Kevin's Journey

Happy Holidays....NOT!

2005-12-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Ok that title sure does sound bad. It's not that I don't like the Holidays, it's just the fact that this time of year is by far the toughest time to lose weight. Always indoors...lots of "comfort" foods...and oh yeah pumpkin pie, fudge, cookies, ham, jerky, summer sausage, the list goes on and on.

I was really happy with my work over the Thanksgiving holiday. I actually was down about 2 pounds that week. The only bad news is that right after that I decided to get off plan a little bit. I didn't really gain any weight, but I just put losing on hold for a few days again. The best news is that I am feeling a lot better because I am excersing on a regular basis. You might have heard me talking about my new 26" LCD TV(great "black Friday" deal) that is now hanging in my bedroom. Between that and the precor machine I have spent enough money to buy a GYM! So I figure I better use it a lot. I have been doing between 20 -30 minutes everyday on the precor and then just basic stuff like pushups and situps along with some dumbell stuff.

Hopefully if your reading this you are on track for the holidays as well. This is a tough time, but if we can get through this the first of the year "i'm gonna be better" boost will be a lot easier.

Hope there will be less of me next time we talk...and less of you too.

Kevin

Hold your cards we have a BINGO!

2005-11-16T05:53:00.000-08:00

I know..I know..."where have you been Kevin". Basically just hanging out doing life and not spending anytime thinking about losing weight. But I know have about 3 months to finish getting to my 50 pounds or Else! I have no desire to have to skydive and I've begun to realize that if I don't get this thing going again I am gonna be jumping out of an airplane in February. That makes me wanna pee just thinking about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here is the weight loss update for you. 321 was the weight this morning. That is a loss of 29 pounds total. I have put on about 10 pounds over the last 2 months. Basically I just decided not to stick with the LA weight loss plan and didn't excercise one time. Those people at LA have been great. They contact me all the time and try to keep me positive. I finally am back at the plan and hope that I will be able to get some results before the end of the year. In fact I haven't done any excercise 4EVER! That was until this week!!!! I have been on the precor everyday and been doing situps on the excercise ball everyday as well. That is the basic plan for now. Cardio and situps until I see some improvement.

Thanks again to everyone who has emailed me with support. IT REALLY HELPS!!!

Oops...that's my bad!

2005-08-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

I have started typing this blog about 10 times in the last 2 months and just never quite finish it. Sooooooo sorry that I haven't updated at all. It's kinda the same place I am with my weight loss...holding steady...nothing new or exciting. The details are I have now lost a total of 44 pounds....32 of those with my friends at LA weight loss. However right now I am just floating back and forth from being down between like 30 and 34 pounds. It's been about a month since I have had consistent weight loss. I am just not sticking to the LA weight loss plan as good as I should be and I haven't worked out hardly at all. Average about once or twice a week and thats it. I certainly need to get a swift kick in the butt to get it going again. I know that I will reach the 50 pound goal...but I have also set another goal with LA Weight loss(260 pounds) which means I still have almost 50 to lose.

What do you guys do when you need to get ENERGIZED about losing weight again?
Looking for some help to get me motivated.
Talk to ya soon....I promise.

Ok everything is better!

2005-06-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

I just read my last post....man that was depressing. Good news is that I got back on track last week and lost some pounds. I am now down a total of 27 pounds on the LA weight loss plan. 12 pounds on my own for a total of 39 pounds! I certainly am learning to make better decisions. For example my family had pizza last night...I ate great leading up to it and then just had one piece along with salad and fruit...it worked out great.

The only bummer is that just when things started going great I get a problem with my knee and can't excercise at all. I have burcitis in my knee cap. It is really miserable and I have been told to stay off it as much as possible. Even wanted me to use cruthces, but that isn't gonna happen...too much of a hassle. Luckily I just sit around and talk for a living. Hopefully this will go away fast with some rest. I don't like sitting around and doing nothing....always seems to lead to eating crappy.

I'll let ya know how it goes...
Kevin

Someone throw me a line...

