have not gotten back into the swing of things!

Lots to blog about...but more than anything, I just need the accountability.

It's easy to lose weight. But changing habits...so difficult. I definitely haven't stopped running to food as a source of comfort. so much to blog about that!

I also keep going back and forth with whether to merge my two blogs or not.

hmmm....we'll see.

thanks for stopping by!

A year later pics

Last year I took my kids on one of our church's mission trips and on the last day we stop off and take a tour of this glass art place and they have this cool gazebo of hand blown glass blue birds. I took a pic with Ciera and Noah last year.

We went back again this year and took another photo. It's amazing to see how big my kids have grown and conversely, how small I have gotten. The funny/sad thing is that this picture wasn't even at my heaviest and I weigh less than the newer pic.

I suppose they are momentos for the journey. Pretty cool.

(click on the pics to see them larger in a new window)

Are you a bigger loser than Marko Contest ends today

Well, the results won't be posted until Monday. Last week I was in 4th place at 230 lbs. I gained (?) 2 lbs this week. I'm not really happy about that but I am pumped at the results.


In 12 weeks I lost 40 lbs! that's 3 and 1/3 pound a week! Want more? My sweet wife Jen lost 24 pounds! While she was frustrated with many weeks of one pound or no pounds lost, in 12 weeks she averaged 2 lbs a week! THAT'S HUGE!


And yes, Marko won...and he looks great! My hope and prayer for all of us is that we'll keep it off.


Jen says she has more to lose...I know I have 30 more to go...so maybe in 12 more weeks we'll be in maintence mode.


The Wichita contest ends next Saturday so I'll try to post some pics of that too and hopefully win the right to keep my blog name.

(these thumbnails are pretty small. You can click on them for the high res version. although, you may not want to click the first one...that's pretty fat. ;^) )

My first real jog

In Dr. H's book, he talks about every morning going out for an hour jog/walk. That sounds as exciting as....exactly...it's not. I'd rather go to the Y and watch TV while I sweat.

But I really want to follow his instructions and today I gave it a shot. I jogged for 3 minutes, then did his recommended Dynamic Warm Up which lasted another 12 minutes. Then I jogged...and jogged...and walked....and jogged....and walked...and jogged....(you get the idea)...for 30 minutes then turned around. At an hour I stopped and just walked home ( a little more than half a mile).

then I took my sweet wife and Charis and we drove my track. Dr. H reccomends running at a pace of 5 miles an hour being the goal. In one hour, I jogged and walked 5 and a half miles! And hit 7 miles with the before and after.

pretty cool. i've never done anything like that. It'll be more fun when my foot doesn't hurt afterwards and when it's not 30 degrees. burrrrrrrrrrr

What a week....another 4.6 lbs....gone!

Well, I honestly didn't know what to expect this week. On Wednesday, I was stressed and I ate a bunch of mini candy bars....probably 400 calories worth. On Thursday....I didn't do much better.

I did exercise all week except Wednesday and increased my intensity in one set of videos.

The hard part was, over these last 12 weeks, this was the first time I'd really sought the false intimacy of food for comfort again. Both Wed and Thursday I ate late at night, all carbs, and pretty significant amounts, at least I thought.

so when I weighed in this morning, I had very low expectations, and when the scale rang out 234.4 I simply couldn't believe it. Blown away.

I'm resting today. Didn't go crazy with food. but didn't keep track either. Which is still an issue. My "free" day is an exercise in realizing how much work I still have left, even though I do better than I did before. But that's for another blog post another time.

On Thursday I weigh in for the Biggest Loser comp here in Wichita. I need to weigh 229. I have no doubt that in 4 days I can, at the very least, lose enough water weight to weigh in. Which is exciting.

I still need to keep working and I still have the YS loser comp too. But the real game, is getting to my goal and keeping it off.

Big week: 5 lbs, only 10 to go!

At this stage of the game, 5 lbs is HUGE! after only losing one last week, I was really hoping for a great week. I would have loved 5 lbs but didn't expect it at all and pretty much assumed I'd still be in the 240's.

not today though! 239!!! I'm only 10 pounds (and 12 days) from my goal weight for the local competition here! that is so sweet!

I worked out hard this week. Ate really well with the occasion of a couple hundred calories over on Friday night. It's nice to have a day off before hitting it again! and losing 5 lbs is great motivation to not consume a bunch of crap today, Easter Sunday.

I think losing 5 lbs will be a big gain for me on the Marko contest too, so that is sweet!

239! wow! that is 70 lbs in 11 weeks. simply amazing! only 9 pounds from how much I weighed when I got married in 1997! I simply cannot wait!!!!

