The Big Race Weigh In Week 2

Well, today we stepped on the scale and while Holly was able to jump up and down because of her weight loss. I hung my head in head in shame. Here's why...

Date	weight	Gain/loss	Total   +/-	Goal
8/9/10	380		n/a	n/a

3/30/11	371.5	+ 1.5	-          8.5	360  ):
4/6/11				350

Holly has lost officially 3% and ...let's just say, I haven't. Don't count me out yet though. I WILL get in the game this next week. I  am planning on losing about 10 pounds this week!!! Get ready, I'm pulling out all the stops!!!

Just CHILLIN'

"I scream you scream we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!!" Now that brings back childhood memories. My brother and sister would sing that at the top of our lungs when we were all small children. Who doesn't like ice cream? - except the lactose intolerant. I have been told that more ice cream is sold during winter than any other time of the year. Ice cream is so great because you can get soooooo many flavors, thanks in part to Baskin Robbins. If you don't like plain vanilla you can always get, chocolate, moose tracks, turtle tracks, sherberts, cookie dough, cookies and cream, etc.

One place that is famous for great ice cream is Ben & Jerry's. If you find yourself staring at their delicious menu you may want to remember what "Eat This, Not That" has o say. According to this book, written by David Zinczenko - Editor-in-chief of Men'sHealth, Don't eat the CHUNKY MONKEY in a waffle cone!!!! It will make you look like a chunky monkey with 659 Calories, 34 grams of fat (19 grams saturated fat), and 58 grams of sugar. Instead try the Strawberry Kiwi Swirl Sorbet, sugar cone (1/2 cup). The delectable item contains 280 Calories, 1 gram of fat (0 grams saturated) and 52 grams of sugar. You can also safely try the Chocolate Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt (1/2 cup), or the Strawberry Original Ice Cream (1/2) cup.

If you begin to crave ice cream, remember that it's o.k. to eat some. It's not a sin to have food, it's only a sin when you begin to become a glutton. You can either become a glutton of Junk food or even become a glutton of health food. Gluttony is when you eat too much of something whether "junk" food or "health"food.

Trick or Bad Choice?

     We pulled up to the Mcdonald's drive thru. I was ready to order. I had about 30 ponits left for the day on weight watchers. It was supper, needless to say I was feeling pretty good about my situation. I was ordering for the kids and Holly's meal as well. Now it was my turn to order, then I heard the voice of temptation - It's funny it sounded JUST like Holly! She said, "Awe, just get the Angus deluxe meal." She KNOWS that I LOVE that meal! So what did I do? I mustered up all my will power that I had and then I spoke into the speaker. "I'll have your...ummm... your...Angus deluxe meal please LARGE sized with an apple pie - I have never turned away the free apple pie in my large sized meal. Then I heard a laugh. I looked at Holly and, with all the love in my heart I said "Holly your evil!" - of course we were just having a good time, I was not really angry, I mean how could I be angry with her, she just told me I could get my favorite meal on the menu!!

      We drive home and get all the meals separated out and I still thought o.k. I've used all my extra points, but I'll still be o.k. - YEA RIGHT!! The sandwich alone was 21 points. Long story short I went WELL over my points and today I had to do "Billy Blanks Boot Camp Tae Bo workout"! I am STILL 10 points in the hole, so I will have to do it again tomorrow! I wonder if I have learned my lesson...

FRIDAY!!!!

Yes, we find ourselves at another weekend, and READY for a break. (Well, at least I am.) A couple days ago I was so distracted that when I ordered a chicken nugget meal (Go ahead.... Gasp in horror) for McDonald's FOR THE KIDS -I only ate a "few" of their nuggets and fries, anyway, I ordered the meal, with the kids yelling, screaming, singing, etc. all at the same time, I told the drive thru worker that I wanted honey musterd sauce to drink in the meal.

Have you ever been there? I was greatly distracted and messed up terribly - funny, but teribly. The same is true with my diet. I get s busy with my boss "screaming" in one ear, my church in the other, while my kids are wanting a daddy, and my wife wants a husband. I have learned that it is easy to become distracted and mess up terribly on my "diet". One word must be my theme and that is FOCUS. I must not get too busy to eat right, count my weight watchers points, exercise, etc. So as the weekend gets here we must stay focused.

Daily Bread

Matthew 6:11 - Give us this day our daily bread.

