Dropping the El Bees

When You Give Help, You Give Hope

2011-02-28T21:02:00.001-06:00

April 17th, 2011. Put that date in your calendar for that is the day of the annual Trolley Run, a four mile race that benefits The Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired. Last year, racers big, small, fast, and slow alike lined up to support CCVI and raised over half a million dollars. This is where I ask you, my friends and family to help me in reaching my goal this year.

My name is Isabella Riddell, and I am five years old. I have curly blond hair that bounces when I run and bright blue eyes that sparkle when I smile. Mommy says I could be a model because I am so beautiful. I go to CCVI four days a week and my classroom teacher, Ms Kitty and her assistants Ms Eliza and Ms Andrea help me do things that I was never sure I could do. You see, CCVI has provided support and assistance for children like me and their Mommy’s and Daddy’s for close to sixty years. I have a condition called Cortical Visual Impairment. My brain doesn’t let me see very well. I also have epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and afibrinog-something or another. At CCVI, I receive not only therapy for my vision, but physical therapy, orientation and mobility therapy, assistive technology, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. I even get to swim once a week in the pool for aqua-therapy. Mommy and Daddy tell me that I have continued to amaze them, my teachers, and my therapists by what I have been able to accomplish. Just this year alone my speech has increased literally tenfold.

The expert therapies and classroom education I receive are not cheap, as each child costs approximately $30,000 per year. This is funded primarily through generous private donation and charity fundraisers such as the Trolley Run. This is where I ask you, my friends, my family, my neighbors, and my community, to help and support a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

CCVI is an amazing organization and enough great things cannot be said about it. CCVI has been the greatest influence in my young life. I have been able to overcome adversity and conquer obstacles that most none of you could even dream of. I have been able to do this because of CCVI’s tireless dedication and efforts.

Any amount of monetary donation is greatly appreciated as CCVI will continue to play a role in my life for several years to come. You can mail your donation in check form, made payable to CCVI to:

Isabella Riddell
1702 NW 63rd Terrace
Kansas City, MO 64118

You can also visit my web page and donate electronically at http://tinyurl.com/37pboyz
Our goal this year is to raise over $2000! Please help us meet our goal and I’ll buy you dinner, okay probably not, but I will give you a big hug and a sloppy kiss.
Love,
The IncrediBella, aka Isabella

& Family

An e-mail from food himself.

2010-07-20T09:48:00.002-05:00

So you think you have this whole weight loss game figured out huh? You think you’ve mastered calories and killed the cravings? You think you can overcome me? You think you have the strength to take down your biggest nemesis and your best friend at the same time. Think again Joe, you don’t know sh*t.

See you at lunch time,
Food (especially the sugary, greasy, fatty kind)

This is an e-mail I got today from my good friend/arch enemy, food. It loves to do this to me. It knocks me down and picks me up. It is there in good times and bad. It comforts me and is literally killing me.

I have publicly (remember the weekly weigh-ins that lasted 2 weeks?) and privately vowed to lose my remaining weight. I have set goals and made plans and drawn up excel spreadsheets to track my loss. Except for whatever reason I have abandoned them. I made the choice to take the easy route or should I say the more delicious route. It was a poor choice.

Right now I am at 255 pounds. About 30 pounds more than I was last October. I am struggling to deal with my food issues. I try to rationalize it by saying to myself, “Self, you are just a big guy, you always have been.” And food is laughing at me, mocking me, saying yeah sure, you are “big-boned.”

I turn 30 next week. Yeah I know, people say, you are just a baby. But hey 30 is big deal. I have played it off like it wasn’t. I told my wife when she turned 30 that it is just a number, it doesn’t mean anything. I think I was wrong. It does mean something. It means your twenties are gone. It means that you are no longer viewed as a kid anymore.

That said, I have taken a new lease on life. I finished my degree in management. I have started appreciating my family and stopped taking them for granted. I am enjoying life. I love my life. I would just love it a lot more if there was less of me (about 70 pounds less).

People who have never been overweight will not understand that. That is why I love writing this blog and reading Sean Anderson, and Tony, and Jack Sh*t and numerous others. They understand my plight. They get that e-mail from food daily.

I am humbled and appreciative of everything I have. I just recently got promoted to a new position at Buca Di Beppo. I am the new Assistant General Manager. I worked my way up from Wait Assistant (which is somewhat of a busboy/bread/drink fetcher hybrid.) I am very proud of this accomplishment. I am going to be successful for I am good leader. I am very level headed and I am passionate about taking care of my customers and employees.

Now I have to be as passionate about taking care of myself. I am confident in myself and I have a wonderful support system. My wife, Rachel, is a role model to me. I look up to her. I have written about her before, she is such an amazing individual. I will do this not only for me, but for her too. She deserves my very best, and she will get it.

Monday Weigh in 6/07/2010

2010-06-07T15:00:00.003-05:00

260.5 lbs.... Headed in the right direction.

A 4 pound loss isn't too shabby, and sure as hell beats a one pound loss.
I put a lot more effort into my food intake, though I should still take it easy on the pretzels. Low fat and low calorie, but full of enriched flour and carbs, so that will be my focus this week, cutting those delicious salty, crunchy snacks.
I even made it to the gym and ran outside. A pretty solid week.
Onward to 200 or bust!

Non related weight loss thought of the week.

How the hell would we ever have an oil shortage when that one leak is filling up the whole Gulf of Mexico with the black gold? Can we all agree that we are done with oil? 2 wars, Sarah Palin talking, and a ginormous oil leak in the gulf. All four, very bad things for this country.

Monday Weigh in 5/31/2010, it's a loss but...

2010-06-01T07:27:00.003-05:00

264.5, a whopping 1 pound loss which less than stellar for sure.

Apparently I'm a lot like Big Papi. A very slow starter only to kick it into gear as the season progresses. That and I'm awesome in those Sportscenter commercials.

This week I will be more focused and determined. Follow a stricter workout plan and be a little less liberal with the food intake.

Goodbye now.

Monday weigh in 5/24/2010

2010-05-24T12:24:00.006-05:00

Drum roll please............................................................................................................................................

265.5 lbs. (I just got owned by the scale)

Ouch, I knew it would be bad, but I didn't know it was that bad. Ok I had a bit of an idea, but damn. I could probably sit here and write and write and write a lot of BS about what happened and what I'm going to do, how I'm going to do it...blah, blah, blah. But I'm not, so I'll spare anyone that takes time out of their day to read this. By the way, if you do read, thanks.

Same place, next week.

The Monday Weigh-In

2010-05-19T09:57:00.002-05:00

On Monday, I am going to start a weekly Monday weigh in. This strategy worked really well for me in the past and held me accountable for my actions.
I have some great new opportunities (some which require weight loss) upon the horizon that I expect to materialize. Despite some setbacks in the past few months, life is looking up. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

2010 Trolley Run

2010-04-26T11:56:00.002-05:00

My $15.00 digital watch alarm is beeping. Normally that alarm seems fairly quiet, but at 5:00 am it might as well be turned up to 11. (A Spinal Tap joke for those of you not in that club) It’s dark. It’s raining. Why am waking up so early on a Sunday morning? Oh yes! Race Day. My first race since the Pleasant Hill cross country debacle 12 years ago.

It was still dark when I got the kids out of bed. Bella was sleepy eyed, but precious as always. Remi wasn’t as precious as he hates mornings, much like his mother. He grunted and groaned, and wouldn’t eat breakfast. But soon Grammy Lynette and Papa Phil show up (they are part of our 20 person team who are walking in the race) and Remi was apparently really trying to impress them with his sweet skills so he perked right up. Bella seemingly has an endless supply of energy so she never seems tired. She is ‘on’ all the time.

We finally get loaded up and head out to find a parking spot at the Country Club Plaza. Of course we are running about 15 minutes later than we wanted. That’s just the way it is when you have kids. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Thankfully we find a spot. One of the perks of having a disabled child is that handicap tag. Hey, don’t judge me.

It is STILL raining. You know one of those nice Spring showers, the absolute perfect weather for sleeping in. Not so perfect for running 4 miles.

There were lots and lots of people. Over 10,500 runners signed up for this race. It was an amazing turnout. By now, it had stopped raining. We were lining up to take the shuttle buses over to the starting line. The line stretched about 1,000 blocks. Well it seemed like 1,000 blocks. For those of us with strollers we got to get in a special bus lane. Unfortunately only Remi and I got on this special bus and we were separated from the group. It sucks being separated from the group. Luckily, my team, The IncrediBella’s eventually all made it to the start of the race intact.

Rach and I were in the Yellow wave, for slow joggers and fitness walkers. I’m not sure what a fitness walker is, but apparently it’s the equivalent to a slow jogger. Remi and Bella were with their nana, papa’s, uncles, aunts, and grandma in the leisurely walking wave.

The race was about to start, it was probably 55 degrees or so and a bit windy. I would call it chilly and I’m not ever really cold. But there was Rach and I, getting ready to start our first race ever, together. It was awesome. I was excited. I was nervous. Can I finish? It’s all about finishing. That’s the goal. But it’s a 4 mile race and I have never ran more than 3 miles. Focus on the finish.

So we start. And it feels like we are on a nice pace. Not too fast, not too slow. We start passing people and very few people are passing us. It feels great to be in this pack. It is quite a thrill. The congestion does get a bit annoying and slows us some, but we are moving along nicely. My legs feel good, my breathing is good. All of a sudden there is the Mile 1 Marker. 1 mile down. I looked at my watch, about ten and half minutes. Hey that’s good, right? We feel good. Rach seems like this is effortless so I tell to go ahead if I am slowing her down, but she stays right by my side. She was amazing. The second mile was by far the hardest. My legs started to get tired. No no no, we aren’t even halfway done. My breathing was labored. I was struggling. I knew I had not prepared for this like I should have, but I was not stopping. People all around us were slowing down and walking. Not us. Not today.

