When You Are Thankful For What You Have, You Share....

This is the time of year where everybody is thankful. Where you slow down and are thankful for everything you have gotten over the previous year. At the end of August, my life took a dramatic turn. Me and Melody decided to change our lives. We wanted to be healthy and lose weight. The journey has been exciting, but it hasn't been easy either, I am very thankful for all my friends and family who have helped me to keep going. Your words of encouragement have meant the world to me. There were a couple of times where I was really doubting myself, but when I read back on some of the things people sent to me on Facebook, it really energized my batteries again to get going.  Thank you so much for the love you have shown both of us and your kind words!

There are two special people I really want to thank for helping us make our dreams a reality. My trainer, the owner of Warrior's Den Health and Fitness, Jared Hardcastle, and our Weight Watcher sponsor, Nanci Noakes. 

Most of my friends know how special Jared is to me. I've known Jared since he was a little tyke. I coached his older brother Colin, in little league football when he was 12 years old and that was nearly 20 years ago. He was a toddler running around the football field playing in the dirt. As he grew up, my oldest son, Colton and Jared became classmates in school and teammates in sports. I've watched him go from a little blonde headed kid running around bugging his brother to running a successful business, and being married with a darling little daughter and another on the way. It's sort of funny how I used to yell and encourage him at games to see him yelling and encouraging me now on my journey. He has made it fun and is constantly helping me with my workouts. From teaching me new stuff to do that helps me get more healthy, to even showing me the proper way to do the exercise so I don't get hurt. It takes a lot to train a fat boy with two bad knees from surgery! Thank you Jared for all you do for me! 

Now Nanci, is one of the greatest sponsors I could ask for! What makes Nanci special to me, is she is a lifetime member of Weight Watchers. She has gone through the program and succeeded! She understands the struggles we face each day making the right decisions. She understands that not everyone likes broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, or a lot of those other vegetables that are healthy for you. She knows how hard it is to choose an orange over chocolate. I have wrote several times about her "getting on to me," but she really isn't. Her insight and experience in going through the same program I am, is really invaluable to me! She's just warning me what my bad decisions can lead to, and encouraging to make the right decisions that will better my health. She has taught me to look beyond the scale on weeks when I don't lose as much as I wanted, and to celebrate with others in their success. After all, we are a group on Thursday nights! We're a dedicated group of people on the same journey together. She has taught me I'm not on a diet, I'm changing my lifestyle. I'm no longer sitting

 on the couch eating junk food, but I'm getting out, being active and eating healthy. She is part counselor, part teacher, but all friend! Thank you Nanci for everything.!

I haven't weighed in this week yet, so my results are still at 50.6 lbs lost in 13 weeks. I'll post something this weekend after I have weighed in Thursday evening. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope you take the chance and step out to take your own journey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

About 3 weeks ago right after I had lost about 40 lbs.

Before I started my journey

I've lost this much!!!

Hang A Half Hundred on Em'

Growing up in central Oklahoma, within minutes from Norman, Oklahoma, I am a huge fan of the University of Oklahoma. Specifically, their football team. Life was no better than sitting in a stadium with 80,000 screaming fans watching OU destroy an opponent on a Saturday afternoon. I used to joke with a really good pastor friend, that I was raised to believe that heaven was a hundred yard patch of grass in Norman, Ok, while Hell was a hundred yard patch of grass in Austin, Tx. As the lyrics to their fight song say, " Sooner born, and Sooner bred, and when I die, I'll be a Sooner dead," that is exactly me. Being a Sooner fan, you couldn't get anyone better than Barry Switzer. Barry was the head coach of OU from 1973 to 1988. He was as loud, charismatic, and unapologetic as they come. He guided the Sooners to 4 national championships in 73, 74, 77, and in 85. To me, he was as close to God as you could get on Earth. As the Pope is to Catholics, Barry Switzer was to me. It was always God, Barry, and family in that order. His wishbone offense destroyed many other teams, as well as the hope and dreams of many opposing fans as well. I watched OU win by 1 point or I even watched them in 1987, I think, kill Missouri 77 - 0! They did their best to win every game. They would always find a way to win games when no one else said they could. We called that, "Sooner Magic!" Nothing better than OU football in the 80's! When you yell,"Boomer!" I yell,"Sooner!" that's just the way it was. 