   As I look at this verse I see that the request is for TODAY'S food, not an abundance of food. How much is considered "Daily Bread"? Daily bread indicates that we are not to ask for more than w can eat in a day, but for some of us we could eat  A LOT more than others. So where's the cut off line for our daily bread? We must remember that in the Bible times food was not so abundant as we have today. They were happy to get food enough for one meal, much less for the day. They rarely ate seconds, depending on their wealth. Today most of us in America eat as kings and still gripe when our favorite restaurant is not open when we want something late at night.

In the Bible times people ate to live today we live to eat, this is NOT good. This is why I have made it my personal goal to cut out seconds. I believe that if I can simply be thankful for the bread I have for the day I will not need to eat enough for two. Today I think we should ask God to help us only eat our DAILY bread.

The Big Race Weigh In Week 1

So, how did you do in your weigh in this week? Did you lose weight? Stay the same? Gain Weight? Let me know! Holly and I weighed in today. Holly lost several pounds and I, well...I didn't start off great. I tipped the scale at 370. I stayed the same. While this is not bad, it sure doesn't help my race. I am currently in 2nd a.k.a. last place. I could use the excuse that I am trying to let Holly get a head start, but somehow I don't think you would believe me. So week 1 goes to the women (Holly). Good job!!

Let me just finish by saying, "BEWARE, I WILL WIN this next week!!" HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Eat and DIE!!!

Genesis 2:16-17 -16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat : 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

        It does NOT surprise me one bit that it was the temptation for food that made man fall into sin. Even today, though it is "socially acceptable" the sin of eating too much, A.K.A. Gluttony is still haunting many people. While I am not a tree hugger that thinks we should do things a certain way to "Save Mother Earth", I do believe that we should be good stewards of what God has given us. We should keep the planet clean, recycle, and all that good stuff, but we should definitely take care of our body.

        We only live on this Earth one time and while we are here we should strive to make as much of a difference as we can. We cannot make much of a difference if we  are unhealthy. How much good can we do if we only live to 50, 60, or even 70. We could do quit a bit, but what if we were healthy and lived until 75, 80, or 90+. Now I know that we are not guaranteed the next day, but I sure don't want to shorten the life I have been given just because I have made selfish decisions.

         So while we may eat and not necessarily die, if we eat the wrong things we may certainly die before our time. So please join me as we declare "War on Weight" and say we will be victorious over fat! We may eat many things but there are some things that if you eat "You will surely die". Watch what goes in your mouth.

Breakfast Breads

  I am a BIG breakfast eater. I like the eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausage, ham, biscuits, gravy, omelets, and almost any other breakfast food you could mention - except Grits. Along with my love for breakfast I love the breads of breakfast: Bagel, muffins, toast, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, etc. So I thought I would look through my interesting book called Eat This Not That and as I did I found some helpful tips on choosing the breakfast breads I love.

   According to my book: we SHOULD eat "Vitalicious AppleBerry Bran VitaMuffin (4oz)," these muffins have "200 cal., 0 g fat, 280 mg sodium, 20 g sugars. VitaMuffins (vitalicious.com)contain 100% of your recommended intake of several important nutrients, including Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E." This is opposed to the "Hostess Blueberry mini muffins (1 pouch)" contains "250 calories, 13g fat, (2.5 saturated) 160 mg sodium, 17g sugars."

    So next time you make your trip to your favorite grocery store to pick up your breakfast breads think VitaMuffin!

Weighing Shamoo!!!

    We got our scale in today!! I was pretty pumped until I stepped on it. I weighed 5 pounds MORE than I did on my other scale. So, I weighed in at 369!! I have a ways to go to get to my goal of 320 for the race. On the other hand the scale showed that holly had lost weight! The good news, for me, is that our official weigh in is not until Wed. so I have some time to get to work and get caught up.

   If you find yourself gaining weight, like me, then DON'T quit!! Keep on keeping on. If you find yourself losing weight, like Holly, congrats!! It is so very important that we lose weight, not only fr ourselves, but so we can more effectively serve Christ. I want to hear Him say "Well done" not  "Well, what have you done?" We can do MORE for the Kingdom if we lose weight and stay healthy. I do not want to be like the preacher that was a great man of God, but died at age sixty because of weight related illnesses. No, I want to live until 95-100 and be healthy and accomplish more for the kingdom.

Let the Race Begin!!!!

     Holly and I stepped on the scale Wed. (One at a time) and our competition is officially to a start. We will get our scale tomorrow. This will give us more accurate readings then the scale we have now. - This DOES make me a little nervous, seeing I may weigh MORE than my scale says now. So as way of review, We will be weighing in on Wed. and reporting % results as we are able. We are racing to lose 10% of our start weight. I am playing for a missionary in the Ukraine that is in need of a van to better reach the 15 villages he reaches out to now. He WALKS to them! His name is Paul Dudka. Holly is racing for church planters in Arkansas. They planted the church a little over 1 year ago. The man does NOT have a full time job. He does this so he can spend more time on the field God has called him. This missionary's name is Billy Brewster.

