After last week’s weigh-in ended up on Monday, it hit me that making that the usual posting day was probably a good idea. As a pastor, the weekends are hectic. Saturday is my day off with my family, and Sunday is usually busy with preaching, meetings, Bible studies, and other ministry things. So, Monday makes more sense, and I plan to do my weekly weigh-in post on Mondays for the forseeable future.

This week went very well. I’ve been more active with exercise than ever, though I wasn’t able to connect with my gym partner at all this week. I’m loving my recumbent bike and Total Gym though, because they keep me on track very well. We converted half of our dining room into a “home gym”, which [looks really ugly, but...] works well for our lifestyle.

This week’s statistics can be found after the jump:

Measurements

• Weight: 331.0 lbs (340.6 lbs last week)
• BMI: 47.49 (48.89 last week)

Thoughts

I’ve lost 9.6 lbs this week… And 19.4 lbs since January 1st. WOW! That probably has to do with upping my cardio to as much as an hour most days, and also being active doing “non exercise” things like digging cars out of snowbanks and whatnot. I’m VERY pleased.

I also discovered some unexpected benefits. When you’re out of shape, the simplest physical activities are hard. For example, walking out to the woods to go hunting in hilly terrain was hard for me last fall. This week I discovered that a number of things I used to get tired out from, aren’t making me nearly as tired. The most important one? Dancing with my daughter.

Moriah LOVES dancing. She’s 2 years old, and if the music has a beat, she likes to bounce. Diana and I have been listening to the soundtracks from Glee (No, I’m not ashamed!)… Saturday, Moriah says to me, “Daddy, I want to Bust a Move!” So we did! It was probably an abomination to see this fat white guy dancing around… but hey, my daughter was having fun, and I didn’t feel like dying from the activity. Praise God!

I’m hoping to keep increasing my cardio steadily until I hit at least an hour daily. Some folks have told me that seems like a lot, but it’s working to get me in shape, and to help me lose the weight rapidly, so I’m not complaining. I also want, badly, to get back into the gym… But that depends on other people’s schedules and whatnot. We’ll see.

For those of you who are doing your own health thing, keep working at it. Not every week is amazing, but it’s the overall trend you’re looking for, not just a week-to-week thing. Keep going!

First of all, sorry to those who were looking for a Weigh-In on Saturday. Life has been busy the last few weeks, which has been evidenced by completely failing to post anything other than Weigh-In’s here… But then I failed to even do that. On the plus side, the reason I missed it was because I was so excited to spend Saturday with my family that we got up and left the house before my brain caught up to the normal routine. Oops!

That said… I love Chili… but it doesn’t love me. I was pretty sure I had maintained my weight for the week, though I know I hadn’t lost anything. Then, on Saturday, we went to the 11th Annual North Country Chili Cookoff. I’ve been wanting to go to that for years, and it was a great event. However, any event where the main purpose is to eat 30-plus types of Chili is going to wreak havoc on a weight-loss plan.

Add that to a busy week that included more eating out than I might like, and multiple cancellations that kept me or my workout partner from the Army gym (and he has to sign me in), and you can see why I gained.

This week’s statistics can be found after the jump:

Measurements

• Weight: 340.6 lbs (336.6 lbs last week)
• BMI: 48.87 (48.29 last week)

Thoughts

Well, clearly I’m not pleased with the whole gaining four pounds thing. However, I’m not going to dwell on it. Last week I got a little comfortable, and ended up with too many meetings and social events that involved food.

Obviously, I just need to get back on track doing the things I know work: drinking water, eating smart, and exercising. I’ve got a bottle of water with me right now. I’m planning smart meals for the week (though I’m locked-in to Chinese on Thursday). And I’m about to hop on my recumbent bicycle. And I hope to hit the gym at least once this week, (my partner can’t get me in today, and Fridays just aren’t working with my work schedule). In the mean time, I was given a Total Gym XL, and I’m planning to learn how to use it this week, and begin doing that as well.

I know a number of you who are following my blog are trying to lose weight as well. If you had a good week, awesome! If you had a bad week, don’t beat yourself up! We get enough negativity and backhanded compliments from others as it is. Get motivated, learn from it, and get back to the daily grind!

Yesterday I announced my intention to improve my health and lose weight, all while blogging about it. I’ve appreciated the encouragement I’ve received from friends and family since launching the site. However, it’s obvious that blogging about weight loss alone isn’t going to get the job done. The question, “How are you going to do that?‚” keeps coming up.

Pastor Mark Driscoll recently posted a little quote that I found very fitting:

Just so you know, in 2 days nothing changes, unless you make a plan & execute it. The year changes but if you don’t, you can just photocopy this year.

The bottom line is that without a detailed plan, we are extremely unlikely to succeed in any life-changing endeavor. This is true whether you want to join the “New Year’s Resolution crowd” in making a weight loss goal, want to plan for retirement, or desire to make any number of other lifestyle changes.

I’ve given it quite a bit of thought, and here are the major components of my plan and the blueprint of how I intend to lose weight and experience real health.

Prayer.

First and foremost, prayer will be a major part of my approach. I seek to glorify Christ in all that I do, and that includes how I keep my body. To be blunt, I’ve sinned in this area by letting myself get so unhealthy. I’ve repented of gluttony, and am seeking continued help from God to persevere in all the other areas of the plan.

Nutrition Tracking

Lots of people hate counting calories, but for me it’s actually rather fun, and it’s the only way I’ve ever had previous success in losing weight. But I’m going one step further, and will be keeping my eye on the fat, sugar, fiber, and more. I’ll be utilizing The Daily Plate, an excellent program that was bought out by LIVESTRONG. TDP tracks not just nutrition, but weight and exercise too… and it has an iPhone App.

Daily Cardio Exercise

In order to get my heart and lungs into shape, and burn fat, I’ll be working towards daily cardiovascular exercise. What this will look like depends largely on season (we’re in a frozen blizzard in NNY right now!), but for the time being I intend to make use of my stationary recumbent bicycle, heavy punching bag, and vintage Tae-Bo tapes. Oh yeah!

Regular Weight Training

I want to build in a three-to-four day a week weight lifting routine. For now I’ll be using the beginner’s dumb bell set that I already have to work on my arms, back, and abs. However, when my wife and I decide that finances allow, I’d really like to get a gym membership, kill my embarrassment, and become a regular.

Medical Care

I’m pleased to have an incredible relationship with my physician, who is evaluating every aspect of my plan and its progress. He is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (a DO, not an MD), who I worked with in Graduate Medical Education at a local hospital for over three years. He isn’t afraid to tell me to get off my butt and move, and he’s extremely well trained. It’s a great combination!

That said, this is about as straight forward a plan as you can get. Diet, exercise and medical care all under the watchful eye of the one who created me. It’s all about being simple, yet intentional.

As far as the blogging aspect of things, I anticipate doing a weekly weigh-in post that will update you on how I’m doing. I’ll also post health-related news blurbs, book reviews, commentary and other information from time to time.

So, that’s my plan. Do you have suggestions or warnings for me? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!