Are you kidding me!
The really good thing about running (walking actually) for public office is getting out into all the neighborhoods and talking with the voters. I have been doing a lot of walking. As some of you know I live in Kyle, Texas. And I decided to run for City Council...an at-large seat. That is right, the whole city of Kyle. So that is a lot of walking.
Eating Right? That is another story. Sometimes I have gone all day and realize that I haven't eaten...Not good! Then I want to grab the first thing that I can find. I haven't had a cheese burger in almost 6 months. And yet at 3:00 pm one afternoon I pulled into Whataburger and that was that.
Coffee and peanut butter. If I had to list everything I have eaten in the last two months the list would be topped by coffee and peanut butter. Oh, and honey. If it is too late to eat but I need something...spoon full of peanut butter and honey knocks the edge off. At least it is reduced fat peanut butter. Boy do I miss My Fit Foods!
And if you noticed that Starbucks' stock has gone up recently....that is because I am getting the fat free latte with the turkey egg white breakfast sandwich for breakfast most mornings.
So all you ATX people keep up the good work. I know you are re-grouping and holding it together. There will be times when everything doesn't seem to go according to plan. But I feel like I have learned enough to improvise and to know that I don't want to give up on living healthier. So I just try every day to make the best choices I can when I can.
If you don't count cheeseburgers!
RUNOFF! That sounds like exercise to me.
There were three candidates and no one received the majority vote so I am in a runoff.
My diet these last five weeks has consisted primarly of coffee and peanut butter. Occasionlly some honey. sneaks in...
I know that the ATX 100 group is working out some details regarding meeting place and schedule.
Don't give up on getting fit.
I will be back after June 1, 2013 the runoff election day.
Not your typical form of exercise.
As many of you know I am running for City Council in Kyle....you know Kyle. Your neighbor to the south.
Best way I have found to get votes is to get out on the streets and walk door to door. It has been fun and rewarding. It has been an amazing learning experience and one I will not forget.
So while you all are walking the capital grounds or running the obstacle course at Shadow Glen...think of me walking the streets of Kyle.
Joe
I just wanted to take a moment and catch up on the last few months. Six months ago I planned a series of health related exams…all the appropriate exams for a man of my age. Two out of three are checked off the list and now all that is left is an annual physical in three weeks. I am clear to go back at it again.
Even though I don’t feel like I have remained on track, it is interesting to hear one of my doctors comment on how much weight I have lost. (I did not want to tell him I have gained 10 pounds back) He was very happy to see that I had lost over 50 pounds. Sometimes you just have to take the victories where ever they come from.
It was also exciting to attend the ATX Recommitment Party at RunTex. I do get some satisfaction from knowing that an idea of mine could grow into something so positive. However, ideas without action are nothing and James Russell has led the way. And all of you who have been with this since the beginning and those that are new….you are the reason that a tribe of people with a common purpose have flourished.
So things are well and I wish you all the best. In a few more weeks you will see me back on the town lake trail.
I am getting back on track. First, for 9 days in a row I have tracked everything I have eaten. I went over my daily points on a few days but never used all my weekly extra points. (Those of you who speak Weight Watchers understand the points)
Next, I am blogging again. This may not seem like much to you but it is my public method of staying on track. Blogging is all part of the program. I have to confess I am still slow on the daily exercise, but it will come.
And today I renewed my membership in ATX 100. I figure if I can duplicate last year’s success I will be even healthier next year this time.
So I have to get walking. Don’t think I am in good enough shape to walk the Formula 1- 5K this weekend, but there will be something for me to sign up for later this month and in December.
Right now I am not going to the scale…the number isn’t as important as the program. Track what I eat, keep blogging and walk.
And to everyone out there that has felt like you aren’t making as much progress as you like….don’t worry about it. Just keep moving forward.
Every day is a joy and I want to see what kind of excitement the future holds.
Oh! My golf game is better…
This is a real struggle. I have just lost all sense of motivation. Or dedication.
I just weighed in and gain 2 lbs in the last four weeks….still even with some ups and downs I weigh exactly what I weighed on May 2, 2012. What is that 13 weeks…no progress.
I feel like I am off track...hell off track doesn’t even come close to describing it…I have no idea where the track is. Everything I start to write sounds like everything I have written before. “Intermission Is Over”???? No there has been a complete power outage.
