Weigh-In 66 and 67

Well, I'm down to one week left in the 210 in 2010 challenge and, as much as I hate to admit it, it's not looking good...

At the end of last week and then again this week the scale tells me the same thing

216.0

With the track record of the past month of so it just doesn't seem feasible to drop 6lbs in the next 7 days. That being said, I'm not gonna throw it ll out. I'm gonna stick to the plan because it's not just about this goal. It's about getting to a healthier life where I can enjoy the things that God has blessed me with.

Honestly, I want to be able to play with my kids and then, I want to be able to play with their kids one day.

So, whether or not I reach the 2010 goal, I am incredibly happy with how far I've come so far. And I'm looking forward to where I'm going from here.

Peace and good will to you. Merry Christmas!

Photo credit to Leah Gregg.

Weigh-In 65

No grand truths or profound insights this week (have there been any before?) just a reminder that there are people, perhaps in your town or city even, that are not looking forward to this day.

And I don't mean they have something difficult to do or they are tired or they have to go to a spouse's office party where they don't know most of the people.

I mean that they face slavery, cruelty, torture, and/or abuse today. They will face the very real choice between wanting to live or die today. In truth, that may be the only choice that is theirs today.

For about 27 million people in our world, today is one day closer to hell.

But you can help change that. Today, you can make a choice to do something about it. I'm asking that you make a choice today to help Love146 end child slavery and exploitation.

I'm asking that today be one day closer to the day where we don't have people in slavery any more. Will you help today?

You can learn more about the issue over here. And you can donate directly to Love146 right here.

Let's make today a great day....

Speaking of days, the number of days left in the year is ticking down. And I'm trying to get the number on the scale to do the same thing. This weekend I did manage to get it to

217.0

So, a little move back in the right direction. And with 3 more weigh-ins before 2010 ends, I gotta find a way to move it some more.

We shall see....

Photo credit to Clearly Ambiguous.

Weigh-In 64

I'm not a big fan of this time of year. I'm sure it's a culmination of things but the basic piece is that I just can't get excited about it.

Schedules and activities are everywhere and you are expected to be at or do everything. Nerves are thin and frayed. The concerns about finances and money seem amplified.

And depending on what sort of job/industry you are in, it can be the busy (or impossibly busy) season on top of everything else.

I don't want to sound like a Scrooge, but, to borrow a line from one of the greatest shows on TV, "I have an intense burning indifference!" (See the whole musical number here)

The oddest thing is that I love giving gifts and being generous (I think it is my Love Language) and I really do enjoy how happy my family is on and around Christmas.

I get the meaning behind Christmas - celebrating the wonderful and amazing gift that God gave to the world (that's all of us) in His son Jesus. And I am forever grateful for that and feel that it is worth celebrating. I just don't feel like that is what is happening.

I guess I'll chalk it up to some character flaw or idiosyncrasy.Everyone else seems to be just fine with it and happy as can be about it. So I'll just try and keep up...

I didn't weigh in on Friday like normal this past week. Everything has been off schedule, it seems, since right before Thanksgiving. So, I stepped up on the scale Sunday morning and it looked back at me with

218.0

Very disappointing to me. I'm down to the last 3 weeks of the year trying to hit the 210 in 2010 goal and everything that has been working to lose over 100lbs is suddenly not working for the last 8lbs. Very frustrating....

I will say that I have been a LOT hungrier the past couple of weeks but I have been doing a pretty good job of not indulging (with a small exception at the Chili Cook-Off Sunday night). I'm trying to figure out if that's a sign from my body that I'm not eating enough and I've slowed my metabolism down significantly.

I wish there was a dial or gauge somewhere that I could check to see what my "burn rate" is at any given time. That sure would help.

Peace to all of you. And good will to men (and women)...

Image credit to Topher208

Weigh-In 63

Happy (late) Thanksgiving to you! I hope you had a great holiday.

We shared the time with family, including 4 generations of aunts, uncles, and cousins on my Dad's side. It was great to reconnect with family and share some of the same old stories of when we were younger. It was also incredible to share the new stories about kids, and grand kids (not mine!), and people that weren't part of the family last year.

This brought me back to a theme I've been on before: Story.

We all have a story. Some of us might have more than one story. We might not even know all of our story. There could be parts of the story that happened before we were even around or happened without us ever knowing about it. Or we may have just forgotten about some parts of it (for good or bad reasons).

In the mood of sharing stories with everyone, I mentioned that my right leg is about 1/2 inch shorter than my left leg (I'm not sure why this was relevant but it fit the conversation at the time so bear with me...). I passed it off as just one of those things. But my Dad was right there and said "And tell them why that leg is shorter..."

I just kinda looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. At which point, my father bean to tell a story that I had no memory of (even though I was the main character and point of the story).

