Hello....

Hi,
I'm back..
How are you?
I'm fine.

Got some news to post soon...

to prepare, I ask you to take a quick look at this.

http://acts215.blogspot.com/search/label/weight

50

Hi..this is me...I'm 50.. but that's not what this is about.. A lot of my friends are turning 50 right now.. old school mates even newer friends..but still that's not what this is about..

It is about 50 though..

Not 50 cents in pennies..

or 50 cents in quarters..
or fitty centI like the cross and the gun together.. I think it's very american..

and

It's not about 50 dollars for that matter..

It's not about guns..like the one 50 cent has in his pic..or guns like....

Like this 50 cal machine gun..

or the 50 cal shells that go in to it.

Now that's big!!

It's about 50 lbs

50 lbs looks like this...

50 lbs of dog food....

50 lbs of beans

50 lbs of walnuts

50 lbs of pork ribs.. that's a lot of pork ribs...

This is almost 50 lbs... it's 40 lbs.. they didn't have 50 lb dumbells...but it was heavy.

or 2 of these weigh 50 lbs..

or 10 of these..

This is Foxy.. she belongs to my friends Cory and Marlene.. Marlene says she weighs almost 50 lbs. She's kinda fat..

This kid lives in a neighborhood near one of my friends... he weighs about 50 lbs. Wow...

Imagine 400 boxes of these goldfish... that's 50 lbs.. LOL!


Do you see where I'm going with this yet????

This is what 50 lbs looks like on my belt (actually..off my belt).... I used to be on the last notch on the very end of the belt. Now there are 5 holes out there beyond my buckle.

On Jan 30th. I weighed 360 lbs.

Today I weighed 310 lbs. (actually 308.5) but I'm rounding up for impact... 51.5 is so much harder to get your head around...

I started off just eating these most of the time. I also just eat smaller portions. I'm satisfied, I still get to enjoy different kinds of food. I have ice cream every once in a while. I have a beer or a margarita every now and then. I have not felt denied.. and I feel great. Once I got a little lighter I started riding my bicycle regularly. I usually ride 3-4 days a week and I walk a couple of days a week.

I have been down this road before but I'm hoping I can continue this long term because I enjoy the food and I really don't feel too denied. I still have little snacks now and then and I just try to choose wisely. But sometimes I don't and that's ok. In fact..spring break was a week when I didn't choose wiesly the whole time.. too many adult beverages and too many Chic-fil-a shakes..but still I'm at 50 lost now.

I have plans to hike the grand canyon in summer 2011 and I am feeling like I'd like to go snow skiing again.. or maybe better yet snowboarding!! (hint hint nudge nudge Mike O) I want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane one day as well. When I get below 270.. the parachute thing becomes a real possibility.

I'm actually beginning to feel like I'd like to put together some kind of bucket list.. but not because I'll feel like my life is lacking if I don't complete them..just for some focus on some things that would be fun to do. I might put that together in a future blog but as for now.. I'm thankful to my God for giving me the desire to have a positive impact on my health... for giving me the avenue to get healthy in a not to painful way (bicycle)...and for my wife who is now walking daily and eating better too....what a great gift to have the support of a spouse in this. I also want to let you know there are a couple of people who have inspired me to make this happen too. Cory, Phil, Clay and Jessie. They really don't know it but it's true. Maybe they know now. Thanks.

339..on Monday..

Last couple of weeks have been hard. I've been emotionally unsettled because my baby girl was graduating from HS..don't know why...

I'm also short handed at work. Lost a great employee to an electric co-op where he plans to be an electrician/lineman and live closer to home and be near a girl he likes a lot. People at work are having to work out of their assigned work responsibilities... I've got a line on some good folks but right now things are frustrating.

I'm not organized right now. Out of rhythm... Feeling a little overwhelmed with a week of church camp coming, regular weekly required reports that have to be done are getting done late in the week. I've got a great groups of guys I'm going to play music with next week.. I'm really hoping that will help me get back in step. It did a world of good for me in February...this should be fun.

Anyway..I haven't been good the last couple of weeks, snickers bars, brownies, shiner, chips, bread, venti white chocolate mochas, ice cream, m&m's. I have not been good. I used food as a crutch instead of a gift from God.