2005-05-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm going down fast! I think I could best describe my 3 day weekend by relating it to the titanic...HUGE and SINKING FAST! It wasn't a good 3 days...actually most of it was great it was just 2 "meals" that got out of control. I BBQ'ed for a bunch of folks at our house on Friday. It seemed great at first. I even did veggie patties for me instead of a real hamburger. Those patties are gooooooooood. I was supposed to have had 2 of them. I had 4 and then decided that I should wash it down with one of the kids hotdogs. Oh hell were sinking might as well have some more potato salad as well. Did better on Saturday and on Sunday. Altough Saturday night I did have a few adult beverages and some nachos...altough it wasn't too bad. Then monday night we had a hoopfest practice for my sons team. 4 boys over at the house playing ball in the hot sun...seems like a good time for pizza. I order it and said "ok I'm gonna eat my chicken right now so that I don't goof up and have the pizza." Well that didn't work out at all. I had chicken and 3 pieces of pizza! Pretty sure I'm up a few pounds after the weekend. Not sure I really want to find out, but I guess I have to.

I'll let ya know how it goes...
Kevin

Oh my goodness...I'm almost invisible!

2005-05-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

Seriously...I've lost 4 inches off my waist and 3 around the chest. I still have a long way to go, but making a little progress is always rewarding. I did buy some really nice new pants and a shirt, but them too small so that I would be able to celebrate and wear them when I got to that size. My wife convinced me to give them a shot for the Joe Nichols concert on Saturday. I did and they fit!!!! It was cool...I got about 20 compliments that night and I really felt good. NOW the problem is I'm feeling great about me and happy...but I still have about 57 pounds to lose. Enough celebrating...time to get back to business. I think I'm gonna go buy some more clothes that are not even close and use that as my motivation. I certainly am gonna have to stay focused. I'm only down 35 pounds total and still have 57 to go....Not even close to half way.

Thinking about starting a new workout program soon.

I'll let ya know how it goes...
Kevin

This might really be it!

2005-05-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

I am really feeling good about the weight loss for the first time in my life. I've really only tried hard one time before and that time a lost about 40 pounds in 4 months....just eating better and exercising a TON(3 times a week with the Gonzaga strength and conditioning coach....OUCH...I sweat just thinking about it). I got down to 285 pounds. The bad news was that I gained it all back over the next 6 months. Stopped working out and started eating bad again. I got right back up to 335 and it was miserable. This time around I really feel like I am gonna be able to get to an all time low and then stay there. Again this LA Weight Loss is really working for me. I've been on the program for 5 weeks and I'm down 23 pounds. When I started dieting I was at 350 pounds. I got down to 340 on my own and then the rest has been on the LA plan. So I am currently weighing 317 pounds. A total of 33 pounds. I've never really set a goal for myself before, but this time I set a goal of 260 pounds. So I still have a loooooooong way to go. 57 pounds to be exact. I just feel a lot better right now and I so look forward to getting below the magic number of 300. I realize that it is gonna take time and most importantly a lifestyle change...once you get used to it...it just becomes a habit. I still have days were I swear to God pizza can talk to me..."HELLO Kevin....eat me...i'm yummy....eat me." Not too many other things are talking to me...but that darn pizza has a voice...I SWEAR!

Ok I'm off for a meeting with the LA weight Loss folks. Today I get to take some measurements to see what I have lost. Kinda excited to see the results. I know that can wear pants that I haven't worn in a long time...Thats a good feeling.

I'll let ya know how it goes...
Kevin

This might really be it!

2005-05-19T10:22:00.001-07:00

This might really be it!

2005-05-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Things are good...sort of...

2005-05-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

Good news is that the LA Weight Loss plan is working awesome for me. I have been on it almost a month and have lost 20 pounds!!!!!!! That now makes a total of 28 pounds since I started. I really recommend you give it a try if you are SERIOUS about losing weight. It is not the cheapest program out there, but you get what you pay for. This plan totally works for me.