Then the Mile 2 Marker came. There were people on the course cheering us on shouting words of encouragement and that helped… a lot. We were halfway done. I don’t know what it was or what happened, but all of a sudden it got easy. My legs were just moving. One foot in front of the other. I guess this is the “runners high?” We passed more and more people. Rach and I were side by side. Soon, we approached and passed the Mile marker 3. We were almost done. This was uncharted territory for me. I have never ran more than 3 miles, but I think I could have ran 10* with the way I felt. More people were stopping to walk, even some people that had passed us earlier. Not me and Rach. We kept moving, faster and faster and then, there it was, the finish line. I motioned to Rach to kick it up, let’s finish strong. And we did. We sprinted through the finish line. 4 miles down. 4 miles that just 18 months ago
might have literally killed me.

*I seriously doubt it

I weigh 250 pounds now. Maybe the fastest 250 pounder of the day? I felt pretty damn proud of myself for finishing that strong and never walking. Rach pushed me through it. She could have gone faster, she will never admit it, but she can smoke me. She has been doing some serious training for this. But she stuck with me and I love her for it. We started together and finished together. Our official time was 43:52 which breaks out to a 10:58 per mile pace. I was super pumped after the race. I felt great. It was an amazing experience and I will be doing it again. In fact we signed up for 2 races last night, an 8k on Memorial Day and the 5k run at Kaufmann Stadium in September.

This race has sparked my motivation again. I want to get faster and faster. And I will.

Googling yourself and an eerie coincidence? I think not.

2010-03-29T12:55:00.005-05:00

Have you ever googled yourself? (is it me or does that sound dirty?) I know, I know, how vein and conceded right? Sort of, but I was reading an article on cnn.com about young job seekers hiding their facebook pages so potential employers cannot see their extracurricular activities and musings. Well, I happen to be searching for a new job myself as I just finished my degree in Management (with a 4.0 by the way) and have enrolled in grad school. (I’m an attractive employment candidate right? Any takers? Anyone? Hello, is this thing on?) Anyway, I wondered, what happens when you google my name? So I did, and it turns out there are several people out there who share my name. There is a Joe Riddell facebook page that is not my own, there is Joe Riddell, owner of Riddell Realty in Lexington, KY, there is even a Joe Riddell on twitter with the screen name ‘horsemanjoe,’ which reminds me of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, but that is a different topic for a different day.

The fifth item down on the list was this.

Joseph Riddell Death Notice: Joseph Riddell's Obituary by the ...
Feb 22, 2010 ... Online death notice for Joseph Riddell. Read Joseph Riddell's life story, offer tributes/condolences, send flowers or create a Joseph ...
www.legacy.com/obituaries/.../obituary.aspx?n=joseph-riddell-joe...- Cached

Weird, right? Maybe a bit strange. Normally this type of thing would not bother me except I was listening to my Pandora internet radio and it just so happened that the song “You Only Live Once” by The Strokes was playing in my ear. (to be fair the lyrics aren’t really about life and death, but the title certainly implies it) Now I don’t believe in signs or karma or any of that stuff at all. I just don’t. Everything is random and things just happen. But this was strange. Even to me. So just this once, I’m taking it as a sign, whether it is fabricated in my brain or not. And from what I am going through at this time it was the perfect combination of two random entities that came together at the exact right time. I needed to see this, ponder it, and absorb what it means.

I do only live once. I had better make the best of it. What would my life story say? What would my legacy be? It's time to start living and it's time to start appreciating what I am and what I have.

Fear.

2010-03-23T14:30:00.001-05:00

I was over visiting Prior Fat Girl’s blog spot earlier today and she posed the question about your biggest fear. A lot of folks commented and there seemed to be a common theme. People are afraid to fail, people are afraid that they will not lose the final five, people are afraid that they will gain it all back. For anyone who has struggled with weight and the whole yo-yo dieting thing, these are all very real and very legit concerns, but I have a different fear.

My fear: Getting to my goal, and still not being the person that I thought I would be. A better husband, a better father, a better person. I'm afraid that I will come to the realization that it wasn't the weight, it was me.

I have had success. I lost about 120 pounds. You see, I always thought that my weight was my number one issue. Don’t get me wrong it was/is still a HUGE issue, but I’m not going to fall over dead of a heart attack at the age of thirty. I eat better now (mostly) and work out (running about 2.5 miles per day) so physically I’m better. Mentally, though, is where I struggle. When I first started out I felt great and invincible. Everyone noticed the weight loss, my confidence was beaming. Now I’m just a normal guy. I have let this weird mental block negatively impact my relationships with my wife and kids. I may have a different body, but I’m still acting like the same jerk. I thought that was all supposed to change once the weight came off, like I was magically going to become this awesome person. It didn’t. So I guess I have realized my biggest fear. The weight was just an accomplice, I’m the real reason I am the way I am. I need to figure it out. My confidence has been shaken, and is practically non-existent. I must figure out a way to change this person that have become. When I was 345 lbs I could get away with being angry, zero confidence fat guy, but now I don’t have an excuse. Now I have to get to the bottom of it, confront the real issues. Some how, some way, I will figure it out and become the husband, father, and man I’ve always wanted to be.

The post I never, ever wanted to write (and I still don’t)

2010-03-17T13:30:00.002-05:00

I admit, I have slumped. I have allowed my “holiday break” to spill over far into the New Year. I am very, very disappointed in myself. Embarrassed and ashamed even. I know I’m not the only one to struggle and gain weight back, but I was so strong in my resolve and I was so determined dammit. I was not going back, not at any cost. It wasn’t going to happen to me. On Jan 5th, I weighed in at around 233, (I was floating between 227-233 around that time) but then something happened. Something terrible. It’s like I just lost control and went crazy. I stopped eating properly. I would persuade Rach who wanted to continue to eat healthy to order pizza or Chinese or Thai or Popeyes Chicken. I found myself stopping in at Quik Trip for their oh so delicious donuts and muffins. I would “forget my lunch” so I could go out and eat at work. For the entire previous year I had NEVER went out unless it was with a longtime friend or my boss (which was maybe three times) I would only eat out once a month on Rachel and I’s date night. And even then I found myself eating less. I was in the groove.
But, that groove ended and here I am. My clothes began fitting tighter and I noticed I was feeling worse. I started to feel like I used to, lethargic and lazy. Hell I had even joined a gym and worked out somewhat regularly, but my eating was so poor, so sugar and fat laden that I gained more and more. When it was just ten pounds, I thought no big deal, then it was 15, then 20, then 25, and approaching 30. I had lost complete control. What happened? Am I really doing this to myself. I signed up for the Trolley Run for motivation. (donate or sign up here) I ordered a size large t-shirt. No way I would fit into that unless I lost the extra weight. Didn’t help. I even started a strict training regimen. Didn't help either. On Monday morning 3/15, The Ides of March, I weighed in at 255. 30 effing pounds over my low weight of 225 in October. I was and still am devastated and depressed and just plain down about it. I am better than that. I know this, my wife knows this, anyone who has ever met me knows this, but what I have done, gaining this weight back is terrible and I feel as if I have let a lot of people down especially my family and my friends.
Monday I put an end to it. 255? Not in my house. Not anymore. My friend Sean Anderson has coined the term iron clad decision and the steel curtain zone (always makes me think of the Pittsburgh Steelers) but that is what I did. I don’t care how hungry I am or what I am craving or how tired I am, I am making this commitment to myself. Food will not beat me. Just when I though I had landed the knockout blow Mike Tyson style, food jumped up and got me good. It has stunned me and wobbled my knees, but I’m not down. Food may have won round 2 but this fight is far from over. In fact it will probably last until the very end, but it is a battle that I will win. See you in Round 3.

Training for the Trolley Run

2010-03-09T11:55:00.002-06:00

The Trolley Run is coming up in about 8 weeks (April 25th) so Rach and I have started training for the run. Now we do subscribe Runners World and of course we have the interwebs so we have a gambit of information on when to run, how far to run, what form is the best, what shoes to buy, what music to listen to, how long our strides should be, how to breathe, etc, etc, etc… Who knew that running was so difficult*? Here I was thinking it was one foot in front of the other over and over again until you could move anymore. Apparently it’s quite the science, so we sat down together and developed plan (how nerdy is that?) and scheduled our runs and gym time.

*Funny story, my senior year in high school I decided that I was going to run cross country ( I weighed about 190 then, but still fat) just for fun. Fun my ass. Far from fun. 3.1 miles of pure hell. Okay to be fair I never made it 3.1 miles. During “practice” I would catch rides from people back to the school and never really finish. Of course I was on the JV team, only because there were not many people that wanted to torture themselves. So there I was at my first race wearing shorts that were too short and a “jersey” or whatever you wore in a race that was too tight (they did not make XL, Cross Country runners do not wear XL). I started out strong and was not in last place, yet. The race was in Pleasant Hill, MO and part of the course zigzagged through a giant field. Down and back, down and back. I finally reached the end of the field course and all my buddies were there cheering me on, even though I was in dead last and I mean dead last. My closeset competitor was probably on the bus back home by now. I went to turn the corner to head towards the finish line and my great friend Rusty, who I had known since I was like 7 said something that made me want to punch him right in the face. He said “dude you have to go through the field, again” Right there that very day I retired from Cross Country.

So Rach and I have worked out a nice schedule to train 5 days a week at the gym and how far we are to run each day/week. This week we are to run 2.44 miles 5 times for a total of 12.2 miles for the week. The next week we bump the 12.2 miles by 10% to 13.42 miles for a total of 2.68 miles every day. We do this 10% thing each week and by the end we have worked ourselves up to 4 miles. Yesterday I busted my ass and ran 2.5 miles in about 30 minutes. Now obviously I need to improve my time, but even though I’m older, and fatter than I was in high school I can run better. Of course today my body is crazy sore and I was only able to eek out 1.5 miles in 20 minutes throwing me off my training schedule, but I still feel good about it. I often think back to that race at Pleasant Hill and I wish I would have run that gosh darn field one more time and finished. At the Trolley Run, I will finish no doubt about it.