The Biggest Loser and my DEXA

Based soley on a post by McNutt, I went out and bought Dr. Rob Huizenga's book "Where did all the fat go?" Dr. H is the doctor on The Biggest Loser, and in the book, gives his WOW! prescription to reach one's ideal weight.

Early on in the book Dr. H stresses the need to get an accurate measurement of one's "fat weight." Which is basically finding out how much muscle you have, how much bone weight, and how much fat.

There are lots of different ways Dr. H suggests to find this weight. The easiest and most accurate way I was able to do this was to get a DEXA (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) scan. I was able to do this at the local university. I found it by googling: DEXA Wichita.

The contestants on the Biggest Loser, amid all the tests, get to do an iDEXA, which is a newer version of the DEXA. Wichita State has only one of two DEXA's with the new programming made for conducting body scans for weight loss. And for $100, they were happy to have me lay on a table, perfectly still, for 6 minutes while the table moved me underneath the x-ray so it could shoot billions of electrons through my body and calculate my density.

Here's a pic of the DEXA:

After getting dressed, I received my printout. On the tv show they get a cool color picture. Mine is low-res black and white. It is hard to tell all of my fat because it isn't in color but you can see a difference on my inner thighs.

You can see the light gray is the muscle and the dark gray is the fat. It's all over my body, but you can really see it there on my "loins." (I just wanted to say "loins.")

The coolest thing about the DEXA is that you get a realistic analysis of your weight. Knowing that, you can calculate how many calories your body burns normally (your resting metabolic rate), and the amount of calories you need to lose .5% of fat each week. But that's not all.

The best part for me is that it gives me a realistic goal. Here are my results:

According to the DEXA, I have 175 lbs of muscle and bone. I thought 175 lbs was close to my goal weight! Even if I had zero fat, I would still weigh 175 lbs! dang! According to Dr. H, men are supposed to have 12%-18% of fat. Which means that my goal weight is 199-213 lbs. That is only 40 lbs away!!!!

What a RELIEF!!!! So cool!

I do wish I would have gotten this done when I was at my heaviest. I weighed in at 309 (fully clothed). I now weigh 244. I got this done last week, with breakfast in my belly and some light clothes I weighed 246.

On the Biggest Loser they get to see before and after DEXA scans and it is so cool to see the difference! Nevertheless, I am so glad I through down the Franklin. It has given me so much good information and has really helped me focus on my goal which seems so very close now!

Only one more pound this week. Down to 244

What a wierd week! If I had been on the biggest loser...I totally would have been eliminated. I thought I did really well this week. Loads of workouts...quite possibly the most workouts in a single week. Really pushing hard too. Even had a double day on Saturday.

On Friday night I over ate, but not by much. Nevertheless, when I weighed in on Sunday morning I was only .8 pounds less than I was last week! So frustrating!

Of course I got all depressed and way ate bad yesterday. so I'll have to work that off now. stupid!

But at least I still lost a pound. At that point I have 19 days to lose 15 pounds in order to reach my goal for the local contest here. That seems like a HUGE goals when I was counting on 4-5 lbs last week. We'll see how it goes.

On the bright side, I only have 40 lbs to go before I reach my goal weight. I did a DEXA scan which I've been meaning to blog about for a week. Pretty cool deal.

Woo Hoo!!! 245 lbs....

Actually...it's 244.4, but I'm saying 245. I had an 8 day week last week instead of seven, so with being one day behind, I'm giving my self a .6 lb jumpstart for next week.

Not only am I only 15 lbs away from the Play it Again Sports goal, which two months ago seemed absolutely impossible, I was away on a youth trip this weekend with temptation all around!

We left on Friday and I simply packed a dinner. Saturday, I ate a HUGE breakfast (900 calories) knowing that I may possibly not be eating lunch or dinner. For lunch they were having chick filet and dinner, Pizza. So I grabbed two apples and two oranges from the hotel and had them along with only the fried chicken part of the sandwich for lunch.

I skipped the pizza and took the students out to ice cream where I had a rasberry lemonade smoothie made from lemonade sorbet.

Sunday morning I had a good breakfast at the hotel. With all kinds of muffins and rolls and sugar and biscuits and gravy, it was a temptation. But I did great and chose a couple boxes of raisen bran cereal and had an english muffin and a sausage pattie. then for lunch we went to mcdonald's where I had a hamburger and an ice cream cone (400 calories total).

anyway, there is so much more I could bore you about, but the end result was 6.6 lbs loss in 8 days and that's HUGE! I can't even remember when I weighed 244 lbs!!!! (of course I mean 245 ;^) )

The secret to my diet? TUNA! and my mother-in-law's relish

Trying to keep up a ratio of 45% carbs, 30% protein, and 25% fat can be tricky. one of my staples has been to have tuna every day. I take between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of light mayo, combine it with a heaping spoon of my mother-in-law's incredible home made relish, and mix it with a can of tuna!