The bad news is that my personal life is a mess right now...again I will share it with y'all at some point...just too much to even try to explain right now. Thanks to everyone who has kept my family in their prayers..you have no idea how much that means. The hard thing is...I'm having a rough time so.....I have been really tempted to make myself feel better with food. Thank god for sticking with the plan, or I could be my heaviest weight ever. That is certainly not what I need right now. It feels good to lose the weight..I am feeling much better about myself, my health and my future, and I even enjoyed wearing a pair of pants today that I hadn't worn for about 2 years! It's the little things that help keep you going along the way.

Exercise??????? Not happening right now, but it will soon I swear!

I'll let ya know how it goes.
Kevin

Hello? where have you been?

2005-04-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Oh wait I guess I am the one that has been missing.

Lots of stuff going on in my life right now, I will let ya know about all of it, once I've got it figured out. :) Needless to say it's been a lot of stress and not a lot of time for much else. However I've been lucky enough to start the LA Weight Loss Center. It's really a cool program that is working great for me. I've lost 12 pounds in a little over 2 weeks. Plus the 12 I had lost before that brings me to a total of 24 pounds. :) The best news is that even with my crazy life right now I have been able to stick to their program! It's been hard a few days, but I am so glad to be doing it. I haven't really been doing any exercise. Precor once in awhile and then basketball once a week, but I hope to really get going on that soon. I'm excited to see what happens when I'm eating right and working out...OH my gosh I might actually get healthy!

I promise I will get back to updating this journal more often.

Thanks for caring....
I'll let ya know how it goes
Kevin

Crazy times...or is it Lazy times?

2005-03-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

I had a crazy busy weekend! First let me give you the scorecard from last week. I did excercise 3 of the 5 days...plus 1 day of basketball. Food was great and Friday I felt like was losing weight!

Now for the crazy weekend! Saturday we went to Moses Lake for a family gathering/memorial for my Grandma who passed away. It was so great seeing family, but of course it was a potluck and there wasn't a lot of "low fat" kinda dishes. I did pretty well, but still not the best situation. Then Saturday night we left Moses Lake pretty late and just stopped at Mcdonalds for dinner. Did the McGrill Chicken..not a bad choice...and man did the fries taste yummy. The good news is I washed it done with a Diet Coke...so all the calories are gone. :) Sunday was Easter(duh) we went to church at the arena(Lifecenter is my church...check it out if you want it's awesome) afterwards we went to Tomato Street for lunch. It was yummy in my tummy. Didn't even attempt to eat something good for me. Then went home and finished off some of the chocolate easter eggs and jellybeans. The biggest problem I have with those 2 days is that I SKIPPED BREAKFAST! This is such a no no. I am pretty much trying to eat every 3 hours to get my metabolism running high. When you don't eat or skip meals it will shut down! Oh well.... not a great weekend, but it's not the end of the world. I am back at it this week....

I played basketball last night and then didn't exercise this morning. Hopefully I will get it in this afternoon. Y'all know how that goes. Maybe I will be able to break that trend today. One quick food thing that I wanted to bring up. What are you guys eating for snacks? What is your favorite snack? Email me and let me know

I'm heading home for the day. Gotta pay some bills and see if I have any money left after the Tucson trip. Hopefully I will get on the precor later today.

I'll let ya know how it goes...

Back On The Right Track...

2005-03-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

There's this old saying..."even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." So with that in mind I am trying hard to keep moving along the right track. The trip to Tucson was a blast. I really enjoyed the time with the ZAGS, the Show, and my family. The bad news is that I didn't use the trip to get back on track, I ate at weird times, didn't eat good, and never excercised. However I did walk a ton...including almost 2 miles the last night I was there.

Once I got back home as was really focused. Monday and Tuesday I exercised for 30 minutes. Tuesday evening I also played basketball for almost 2 hours. Wow...that was brutal. I was very sorry yesterday(wednesday) and choose not to work out. This morning I slept in. I had a bad headache yesterday and decided I needed some extra sleep. Hopefully I will get the precor in this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Right now I am feeling good! One thing that help motivate me was seeing pictures from the trip to Tucson. I know that I'm fat, but sometimes you just don't realize how bad it really is until you see pictures. Ouch...some of them were painful for me to look at. I decided to keep those handy. I don't like looking like that at all....I will work hard to make sure that "look" goes away.