       SOOOOOOOO..... Let's BEGIN!!! I will need to lose approximately 40 pounds to WIN. Holly will need to lose... less then that. The 1st one to reach their goal will get to send $100 to his or her missionary. So, who do you think will win? Do you want to join the fun? It's not too late! Just message me and let me know, we'll get you going along with us!!

Ladies and Gentlemen Start Your Engines!! (Pt.2)

OK! Tomorrow is the day!! Holly and I will have our official weigh in and start our race against weight! I am pumped. We are both using the weight watchers new plan...online. I will need to lose about 40 pounds to reach my goal - I rounded up a couple pounds. Holly will need to lose... less then that. I gave you Holly's profile yesterday, today I will give you mine.

                                                         Caleb
My  main weakness is lack of self control. Yes this is where I fall short every time. I eat a wonderful meal and just can't seem to control myself to say "Enough". I usually go back for 2nd's 3rd's etc. until I am going to BUST. This is NOT good. I would honestly have to say that lack of self control for me will give Holly a small edge in this race.

One of my greatest obstacles will be my emotions!! I admit that I am an emotional eater. If I am depressed I eat. If I am happy I celebrate by... (yep, you got it) eating. If I need to think I best think with food in my mouth. I eat for EVERY emotion! So probably my emotions and my schedule will be my greatest obstacles. I have to reign in my emotions and deliberately say NO to emotional eating.

My greatest strength is my love for competition. I always enjoy a good competition. Another strength in my arsenal is my focus. When I get focused on accomplishing something I 9 times out of 10 will accomplish it.

There you have it, the run down on both Holly and I. I am looking for this to be a great competition that will be both fun and beneficial to Holly, me, and the missionary we chose to send the money to. Tomorrow I will try to post my weight otherwise I will post it on Thursday morning. I'm ready! Are you?

Ladies and Gentlemen Start Your Engines!!

  Holly and I are gearing up for our BIG race beginning THIS Wednesday! I am pumped about what will happen over the next few weeks.

   Here are the rules and the stakes.

                                               1st the rules.

   The rules are simple LOSE WEIGHT!! We will be racing to lose our first 10% of what we weigh. This will even the odds a little because...Let's just say Holly does not have lose as much as I do! We will weigh in on Wednesday's and will, when possible report in our weight loss percentage Wednesday afternoon, or Thursday morning. We WILL keep you updated every week. If anyone would like to start with us please let me know and we will all begin "fresh" this Wednesday. Those are the rules.

                                                         The stakes

   So what will the winner get? Well, this blog is a ministry of Miracle Morning Ministries - A ministry of helps, to missionaries. In keeping this as part of our ministry Holly and I have each chosen a missionary to "Race for". I have chosen a missionary to the Ukraine. He is in need of a van that costs $17,000. He works in 15 different villages and walks to them to minister. He holds five small group meetings a week, as well as a pastor of a church that runs 95. His name is Paul Dudka. Holly has not yet told me the missionary she has chosen. These missionaries are missionaries which MMM talk with and are on our ministry list as MMM Missionaries. Once Holly announces her missionary I will let you know. The one who reaches his/her goal first will get to send $100 to the missionary for whom they are racing!

    Here is a run down on the strengths and weaknesses of both Holly and I. As we begin to get ready for the big race there are some strengths and weaknesses I want you to know about. Being a gentleman I will go over Holly's "profile".

                                                      Holly
    Holly's main weakness is that she is a woman. NO I'm NOT trying to be mean, however it is proven that men tend to lose weight a bit more quickly than women. This is Holly's greatest weakness in this race.

    One of Holly's greatest obstacles will be her schedule. While she is a stay at home mother I am convinced that with three children at home, homeschooling one child, potty training another and a three month old, and a husband to be helpmate to, and I won't get into her ministries she is involved with. Holly is by far busier than I am with a much more hectic schedule.

    Holly's greatest strength is that she is VERY DETERMINED! When she sets her mind to something she WILL get it done, and get it done in excellence! She is,unlike me, a person that when she decides to lose weight... she does. This is her greatest strength.
                        
                                               I will post my profile tomorrow.