Then I eat the tuna on 1/2 serving of these garlic and herb bran crackers...dude, I look forward to it every day! Huge protien and it's so good!

It's somewhere like 250 calories for the whole thing. I'll break down the carbs/pro/fat when I get home.

sidebar: My in-laws came down for Noah's bday party on Friday and were absolutely blown away when they saw me! so fun! I told my mother-in-law that it was because of her relish!!!!

Awesome week! 3 more pounds! down to 251!

This week I did great on food but bad on exercise. I only exercised three times this week. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I did do 90 minutes when I was there though, so that is good. Just a lot of stuff going on with Noah's birthday party and Jen's parents coming down and being behind the 8 ball at work.

I'm pumped about this week though! I'm going to do a mini workout tonight and then I'm going to try to shoot for 6 double days this week. I figure if I lost three pounds with three 90 minute workouts, I might be able to ring up a six!

Also, for the local contest here, I still have a whole month till I weigh in! I thought it would be impossible to make it down to 229 but with a month and a couple days to go, I think I can get 22 lbs!

I'm going to work hard and really do it! I'm pumped! It feels so good to lose weight!

Something IS different! Another 5 lbs!

I don't know how I did it, but I got another 5 lbs yesterday! so sweet! I haven't lost 5 pounds for WEEKS! I was expecting 3...hoping for 4...and then the scale says 5!

My clothes feel so great! Not only have I lost more than I did last year (38 pounds vs. 32 pounds) but I weigh less than I did last year when I became satisfied (256).

And this week was hard. I didn't want to work out. I didn't do very many doubles. I did 45 minutes Friday morning and walked two miles Saturday. I can't imagine how much I would have lost had I really killed it those two days.

I only need 25 pounds more in 5 weeks to tie for the win for the local competition!

that, AND, I'm finally on the board with the YS biggest loser competition. I debuted at #9 of the men and my sweet wife has maintained her hold on #5 for the ladies. so sweet!

I'm losing weight. feeling great. Can't wait to keep the momentum going!

It is starting to show!!!

Not only am I fitting into old clothes, but my regular clothes are loose and LOOK great! It is so fun to lose weight! Last week I had one person finally ask me if I was losing weight again. This week there have been non stop comments.

It is so rewarding!

Last year, I reached this point and was so happy with it...that I stopped! and then I got back into the old habits.

Not this time. I just want to keep going and going and going!

I even slipped off my wedding ring tonight! Simply because I could! ha!

I'd post a pic...but I just look fat still. Maybe I should do a before an "while I'm still losing weight" pic.

Another 4 pounds! Downt o 259

What a great feeling! 4 more pounds. and I really worked hard. It's funny because that is less than 2% but it feels GREAT. Three more pounds and I will be tied with where I was last year, when I lost 32 pounds and stopped at 256.

Four more pounds and it will be my lightest in YEARS!

I am halfway through the Biggest Loser Competition. So far I've lost 33 lbs! That is more than I lost last year, of course I weighed in heavier. that is after 6 weeks, including a HUGE 12 lb loss that first week.

I have six more weeks to go till I weigh back in. The goal is to get down to 229. That is 30 more pounds. I have six more weeks. And I've averaged 3-4 lbs a week. I don't see it happening. But if I lose 20 more pounds in six weeks, then I'll have lost over 50 lbs and that is absolutely awesome.

My sweet wife thinks I can do it. I'd love to! but it is going to take some work!!!

I love Matt

This guy never stops! I'm talking about Matthew McNutt, from the Biggest Loser season 3. I'm currently involved in the Youth Specialties biggest loser competition. It is a private site but has a forum.

McNutt, who is helping us, left this gem today:


Okay, so we're well on our way to losing some weight here, and by now, people are starting to deal with their expectations vs. what they're actually seeing on the scale.

Unrealistic expectations can be one of the biggest killers on any diet.

Here is the reality: without exercise and only counting calories results in about 1-2 lbs a week weight loss for women, and 2-3 lbs a week for men. That's a good week. Adding exercise to the mix can add another pound or so of loss a week.

Here's the problem: we hold ourselves up to shows like the Biggest Loser and call that the standard for weight loss. I'm going to clue you on something - that's not all real weight loss. Well, not in the time frame you think it is. If you dig deep, you can find on the NBC site blogs from the show Doctors actually giving away the fact that some of those "weeks" on the ranch are actually ten days long. So if you're wondering how they can lose that much weight in a week ... it's because they can't. TV has to be bigger than real life, so they misrepresent time to make it seem more amazing.

