Still Alive

I'm still, here and I know I have said this before, but I have got to be a better blogger. I guess I just get caught up in the quicker things like facebook or twitter and I forget to blog. I am hoping to do better though and I just got back from the National Youth Worker's Convention in Nashville, so there is a lot to chew on and talk about relating to youth ministry so I promise to do that soon. Beyond that I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving, doesn't eat too much (if that's possible) and all is well. Drop a comment to let me know what's going on!

Keep trusting the Lord!

an open letter to priceline...

Dear PRICELINE...you really screwed up this time, and when your customer service rep tells someone they will have a resolution in 48 hours and it is now pushing close to 60 hours, I think you need to learn to count. I am afraid you have lost a loyal customer today for both personal and business trips and I'll continue to spread the word of your poor customer service until the issue is resolved appropriately, 2 phone calls, a guaranteed answer and still no resolution...UNCOOL PRICELINE UNCOOL!

weigh in-5

Well it's that time of week again-the weigh in, and it was a good week. I actually weighed in Saturday morning, but I am just getting around to blogging today. The weigh in for the week...342! I am down another 5 lbs. It really was a good week. Exercise has been switched up a bit each week, this week was full of yard work (yes you can burn calories working in the yard), and walking the golf course instead of using a power cart.

Some things I have noticed this week

• it is getting easier to walk the course-I don't seem to be as winded up the hills and seem to have more energy, I actually enjoy the time walking the course (although my golf game still needs LOTS of improvement)
• Keep fresh fruit on hand at all times-I have found that when I have a craving for something sweet, fresh fruit solves the craving and is fulfilling without the calories.
• If a salad comes with your meal, eat it first-not only is it healthier, but it will help to fill you up quicker with less calories-you are allowed to take the food home with you
• Water is a MUST-drink lots of it, especially right before a meal. I learned this the hard way after being dehydrated from being outside, but if you drink LOTS of water, you tend to eat less, it gives you a sense of being more full than you are
• Put the silverware down-I'm a fast eater, always have been, but I have learned that if I set the fork down in between bites I slow down a bit and don't tend to eat as much as fast and find that I am fuller quicker.

Those are just my thoughts for the week. It was a good week and can't wait to see what's up this week! If your on this journey as well, stay encouraged and don't give up...you can do it!

Losin' it, 1 lb at a time!

-Matt

weigh in-4

So it's the first of June and as you've probably noted if you're a reader of this blog that I've been quiet about the weight loss for the last couple of weeks. Last I blogged I had hit a little plateau and was hovering right around 350, well I actually gained a couple pounds and realized again that this is not going to be an easy battle, so over the last week or so I started tracking things again, trying to exercise more regularly again and finally jumped on the scale again and I'm down to 347. It was encouraging, I'm not sure I had to gain to lose, and I don't want to repeat this pattern, but it was good to get some encouraging news on the scale.

Also a couple weeks ago at church someone came up to me after service and politely said, "I can tell you've lost weight, and promise me one thing...you'll never wear those pants to church again." They were my "fat" pants and truth be told were just absolutely WAY too big now and they look bad on me, so the other day I went to the store to get some new pants and found that the new ones were not 1 size smaller, but 2. I am down from a 52 waste to a 48 waist pant size, so progress is happening.

I am encouraged and a little excited, but it is still a long journey.

Cons: I still have cravings for certain things, Pros: It is getting easier NOT to just grab something because I am bored, and I am starting to choose healthier alternatives like fresh strawberries over a box of candy.

Long way to go, but losing it, 1 pound at a time...

weigh in-3

So not much of a loss this week. Still hovering right around 350. Ahh, the first plateau, which seems to be expected. I am down right around 25lbs and my body seems to be content for awhile, so I am trying to find the way to shake it up a bit. I am still on track and and not discouraged, but a little frustrated.

I also am learning that I eat when I am bored. I am finding myself craving things-but usually only when I am bored so i am slowly but steadily training myself to realize what is hunger and what is boredom. So far for the most part I've been okay, but I did find myself grazing a bit this week which may explain the plateau.

Day by day-we'll get there. 100lbs for the year is the goal and I am 1/4th of the way there, so I'm going to keep it up!

weigh in day-2

Up a little bit this week (1.8lbs). I guess after 5 weeks of consistent loss I was due for an upswing. It is a little frustrating as I was still under my calorie allotment for the week, but I am pretty sure that it is because of the salt content of some of the food I had last week and the fact that I splurged a bit this weekend. Oh well, back to the grind!

