Time For A Change

Well, after long consideration and realizing that I'm not getting any younger...and...finding it harder to keep squeezing myself into clothes that don't fit right...it's time to do something about it.

It's time to lose these extra (extra...extra...extr---OK! I get it!!) pounds off the midsection and start becoming lean, trim & fit.

See, I've always had a bit of a "tummy" although it's not been as poochy as it is right now. I'd lost about 25 lbs on the lo-carb diet about 18 months ago but hit a plateau and never really got below a certain level. I'd been trying to get back to the 185 I was before we had Kaitlyn (over 9 years ago) but have never found a diet & exercise program that could become a lifestyle instead of a 3-6 month fad. The lo-carb thing worked for a bit but after a lot of discouragement and disappointment, I kind of reverted back to looking like this:



















OK. Maybe not quite that pronounced but you get the idea.

Actually, I do giggle when you press my tummy. Hmmm....

So, this past Monday, I began working with a weight loss clinic here in Fayetteville that will not only cover my fitness and training, but they'll also work with me on a livable diet and I'll also get to visit with a doctor (who will monitor my diabetes) and a wellness coach (who'll make sure my mind doesn't get too clouded with discouraging thoughts). That means I'll have an additional 4 people to help hold me accountable and encourage me through the next 6 months.

By the way, I've got my 20 year class reunion in Illinois in September and I'm thrilled to have been invited to join the fray, especially since I didn't graduate with them. I did spend my 5th grade years through my junior year there at Central so I'm glad they remembered me. Plus, some of my best friends are going to be there and not only do I get to see them but I get to introduce them to my ultra-HAWT wife!

Hopefully, I'll have lost about 30+ pounds by then, getting me very close to my target weight and perhaps I'll resemble this guy here



















instead of that white fluffy guy above.

Last night, when I went to bed, I saw on my new pedometer (it measures how many steps you take in one day) I'd walked over 11,000 steps. Tonight, when I go to bed, I'll be close to 13,000. In addition, my appetite is starting to go down (I left about a 1/3 of my seafood alfredo on the plate there at Olive Garden tonight) and my mindset is getting to that "steely resolve" I need it to be.

Food is good...just not constantly.
Peanut butter is supposed to be chunky, not you.
Women are supposed to look preggers, not you.
Jelly jiggles, not your belly.

I'd love to eventually have that muscular "cobra" style back where I'm a bit bigger, broader up top in my shoulders and get slimmer as I get around my midsection.

As it is, I look like either a ripe pear or a wilted mushroom.

It's no wonder my wife can't keep her hands off me. LOL

Anyway, on a serious note about all this, I really need to focus on getting fit. Not just for a reunion, not just for friends & family I haven't seen in a while, not just for going to the pool but for my overall good health and state of mind.

I really don't want the years to go by and as my weight increases, so does the risk of complications of having diabetes nearly 30 years.
I don't want to have a limb amputated or lose my vision or a kidney.
I don't want to have any further heart complications.

I DO want to see my kids grow up and have kids of their own.
I DO want to grow old & gray with my wife.
I DO want to become fit and healthy and (if the Lord allows it) be able to see these things occur.

If you wouldn't mind, would you keep me in your prayers and encourage me through the Holy Spirit to become the whole man God intends me to be? Would you also keep Jennifer in your prayers as well? I can't say a lot about her situation just yet but it's very evident God is beginning to lead her in a different direction and it's going to be a step of faith on all our parts to see this through. She and I have been encouraging each other that God always shows up and provides a way for us in the midst of our storms. We just need to put our complete faith & trust in Him to see it through.

Now that it looks like this "new direction" may happen, there are a couple of elements that are not quite what we expected. However, I was reminded by the Holy Spirit that we need to continue to walk in that faith and believe that God will indeed tend to our every need.

As our pastor has been preaching about the past few weeks from the book of Luke, if the Lord provides for the needs of the birds, how much more will He provide for His own children?

That's a pretty encouraging thought right there and one that makes me offer up praise to His awesome name. I thank God that when those times of doubt and concern happen to us all, He is faithful to show up in the nick of time and take us through the fires of refinement a better person that He has created!

God is good...ALL the time!