The truth is, in season three when I was competing from home, I was holding myself up to the numbers that had been delivered in season two. I was KILLING myself. Exercising two and a half hours a day, absolutely militant about my calories, and losing about 8-10 lbs a week (remember, I started at 366 lbs; when I was around 250, I was lucky to lose five pounds a week with that same level of effort). And I was completely depressed, because I knew based on the numbers of season two that there was no way I could even compete.

Even the lowest guy would probably be ahead of me. At that point I had no idea about the actually time spent filming each "week." So when I flew out there for my on camera weigh in, I was absolutely stunned to find out that not only was my weight loss - which based on what I had seen on the show and the website should have been respectable, but certainly not in competition with anything on the ranch - was actually ahead of everyone. My percentage of weight loss and and my number of pounds lost was ahead of everyone! And yet I had been feeling like a failure because my expectations for myself were so unrealistic!

All this to say, do NOT let yourself lose momentum because you aren't hitting the numbers you see on TV. It's impossible. If you are losing weight, or if the scale is even just staying the same ... you are succeeding! You are making positive change in your life, you are modeling a healthy lifestyle that reflects the value of your body as the temple of God and that is a shining example to the teens in your youth groups and your families!

Over 30% of kids are obese or overweight, and the number is going to be closer to 50% by 2010. By making change now, whatever the rate of progress, you are showing the people around you that it is never too late, and that honoring God through the care of your body is something that can be accompished!

Keep it up! Don't ever be disappointed with any weight loss!


McNutt...who doesn't love this guy?!

Another 5 pounds! Woo Hoo Part Deaux

Alright! I dropped another 5 lbs! down to 263! After having a crappy weigh in last week I was really actually hoping for more, but still, a 4 pound average two weeks in a row is good.

Two thoughts:

1. I'm still hacked that I lost over thirty pounds last year. So far this year I've lost 29 lbs in 5 weeks. Pretty good. But, had I kept off the weight I lost last year...I would be down to 231!!!! I can't believe I'm working off fat that I gained last year! And at this rate, it'll take me two more weeks to simply get where I was last year! At least I'm not going back. so that's good.

2. On Sundays I weigh in and take the day off. I don't count calories and I don't exercise, allegedly giving myself a break. Which is true. The other has become an excuse to eat whatever I want. And I don't freak out. I've probably eaten 2500 calories today. The problem? I think probably all but 40 grams was carbs and fat. That's the kind of eating that gets you fat. And it's tearing my insides out! not a good feeling!

Woo Hoo!!! New "old" Pants!

It was just a few months ago that I blew out my last pair of 42 inch jeans. I was getting so fat that even those HUGE jeans were getting tight. Then...they ripped. CRAP!

So I had to choose...get another 42 to squeeze into, or bust out the 44's. I've NEVER had 44's before.

Well, I've been eyeing some 40's that were in my dresser that I probably only wore a handful of times when I was ballooning up. I put them on last night and guess what?

LIKE A GLOVE!

There is nothing like fitting into skinnier clothes. So I'm sporting one of my new "old" pairs of pants today and I feel GREAT! All the coutning calories, packing up gear, sweating....it is all soooo worth it!

Eat more to lose weight

Matthew McNutt, former Biggest Loser contestant has a GREAT post today on his blog about the need to eat more in order to lose weight. This single piece of advice has been so helpful for me! I never feel hungry (unless I go long stretches without eating) and there is so much food to eat.

sidebar: One difference is that I never feel absolutely full, either. This goes back to my childhood and how I just never felt like we had any food, so whenever I got something good tasting to eat, I would gorge and gorge and gorge. I had no boundaries. The feeling of not being full did take a while to get used to.

For my weight (268) I am supposed to eat a little more than 1800 calories. And I hit it. The harder part for me is keeping my percentages to 45% carbs, 30% protein, and 25% fat.

Nevertheless, check out his blog. It's full of GREAT stuff.

Talk about Comfy...

So the other day I was cold and I grabbed my NYWC track sweatshirt that my sweet wife has been wearing around the house and I put it on. Which made me think, when I'm skinny, will I wear my old clothes around, like my wife wears my gargantuan clothes now?

3 lbs and some crappy scale

So after another tough week, I weighed in this morning...I "only" lost 3 more pounds, taking me down to 168. I cannot weight for 11 more pounds! that will be more than I lost last time.

And I say "only" because in reality, 3 lbs is really good.

This week our scale we were using broke so my sweet wife got another one. But there is no way I only lost 3 lbs. I did absolutely great with food and exercise. So it weighed me heavy (which I'll take because it will mean that next week will be even bigger!).

After church today, I ran to walmart and bought 3 other scales. Weighed myself 6 times on each. One weighed me heavy, one weighed my light, and the other two were in between them. In the end, we went back to the one we started with.

For the curious, the one we like is the Health-O-Meter scale (pictured) that holds memory for 4 people ($40). The one that weighed heavy was one by Weight Watchers.