Oh and by the way if you have read down this far click on this link and consider donating or running with us. Thanks.

Trolley Run 2010! The IncrediBella’s!!!

2010-02-25T12:21:00.007-06:00

Think you can beat a former (and still a little bit) fat guy in a four mile race? Only one way to find out.

Hola blogland. It’s that time of year again. Kansas City’s Trolley Run 2010, a four mile jaunt through the Brookside District of Kansas City to the Country Club Plaza. Rach and I are running this year and I invite everyone to join us. This is the largest fundraiser that my daughter’s school, The Children Center for the Visually Impaired, does all year. This is a very important event for the school as it helps support the school and the wonderful services they provide for my daughter and all the children that attend. I’ve shared Bella’s story before, and CCVI has helped her grow tremendously in physical, mental, and emotional capacities. We will never be able to re-pay our debt to this organization so I am asking everyone that reads (all 15 of you) to consider running or jogging or walking alongside of us or donating a small or large amount to a great cause.

A few fun facts about the Trolley Run

Largest timed 4-mile run in the United States
Since 1998, Home of Men’s 4-mile U.S. best
Since 1999, Home of Men’s Masters 4-mile U.S. best
Since 2001, Home of Women’s 4-mile Course record and American record

The IncrediBella’s Fundraiser Page is located here…and here… and in case you missed it here…
Our team name if you haven’t guessed is The IncrediBella’s* (pretty clever, eh? see what I did there, instead of the Incredibles, oh nevermind I’m sure you get it) and the website is pretty easy to navigate so donating or signing up to run is a breeze.

*We had two other team names picked out, the first “CinderBella and the Pumpkins” and the second more racier one “C.P., P.V.L., C.V.I., WTF?”, but decided The IncrediBella’s was the clear cut winner

Thank you so much for all your support. I hope that we will see some of you there (Scott S., I'm talking to you, you hear me?) April 25.

Joe

1 Year, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours

2010-01-05T12:51:00.005-06:00

January 5th 2009- 345 pounds

January 5th 2010- 233 pounds

I took a bit of a hit during the holidays, but I have still have accomplished so much. I finally started weight training and I hope to be down below 200 by April 19, 2010. Why, you ask? We are taking a nice family vacation to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. There is an indoor water park at our resort so it'll be best for all sighted people if I get down below that 200 mark.

I need to focus on about 2.5 pounds a week and I will be good to go.

I read a blog written by The Kansas City Star's Sam Mellinger yesterday that touched me, for I am an animal lover. And he is 100% right. This dog was treated so bad, so brutally, but he perservered and overcame.

"Fletch's is the face of resilience, and of inspiration. He's a dog at the Humane Society, and a former bait dog -- which is exactly what it sounds like. His lips and part of his mouth are still mangled and scarred from the abuse. Much of his face is damaged, maybe forever. It's sickening. It's heartbreaking. And it's inspiring. The first time we met he walked right up and seemed happy enough to let a complete stranger take him out and rub his head and ears and neck. He wagged his tail and played a little fetch before he got too cold and wanted to go back inside. Once there, he rubbed up next to me for some more love. It's impossible to imagine how horrible his old life was, where he was kept alive only to be attacked and abused and pushed close to death. There are crimes that do more damage to society than animal abuse, but people capable of inflicting this kind of torture are among the worst kind of human beings. Some dogs never come back from this kind of abuse. They become permanately incapable of interracting with people or other dogs, either paralyzed by fear or jumpy to fight anything close. So to see Fletch now, relatively happy and open to new people, is incredibly cool. If it's possible to be inspired by and look up to a dog, that's me. What will I ever go through worse than what he's already beaten?"

Mis-Quote of the Day!?

2010-01-04T14:07:00.006-06:00

Here I am at work, avoiding doing actual work, when I stumble on this Time magazine article about people being paid money to lose weight. You can win $100.00! Sweet, I thought to myself.

I got about a third of the way through the article and their was an interview with a lady who is apparently obese. This was her quote:

"Sure, I'd like to look and feel better, but it is so subjective. Money is a better motivator because it is tangible. You can hold it in your hand."

By this point my ADD kicked in and I stopped reading, but if you need money to motivate you to lose weight, then you will ultimately fail. Weight loss is subjective? Really?

Weight loss is tangible. It can be measured. It is visible. You can feel the difference. How much money is 10 more years of life worth? I'd say more than $100.00.

Why Em See A

2009-12-21T12:21:00.003-06:00

Rach and I joined the YMCA this weekend and proceeded to do our first workout together in a long while. We jumped on the old treadmill, ran two miles and then we hit the weights, or should I say weight machines? I guess I have not been to a gym in a while. I couldn’t tell the difference between the leg press and the paint scaffolding.* Anyway we muddled our way through a variety of lifts for our bis, tris, quads, calves, chest, and lats (I can’t be 100% certain, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have lats)
*This joke is borrowed from comedian Brian Regan who tells it way better, well of course he does
That was yesterday morning and today… whew... my body aches. But it is a good ache. An ache of accomplishment. (ain't alliteration awesome) I really enjoyed working out and was proud of myself for not being intimidated as I know I would have been just a year ago. Other than my appearance that has to be one of the biggest changes in my weight loss journey. I never really enjoyed going to the gym as I hated being looked at like the fat guy and I always felt like everyone was staring and laughing. I know they weren’t, not at all, but my self image and feeling of self worth held me back. I’m still working through, but the improvement is drastic. Yesterday I felt like I belonged. I'm off the sidelines and in the game baby!
My plan is to get out of bed at 5:30 ish every morning and go workout. Rach is going to go after I get home from work (which I have scaled back on big time, just weekends for the p/t job now)
Wish me luck…I just hope I do not take a hammer to my alarm clock in the morning.

Work...Work..Work

2009-12-01T13:24:00.002-06:00

Ah, the blogosphere. I hadn’t really noticed how long it’s been since I wrote, until Sean Anderson sent me comment wishing me well. Sean, I’m good, tired but good. I hope everything is well with you, and I’m sorry your Pokes got killed by the Sooners. We Mizzou fans know all about getting our asses kicked by Bob Stoops. Hey there is always the Chiefs..errr.. the Royals.. errr crap, why wasn’t I born in Boston?
I think I gave it away by the title, but my life has been consumed by work for the last month and a half or so. My job at Buca Di Beppo is going along nicely. I have been in server training (cue The Jefferson’s ‘Moving on Up’ music) for the last couple of weeks so I should be waiting tables very soon. (TAJ, I did learn that menu by the way, the Chicken Saltimbocca is amazing) So my weeks have been a lot like this…
Monday: DST 8:00-4:30,
Buca 5:00- 10:00
Tuesday: DST 8:00-4:30
School 6:00- 10:00
Wednesday: DST 8:00-4:30
Thursday: DST 8:00-4:30
Buca 5:00-10:00
Friday: DST 8:00- 4:30
Buca 5:00-12:00
Saturday: Buca 4:00-12:00ish
Sunday: Off…sometimes…
I really enjoy work, but I miss my family. I miss my wife and kids very much so. The good news is that we have finally started to be a little more financially stable, but at what expense? I do not like missing bath time, story time, and bed time. I do not like hearing that my kids are crying asking for me. It is hard. Really hard, but I will make it through. Rach has been fantastic through all of this. I’m not sure how in the world she does it. No clue. I’m not sure I could. She is just so damn amazing and I am extremely lucky to have her.

My weight “loss” has suffered too. I have maintained, which is good, but I am still very far from where I want to be and I am struggling big time. I haven’t exercised like I should, I have been eating like a fool (damn muffins), the scale may not show, but I feel it. Funny how that works. When I was 345 I would somehow convince my self that I wasn’t that bad. Now at 230 I am trying to convince myself that I am a lot better off, but that is becoming more and more difficult. Weird role reversal for sure. I’m really not sure how to get back to it. I am very motivated and very driven, but energy wise (physically & mentally) I am drained. I am not sure how some of you guys do it. I guess it’s just like anything else, you just have to do it. I’ve read blog after blog, and I realize that I am not any different that any one of them. Everyone has jobs, kids, tragedy, and all kinds of difficult circumstances to overcome. I just cannot figure it out. Many of you cruise along and I am struggling.
I feel as though sometimes, I am slipping into poor habits and I rationalize it by saying “oh look I haven’t gained any weight” and “oh I can turn it on any time I want” but I’m bit worried. Those thought were what got me to 345 in the first place. I’m hoping that identifying the problem is a step in the right direction. I’ve written so many times how I will never go back, and dammit I’m not. It’s time to get it together and just do it. Because I truly believe now that I can do anything I want. I’m not going to let mole hill become a mountain.
I guess the bottom line is that I know what to eat, how to eat, when to eat, why I eat it. I know how to exercise, what to do when I exercise, why I exercise. Now it’s just a matter of putting an action plan into place and following up with it. I think I will start now. Nothing like walking up and down eight flights of stairs for the remaining 20 minutes of my lunch.

Motivation Part 2 Continued...

2009-10-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

Bella...

The next two months were a horrible period in our lives. Rach spent all day and all night at the hospital. After work I went straight to the hospital and we were typically there until 10:00 or 11:00. Poor Bella had so many tests ran and so many needle pokes and multiple blood transfusions. We theorize, and I say theorize because the hospital will not confirm, that she had a stroke at roughly 2 weeks of age. After that day of the stroke we saw a discernable difference in her behavior and an MRI confirmed our suspicions. Brain damage so severe that at one point a doctor referred to her brain as “Swiss cheese.” We were not sure to what affect it would have on her future. Sadness. Despair. Depression. Anger. These words described my feelings.

I mentioned multiple blood transfusions because of her bleeding disorder. Initially it was diagnosed as hypofibrinogenemia which mean she did not produce enough fibrinogen. So to dissolve the brain bleed, she was in need of additional fibrinogen and there was no way to get pure fibrinogen so she received a cryoprecipitate, which is a blood product that has many different blood plasmas pulled together. Whew, still with me. So in short, she received a blood transfusion of cryoprecipitate three times a week.