I'm anxious because it's graduation time.. I got a pretty significant cut in pay last January and I just don't have the funds to hand out gifts like I did last year.. that hurts my heart. It's also my pride creeping in and jacking with me and tempting me to run more up on the credit card.. the agent of satan. Grrrr....

I've also pitched my "Rule of Life". A late night of rehearsal... a softball game doulbe header that hurt my knee. I'm out of wack... I need to get me some more wack somewhere.

Things felt so good there for a couple of weeks. I was on the verge of pushing my walk to a jog. I was carrying 5 lb weights with me on my walks and who knows.. some muscular tone might have been the reason for my stall in weight loss.. but anyway...it's not just that...

I haven't picked up a bible or a "spiritual book" in 2 weeks...my spiritual health is suffering through this time.

I'm feeling frantic, stalled, indicisive, overwhelmed, lazy, stupid, angry and frustrated with myself.

I got back on the eating part of the program on Monday.. I weighed 336 this morning... that seems aweful fast but anyway.. I've got to get me a new employee, get back on the walking and reading.. but I've got a family reunion coming on June 27th.. that's throwing some stress in to my life.. I'm looking forward to it but I just hope it all goes well.

Praying for God's peace, wisdom, and joy. I know when I get back on the program..even if my weight loss stalls.. I feel better... dang knee. If it hurts more this Thursday night I'm blowing off softball and focusing on walking and dancing. :-) >

Send me some wack if you have any..

329

I finally broke 330. I've lost 33 total lbs since I started. I was pretty disciplined throughout the week walking every weekday and staying pretty close to my eating plan. I'm feeling good and I'm drying my pants now so they will fit me better. Haven't dropped another belt notch yet but hoping to do that in the next couple of weeks.

332

Blah blah blah... floating around 30 lbs lost.. being good most days... Hey, I'm 2 lbs lighter than last week.. I'm instituting a change and I'll let you know more about it at a later time.. writing me up a rule of life..from my licensed minister class.. out of a book called Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson. I hope it will help me out in a holistic way..not just physically.. peace out..

334

Grr..

I had my struggles with food last week. I tweeted my bad day early in the week..then I had a celebration at work that brought CAKE in to the building and I had some.. enjoyed some Bock's in Gruene this weekend. I did a lot of walking.. walked in Lufkin, hiked in New Braunfels, walked all around the outlet mall in San Marcos and then danced a lot Saturday night..

Oh well.. I'll just keep at it and hope for the best next Monday..

330

Did a lot of traveling this week but was very disciplined. Did not indulge in sweets or bread. Walked a lot in airports...didn't even use the moving sidewalks. In Chicago where I had a 2+ hour delay I walked around the airport.. I also walked at the hotel in Pittsburgh.

When I got home I weighed 336.. man was I in a bad mood. I was so tempted to blow it off but maintained my cool and stayed the course.

Didn't exercise this weekend but was good with what I ate... dropped 6 lbs from Saturday to Monday.

I weighed 330 this morning..That's 9 lbs since we started the friendly competition and 32 lbs since I started this whole deal back in January. Clothes are very loose, I feel very good.. I walked again today.

How I feel is how I want to continue to remind myself what is so good about this. I have good energy, I feel alert, I want to move...in fact I'm parking farther away at places so I can walk more to get to my car. I look forward to continued success.

336

It kind of bums me to type those 3 numbers up there... but I have to look at this in the big picture of things.... I will eventually get to where I want to be.. where I want to be changes every now and then..actually I'm already where I wanted to be.. at one time.. but now I look forward to another place I hope to be.

I feel better. I have greater energy. I go up and down stairs much easier..

I don't have to shove my body in to the booth at Cheddars like I'm stuffing a sausage. I actually have a little space between me and my table now.

Anyway... I will eventually get to where I want to be..and I have to know that I will have weekends like this...visiting family, Sunday School class parties, festive holiday time food all around... and instead of putting unreasonable demands on my psyche I want to fully enjoy and revel in those times..

...and then I want to return to my norm..lose the pound I gained during that weekend/holiday and contine living a thinner healthier life.. I have to practice that along the way to know that I can do it when I get there.