Here We Go Again!! The BIG Weigh-in "Take 2"

    This week I will begin the new weight watchers program. I think we will start it Monday. Holly and I will also be getting a scale that weighs up to 400 LBS. and it is one like the doctor's office has. The tall scale and you move the weights on it to see how much you weigh. They are supposed to be more accurate than other scales (this somewhat makes me nervous). Holly and I will be starting our competition with our official weigh in Wednesday! (Please remember for my safety I will not be posting Holly's weight.) I will be posting who lost the most, again we are racing by percentage not pounds. I will post our "official rules" Monday. I may try to get Holly to post once a week on our blog! So... If you want to join the fun, just let me know and we will join together. I do not need to know your exact weight, you can simply weigh in Wednesday and message me the % of weight lost. (Of course I already KNOW I will WIN!!) We have not yet set the sakes for the winner... Do you have suggestions.... Post and let us know by Tuesday...

    I stepped on the scale yesterday and waited to see what I weighed. Here's the outcome...

Date	weight	Gain/loss	Total   +/-	Goal
8/9/10	380		n/a	n/a

2/16/11	Did not Record lbs.	Did not Record lbs.	Did not Record lbs.	355 ):
2/23/11	Did not Record lbs.	Did not Record lbs.	Did not Record lbs.	350 ):
2/28/11	Did not Record lbs.	Did not Record lbs.	Did not Record lbs.	345 ):
3/10/11	366.4	-11.4	-13.6	335 ):

3/16/11

360

Today is the DAY!!

    Today I will step on the scale to reevaluate my weight loss goals for this year. I will not be able to report my weight until tomorrow because I will not be weighing until after this post.

    Ephesians 5:16 tells us to redeem the time. Time is something will continue to be used up whether we like it or not. We cannot reverse time, we cannot slow time, and we cannot stop time. It doesn't matter ho hard we try we cannot get younger. We must realize that the older we get the harder it will be to lose the weight and to stay healthy. Our bodies will inevitably wear down - and that more quickly for those of us are overweight. I do NOT want to only give God my twilight years. I want to give Him my all, my best, and the most of what I have to offer - which "ain't" much. How can I give God my best when I am too winded to preach my best, too tired to knock on doors, and have enough energy to "GO". The great commission is one of action! "Go ye into all the world..." It is my experience -personally- that a fat person cannot GO. It is time, if you find yourself as I am, overweight, to redeem the time and decide NOW to give God our BEST.

Food Glorious Food!

     There is a song I sang in school choir while in the 7th grade. It says..."Food glorious food. Hot Dogs and mustard..." then it lists off several different types of food. This song describes what I have been singing my whole life. I love food! A person is to eat to live, however in times past it has been opposite. I live to eat.

    I have it VERY hard to reverse my way of thinking about food, however several things have happened to help me. 1st is the realization that I have been living in sin. It's called gluttony. 2nd my children have had a great affect on me. I see them and at times when they want to play I can't because I'm too winded, too tired, etc. Corban has also asked me embarrassing questions about my size. 3rd Writing this blog and having accountability with you all who follow these blogs. 4th hearing how you are doing in your war on weight. This is encouraging to hear and helps me keep on keeping on. 5th but not least, Holly. She has done a terrific job of helping me stay on track.

     So what was it for you. Can you make a list of some things or people that have influenced you to fight in this war. I believe it is good to remember the things and people that had a part in getting us on the right track. It will give encouragement and motivation.

Past the Weekend

   This past weekend the family and I went to Chattanooga. We had a wonderful time, but along with that came FOOD. Fast food and 1 outing to TGIFridays - The place Holly and I would go on dates while in college. It was goooooooooddd, but I was a little worried about my weight gain I would experience from our eating out so much. I have been as low as 360 and I DO NOT EVER to see 365 again on my scale. Last time I weighed though I had weighed 363, so I was sure 365+ would show up. I stepped on the scale and weighed 364.6! I was excited because I had gained only 1 pound! I will lose that pound and by the time I weigh in officially Thursday I am shooting to be back down close to 360.

Ready or Not Here I Come!!

     "Ready or not here I come!" - What memories that brings back. Hide and Go Seek. What a great game. One person is "it" and the others run and hide. When "it" gets done counting, he yells the phrase that alerts every one to get ready to run to base or stay hidden.    
                                                                                                                    
     Today I find myself in this game several times a day. The exception is this. It's not fun! Breakfast, lunch, and supper  come whether I'm ready or not. They call "ready or not!" I must remain focused at every meal, every snack, all the time or I will be tagged, not by some innocent child, but by FAT.