One vivid memory from the hospital was a good one. It was New Years Eve, and of course Rach and I were with Bella in her room and it was dark and quiet and at about 11:58 Bella woke up just long enough for us to kiss her and wish her a Happy New Year. There was a fireworks display nearby that we were able to see from her window. It was perfect. One of the best moments of my life.

Two months, tons of questions, no real answers. That pretty much sums up the grueling hospital experience. Rach had endured more hurt and pain that anyone should ever have to. I was an angry, emotional wreck. We found out that we were finally getting to go home. Bella was going to get to sleep in her crib, in her room, meet our dogs, and take a bath in our bathtub. Finally, what a relief. Her future, still uncertain, but for now we got to go home and experience being parents. We had a discharge meeting with the nurses where we were told that we would have to come back three times a week for blood transfusions to prevent bleeding and that Bella had such severe damage to her brain that she may never progress past the point of a two month old baby mentally. The anguish that one feels to actually hear that is torture, but there was a bright side, we did get to go home.

Rach had to quit working to take care of Bella which hurt us financially, but it had to be done. It was the only option. Also a plethora of therapists were going to come to the house to work with Bella on developmental progress and to continue to assess her. If you are keeping count we now had to go to the hospital three times a week, schedule therapists come to the house weekly, and continue our appointments with neurology and hematology. It was hectic, very hectic, and Rach had to take it on by herself, as I was so mad that I let it affect our relationship. I shut down and fell into depression. My baby girl was sick, my career was pitiful, and my marriage was suffering.

Some may wonder why I am writing such a painful memory, but I do not want to forget. I will never go back to what I was. I gained more and more weight during this period. I lost more and more confidence. I was at rock bottom, for several years, even after my son was born in June of 2008. My life, as I have written earlier, changed drastically whenever I made the choice to lose the weight and get healthy. This is part of my healing. I am going to be the husband and father that my family deserves. I am making incredible progress. Bella’s story for me is motivation. I will never shut myself off as I did then. Bella’s story is incredible and inspiring. I cannot wait to continue to share it…

Motivation Part 2 Continued

2009-10-23T11:40:00.002-05:00

Bella...

There we were on Monday at the hospital, no baby, no real idea what was going on. No clue if everything was alright. Talk about nerve racking. Stressful, traumatic, worrisome, tense, hectic, upsetting, painful were just some of the words to describe what was racing through the Rach and I at this time. I don’t remember Monday. Not one bit. I’m not sure what we did. I think I went home to get some things, I don’t know. I think Rach and I cried and questioned why this was happening. I had never had strong religious faith, but now what little faith I had was completely gone, replaced by anger. Anger that a supposed God would allow this to happen. Was I being punished?* Monday went by and I’m sure we probably received a call from the Children’s Hospital, I just cannot remember. It is a painful memory, one that has been blocked.

*To this day, I still feel this way. One of my issues not solved by weight loss. One that I need to confront, but I am just not ready to forgive yet. The thought, still makes me very angry. Something that I hope will start healing by telling this story.

I do know that Tuesday, Rachel was discharged from the hospital and we made the trip over to Children’s Mercy to see Bella. The hospital is very colorful and very welcoming as it should be as it is allegedly one of the best children’s hospitals in the nation. It is a very large hospital and we parked on level three of the underground parking garage. The yellow submarine level. I thought it was strange to name a parking level after a Beatles song about drugs, well maybe it’s about drugs, I guess that’s not a proven fact, but still. The hospital is huge and it took what seemed like a lifetime to get through the security station, through the foyer, down a long hall, down another long hall, up the elevator to level three (where the NICU was), and then to check in with the NICU desk, and then to scrub and sanitize our hands, and then finally to enter the actual NICU, easily the saddest place on Earth.

The NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) is where babies who are born with complications are kept. A lot of times they are kept in incubators because they are too small and most of the time there are machines hooked up to them with tubes and wires. Just an awful and saddening sight to behold. We finally made it to Bella’s spot on the floor. She looked ok, except for the band aids and the IV that they had inserted into her head. Maybe a little yellow from jaundice, but other than she was aware and looking around and we got to hold her and feed her and everything. Just like everything was ok.

We met with the Hemonc Doctor (Hemonc is short for Hematology-Oncology) and my first question was why oncology, did Bella have cancer? Dr. Neville assured us that no she did not have cancer, but that her blood was not clotting due to a lack in fibrinogen production. Fibrinogen is a protein found in our blood that is one the steps in the clotting process. Bella either 1) was not making it or 2) what she was making was defective. But at this time that was not concern number one. Remember when I told you that the second the Doctor who delivered Bella used a vacuum extraction, that our lives changed forever? When she used the vacuum to get Bella out, she caused trauma to the brain. Normally this would not do damage as the trauma would clot and be fine. But with Bella’s condition with her fibrinogen, the bleed continued and caused severe damage. Bella had brain damage. Any hope that we had disappeared instantly, replaced by even more fear and in my case anger.

Motivation Part 2 Continued...

2009-10-22T11:16:00.001-05:00

Bella...

So here it was 6 weeks from our daughters due date, a chilly Saturday night. I remember that Dane Cook was hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time. Rach was lying in the hospital bed in labor, as she was induced by the Doctor. She was in pain all night and I cannot imagine what it was like for her to be so uncomfortable and scared. I tried to be there for her as best as I could. We were both nervous and unsure of really what was happening. It’s not something you can ever prepare for, no matter how many books you read or videos you watch, it’s just a nerve-racking event. Like I said Rach was in labor all night, then the morning came, and she was in labor all morning. They increased the Petosin, the drug that actually induces labor, and the contractions became more frequent. Finally, after many, many hours of pain, and a failed epidural, Rach was ready. Holy crap it was happening. I wish I could say that I remember everything in exact detail, but it was a blur of action. The Doctor, which I must remind you wasn’t our Doctor, was doing her thing and trying to get our baby out. It seemed to be taking forever. I would never say that panic was ever in the Doctors face, but I got the feeling that she was nervous that it was taking too long and I could all of a sudden feel the sense of urgency. Then the doc used a device known as a vacuum, and this was the moment that our lives changed forever. A vacuum extraction was needed to help get Bella out. When she came out I was scared to death, she was not crying initially, but soon after we heard whimpering then crying, so whew everything is ok. Bella weighed 4 pounds 8 ounces, which was super small but not life threatening. They whisked her away and the Doctors worked on Rach to get her all taken of. I honestly cannot say what happened in the next few hours. Bella was in the baby room, getting all of her newborn screenings done, I was talking with my family and Rach was recovering form a very difficult labor. Of course stupid me remembers that the Chiefs were playing the Broncos that day and we won. While Rach was resting I got to go into the baby room and see Bella. She was so tiny and precious. My hand would cover her entire body from the neck down. To me she was beautiful. She was perfect. My gosh, I fell in love. But, I was still a wreck, was I ready for this? Could I do this? A new responsibility that is more important than anything in my life. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was full of doubt.
Rach finally got to see our Bella. She was so elated. I mean the happiest I have ever seen her. It’s hard to put into words how great of a mother Rachel is. She was from the moment she found out she was pregnant.
There was a problem though, a seemingly huge problem that no one told us. A problem that was so glaringly obvious on this perfect, precious, little girl. Our little girl. You see when they do newborn screening they use little pin pricks in the hands and feet to get blood for testing. Poor little Bella had tiny band aids around her hands and feet. When Rach touched them they instantly became blood stained. Bella was bleeding at a very rapid rate from just little needle sticks? What was wrong? No one knew. No one had a definitive answer. The Doctors hypothesized that she since she was premature she was just not clotting yet. Ok makes sense I guess? We were concerned and scared, but I know with 100% certainty that we did not know the magnitude or severity of this bleeding problem. No one did. It would fix itself, the body would eventually catch up they said. We stayed with Bella as long as we could. She did not get to come back into our room with us. She had to stay in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for observation.
So we went back to our room, watched the Transiberian Orchestra on PBS and talked about everything. We expressed concern and confusion over what was happening, but we were still confident that everything was under control and we fell asleep.
I’m not sure of the time, but we were both woken up by the sound of people coming into our room. Bella was with them in one of those little carts that you see the preemies in. You know with the holes for peoples arms to go through. Two of the ladies were dressed very differently. They honestly looked like astronauts in their suits. This was very bizarre to wake up to in the middle of night. I was very disorientated and confused. They went on to tell us that Bella had continued to bleed out and needed to be transported by helicopter to the children’s hospital. What? So these ladies dressed in space suits are taking Bella, by helicopter to Children’s Mercy Hospital? What was happening? Panic set in for both of us, but they assured Rach and I that this was just precautionary and that Children’s Mercy was better suited to handle Bella’s care. So we said our goodbyes to Bella, and off she went for her first ever helicopter ride. Rach and I lay beside each other and I’m not even sure what emotion to use here. We were motionless and speechless and downright scared to death. We had no idea what was going on. We felt so helpless. Fear overcame us. Obviously everything wasn’t alright. Something major was wrong. Several hours passed and then the phone rang. I answered and the lady on the other end introduced herself as a Hematology-Oncology Doctor, I cannot remember her name, but what she said chills me to the bone to this very day.
She said… “If your daughter doesn’t receive a complete blood transfusion, she is going to die.”…

Motivation Part 2

2009-10-21T11:00:00.002-05:00

Bella…

It was the perfect spring day outside. The grass was green, the weather was great, and like always I had high hopes for the Royals. We had literally just signed a contract and wrote our earnest money check to buy our “next step” house. We were at a point in our lives where we felt somewhat comfortable. We were ready to take our lives to the next level. Start a family, you know, finally become a grown-up. We had been trying to get pregnant for a few weeks.*

*Okay am I the only one that cannot stop thinking about all the bumping uglies people are doing when they say they are “trying to get pregnant?” Maybe I’m in the minority, but I doubt it.