As only Dad can, he spun the story of a 4 year old at a playground at the State Park in my hometown. This strapping lad had gotten a "for real and official" Batman costume, complete with cape, for his birthday and could not bear to part with it.

So, the scene is set with this 4 year old in full Batman regalia (don't forget the cape) at the playground. Enter our antagonist: The slide. But not just any slide. This monument to evil rose almost 12 feet off the ground with a ladder to rival that of a firetruck. It had the magnetic effect on a 4 year old boy that the Sirens had on the sailors in the Odyssey.

Step by step, inch by inch, the young Batman protege moved closer and started up the ladder. While the parents were right by the slide, they were in no way prepared for the next moments.

Standing atop the slide, surveying the playground as if it were the mean streets of Gotham City itself, the young man was filled with the confidence and power that only a utility belt and cape could bestow. Puffing up his chest (because that's what heroes do), he then leaped out into space to fly through his domain!

Wait... What?!?! "Batman can't fly!" I can hear some of you saying out there. Turns out, neither can a 4 year old boy, with or without a cape. What he can do, however, is hurtle to the ground from 12 feet up and manage to break his fall (so to speak) by getting one leg under him before the ground met him.

I don't recall those events at all. I don't remember the trip to the ER or being at the hospital. I don't even have recollection of the Batman costume. I do not remember the things that my Dad does about the even or the aftermath (like how I was worried that I had disappointed the real Batman with my failure to fly - C'mon! I was 4 years old!).

But my father remembers it. He recalls every anxious and agonizing second of my short lived flight. He has a memory of me laying on the ground screaming out. He also remembers picking me up and carrying me. Getting me help. But that's not the thing he keeps in his heart when he thinks of me. He doesn't define me by a slight limp or a medical bill that would have been hard to pay back then. My identity in his eyes is a beloved and cherished son.

And I believe that is how our heavenly Father sees us. Not the agony, exasperation, disappointment, anxiety, and pain. But as His beloved children. He knows our whole story, even if we don't, and loves us in spite of, and because of, the limp.

On to the numbers....

I was away from the "official scale" while we were traveling so I didn't get to weigh in until Mon morning. And I dutifully stepped up on the scale to see

218.0

All that good food and sharing stories over dessert caught up with me this week and I added a pound back. It's gonna be tough hitting the 210 in 2010 goal. I've got 33 days to drop these 8lbs to hit 210 before the new year. And this is one of the worst seasons for maintaining dietary discipline...

But we'll see how it goes. I appreciate all the encouragement and support this community has been giving me. Thank you all so much.

Peace.

Photo credit to squeakymarmot.

Weigh-In 62

As most of you know, I'm a supporter of an organization called Love146. Their mission is, quite simply, "The abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation. Nothing less." it's a cause I can really get behind because I can think of very few things that are worse than the enslavement, terrorization, and breaking of a child. It is, well, inhuman.

To date, my support has been in the form of donations, fund raising, and encouragement. Not the biggest contributions to the mission and I know it is greatly appreciated by the Love146 folks and the people they help. But, this problem is too wide spread for a few dedicated people to tackle and end on their own. Knowing that, Love146 has now started the Love146 TaskForce Community.

The TaskForce Community is " A collection of volunteers committed to ending child sex slavery and exploitation." It provides a ton of resources to help anyone, and I mean anyone, get involved in helping bring an end to this global (and local) horror.

"Task Force 101" gives an excellent overview of the concept of the Task Force, where some existing Task Forces are and what they are doing, and additional links of interest. The key, of course, is to find one near you and get involved. The site has a way to search for a Task Force by location.

Being a relatively new community, it may be that you can't find a Task Force near you. No worries, you can step up and start one! Don't be too scared by this concept. A Task Force is simply:

If you feel like this is something that you can do, then get over to the Love146 TaskForce Community site and JOIN NOW!

This was the 62nd week of working towards my weight loss (and fundraising) goals. I felt like I worked harder this week than some of the more recent weeks with respect to running and tracking my diet. So it was a little disheartening to step up and see:

217.0

Just half a pound for all that work. But, time and again, I look back and see that there may be a few things that I've been dismissing that are making a difference. For example, on the weeks where the math (calories in vs calories out) should be working in my favor but the scale isn't showing it (little or no loss or even a gain in weight), I find that my sleep patterns, especially just the amount of sleep most nights, is pretty bad. This week I probably averaged a little over 4 hours per night. I think that messes with the normal function and equilibrium of my body and brain. My observation over the past year plus points to that anyway.

With the short week for Thanksgiving upon us, I'm hoping that means I can slow it down a little and get back into a regular sleep pattern where I get enough, or at least some more, sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving!


Top photo: credit to millicent_bystander.
Bottom image: credit to Love146 TaskForce site