I let ya know how it goes...

Oh what a difference a week makes...

2005-03-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

Remember the whole this is easy post from last week. I was doing sooooooo good. I actually exercised everyday last week. Even Friday morning. The I decided to take the weekend off...oops that was a bad decision. It's Tuesday night before I leave for Tucson with the ZAGS(yipee) and I haven't been on the precor machine since Friday. I also have had very little success with eating good that last 4 days...Man am I feeling it. Just feel sluggish and miserable. I'm hoping getting away for a few days and having an unusual schedule will actually break the bad streak.

Good news is that my wife and youngest son Cooper are going with me so that will make the trip even more special. He is a total ZAG fan and is excited about going. My wife has gone with us before and it's always a blast!

My wife understands how miserable I get with everything when I don't exercise or eat properly, but has a hard time telling me to stay focused. She has a hard time telling me, maybe you shouldn't eat that, it's just not her nature. I'm the kinda guy that needs that brutal honesty from time to time to make me realize what a dork I'm being. However it's not fair for me to expect her to change...instead we have talked a lot about how to work through it so that I stay on track. She is giving me lots of positive comments when I do good...I know it seems sort of simple.... but it sure makes me feel good about doing it. When I'm having a bad day, she is gonna try to say simple things like "would you feel better if you went and worked out for a little bit" or "boys do you want to go play basketball with dad?". I know when I'm having a bad day, but sometimes just hearing the "little voices" of others helps give that kick in the rear.

Of to Tucson tomorrow...the hotel has a nice gym...will I use it? Will I eat lots of salads or will I over do it?

I'll let ya know how it goes....GO ZAGS!!!!

This is sooooo easy...

2005-03-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

I swear I'm gonna be down like 50 pounds in no time at all. OK I admit I'm feeling really good about this right now. It just seems to be going soooooo well. I did my workout again this morning and I have been eating great! The biggest battle is staying positive. Right now I'm feeling like a champ and that I won't have any problems. We all know the truth...it won't always be so easy or fun. But I'm enjoying this feeling while I can...Think I'll celebrate being so proud of myself with some cake and ice cream. Just kiddin.

Here is a typical day of eating for me( I have a goofy schedule)...

5am-
Bagel(cinnamon and raisin) Or Plain with Peanut butter Or Protien Bar
Orange
Cucumber(I love these darn things eat them all the time)

9am- SNACK
Yogurt or Peanuts or String cheese

11am- Lunch
lean cuisine meal(smaller meal) or
2 Tyson chicken breast(precooked from costco) Teriyaki or Mesquite

2pm-Snack
Jerky or Jello or Cucumber(did I mention I love 'em)OR Protien Bar

5 or 6ish DINNER-
Lean cuisine dinner(bigger meals) or
Salad and then whatever family is eating...try to eat the salad first and then eat my dinner...helps a ton.
Also I have usually not had a ton of calories during the day so it gives me some room to have a bigger dinner. If I have a really big one or not the best(pizza for example) I will try to at least burn some calories exercising before I go to bed.

8pm-TV SNACK
This one I just can't get rid of. I still have the late night snack....I know it's bad, but I still do it.
Good news is that it's usually a cucumber or some jerky or fat free pudding or fat free Jello and I always force myself to drink a big glass of water with it. That makes a huge difference.

Ok that is what I've been doing. I haven't been on a scale yet...however I am certainly feeling much better. I am gonna go to the gym today and weigh myself. I haven't been able to weigh myself at home because my scale only goes to 330pounds( how sad is that). Oh well, I am interested in seeing what I've lost. I know it's not the best measuring tool, but I still want to see what I"ve done so far.

I'll let ya know how it goes....

Hey it must be Tuesday!

2005-03-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

I feel great...two mornings of excercise in a row, two great days of eating! Now the trick is not falling apart as the week goes along. I always seem to do great on Monday and Tuesday and then stumble the rest of the week. However this is gonna be my week...I will excercise everyday and eat good too! How's that for some positive thinking.