And on that perfect spring day Rachel had been having heartburn which I found odd, seeing that she had never had heartburn before and I told her, I bet you’re pregnant. I had many thoughts run through my head when that that little pee stick showed a blue plus sign confirming my pregnancy theory. My very first thoughts were excitement, happiness, and pure joy. Then slowly but surely doubt crept in as I wasn’t sure how this was going to work. I was nervous. I was scared. I was uncertain of myself. As we all know life moves on whether we are ready or not so…

We moved into our new house and Rachel, (who is the most beautiful pregnant person I have ever seen, she just glows and is so dang cute) was able to transfer to a management position at a new bank branch so we were alright. Except that I couldn’t keep my job. Which is another story altogether. Let’s just say that my five year career in the mortgage industry had very few ups and lots and lots of downs. I worked for many companies as a loan officer and was never successful at any of them. Quite frankly I stunk. I was lazy, unmotivated, and not driven whatsoever. Not a very good recipe for a salesman.

This obviously led to undue stress on Rachel and me, and with a new mortgage payment over double of our previous one, it was imperative that I got my act together. But I didn’t. You see I was over-weight, not at my heaviest, but still morbidly obese. I was depressed and unable to handle my feelings. I gained more weight and then some more. Pregnancy weight…right. Wrong, through my immature actions, selfishness, and inability to hold a job I have always felt guilty and responsible for what was to come. If I would have “shaped up” and got my crap together, who knows? Maybe there would have been less stress, maybe then things would have turned out different? Just maybe.

In September, Rachel starting suffering from pre-eclampsia, a condition that includes high blood pressure and swelling of hands, feet, and ankles. And by November the condition had worsened and Rachel was put on bed rest. Of course being the wonderful husband I was (this would be the perfect case for a sarcasm font, hey Bill Gates, get on that would ya?) I failed at yet another mortgage job and somehow suckered another company into hiring me. Well the new company held training in St Louis, MO so when my pre-eclampsic, 7 month pregnant wife needed me most to care for her while she was on bed rest, I was gone. Way to go, Joe. Way to go.

I was gone a week for training and then came back for the weekend to go to an appointment to make sure everything was ok. Our baby’s due date was in late January but here we were at a Doctors appointment on a Saturday, being told by a Doctor (not OUR Doctor mind you, he was out of town, well of course he was) that we were not leaving the hospital without a baby. Gulp! This is too early. We are not ready. Oh lord, what am I gonna do?

Well she was wrong, we did leave the hospital without a baby, our journey had just begun…To be continued…

Motivation Part 1

2009-10-16T10:26:00.002-05:00

I'm back and unfortunately I've gained 50 pounds...I kid, I kid, bad joke? Actually I'm finally approaching my drivers license weight. The one that I had listed 10 years ago when i was 19. That post is coming.. stay tuned.

In the mean time I took on a part time job as a Wait Assistant * at Buca di Beppo two weeks ago. I don’t mind the job, not one bit. It is fast paced and I am constantly moving and quite frankly I feel like I get a decent workout when I work a shift. For those that don't know Buca di Beppo is a wonderful Italian restaurant that serves the biggest family style portions I have ever seen. And it is good. I mean really good.

*Wait Assistant is a fancy term for busboy. Yep I’m a busboy. Talk about a slice of humble pie. But hey apparently I wasn’t qualified to be a server. You know, it’s too complicated for someone with no experience. They are right I’m not qualified to be a server, but I am qualified to be their manager… in due time…

Well as soon as I started, my mother-in-law, (who to be fair has done a lot for Rach and I over the years, but her and I do not necessarily have the greatest relationship) told my wife “oh Rach, you know he’s going to gain back all his weight, being around all that food.”

Now to me, that is motivation.

Willpower or Realpower?

2009-09-22T13:17:00.001-05:00

I’ve been thinking a lot about my last 2 months or so of my weight loss journey and I have noticed a trend. Whenever I get a craving for something, or a bad thought about what to eat I just cannot seem to shake it, no matter what. Case in point, Friday afternoon my wife and I went to our local grocery store to stock up on some food and all I could think about was picking up that donut or shoveling that bag of chips down my gullet as fast as possible or buying one of their coconut cream pies with real meringue. I’m not sure why. I did pass on the donut and pie, but I bought a bag of chips with the intention of woofing them down because it was Friday night baby! Why would that matter?
So we left the store with our bag of chips and some other groceries but I still wanted something. Something more. So I coerced my wife into going to the chinese buffet. Which isn’t any good, but it satiated me and satisfied my craving. So much so I still have an unopened bag of chips.
My point being that willpower will ultimately fail. It’s a sad truth for me, but a truth none the less. In my opinion it’s not real. What is real is keeping your body full by putting the proper nutritional foods into it. That way your brain doesn’t go into overdrive to try and satiate itself. You can’t beat your brain. It will always will in a fight. But you can keep you brain ‘full’ if that makes sense.
Sugar and caffeine are proven to trigger cravings. Sugar is found in almost everything that comes in a box or can or bottle. Whether it’s called sugar, fructose, corn syrup, or the ever popular high fructose corn syrup it’s all sugar and that is bad.
Willpower? No. What I do have ‘real’ power over is how I eat to satiate myself throughout the day. If I make the right choices for breakfast, lunch, and snack, that I will not get those cravings that just are impossible to stave off. The biology of the body just works that way. We are built to store fat during famine, thus naturally when we are hungry; we tend to be drawn to food high in fat so we lower our chances of starving to death. At least that is my quantification of the whole food thing.

And now I present to you the 0-16 2009 Kansas City Chiefs. Oh my.
And why do the Royals always win in September when it doesn’t matter?

Diet Mountain Dew Makes Me Phat and a Marathon?

2009-09-17T13:24:00.002-05:00

Water, water, water… I know, but dang did I used to love me some Mountain Dew. Back in the day, my brother and I would go through a case in 24 hours. I kid you not. Yes that is 170 calories for each can. Let’s just say I drank at least 12 cans a day (I say at least because that is probably an underestimate) and that is a whopping, monstrous, unbelievably gargantuan, Godzilla sized, grand total of 2040 calories a day. Um yeah, you don’t get to 345 pounds drinking water.

So early on in my journey I swore off soda completely. I drank only water and juice. Just recently have I discovered the joy of Diet Mountain Dew. I used to turn my nose up to diet soda because well it was gross. But now, Diet Mountain Dew gives me a nice dose of caffeine (which may or may not be bad for me, I mean they put it in pain medicine right?) and it really helps with any sweet craving that I have. I absolutely love it. So here’s to Diet Mountain Dew, the soda with all the kick and zero calories.

While I’m on the subject of weight loss, my wife Rachel, announced that she wants to run a marathon next year. Whoa, 26.2 miles. Sounds painful, but you know what, I am 100% behind her and I am willing to do it with her. The challenge intrigues me and I know if we set our minds to doing it there will be no stopping us. We typically run about 2 miles most nights anyway so what’s another 24? Uh… a lot. But it’s a journey that I want to take with my wife and I feel that it will help us strengthen our already very tight bond.

I weighed in at 226 pounds today so I have regained my momentum on the scale. And yes I do weigh everyday and every night. I know it’s not really healthy for me to do that, but I am sort of a scale junkie. If my scale broke you might find me at the nearest highway weigh station to satisfy my craving. For some reason it drives and motivates me. Maybe someday I can break that damn scale Office Space style and finally free myself. Until then, I keep plenty of 9-volt batteries on hand.

Grown up? Most likely not...

2009-09-16T13:19:00.003-05:00

My friends* and I were e-mailing each other at work yesterday and the topic of “you know your adult when…” came up. We then compiled a list back and forth. I thought it was funny. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, but I bet you can relate to one or two of them…

*My friends would be Scott & Rusty, both of whom I have known for over 20 years. They are both totally awesome and much funnier than I am.

The list…which apply to at least one of us or all of us…

-Fall asleep at 8:45
-Bitch about the weather
-I’m balding
-Determine if cheap baby wipes are the same as the expensive ones (they are not)
-Think about the good old days which include George Brett
-Genuinely get pissed at the skateboarders in my street
-Drive a Lincoln
-Graying hair or beard
-Knees, ankles, & hips pop even if I’m only moving my arms
-I have no earthly clue who Taylor Swift is
-I don’t care who Taylor Swift is
-I think about tax implications of every move I make
-The weather app on my iphone is probably the most used
-I will never, ever do the stanky leg (2 of us still aren’t sure what the stanky leg is)
-Genuinely get pissed at the bumping rice rocket, tricked out car on my block (I hope that’s not racist)
-I drive a station wagon
-I have to use the old swing my head back to gain momentum to get off the couch
-Don’t have cable because I think it’s too expensive
-Love Werther’s Original
-Visit restaurants like Cracker Barrel & Golden Corral
-Put on shorts and house shoes when I get home, but leave on my black socks
-Cut coupons
-Get pissed when the neighbor’s dog craps in my yard
-I care more about lawn maintenance than what style of car I drive
-I enjoy talk radio
-My pants actually fit
-I don’t care how tough I look
-I care more about how my lawn is looking than my hair
-I look forward to the nightly news
-I have a long hair on my back, just one. There is also on my right earlobe
-Teenage girls dress too slutty and the guys look like street bums
-I think that teachers, firefighters, & cops should be paid more than pro athletes
-I would rather rent a movie and stay in
-I like cleaning out my garage
-I recycle
-I watch what I eat
-Lightning bugs make me happy
-I read for fun
-I like getting up early
-Coffee tastes good
-I enjoy talking to my elderly neighbors (as long as their dog hasn’t crapped in my yard
-Bitch about the mailman being behind on his route
-Re-use ziplock bags if possible
-Time it just right so I fertilize my lawn just before it rains
-Bought one of those suction cup mats that go in the bathtub to avoid slipping
-Love to drink different kinds of tea
-Pixie sticks taste like shit
-My bedtime has reverted back to what it was when I was 7
-I like driving without the radio on
-I now understand why my dad was so angry all the time

Monday Haiku

2009-09-14T13:44:00.002-05:00

I weigh two thirty
Only five foot eleven
Fifty more to go

Ok so it's not Robert Frost. Or even on the level of a fifth... errr... third grader.
I apologize to all of my English teachers. I'm sorry, you were all very fine teachers.