Barry Switzer had such a knack for words, it made it entertaining to watch him. He told things like it was. The more honest he was with people, the more I liked him. He was famous for a lot of his quotes regarding the team they were playing week in, week out. My most favorite quote was a statement he made and he tried his darnedest to live up to the expectation every week. It was, "Hang a Half a Hundred on Em'." When he led his team out of the tunnel on every game day, you had to be ready, if not, his goal was to score 50 points on you. He did a many of time too! 

Along my journey, I set small attainable goals to help me reach my ultimate goal of losing 200 lbs. So far I have met all my small goals, but I had yet to reach any of what I call "BIG" goals. My first big goal was 50 pounds. As I inched closer to that goal, Barry's words would resonate with me, and this week I get to proudly exclaim, "I hung a half hundred on them!" I had to weigh in a couple of days early because of the Thanksgiving holiday, and I had lost 7 pounds even! Making my total loss so far, 50.6 lbs! I couldn't believe it! The portion control, the tracking, and the exercise are paying off! I've lost the equivalent of 50 footballs!

I never got the chance to play for him, but yet I feel inspired by him. Thanks Coach Switzer for being a inspiration and role model for me!

Next big goal is 100, so I guess now I will use Billy Tubbs as inspiration to meet that goal.

My Dad and Barry Switzer

The Struggle is REAL....

I've heard people say, "If you say it, it makes things worse!" For example, if you say you're on a winning streak, odds are you'll lose your next game, or you say it's a beautiful day, and then it starts raining. In my case, it's, "If you say the struggle is real, it'll make it even harder." Well, bring it on! "THE STRUGGLE IS REAL'" There. I even yelled it so the people sitting in the cheap seats can hear. 

I had a rough weekend, starting Thursday. At my weigh-in I gained 2.2 back last week. I was really bummed. So much to the fact, I didn't go to the gym on my way home from the Weight Watcher meeting. On Friday, I had all intention of going, but we went to a concert that night, where I drank a couple of mixed drinks and ate some Mexican food. I saved my points so I could eat out, but after the concert, we went home instead of working out. 

I had another strike on Saturday. I told myself to work out after work, but yet again, I ended up sitting on my butt watching a football game. I tracked my food like I was supposed to, but I ended up eating a high point lunch, because the place where I normally get a low point lunch was not serving lunch yet. So far I batted 3-for-3! Sunday, I sat around playing a video game while waiting on the NASCAR finale to come on. After sitting in a chair most of the day, I laid in bed and watched the race. I ended up eating a 12 inch sub with mayonaise for dinner. 

After doing so well for 12 weeks, my brain and body reverted back to my old ways after a dissapointment!  It's like my brain shut down and said, "All I got for you this weekend is a pocketful of Nope!" Why do the neuralizers in my brain sit there and act like it's watching a 125 car cattle train that is going down the track? It just wants to sit and watch while other things are happening around me! I've talked about looking for a magical switch that just turns things off. I think I found it again! I have found myself wanting my old cravings, and wanting to just sit again, all in the last week! 

I know part of me is upset by the gain, but there's another part of me that is getting frustrated. It wants to just scream and shout, " If I'm going to try and lose weight and eat healthy all the time, but instead I gain weight, so what's the point?" I'm not giving up by any means, but that little kid inside me is starting to scream, " I WANT IT NOW!" 

I am far from down and out. I just got to will myself into doing this. I'm at that point where its going to be a fight. I must push myself. Not only am I letting down others if I stop, but I'm letting myself too! The good news is, after the race ended Sunday I did get up and go to the gym late. I worked out for an hour and a half too. So, I'm not broken yet, I'm just a little dinged up. 