I am starting the couch 2 5k plan today. I have walked several 5k's and I am confident of my ability to do them, but I have yet to run one so I have a goal of running the 4th of July 5k here in town this summer.

Here's to a healthy future....
-Matt

weigh in day

Weight in day for the week and I was a little worried with Easter having come and gone, but the scale read 350! Down another 2lbs for a grand total of 25 since December. I was just shy of my goal of 30lbs, but I'll take it, so I guess I'll be looking now towards the 20lbs by my birthday which would put me at 330. Here goes nothing...

A Little late on this one....

I started this in January and then got sidetracked, saved it as a draft and forgot about it...I have really got to be a better blogger...

"New Year New You-" So that seems to be the theme across the television and radio as is usually the case this time of year because of the all popular new year's resolutions. Companies capitalize on it, gym memberships increase, and all is well it seems for the first couple of weeks of they year. Of course, you and I both know that no one ever keeps their resolutions. as I've mentioned before I stopped making resolutions about 4 years ago. I have however started keeping goals. I have found that goals are more manageable and attainable and of course don't necessarily carry the stigma or guilt that comes with breaking the resolution.

I've been told that there are different types of goals. There are the "Dream Big" goals that cause you to think outside the box...I have a few of these, but generally keep them to myself. The other type of goals are those that are manageable. The general rule is that they should be short term, attainable goals that can be established within a timeline. They should also be written down because it helps keep them in front of you and creates a small bit of accountability. These are the goals that I have been most successful with, so they are the ones that generally try to put into place in my life. With all that said, here are my goals for 2010...

Personal:

• My dream big goal for the year is to lose 100lbs. I know, if your like me you're thinking, yeah I've heard that before and good luck. Truth be told though, I'm fat and I need to lose weight. I topped the scales in late December/early January at 375. This is unacceptable. I really want to have a life and not die young, so yet again I set the goal of losing weight this year and yes 100lbs this year is manageable, as it is only 8 lbs a month or 2 lbs a week which is manageable and safe by health standards. So here is how I set out to meet this goal this year: 30 lbs. by April 4th (Easter) update: I'll be just short of this goal. I started at 375 and I currently weigh in at 352 as of 3/29, 20 lbs. by June 16th (my Birthday), 30 lbs by September 6th (Labor Day), and 20 lbs by December 31st. It won't be easy but it is manageable.
• I am also choosing to be more active- I plan to exercise at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes each of those days. This includes continuing to play racquetball as well as other sports and when it warms up walking to work as much as possible. update: so far so good, hasn't been perfect but doing farely well, especially since it is warming up
• I am keeping track of what I eat. I have always been told that a food diary can help with weight loss and so I am committing to keeping track of what I eat as well as calories. I found an application for the iphone called "lose it" that has been VERY helpful to me. It allows you to keep a food diary with calorie count, and it lets you enter your goal weight with a weight loss tracking plan of no more than 2 lbs a week. This has been a blessing so far and has really helped with accountability as well as understanding what I eat.

Professional:

• I am now in my 15th year of student ministry. Having been a youth pastor for that long it is really easy to begin to think that you "know it all" when it comes to youth ministry. I have learned that this is not the case and I have SO much more to learn so I am committed to living the life of a student constantly trying to learn as much as I can. Youth ministry changes with the culture and we all know that culture has changed and will continue to change with time.
• I am committed to passing the torch on to the next generation of youth leaders. While I have no plans to leave youth ministry anytime soon, I know that most likely at some point and time I will pass the torch of youth ministry to someone else (even though I will always be actively involved in the lives of students in someway) because let's face it, I will get old. With that in mind I am trying to mentor the next generation of youth leaders in any way that I can (including teaching at Ohio Christian University and leading youth worker training events when opportunities arise). I don't claim to know anything about youth ministry except for the fact that I love working with teens and I want to see them come to Christ, maybe that makes me an expert, but for me it just means I get the chance to show the love of Christ to students.
• I am committed to being a better blogger this year, with the goal of at least one post a week on varying topics. update: okay so this one needs some work! but I'll get better.

So these are my goals for 2010, how bout you? Thoughts?