Getting back on track and a special thanks

2009-09-11T11:35:00.001-05:00

July 27th 232 lbs
August 3rd 234 lbs
August 10th 229 lbs
August 17th 234 lbs
August 24th 230.5 lbs
August 31st 231 lbs
September 7th 231.5 lbs
September 11th 229.5 lbs

So as you can see I’m in a bit of a holding pattern here, which is not necessarily a horrible thing since I have been eating like an a-hole and being my own worst enemy* I haven’t posted in a while simply because I just haven’t been in a good mood. Life is in a tough spot right now and my weight loss journey has suffered. Quite frankly I’m surprised that I haven’t gained 10-15 pounds. My meals have consisted of eating out at pizza buffets, Chinese buffets, and Mexican restaurants that use enough cheese to cover the state of Rhode Island.

* There is a 90’s song by Lit called My Own Worst Enemy that is wonderful drinking music. I would love for Jack Sh*t to do one of his parodies to it.

I wrote a cocky, arrogant post a couple of weeks ago called Will it matter? I was feeling good, riding high on the weight loss horse. I weighed 225 lbs one morning. I felt invincible. Well truth be told, that post was more of excuse to eat like crap. I’m not really sure where I went wrong. Early on in my journey I was consistent and steadfast. I would not stray at all, except on my once a month “date nights” with my wife. Lately I feel as though I can eat whatever, whenever I want. I feel as though I’m out of control. I must somehow find the internal strength to regain my control and start doing the things that made me successful in the first place. Like my blog friend Sean always says, good choices. I must begin making good choices again.

I know I’m not alone in the weight loss struggle and just when I got cocky and thought I had it figured out, BAM! I learned I didn’t know shit. It’s like the weight loss Gods said check yourself before you wiggedy wreck yourself. (I’m pretty sure Jesus said that once too) I got lost made the U-turn and started back down the road to 345 lbs. But I got news, it ain’t happening.

I never thought that after I dropped so much weight that it might get harder. I should have known better. Keeping it off is the real struggle. But it’s a fight I’m ready to take on. A fight I have prepared my whole life for. For me, everything started with my weight loss. I always hid behind my failures because I could blame it on my weight. Now I must face my real issues. Issues that have been hidden under layers of fat. Issues now that are on the forefront of my mind. Issues that must be taken on head first. My ego took a hit. It needed to. The ship is getting righted as we speak.

I want to mention one other thing, and I know that it’s 9/11 and it should be mentioned more often, but I have a good friend that I have not spoken with since October 2004. He’s in the Army and has been serving in Iraq. His name is Curtis Swearingin. I’m not sure where he is now or if he is ok, but I want to say thanks to him and all of his military brothers and sisters.

Will it matter...5 years from now?

2009-08-24T12:57:00.001-05:00

My wife and I were talking yesterday about the Missouri State Fair and the one time I have actually gone. Believe it or not I’m not too big into the whole State Fair scene. I’m more of a city guy, but we took the trek down to Sedalia, MO back in 2004, on a hot, humid, August day and to be honest had a humdinger of a time. I saw some pigs, and cows, and chickens, and flowers, and horses, and a dog show. You know standard State Fair* stuff, right?

* I still don’t get tractor pulls. I mean really who cares? Oh and the carnival. Remind me never to allow my children to ride carnival rides that whip upside down at breakneck speeds that just happened to be constructed (a term I use very loosely here) in less than 4 hours by Lester and his half wit carny brothers.

In addition to the wonderful odor of animal smells there was the classic aroma of “food on a stick.” I think you all know what I’m talking about. State Fair food has to be portable and it has to be deep fried. And what is more convenient than a stick to tote around deep fried food? I mean you have your classic hot dogs on a stick, Twinkies on a stick, pickles on a stick, chicken on a stick, donuts on a stick, meatballs on a stick, biscuits and gravy on a stick, ice cream on a stick, nachos on a stick, and salad on a stick? Ok there is not really salad on a stick but if there was, well that would just be gross. I mean there would be salad dressing all over the place and it just wouldn’t be very good. In addition to all this food on a stick they have smoked turkey legs that weigh roughly 37 pounds and tacos with sour cream and guacamole and quadruple cheeseburgers with bacon, mushrooms, and fried eggs on them. It is a food lover’s paradise. I was in heaven. Oh man oh man was this going to be good.
Except…. I was on a diet. The Atkins diet to boot and I didn’t want to “cheat.”

And that is why I don’t call it a diet. People “cheat” on diets which is ridiculous way to think about losing weight. I told Rachel that I cannot believe that I didn’t eat some of the things that I wanted to back then. How stupid of me to actually believe that I was never, ever going to eat carbs again. Really? No pasta or bread for the rest of my life? Yeah, that’s realistic. In the scope of my entire life that has spanned a glorious or inglorious (whichever way you look at it) 29 years, what difference would it have made if I had indulged in a couple of corn dogs and a cheeseburger and fries that day??? The answer…it would not have a made a bit of difference to me today. Not one. In fact if I went to the State Fair tomorrow I would eat some of those things and not even think twice about it. You see, when you commit to change your lifestyle, it is not a banishment of all foods that are not good for you. What a silly way to try and live, to deprive yourself of some of the pleasures in life.

That is why I know I will be ok in my journey. I can eat that food, and yes enjoy Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Dinners. BBQ’s with my family and friends and drinks at happy hour. Sure I am entirely conscience of what I am putting in my body and the effect that it has on the scale. I’m still going to eat the way I should be eating all the other times. I am too far in, to slip back into my old habits. I have way too much time and energy invested in the new version of me to let it go away. But I’m not in prison. Eating still makes me happy, but the difference now is that it is not my hiding place. It is not the shelter that I take cover in whenever life sucks. I have new habits of exercise and a new motivation to be best person I can be. I’m not afraid that eating a piece of cheesecake will make me go back to my old ways. I am confident that will not happen.
Not now or not ever.

In five years I don’t want to look back say that I wish would have eaten that fried Snickers bar on a stick I want to seize the day. I want to say dang! That was freaking delicious, now let’s go run 3 miles!

Reality TV.

2009-08-20T11:32:00.007-05:00

So I have a confession. I can sometimes be guilty of watching reality shows. *Gasp* I know, they suck. They are every thing that is wrong with the world, but there is just something fun about watching contestants go to ridiculous lengths to find love or make a quick dollar or chase their 15 minutes of fame. I happen to have fallen victim to the Jon & Kate saga, and while I’m not surprised Jon left Kate because she could be an unbelievable beeyotch at times, Jon sure is acting like a certifiable douchebag more and more every day and should really focus on his kids. Another show that has been on my radar lately is More to Love . I will have thoughts on that one really soon.

I love The Biggest Loser and I cannot not even count the number of times I told my wife that if I was on that show I could win the whole thing. I felt like I needed that show to force me to lose weight. I needed Jillian and Bob and a giant scale to force me to exercise and eat right. I always knew in my heart of hearts that only if I could be on that show, I would lose weight and change my life. As it turns out all I needed was a little kick in the pants. That said though, my weight loss journey coincided with the last season that started in January 09'. For the first 2 months or so, I would have never fallen below the yellow and would not have faced elimination. It helped motivate me and inspire me to keep doing what I was doing. I saw that if those guys could do it, so could I. I saw them busting their butt everyday not only for the cash prize, but for the ultimate prize of life. They constantly talked about changing their life. Each and every one of them was of comparable size to me and each of them was given a gambit of health tests and evaluations and were told that they were going to die soon if they didn’t change. So was I.

More recently the show started to focus on the question “why are you overweight?” Sure you eat too much and lay on the couch watching reality TV, but the answer is deeper, way deeper. The real question is why don’t you care enough about yourself, why don’t you respect yourself enough, why don’t you think you are worth it?

Most of us that are morbidly overweight have the same story. We struggled with our weight all our lives. We were always the fat person that was funny and would do spot-on Chris Farley impersonations. Our self confidence was non-existent. Maybe we didn’t feel loved enough or maybe we didn’t feel as though we were meeting expectations or maybe we just wanted to just go away and be forgotten. Food was a refuge. It made us feel good, because it didn’t judge, it did what it was supposed to do and it filled that emotional void.

I had a conversation with a couple of people at work who said that when they see overweight people with giant McDonalds sacks full of food or fat people getting on the elevator to go up 1 flight of stairs, that they had no sympathy for them and actually spoke as if they were quite disgusted. My co-workers are not bad people, but how can they be so judgmental? Fat people don’t want to be fat. You know when your high school counselor asks you what you want to be when you grow up. A morbidly obese person whose internal organs struggle to sustain life everyday is not the answer that they get. Food is an addiction, just as powerful as any drug or alcohol addiction could ever be, with one huge difference. A food addict can feed their addiction way easier and cheaper than a heroin addict can. It takes all of $4.32 to buy 4 double cheeseburgers from McD’s which happens to total 1760 calories and 92 grams of fat. That’s a helluva deal at only $0.0025 cents per calorie. The calories though, aren’t even the worst part – that comes after you gobble down the 4 double cheeseburgers in about 6 and a half minutes and you feel guilty and disgusting. I know this for a fact.

I’m not sure how to reach out to people that are in this place; because I know when I was at my heaviest the “I can’t” attitude reigned supreme. I didn’t want to hear it. I knew I needed to make a change but I wasn’t willing to. I wasn’t ready. I had to be ready mentally and emotionally to change. I had to answer the question of why am I fat? Once I was ready to face that question, I was ready to conquer my food addiction and lose the weight for good. That is why I refuse to call what I do a diet. Diet insinuates a short term fix. What I do, is for a lifetime.

Wow.

