"If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody." ---Chinese Proverb
First, I share the bad news. I am still a bit overweight, but getting thinner daily. Each and every day my confidence grows stronger. Come December or January and it should be fully returned. Look out world because I am not very shy about going after what I want when I am fully confident. Also, I see a few wrinkles around the eyes, where did those come from. Must be smile wrinkles from my journey. My hair is thinner from the weight loss, but this was probably going to happen heavy or thin. Bald is beautiful or is it bald is the new sexy?
Now, let me share some of the good news. Since my last posting, I have been a very good boy. I remained faithful on my program, exercised six of the seven days and stayed positive. I have focused more intently on my why, my goals, dreams and the time-line to accomplish these. The result of this effort is that I crossed the 150-pounds lost threshold. I know I have a long distance to travel, but as recently as twelve months ago, I had doubts I would reach this milestone. I feel great, younger and rejuvenated. I am more positive and outgoing. My overall feeling of wellness is much better than it has been for years. I am happy and feel very positive about the future.
"In spite of the haze of speculation, it is still something of a shock to find myself here, coming to terms with an enormous trust placed in my hands and with the inevitable sense of inadequacy that goes with that." ---Rowan Williams
"Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness." ---Napoleon Hill
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Thinner I Get, the Fatter I Become!
“Every person is responsible for his own looks after 40.” ---Abraham Lincoln
I continue to work on my program and myself. Since my break or timeout, I have lost nearly five pounds. I actually lost two-tenths of a pound on my escape to Las Vegas and the Mountains. Many people have made comments about how good I look or how well I am doing. The positive attention is nice and good for the ego and self-confidence. However, when I look in the mirror or see my reflection in glass as I approach a door, I am shocked. Literally, after losing more than 140 pounds with a mere 60 to go to goal or 85 to being the thinnest adult I have ever been… I am still in mirror shock!
The reflection does not lie. I am fat, just not as fat as I was. In the obesity scale, I have no idea where I currently reside; I do not have the heart to see that I still reside in morbidly obese territory. The weight I have lost has achieved one thing; I now look into mirrors that show more than my face. I learned long ago, to avoid becoming depressed that I needed to limit my mirror viewing to neck-up! Heck, most days I did not even know if my clothes matched. When you are more than 200-pounds over-weight, you hate mirrors and reflections.
Last week I was doing great and having a very good week. Rejuvenated from my trip and doing well on my program; I had received positive feedback from many people. Then, on Thursday, I am at the gas station filling my car’s tank. Suddenly, I watched a person walk into the convenience store and when the smoked glass door closed, I saw it. My entire reflection was looking right back at me. I became frozen with thoughts of shock. The entire week of feeling great was gone in one second of reflection reality. I am a fat person… still! Made me want to curse and throw something at the stupid door. Will I ever feel great about myself? Will I ever look at my body reflection and like what I see? Will I ever develop the confidence I need to continue my journey beyond weight loss? Will there ever come a day when I look into a mirror, glass door or a photograph of myself and not see a huge fat person?
Oddly, when I am in public I do not receive the glares and stares I used to get. According to the CDC 65% of adults in our nation are overweight and 31% are considered obese, which is 30 pounds or more over their healthy weight. I guess in the public’s eyes I am looking like the 31%, but in my eyes, I look like the 432-pound person I once was. I guess this all means one thing. I have more work to do on my body and my mind.
I hold faith and hope that I will arrive at the day when the man in the mirror meets the man in the room’s satisfaction. That one day the man in the room will love the man in the mirror.
"The best mirror is an old friend." ---Proverbs
I continue to work on my program and myself. Since my break or timeout, I have lost nearly five pounds. I actually lost two-tenths of a pound on my escape to Las Vegas and the Mountains. Many people have made comments about how good I look or how well I am doing. The positive attention is nice and good for the ego and self-confidence. However, when I look in the mirror or see my reflection in glass as I approach a door, I am shocked. Literally, after losing more than 140 pounds with a mere 60 to go to goal or 85 to being the thinnest adult I have ever been… I am still in mirror shock!
The reflection does not lie. I am fat, just not as fat as I was. In the obesity scale, I have no idea where I currently reside; I do not have the heart to see that I still reside in morbidly obese territory. The weight I have lost has achieved one thing; I now look into mirrors that show more than my face. I learned long ago, to avoid becoming depressed that I needed to limit my mirror viewing to neck-up! Heck, most days I did not even know if my clothes matched. When you are more than 200-pounds over-weight, you hate mirrors and reflections.
Last week I was doing great and having a very good week. Rejuvenated from my trip and doing well on my program; I had received positive feedback from many people. Then, on Thursday, I am at the gas station filling my car’s tank. Suddenly, I watched a person walk into the convenience store and when the smoked glass door closed, I saw it. My entire reflection was looking right back at me. I became frozen with thoughts of shock. The entire week of feeling great was gone in one second of reflection reality. I am a fat person… still! Made me want to curse and throw something at the stupid door. Will I ever feel great about myself? Will I ever look at my body reflection and like what I see? Will I ever develop the confidence I need to continue my journey beyond weight loss? Will there ever come a day when I look into a mirror, glass door or a photograph of myself and not see a huge fat person?