I don’t know how to get out of this rut. I am not exercising. I returned to ATX 100 for a couple of meetings and enjoyed being around so many people who were enthusiastic about getting healthier. There are so many new people and a few of the original group. When we started ATX 100 I told them that I would be there even if it became the ATX 1. Because, I wasn’t giving up. I intended to live a healthier life style forever.
Is this the let down that has always plagued me? I was so jacked up after completing the Capital 10K. I really had a sense of accomplishment. But since the Cap 10K, I have hardly moved. It has only been the last 3 weeks that I have gotten out and walked over 5 K on three different occasions. I set myself up for what now appears to be a near impossible goal to walk the Half Marathon next February 17th. I feel like I have defeated myself before I even get started.
Recently I was told to focus on the program and not the pounds. The Program…
Public Commitment-Blog…Record Keeping-Publishing Weight…Regular Exercise…and Faith
One day at a time…
Flash the house lights, summon the ushers, get the band back on stage…whatever works. Intermission is over. It is time to start the next act. Notice I didn’t say last act of final act. This play is ongoing and being written daily.
Well I obviously have not been writing daily. Some of you have asked have “I given up?” “You still working on getting healthier?” The answer is yes.
I just weighed in and I lost -0.8 pounds…Humm, in the last seven weeks? I have not been doing all the things I need to do to make progress….if progress is losing more weight and walking further. I haven’t been tracking what I eat daily, weighing in weekly or exercising at least five times a week. I would best describe my actions in the last two months as mindful. It is like learning a foreign language. Let’s say Spanish. I have not been going to class nor doing my homework… But I have been speaking Spanish every day. Not all day long, but enough to keep my skills up. So I call that mindful.
Some may say a period of maintenance. At some point I have to live my life in such a way as to not gain weight back. And I have done that in the last two months.
But who am I kidding….I just lost focus and I am damn lucking that I have learned enough Spanish along the way to not go crazy and gain a bunch back.
The eating and tracking food and weekly weigh in are not the biggest problem for me…I have obviously done something right in that regard. But Exercise still remains my biggest demon. I realize now that I have to be driven toward some goal to perform. I have to commit to an event. I have done several 10K events and a bunch of 5 K events. Even though I struggled with the Capital 10 K I finished and was proud of myself. At the time I committed to the Cap 10K I felt like I could pull it off.
Now…I have signed up for The Austin Half Marathon. And, now I don’t feel so confident. But I need a challenge and a new goal. It shouldn’t be that difficult….really what is that???? 23K? More than twice the Cap 10K…
Intermission is officially over!
I am reasonably back to a normal routine. And the last two weeks reflect progress.
Tracking my meals and counting all the Weight Watchers Points is a must. I don't think there will ever come a day that I will no longer need to track what I eat.
The next big thing that helped me get back to normal was preparation. Having the right kinds of food available makes it a lot easier to make better choices. Stocking up on My Fit Foods meals is a big help. My Fit Foods enables me to have breakfast and lunches available at my office. (If you haven’t checked our My Fit Foods there is a link on my blog.) Michele and I did a better job of preparing evening meals in advance so that neither one of us had to spend too much time cooking.
I still feel a sense of lost time because I have to work to get back to a previous weight level. But I have successfully lost back half the weight I gained during my five week slip.
That is all part of being aware and getting back to normal.
Just a brief note to say that I am still in the game! These last three weeks I have been completely outside my comfort zone. I figured out that I spent 11 days out of town out of 20.
I haven't made a Weight Watchers Meeting in that time...
I haven't tracked on a daily basis what I have been eating....
I haven't exercised...except for walking the Bunny 5 K. Which was FUN!
I haven't prepared myself everyday to do and eat the things I should...
Result is that in the last five weeks I have gained 4.6 pounds. Good News? Yes there is good news. I am back on track, weighed in yesterday and have gotten back into doing the things I know I need to do to get healthier. Good News! Yes I am aware...You see when you have lost as much weight as I have in my life time and then gain in all back. There was a complete disconnect....I was never really aware that I was gaining all the weight back until it was too late. Today I know exactly how much weight I have gained and why. That is Good News!
There were a lot of lessons learned this last week and I intend to write about all of them....
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