2009-08-18T11:25:00.002-05:00

Wow. All I have to say is wow. After my last post I received so many comments, well wishes, and overwhelming support that I wasn’t sure what to say. Thank you all. You have no idea how much those comments mean to me. I would never have considered myself an inspirational person, but if my journey and my story can help someone going through the same struggles then that is great. (and Chad, of course I remember you and thank you very much for your sentiments) It seems to me that we are all connected, regardless of age, education, political preference, religion or appearance. In spite of all of our differences we are all pretty much the same. I have learned that most of us do struggle to find our way and figure out just exactly why we are here. And each and every time we have an interaction with someone, whether in line at the grocery store, over the phone with a loved one, or even by reading a blog, that we can have a profound effect on that person’s life. Everything we do or say changes the course of events during the day. Maybe not in a dramatic way, but think about it. What if that person who waited on you at Subway was more polite and friendly? In turn would you maybe be nicer to your spouse when you go home? Who would then be more willing to skip the game and take a walk? The list is infinite. I know I’m not the first person to think of this, but it’s food for thought.
My journey is far from over for I have many more pounds to lose and even more life challenges ahead of me. I am glad to share it. I was initially embarrassed to write with such emotion, but it has been therapeutic to me and I anticipate that it will continue to have that effect. I would also be lying if I didn’t say that the comments don’t help motivate and inspire me. Initially this was just supposed to be a chronicle of my weight loss on Myspace, and it has turned into so much more. I am in the process of discovering myself. Facing my fears, and strengthening my weaknesses. It is proving to myself that I am worth it. That my family is worth it. I am starting to believe. Believe in myself. Trust in my ability and not just live up to my potential but exceed it.
I would be remiss not to mention that this blog, Sean Anderson's Day 327. It is hands down one of the best things that you will ever read. Everything he says is true. Every. Last. Word. I am still in the transition process. I am changing for the better. “I can’t” will soon be eliminated from my vocabulary. It has been and will continue to be a hard road to follow, and it will be a daily struggle, but I am ready.
My weight loss was just the start. That was the easy part. It was the first step. If I hadn’t taken on that challenge I wouldn’t be ready for the next phase. I owe a lot of my success to my wife, Rachel. She has been my rock and my support. I will repay this debt by being the best husband and father that I can be. That is a promise.
Thanks again for reading and a thank you for all of your support,
Joe

Scared?

2009-08-12T11:42:00.002-05:00

I have lost 117 pounds to date. I have made the choice to change my life and eat better and exercise more. I have probably added 20 plus years to my life. I did it for me. I did it for my family. I am a better man because of it. I am still scared.
I often do not like to divulge many personal feelings in my blog. I am the happy go lucky person that enjoys life, at least on the outside. My wife and my circle of friends could tell you of a different Joe. One who is still sad. One who still sees his life as unfulfilled. One that wakes up everyday trying to figure out what his purpose is. Sure I have changed my life, but I did not solve anything. Some people may read this and question my love for my family, but that is not what this is about. I have the best wife in the world. My kids are fantastic. I live for my family. I may be a little grumpy, okay a lot grumpy with them, but I love them with all my heart and would sacrifice everything for any of them. I should treat them better, they deserve way better.
My problem is between my ears. I cannot get out of my own way. My weight issue has held me back for a long time. It has kept me from chasing my dreams and I have never stepped out of my comfort zone. I may have lost weight, and even gained some confidence, but I’m still scared. Scared of another failure. Even without the weight I am being held back by my weight. Somehow, someway, I must confront this demon. Step outside my comfort zone, take the leap. I deserve happiness and so does my family.
But…the last ten years of my life has been littered with poor decisions and failures. I never found my way, if you will. I was content just getting by and most of the time I barely did that. I stayed in a “career” that I knew wasn’t a good fit for me just because I was afraid. Growing up through school, I was smart, never anything special, but I didn’t have to work too hard at anything to succeed. I never developed a solid work ethic and always expected things to come easy to me. Wrong! In college I did the same but instead of A’s I got C’s and eventually I quit. Quitting became the motto of my life. I quit my marriage to Rachel, I quit many jobs by simply not caring, and I quit myself. I was in a dark place. A place that I am still slowly crawling out of. At that time I could have lived or died and did not care. I floundered like that for many years. I kept seeing my best friends become successful doctors, engineers, and artists. I saw my brother become a manager of a major restaurant. I saw my sister go to school to enter the health care field. I saw my wife give up everything to support our special needs daughter and thank goodness because I was absent, not physically, but let’s just say that I had checked out. I was witness to all of this and it pushed me deeper and deeper into the depths of depression. I was The failure. I was The one who hadn’t realized his potential. I gained more and more weight and even hoped to have a heart attack. Everyone would be better off I thought. My daughter deserves more than loser like me. These are the thoughts that crossed my mind. Everyday. Day in, day out. Every hour, every minute, every second. Thank God for Rachel. She never stopped believing in me.
I did finally got a job that I liked. It didn’t pay very well but I enjoyed the work. It was a good fit for me. I even felt a little better, but I wasn’t cured. Rach and I had our second child in June of 2008. A little boy. This should motivate me right? Nope. I never understood how people got to weigh six, seven, eight hundred pounds. Suddenly I started to understand. I understood that it is a conscience effort. People don’t accidentally weigh 800 pounds. I was well on my way.
In August of 08’ I popped the buttons off both pairs of pants that I wore. I decided that enough is enough. I vowed to lose the weight. I even bought a giant poster board and drew a weekly chart with weight and measurement columns. I saw that poster board in the closet the other day. It had the first week and second week filled out. Yep, quit again. Another failure. More depression. What could I do? How could I motivate myself?
So I inquired about going back to school. As it turns out they don’t care how much you weigh as long as the bill gets paid. So I started back on a Tuesday night at 6:00pm. It was a big step for me. I was scared to death. I wanted to leave as soon as I got there. I was always social around people I know, but in a classroom full of adults and professionals. I was horrified. I was also the fattest person in class. I hated myself for this. During presentations I was embarrassed and ashamed. No one takes a morbidly obese person seriously. How could they?
I was never going to make it. Quitting again I thought to myself. Figures.
Except something happened. Something deep within. Something I cannot explain. It coincided with New Years in 2009. It wasn’t a resolution but something more. A commitment to myself. A commitment to my family. I’ll never forget that night on January 4th. Rachel and Bella were playing with finger paints at the kitchen table and I had my shirt off so as not to get paint on it. I was so fat I could barely muster the energy to play with paints. I told Rach that this was it. Never again. I’m losing this weight for good. I said it with conviction. Of course I’ve said it many times before, but this time I meant it. Rachel drew a red smiley face on my belly and wrote the word bye-bye, and she took a picture. I looked like the freaking Kool Aid man. I put the picture on myspace and started a blog. How embarrassing. How humiliating. How disgraceful. How motivating? How inspirational? I received several words of encouragement on that first blog. I lost 20 pounds my first week. Then 7 pounds. Then 8 pounds. I took a picture every Monday and wrote a blog about my weight loss experience. It helped me. Soon I was below 300 pounds. I changed my thought process. I didn’t want to have a heart attack any more. I wanted to live. I want to be something. But I’m still scared. I may have lost all this weight, but I’m still that fat person who fails. I’m still a loser. That is what I’m dealing with right now. Overcoming those thought pattern that filled my mind for the last ten years. The voice in your head that says “you can’t do it” “you’re too stupid” “you know you will gain all the weight back”
Yeah that voice is still holding me back. But, losing this weight has also put another voice in my head. He says “you can do it” “you are worth it” “if you want it, go for it” “you deserve this”
They battle it out on a daily basis. My own little rockem sockem robots in my head. Some days the negative fella wins, but you know what? With every pound, every success, every ‘A’ in my college class, my confidence grows. The positive voice wins most of the time. I am starting to heal. I am almost ready for my next step.
You see, I have wanted to be a lawyer ever since I was a little kid, when I sat in my living room with my Mom and watched my first episode of LA Law. I love the theory of law. I love analyzing situations, seeing the angles, and arguing my point. I will make a great lawyer. I never concede defeat. My #1 dream job would be playing for the Royals, becoming a lawyer is #2. Actually I might try out for the Royals at this point, but really, being a lawyer is my calling. Unfortunately, I wasted my opportunity when most people grasp it and chose not to finish college. Now at 29, I am scheduled to graduate from college in May 2010 and I am going to take the LSAT in September, maybe December. I’m still scared though. Can I do it? Can I even get into law school? If I do get in, can I cut it? The answer is yes.
Literally as I have written this blog, I feel better. I feel stronger. Maybe this is the first step to conquering that demon that is known to me as the bad rockem sockem robot. The weight loss was a catalyst, but to continue I must face my fears. I will succeed.

I won Reel Big Fish Tickets Today!

2009-08-05T12:31:00.002-05:00

My favorite band of all time Reel Big Fish will be in town on Sunday. I love RBF, and have been a huge fan since about 1996. You might remember their one hit that they had back in 1997's Summer of Ska. It was called Sell Out and it completely rocked. See I was a band nerd back in high school, shocking I know, and I played trombone. Since ska bands then had horn sections I really got into it. Well, 13 years later, 4 concerts, and about 5 CD's I am still as big a fan boy as ever.

The local alternative station in Kansas City 96.5 the Buzz was giving away some tickets and I thought to myself, I'm going to win those tickets. Well guess what. I did. I will be attendance for the most awesome rock show ever.*

*I understand for most folks RBF might not be the best rock show ever, but it's my blog.

What does this have to do with losing weight? Not much, I'm just really excited, because #1. The concert is going to be great, especially since my wife gets to go experience the greatness that is RBF and #2. I've never really won anything in my life.

Maybe I can shed a few calories dancing the night away.

July struggles...

2009-07-21T13:45:00.004-05:00

Weight loss can be frustrating. Losing 2 pounds in three weeks can be maddening.

But I'm still committed and will be south of 200 soon. Sub 200 by October 1st!
Joe, how are you going to lose 36 pounds in 2 months? That's a great question, I'm so glad you asked. Let me tell you.