Oddly, when I am in public I do not receive the glares and stares I used to get. According to the CDC 65% of adults in our nation are overweight and 31% are considered obese, which is 30 pounds or more over their healthy weight. I guess in the public’s eyes I am looking like the 31%, but in my eyes, I look like the 432-pound person I once was. I guess this all means one thing. I have more work to do on my body and my mind.
I hold faith and hope that I will arrive at the day when the man in the mirror meets the man in the room’s satisfaction. That one day the man in the room will love the man in the mirror.
"The best mirror is an old friend." ---Proverbs
Monday, July 5, 2010
Rejuvenated!
Sometimes it takes a vacation or time away to realize what you have been missing. I learned something very valuable during my time away. I really did not set out to learn anything, actually the opposite. I left to get away from everything and reconnect with my children and myself. Relax, recharge and rejuvenate was the mission. However, I learned a very valuable lesson on love. More specifically, I learned why relationships drift apart.
It really does come down to a verb.
Verb:
A: The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most languages.
I heard a talk where a person said they no longer loved their spouse. They added that they have lost the feeling of love for their spouse. The response was interesting and it was from Stephen Covey. He said that marriage love is a verb. The feeling of love is derived from the verb love. A verb is action oriented. Love is a verb and is action oriented, then developing and maintaining the feeling of love is done through action or service. He asked the person, have you done anything wonderful for your spouse lately? Have you serviced your spouse lately? He added, if you lose yourself in service to your spouse the feeling of love has only one direction and that is growth. The feeling of love will grow for your spouse when they see and receive the wonderful service you give. This acknowledgment of service usually will result in a loving response of affection and returned service. He concluded that losing one’s self in loving service to a spouse would result in a strong relationship of selfless love. We cherish and appreciate what we work hard to obtain. Working hard to serve your spouse will strengthen your bond and relationship.
I had the opportunity to listen to a man that was married for 75 years explain his success for marriage. He said, every night without missing a single night I simply told my wife, “Good night beautiful, I love you.” Even if she had me red-hot angry, I still spoke those words before I would drift off to sleep. It had a double effect on our relationship. It made her realize that I indeed loved her and I thought she was beautiful, even if she doubted her own beauty. In addition, it had a reaffirmation effect on me. It reaffirmed that I do love her and think that she is beautiful. On nights where we went to bed angry and I spoke those words, sometimes I heard no response. I did not over-react and just drifted off to sleep after speaking those words. The next day when we would speak for the first time she usually would be far more receptive and occasionally apologize, even if she had done nothing for apologizing. Those six simple words kept our marriage strong and difficult times from becoming more intensified. In tempting times of possible infidelity, those six words would always come to my mind. I realized that no lustful encounter would ever be as fulfilling as the relationship of my beautiful wife and children.
"It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving." ---Mother Teresa
"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting." ---Mother Theresa
It really does come down to a verb.
Verb:
A: The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most languages.
I heard a talk where a person said they no longer loved their spouse. They added that they have lost the feeling of love for their spouse. The response was interesting and it was from Stephen Covey. He said that marriage love is a verb. The feeling of love is derived from the verb love. A verb is action oriented. Love is a verb and is action oriented, then developing and maintaining the feeling of love is done through action or service. He asked the person, have you done anything wonderful for your spouse lately? Have you serviced your spouse lately? He added, if you lose yourself in service to your spouse the feeling of love has only one direction and that is growth. The feeling of love will grow for your spouse when they see and receive the wonderful service you give. This acknowledgment of service usually will result in a loving response of affection and returned service. He concluded that losing one’s self in loving service to a spouse would result in a strong relationship of selfless love. We cherish and appreciate what we work hard to obtain. Working hard to serve your spouse will strengthen your bond and relationship.
I had the opportunity to listen to a man that was married for 75 years explain his success for marriage. He said, every night without missing a single night I simply told my wife, “Good night beautiful, I love you.” Even if she had me red-hot angry, I still spoke those words before I would drift off to sleep. It had a double effect on our relationship. It made her realize that I indeed loved her and I thought she was beautiful, even if she doubted her own beauty. In addition, it had a reaffirmation effect on me. It reaffirmed that I do love her and think that she is beautiful. On nights where we went to bed angry and I spoke those words, sometimes I heard no response. I did not over-react and just drifted off to sleep after speaking those words. The next day when we would speak for the first time she usually would be far more receptive and occasionally apologize, even if she had done nothing for apologizing. Those six simple words kept our marriage strong and difficult times from becoming more intensified. In tempting times of possible infidelity, those six words would always come to my mind. I realized that no lustful encounter would ever be as fulfilling as the relationship of my beautiful wife and children.
"It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving." ---Mother Teresa
"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting." ---Mother Theresa
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