So I had some major indulgences this weekend and I gained a pound (over last week). I was very busy and church and at work last week and didn't walk a single day. I forgot to eat my breakfast when I should have which is not good for my metabo either... busy, busy, stressful week (which I ended Friday at 332 lbs) but then had a fun weekend, laughing, drinking, eating, and enjoying myself.

This probably is not good for me in my race agains Katie and Cory but in my overall scheme of things.. it's how I have to live every now and then. Now I must get back on task.

335

Did a little walking this week and a little working in the yard.. 4 lbs.. I'm happy with that.

Oh yeah..Cory Glover is in the mix now..

one more person that I can ridicule when I win!!

See his picture..he's eating ice cream.. I'm just sayin'!

Follow his progress here

339

Ok, that's 23 pounds as of this morning that I have lost..

It's also very important because it the starting weight for my weight loss contest against this girl..

Katie such a funny sweet silly girl, she thinks she can lose 30 pounds before I lose 60 pounds.

Heck, she doesn't have 30 pounds to lose..when I drop another 60 lbs I'll still weigh 279 lbs. I'm thinkin this is a slam dunk..silly little girl.

Now she has posted her weight loss progress over here. Check it out if you want...

Silly little girl..

I didn't eat any of this..

Brownies were made earlier this week.. I had none of them..I promise! No... really!!

345

Well.. feeling pretty good... seem to have more energy. Daylight savings time didn't have a huge impact on me.. had more energy dealing with that God forsaken event than I have in recent years. My new pants (a couple of months old..that's new for me) have little buttons on the side.. you can take them up one button on each side. I have taken both of those buttons up the one notch that is on there and they are still very loose.

Hoping that I can be at least to 342 by spring break and payday. That would be 20 pounds off and a nice place to have a celebratory cheater meal. We're hanging around Lufkin next weekend and I'll be at church Sunday morning.. then we're sending Hannah off to Europe early Sunday afternoon..then Donna, Austin, and I are off to downtown Houston. Staying at The Inn at the Ball Park just to try and experience downtown Houston like we have done New York.. find some neat downtown restaurants, go to the zoo, museum, Austin wants to go to The Galleria.. somewhere in there I plan to be bad.. but.. not too much.. I'm really enjoying how I feel and enjoying how my clothes are fitting me. I have one more notch on my new belt then I may be shopping for another new belt. Yeah!!

Those of you who follow me on twitter have probably noticed that my usual 2 x Tuesday (Domino's Pizza) with a Shiner Bock has stopped... I might very well partake in a pizza and some beer.. well some Bock or other dark beer.. while on vacation. I do find God in that little combination!

More to come..

348

2 more pounds...in a week. I'm doing ok, not wanting to splurge too much although last Friday was a very stressful day that involved removing someone from their position here at that place I work at full time.. Never fun.. and I wanted Olive Garden that night and a couple of italian margaritas.. if you haven't tried one of those they are wonderful...

Anyway.. that was my one indulgence...stress induced as it was.

Hope to put up a few more posts later today..

FYI.. if you are not on youtube.. I'm posting video of our worship practice on youtube. It came from the fact that we are changing worship times and we will not have the time we used to on Sunday morning to run through the songs. I also have band members that have conflicts on Wednesday night that can't make practice but they will invest the time to be ready on Sunday if they have the music.. this gives them the music the way we will do it.. not the way Crowder, Tomlin, Baloche or Wright does it but how we will do it and they can work on how they fit in to the mix and be ready Sunday morning. There are also those in the praise team that need more reps on the songs and this way they can sing along with the rest of the praise team to get a better feel for the music.

We only have time on Sunday morning to do a quick run through of our transitions.. example.. this week we'll work on the transition between the last half of the chorus of "Give Thanks" in to the first verse of "Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)"..that's it.. then the end of "Every Move I Make" in to "The Wonderful Cross".. We'll touch on one other song quickly and then we're done.