#1)Believing in myself and knowing that I am worth it.

#2)Continue to make good, no, great food choices every day.
#3)Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.

Running

Bow Flex Strength Training

Aerobic

The transformation.

2009-07-15T21:33:00.022-05:00

My heaviest weight EVER...

1/5/2009 345 Pounds

1/12/09 325 lbs (20)

1/19/09 319.5 lbs (25.5)

1/26/09 312 lbs (33)

2/2/09 312 lbs (33)

2/9/09 303.5 lbs (41.5)

2/16/09 301 lbs (44)

2/23/09 293.5 (51.5)

3/2/09 290 lbs (55)

3/9/09 286 lbs (59)

3/16/09 281.5 lbs (63.5)

3/23/09 274.5 lbs (70.5)

3/30/09 272.5 lbs (72.5)

4/13/09 270 lbs (75)

4/20/09 268 lbs (77)

4/27/09 264.5 lbs (80.5)

6/13/09 244 lbs (101)

And for my most recent picture taken with a fairly crappy cell phone which helps explain the wonderful color.

7/15/09 235 lbs (110)

Vacation weight doesn't really count....right?

2009-07-08T22:08:00.007-05:00

So.... just got back from my 5 day/4 night fun filled family vacation in Branson and I have to admit... I had a fantastic time. It was way better than the last time we went in 2006. The weather was beautiful, and the food, well the food was amazing. Bella acted like such a big girl making me so proud. She was a model child and I couldn't have asked any more from a three year old. Now Remi on the other hand was your typical whiny 1 year old who probably thought vacation really sucked. He managed to trip and fall so much that he looked like he went 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. His poor little nose and mouth just got busted up. This on top of his tonsillitis diagnosis the day before we left and my little Rem Dog had a rough go at it. Let's just say he was happy to get home.

First thing we did was visit Butterfly World while we were waiting for our resort to get our room ready for check-in.* I was not impressed with BW at all. Talk about a snoozefest and for $18 bucks a pop I was hoping the butterflies would at least perform circus tricks or something. On Saturday we went to Predator World, which in my opinion was the coolest place we visited. We got to see the Black Mamba which is one the worlds most dangerous and deadly snakes. Rach and I fed sharks and a sea turtle and I fed some stings rays. The highlight of Predator World had to be seeing the tigers get fed. The tigers there were beautiful. They had 3 Bengal tigers and 2 white tigers. It was amazing to see them eat. One day we went to Moonshine Beach on Table Rock Lake and let Bella and Remi swim in the lake and play on the beach. They loved it. Bella did so good swimming and Remi is quite the ladies man.

*How in the world can check-out be at 10:00am and they cannot have a room ready until 4:00pm? That's ridiculous. Oh and memo to The French Quarter Resort.. when someone calls a week ahead of time to reserve the crib for their one year old, don't give it to someone else. Remi did not make a very good sleeping partner.

Rach and I threw caution to the wind and ate anything and everything our hearts desired. Let's see; Chinese Buffet, check... Chicken Fried Steak, check... Mexican Food (twice), check... Fat Burger, check... Blackberry Cobbler, check... Brownie Fudge Sundae, check... Ben and Jerry's Seven Layer Coconut Bar Ice Cream (should have had this every day), check...

So as you can see we did our fair share of eating, and it did taste really good especially the Ben & Jerry's, man that was good. But you know what? It made me feel awful. It made me tired and lazy and just downright lethargic. My stomach hurt a lot and I just didn't feel as good as I usually do. I like eating healthy. I really do. I feel better and I have more energy when I avoid all the bad foods that are loaded with sugar and fat. Plus whilst on vacation I managed to gain five pounds in five days. Do the math and that's one pound a day! No can do. Not I. I ain't never going to weigh 300 pounds again. NEVER! Basically I figure that I need to eat healthy oh 90% of the time and I should be just fine.

On a non-vacation related topic, my brother purchased the Power 90 DVD set and is going to let me borrow them. I plan on doing it religiously for the 90 days. I am going to take pics at day 1, 30, 60, & 90. I will post my first pics at Day 30.

Me in 90 days?

It's time for a Family Vacation!

2009-07-01T11:20:00.003-05:00

In a couple of days myself, Rachel, Bella, and Remi are heading down to the big town of Branson for a few days of rest and relaxation.* We are staying 5 days/ 4 nights in a two bedroom condo with a nice location on the strip. First off I know what you are thinking. Branson? Really?

I'll be the first to admit that the Branson Bible Beating style ain't quite my thing, but it is a place that #1 we can drive to and #2 has many attractions that will be fun with the little ones. Bella and Remi are at really fun ages; 3 1/2 and 1 and thrive in the go..go..go.. atmosphere. As anyone with small children can attest to, our itinerary is not set in stone. We know that we are going to go to Predator World to see snakes, crocodiles, tigers, bears, and sharks. I want to go to Ripleys Believe It or Not because well all that weird stuff fascinates me. And we are kicking around the idea of taking a day trip to Turpentine Creek in Arkansas to visit the animal rescue sanctuary.

*I hope for rest and relaxation but we could quite possibly experience the opposite. Bella has been sleeping in a big girl bed now for about two months and doing very well at it. Hopefully she will make a smooth transition to the big girl bed in another place altogether. we have called and Remi is going to be provided a play pen to sleep in so please wish us luck that we do indeed get some rest and relaxation.

Before I met Rach I NEVER went on a vacation. I wasn't sure what that even was. In the last 9 years we have been to Florida, California, Mexico, & Maine. I love taking vacations now. It is a time for release from everyday life. No money worries, no work stress, no dieting (and by no dieting I mean butter, gravy, sugar, deep fried lard, bacon, ice cream, gravy, wait I already said gravy... on everything...) no traffic, no school, no worries whatsoever.* This will be our first vacation since August if 2006 when we went to well, Branson. I know it seems like a theme but I'm thinking California next year. The point is vacation is a time to unwind and spend time with the ones you love. I can't wait to load up the car on Friday morning and get on the highway. It may be just Branson, but it's going to be a blast!

*Now the day after I get back it's back to hard core triathlon training.

Happy Birthday to My Wife aka Superwoman

2009-06-26T09:23:00.006-05:00

Today is Rachel's birthday. She deserves to be celebrated. She is by far one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. I'm not really sure how to express just how great she is. She is an excellent mother and has endured more than most others could ever dream. She doesn't complain, she doesn't angry, she does exactly what needs to be done. I envy her for that ability. As a wife, well she puts up with me so her patience and understanding have to far exceed any normal person. She has always been there for me. Always. I'm not sure where I would be without her. I wish I could write a love song or poem or paint a picture that expresses just how much I appreciate her and how much she means to me, but that's not really my strong suit. I will say that I love her more than anything and that she means the world to me. She is my rock... my raison d'etre.

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Missouri 60 Challenge

2009-06-23T08:16:00.000-05:00

The Anti Jared is holding a challenge that he is calling the Missouri 60. In a nutshell it's a little competition to see who can change their lives the most in 60 days. Contestants must take a picture, set goals, and then share those goals once achieved. It's called the Missouri 60 because as everyone might or might not know, Missouri is The Show-Me State*. The premise behind the competition is that talk is cheap, show me what you are willing to do to change your life. Take that picture. Post for everyone to see. Make a commitment to change yourself. You'd be surprised changing how you look will make you feel. Doesn't matter if it's 10 pounds or 200 pounds. Those sung pants will fit better, those stairs won't be so daunting, exercise just might become fun.

*The most widely known legend attributes the phrase "Show-Me State" to Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903. While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." Regardless of whether Vandiver coined the phrase, it is certain that his speech helped to popularize the saying.

Fortunately for me I love competition and I see myself as a tough competitor. I could care less about prizes or awards, but I love the recognition and the thought of being the best. It drives me. Tiger Woods may be the best example of a driven man that the world has ever known. Widely regarded as the greatest golfer to have ever lived and he STILL pushes to get better. Still practices 6 hours a day. He is so mentally tough that he has an unfair advantage every time he tees it up. He doesn't want to just win, he wants to crush his opponent into submission. That's the drive I want. It is amazing.

In 6 short months I have been able to lose 101 pounds. I have already changed my life. But I can be even better. I can lose another 60 pounds. Get the six pack abs, the chiseled chest and arms. I will finish a triathlon. No scratch that, I will not just finish, I will be a threat to win. I spent most of my life overweight, and unhappy because of it. I still have a ways to go but it will not hold me back anymore. My family life is better. My work life is better. Everything about my life has improved. It will only get better.

As far as the Missouri 60, I want all that participate to succeed. Tony has a great idea. He is an inspiration to many. Every day is a new day. A day of new choices and the day to change your life. Challenge yourself. Step outside your comfort zone. It will make you a better person.

But as previously stated, my competitive juices are flowing and the Tiger Woods in me want to crush the competition. My goals are set. I will succeed. Here is my picture. Talk to you soon after my first goal is met.

100 Down!

2009-06-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

My name is Joe and I've lost 100 pounds. Holy cow! I have been posting pictures and blogs at myspace but I have decided to start writing on this site. I was drawn here when Joe Posnanski, a sports columnist for The Kansas City Star and in my humble opinion the best sports writer in America wrote a blog talking about his brother Tony, aka The Anti Jared. Here is a man that weighed 420 pounds and had the motivation, determination, and discipline to lose over 200 pounds. I was floored. When I began reading his posts I felt an instant connection as I started out weighing 345 lbs. This was me on 1-5-2009.

Much like Tony I have changed my life. I now weigh 244 and my goal weight is 180.* I have also read many of the weight loss blogs that have been followers or commenters of the Anti Jared and I feel a sense of understanding. I too know the rigors and struggles of being overweight and if I can make the change anyone can.

*180 is my goal weight simply because it sounds like a nice round number. In all actuality I will let my body decide what my ideal weight is. Maybe it's 200 or maybe it's 170. I will know when i get there

Five months in and I'm down 101 pounds. How low can I go? Only time will tell.

This is me at 244.