Here is a little quote for you that I just read somewhere:
Even if you're on the right track...
You'll get run over if you just sit there.

You just have to getting moving in the right direction. I think we all feel that from time to time...I'm on the right track, but I'm not really getting where I want to go. It's probably because we do to much sitting and not enough moving in the right direction. Wow is this like Dr. Phil or something? Sorry about all that.

Lots of people have asked me about what I have been eating. I will let you know about that tomorrow and give you an idea of what has been working for me. Probably not for everyone, but maybe someone will benefit from it.

Can I do 3 good days in a row?
I'll let ya know how it goes...

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth...

2005-03-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

It's been like 5 days since I did this deal. I'd make some excuses, but nobody really wants to hear them. Heres a quick update for you. I did excerise for the 3rd day in a row...then I missed 2 days...did it again on Saturday and missed Sunday. I did get on it this morning(monday) for 20 minutes and did 365 calories. I decided that doing it for 20 minutes was better than nothing at all. I just woke up late and didn't have time to do the 30 minutes.

Food wise things are going much better. I have really done well for 5 days in a row. I started doing this online calorie counter deal. It's called www.myfooddiary.com It is really easy to use and super cool. I am such a computer guy I love any excuse to be online doing stuff. It really keeps track of everything and gives you some great pointers and advice along with what it will take food wise to get you to your goal. Right now if I stay on track with what I am doing I should be down about 20 pounds(328) within a month. I love to over analyze everything and this program does exactly that. Not sure it's for everyone, but I really like it. It's $9 a month but well worth it for me.

Alright I am going home to clean up the yard a little bit. This weather has been amazing! It's almost bikini season...I gotta get in shape. :)

Hopefully I will have nothing but good news to share with you tomorrow.

I'll let ya know how it goes...

Well 2 in a row!

2005-03-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

It's a small victory, but I'll take it. A great week so far. 2 days of at least 30 minutes on the precor. Been eating pretty good too. It's amazing how much better I feel when I do things right. It's not so much physically feeling better, but mentally. Just doing a good job for the day makes such a different. Hope if your doing your best to lose some weight that it is going well!

It's 11 oclock and I'm finally going to bed. I bet that alarm clock at 3:30 sure won't be too much fun. Will I get up and excercise????

I'll let ya know how it goes...

IF you don't have anything nice to say...

2005-02-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

Don't say anything at all. Isn't that what your mommy always told you? That was pretty much my theory with not updating this journal the last few days. Everytime I thought about doing it I was like "what's the point of telling everyone that I didn't work out again and I'm not really doing that great on the diet." After a few days of feeling sorry for myself I realized that is not the proper attitude. The point of telling people about it is that it makes me more accountable for my actions. I have to be honest about the fact that I have bad days...that is the whole point...I feel guilty about cheating myself from doing the right thing. I just need to own up to it when I make a mistake. I know that this theory doesn't work for everyone, but it's the way that my mind works, it's what motivates me to work harder. Ok enough of that.

Now for some good news. I just got off the precor machine I did 35 minutes(590 calories). I know the calorie thing might not be the gauge of how I'm doing, but here is what I like about it. I look at something that I like to eat...lets say it's 280 calories...I then think about working for 15 minutes on the precor(is that little treat really worth it). Again maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but it puts it into perspective for me.

One more thing...today was pay day so tomorrow will be shopping day. Looking forward to getting more focused on the nutrition. By the way someone asked me my current weight...I forgot that I had never mentioned it on here. The problem is that my scale at home only goes to 330pounds. Currently it won't weigh me. :( I did weigh at the gym about 2 weeks ago and I was 348pounds. My first big goal will to be able to weigh myself on my scale at home. Once I conquer that it will be to get under 300 pounds again.

Hopefully tomorrow morning I will get up and get on the precor again.

I'll let ya know how it goes...

Movie was great! Now about the popcorn...