Stop Saying,"I Wish." Start Saying, "I Will..."

For those of you that aren't friends with me on Facebook, and that have been waiting on an update, the news is, I lost 2.6 lbs last week. That brings my total lost to 45.2 lbs lost in 11 weeks! I officially got my 10% charm at our Weight Watcher meeting last Thursday. Sitting here thinking about that, just staggers me! I've lost the equivalent of two car tires! I've lost the weight of nine 5 lb. bags of sugar! A 5 year old kid! A 15 foot canoe weighs that much! So, I guess now when people ask me, "How much have you lost now?" I can tell them I lost a 15 foot canoe!

It astonishes me how almost 3 months ago, I was sitting around the house wishing I could do something about being obese to actually doing something about it. I would've never dreamed I'd go to a gym, let alone going five nights a week.

I sat around for years wishing I could lose weight. I sat around on the couch, when I should've been out creating memories for my family. When I see pictures of families out doing things with their kids, I am regretful that my being obese is what my kids will remember about me. Times when I didn't want to go out cause I was tired or out of energy. I missed out on the chance to create some great memories with my boys. Now, don't get me wrong, I did get up and go to a lot of their ball games and band concerts. My boys know how much I love them, but it's the other things that I could've done differently. Instead of me just sitting watching them play on a playground, to actually getting to play with them. It's thoughts like that one, that make me feel regretful for the choices I made for almost 30 years.

The bright side in all of this, is by me getting healthy, I am extending the time I can make memories for my grand-children. Not that there are any on the way, but the hope of them warms my heart.

I told you many times of how I can get around a lot better and can breathe much better too! I've gradually increased my weights on my exercises now, and I'm getting stronger too. When I first started doing leg presses I could only lift around 120lbs. I now regularly lift around 400 each leg day. Thankfully leg day is only once a week, but last week I did my personal record of 500lbs for one lift! Every time I do that exercise it seems really tough, but the reality of it is I do that everyday. Every time I step up a step, or every time I climb a ladder, I am constantly lifting 400 lbs. To me, I knew I was fat, I just never realized I was heavy. When you sit down in that machine, and you unlock the weights, the realization will slap like a mad mother at Walmart. It was the first time I actually felt what 400 lbs. felt like on my legs. You quickly understand why your knees hurt, your ankles are swollen and you feel so tired all the time. My body is worn out from carrying a full oil drum all day. I've still got a long way to goal, but by the time I'm finished I hope than when people ask me how much I lost, that I can proudly exclaim, "I lost a manhole cover!"

Your Wings Already Exist. All You Have To Do Is Fly...

This is my me and few members of my family a couple years ago at the open casting call for The Biggest Loser. I'm on the right, and I was around 425 .lbs that day. We had the pleasure of meeting David Brown there. He came in second the season right before we tried out. He is from OKC, and dropped by to support all of us that came out.He was real pleasant and cheered us on as we waited in line that day. When we met him, I got the pleasure of asking him a few questions. I asked him, "How did you do that?" His answer was, "It's all 90% mental. You have to overcome yourself to lose weight." I knew all along that I had to think differently, I just didn't know how. I wanted to know what would get me off the couch when my body said, "No!" If I couldn't change my habits for 30 years, what would make me want to now?

It took me eight weeks, but I finally figured it out.

I only needed myself. 

I know. Your telling yourself, "That's lame," but I want you to think about it. Your desire to change, has to be greater than the desire not to. If I wanted to be healthy, I had to get up off the couch. I was tired of being out of breath. Tired of having high blood pressure. Tired of clothes not fitting. Tired of the jokes behind my back. You finally get to a point and say enough is enough! You have to work to break that barrier! 