     So the question is, "How do I win this 'game'?" The answer to this question, as to ALL questions is found in God's Word. We must learn to depend on God's strength, not ours. It may just be me,  but my strength is worth NOTHING. I can't seem to be disciplined enough to battle this problem. So I have learned to 1. Remember that whatever I do whether I eat or drink, that I am to do ALL to the glory of God. 2. I remember that I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 3. I have am accountability partner that holds me accountable for what I eat. My accountability partner has just asked me to submit my March goals, and to start writing down EVERYTHING I eat.

     I have a;ways been a team player type so having someone to work along side of me is a GREAT help. It also helps that my accountability partner lives with me, yea my wife Holly is my accountability partner and she does a terrific job. Now I believe that when food, or the weekend, says "Ready or not here I come!" I can say "I'm ready!", and I believe I can make it to 'base'.

Lovin' the Goodies, Hating the Results

     I had some one leave a comment on my last blog and said that they were having some "trouble with self control when it comes to pop and chocolate", then they asked for ideas. I will dedicate this blog to attempting answer this question.

  Chocolate does have it's good points. http://www.healthcastle.com/chocolate-cocoa-benefits.shtml tells a short summary of the benifits of Chocolate. I would encourage you to take a moment to look at this briefly. It does warn us not to "indulge" in chocolate to much. Judith Viorst said "Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of the pieces".When it comes to eating too much, I have heard several suggestions. 1 is to use chocolate as a treat for when you have reached a certain goal, whether it's weight loss, time management, etc. (Just don't use it for EVERY little accomplishment.) Another idea I read about was buying the Yoplait "Whips" chocolate. I have not personally had the chocolate, but I personally like other flavours they have. I like to put them in the freezer and then get them out when they are frozen. It is very similar to ice cream - Holly taught me that trick.

   Unfortunately there is VERY little to NO benefit to pop, so I have determined to simply CUT IT OUT. Last night I was pouring a drink when I heard Holly say, "Caleb, you're breaking your rules." I looked and realized that, by habit, I grabbed a leftover two liter of Mountain Dew and was pouring it into a cup. When it struck me what I was doing I simply walked to the sink and poured it into the sink. This is the approach I amtaking with pop. I simply try to avoid it like the plague. I will drink Tea - not a lot of sweet tea though. I have begun to drink hot tea with honey as my sweetener. I of course drink my allotted water every day. I try not to drink ANY other drink until I have consumed my water - which usually takes me all day. By the end of the day I can usually squeze in a cup of juice, milk, or something along those lines.

     Well, I hope this has been a help.  To summerize, eat chocolate as a reward for a significant accomplishment, or a special occassion, and if you must have the chocolate try the yoplait whips chocolate. Pop is a plague that must be avoided. There must be NO pop accessible in the house and MAYBE get one on special occassions. Those are my suggestions. I love to hear from those who read the blog. Whuile I don't claim to be an expert I will research what the experts say and report what I find. We can win this "War on Weight". We must stay as focused as a soldier in battle.

It's ALL about the CHOICE!

      The book Eat This NOT That has proven to be very helpful for me. It was written by David Zinczenko. In the book there is a "menu decoder". One of my favorite kind of foods is Mexican. YUM! YUM! One of my favorite meals is the taco salad. I have always said, "It's a salad, it can't be that bad for me." WRONG!!! According to this books "Menu Decoder" the taco salad is "900 calories, 55 grams of fat, and perhaps the most liberal use of the word 'salad' ever." - and I wondered why I couldn't loss weight eating a taco salad.

      Choices. This is how we lose weight, or gain for that matter. We choose to eat less, or "One more 'small' bite". We choose to exercise or to watch another episode of our favorite T.V. show because "I'm just too tired right now. I'll do it later." We choose to drink water, juice, milk or pop, "diet" pop, sweet tea, etc. I think you get my point. I know that experts have been saying this for years now, but I am a SLOOOOOWWW learner when it comes to food. After all if it is my choice to eat the taco salad instead of something a little more healthy, then it is MY fault that I am the way I am. No one forced me to eat the "salad".

       I must learn accept the results of MY choices. I'm sorry to  probably over simplify this, but I'm a very simple person - When I sit down I will choose to either lose weight or gain weight. I must accept the responsibility for whatever choice I make. It falls on MY shoulders then NOT yours, my friends, my wife's, my children (who love to give me their left overs). NO it is ALL ON ME. Right now I must admit "My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak" and if I may paraphrase Paul's words from Romans 7:19 " For the good (food) that I would (Eat) I do not: but the evil (Food) which I would not (Eat), that I do." (emphasis mine).