2005-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I did it! Don't clap yet...I didn't do the right thing...I just did it...I ate the darn popcorn. Man that stuff is good. I'm pretty sure they put some sort of addictive ingredient in there. Might also have something to do with butter and salt. :) The good news is that we bought the large popcorn and a large diet pop. My wife and I only ate about 1/4 of the popcorn and then we were done with it. That is a good thing...normally what happens is that my wife(who is very thin and beautiful) has some and says...I'm done and then I eat the rest of it. I decided that I would be done too. So it didn't turn out too bad. It's funny because I was reading one of the posts about my message yesterday and the nice lady said "if you figure out how to go to the movie and not have the popcorn let me know!" Sorry...I don't have it figured out yet. IF you do let me know!

By the way the movie HITCH is super cool. I really enjoyed it. I love Will Smith and I thought he was perfect for the role. One thing I really liked about the movie is that the focus is on the fact that people who are not perfect dating material(overweight, dorky, shy), but are great people in general, deserve a chance to shine and go for the person they desire. I think that's what it was about...not totally sure I was pretty busy glancing down at the 3/4 full tub of popcorn. :)

OH yeah...I didn't excerise yesterday. I knew I was in trouble not doing it in the morning. I got up this morning and started doing it...however I have a pulled muscle(football with the kids) and I did it for a minute and said "wow this feels really crappy" and I went back to bed. Gonna try to stretch out real good right now and give it another shot.

I'll let ya know how it goes....

Kevin

I'm gonna eat my HAND!

2005-02-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Just kiddin...Thouhgt that might get your attention. Okay here is the deal I have been doing the "diet" thing for about a week now...It's going pretty good. I still find myself standing in front of the fridge thinking "what the heck am I gonna eat now???" I just haven't gone grocery shopping yet to get all the right "tools for the job". I swear that is what it's all about. Like when I built my first deck I didn't have any of the right tools and it was impossible! Last time it was a lot easier to succeed because I had the tools. So what I'm saying is buy a saw and you could lose weight. :( Ok I think you get my point...having the right "tools" around makes losing weight soooo much easier. I need to do some shopping and make sure that I have the food in the house to succeed. Also I finally purchased a piece of excercise equipment that I use. I never have liked the treadmill, and that is what I used to own. Finally I purchased the equipment that I actually like to use....the precor machine. How's it going you ask. Well I have had it for the whole month of February, and I have used it 14 days out of the 22. Thats pretty good. I do 30 minutes each time and I burn around 500 calories(if those things really work). I really have struggled the last week because of my darn cold... I feel bad making excuses...but I just haven't been able to get it done everyday. I have been doing it in the morning at 3:30 when I wake up...I really like doing it and getting the day off to a great start. The only problem is that some days I just don't feel like getting up and doing it...those are the days that I have missed. I say " i will do it later" . The problem is that I get busy and don't do it. I've only done it in the afternoon 1 time!!

Ok well that gives you a little bit of an idea about what I'm trying to do on a daily basis. I will let you know how it goes. Right now I am off to see a movie with my wife. We are gonna go see Hitch...I'll let ya know what I think of it. DARN...should I have some popcorn? I sure do love it...it's gotta be one of my favorites. This sure isn't easy...I'll let ya know tomorrow what happens.

Howdy...it's time to do it OR ELSE!

2005-02-22T05:51:00.000-08:00

Well Hello everyone. This is the place that I will be talking about my life and my journey to lose 50 pounds. I will also discuss the progress of my other 2 things...reading 3 books and no gambling. It's so funny to me that I have become a person that I used to always laugh at...needs something special to get motivated to do something! ha ha what a weak person!!! Well I have realized that I am certainly that person when it comes to weight loss. I just don't get it done unless I do something special to motivate me...for example I lost 40 pounds when I threatened to show a picture of myself in my underwear on the website. Now I'm doing it because I don't want to fail and have to skydive(I really get sick just thinking about that). Wow...how about you just do it because its the right thing? I don't know, that just never seems to work out. The bottom line is that I am excited to be doing it. I hope that anyone who has been trying to lose weight or is currently doing it will join in with me. Feel free to email and talk to me about stuff...It always helps to have someone on your side. Alright that is all I've got for now...I will check back later and let you know what I'm doing(exercise, eating,etc.) to win the battle.

Talk to you soon,
Kevin