It's not easy. You find yourself looking for excuses not to do it. "It's was a long day at work. I'm too tired to work out tonight." "It's so stressed out. I want some ice cream." "I've got to be at work early tomorrow. I'll stay home and get some rest." Those are just a few that I've used, but what changed the most is when I started seeing results. Once I started to lose the weight. Once I started to be able to work better. Get up more around the house. For the first time in years this week, I was able to lay on my back for a long period of time and not be out of breathe! Being obese, you find things like that are hard. Your fat pushes on your lungs and makes it tough to breathe. When things like that start happening, you don't want to stop. Your brain actually starts to over-ride your body. You find yourself saying things like, "I like being complimented. I can't wait to see what happens next week!" "I just put on a shirt that I haven't wore in years!" When things like that come out of your mouth, you find your brain telling you to get up work out, is easier than not to.

Do you have to go to the gym and work out every night? No, but you find yourself missing it when you don't. As your body changes, and you start to see what is underneath everything, you'll start seeing it like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. The biggest difference is, this tome, your the butterfly. 

Step by Step.... Inch by Inch...

Sitting here after my first full weight assessment, I was thinking about the positives that I've had since I started this journey. Trying to lose weight, and going inch by inch. The more I thought about the inch by inch part, I was reminded of an old Three Stooges routine I loved. It has nothing to do with my weight loss. It was just a random thought that popped into my head. 

In my last blog, I promised an update. It has been a total of 8 weeks since I started this journey. September 27, 2015 to be precise. Since me and Melody walked through the door at Weight Watchers, nothing has been the same since! We devoted our life to eating healthy and exercising, and has it ever paid off! As of our meeting last Thursday, me and Melody both lost 5.6 .lbs each last week! That brings my total to 39.6 .lbs lost in 8 weeks, and hers to 30! Before my assessment tonight, Melody wanted me to check her measurements. She had lost almost 3 inches around her waist, and 2 of her hips. On her arms and thighs she lost about 1 1/2 inches. I've been bragging on her all week. When we started, she was wearing a size 16 jean, Halloween night we went Trick-or-Treating with our nephew and niece and Melody wore a size 12 comfortably! She dropped 4 pant sizes! I'm so proud of her. She walks on her treadmill 2 - 3 miles every time at the gym, and now she been doing some resistance training and it paying off for her.

Tonight I did some Max sets for the first time in my life. I am really proud of myself! Tonight I bench pressed for the first time in my life and maxed out at 165 .lbs. I really enjoyed that. I've been doing a leg press for a few weeks now, and the most I had gone on that was 120 .lbs. With the encouragement of my trainer, Jared, I maxed out at 470.lbs! Lifting it not only once, but going 7 times! I think I can go higher, but that'll be for the next assessment. The most amazing part of my assessment came from the numbers part of it. It had been 2 full months since we measured, and I was shocked by what I saw. I lost 3 inches around my abdomen, and 5 inches on my hips! I actually gained on my arms, and my calves, but I'm fine with that because I'm building muscles. I can actually see some definition in my arms now. We did a body fat analysis tonight for the first time and I rated at 42%. Which means 42% of me is fat. No surprise there! What surprised me was when Jared did the math, 234 lbs of me is bone and muscle. My goal is 250 .lbs. If I can reach that goal, I'll have hardly any fat! That makes everything seem so exciting! 

I've been doing cardio 5 nights a week and resistance train 2 nights a week, after the great results tonight, we are raising the resistance to 3 nights. My body is feeling really good and my spirits even better. Thank you to everyone for the words of encouragement, and support. It really helps keep me going!

For anyone who wants to join me on my journey, find a Weight Watchers near you and start today. You want be sorry. 

For anyone around the Norman area looking for a gym, call Jared at The Warriors Den Health and Fitness. You and your family can become members, or if you want to get a little bit more out of your workouts, talk to Jared about becoming your personal trainer. I promise you, you won't regret it. 

Lastly, to the small following of people I have in Germany, "Guten Tag and Gotten Segne'"  To the Russians, "Здравствуйте и Бог благословил!"