We did this last week..and with all the confusion of set up and new service times and getting settled in to where we were supposed to be along with pluggin in and tuning it probably took us between 15 and 20 minutes to work on our transitions between our 2 three song sets...and the music in church was AWESOME!! Everyone came prepared and the church loved the first set so much they applauded us.. that just doesn't happen in our church very often.. one other time in the last year and a half it's happend (when we introduced our rockin' version of "How Great Thou Art"..kinda like Baloche but not...). We got tons of great feedback on the music and how good it was..the church was in to it and the Spirit was moving.. it was a great day...anyway...

The vids go up at www.youtube.com/artieanderson and Donna has been doing the editing because Moviemaker keeps cratering on my pc. She's good and pretty quick. She also worked very hard on getting the sound right on the internet feed and our vids this week sound much better..(we are pulling our vids off our computer/video feed we use for Sunday morning live feed broadcasts). The ones last week were not bad but she's got them sounding much better.

In the short run this little experiment has turned out to be a great success.. Hope it continues to be a tool for a quality music offering on Sunday morning.

350

OK, so I decided to weigh again for the first time in a couple of weeks.. I weigh 350 lbs.. I've cut the carbs since Monday (except for a chocolate chocolate chip cookie and a cran-apple at the blood center yesterday).. that was lunch. That made my morning.

Donna said she was going to no carb it starting Monday. I wanted to support her. My mouth tastes like metal but I'm feeling better and I'm lighter... now I have to keep moving too.

Doesn't it always happen???

I'm two weeks in to what seems to be a fairly reasonable change I want to implement in my life... eat just a little smarter and move my body more..

So what happens? 2 weeks in I'm 2 lbs heavier.. man I love this...

On top of the fact that this day that was pretty good most of the way it ended with me discovering some crap at work that really bummed me... just day to day service stuff but just when you think you might have a really good day something bites you in the behind and then I'm lookin for fudge in all the wrong places. Anyway...this week...Tuesday I played about an hour of something like racquetball..the other three were playing it, but I was limited in my motion.. my legs felt like rubber and I almost ate the wall a couple of times.. but it was pretty fun.. until the next day and my knees were killing me. I walked the next day but Thursday my knees couldn't take it. I wasn't feelin it Friday either.. Got walks in on Saturday and Sunday and felt I was getting back in the swing. I blew it off tonight because I got home late from work and it was cold and I wasn't in the mood. I was really tempted to blow this whole thing off but to be honest with you one of my motivations is that some time in 2010 I would like to purchase one of these... and I know I can fit in one already.. already done the test drive.. but I'd like to be comfortable.. sideways.. in the car. I've got head room and leg room and I fit in the seat but I want to enjoy it...I'd also like to begin riding a bike again some day and I've got to keep moving. A bump in the road, I'm in a funk but I do plan to keep going forward.

362

362

Yes that right.. I weighed today for the first time in probably a couple of years and I weigh three hundred and sixty-two pounds..wow... I also now wear a 54 waist pants and I can't live like this any more... I've already learned from watching all my siblings that I will get diabetes...but do I need to rush it any faster? I've always had a weight problem since I was a kid. Food was my sanctuary when I was tense...and it still is. I've got to change that.

Chocolate is my heaven... and I've got to change that..or maybe just not go to heaven near as often..

Finally, I've got to move. somehow I've gotten very sedentary the last couple of years. Work used to keep me very active and now it does not because I have a great staff. I still work long hours and I've got that church gig too...tends to exhaust me and I really don't want to do anything else.

But now I'm committing to change. Not just a new years resolution but a change in my daily lifestyle. I've got to move. I started walking today.

I'm not doing a bunch of measurements and posting all that stuff and tracking my progress on sizes etc. I am laying out there for all to see that I'm too fat and I've got to make a change...I'd love your prayers and support and if you are so motivated..join me in this little exploit. No races to see who loses more faster. Just hoping to see progress. ... and I'll fail and I hope I get back up and get going again. Maybe that's why I'm letting you in on the deal. I'm gonna check my weight weekly...I'm gonna post weekly weight and approx miles walked each week. If I share it with you ... I'm a little more sold out on doing it....

If I drop some weight...maybe I can start riding a bike again too... I blogged about that way back when gas was $4.oo a gal.. would still be good for me..

Here is to a healthier, fuller and more active life!!!