Wow I was very touched by Tom's entry this week. It made me think about things as he has. Maybe not the amount of weight actually because at my height I would be a roly poly at that weight but still to be almost as round as you are tall is very embarrassing . I remember going to get a suit and having to get a 56 waist to go along with the jacket. Big enough right, but I am only 66 inches tall. I can remember being asked what are your goals. I came up with a few but they really didn't make a lot of sense. So here are a few that do make sense; Be able to bend over and tie my shoes with out feeling like I was out of breath and going to pass out. Wear a size 38 pair of pants again. Sure 34 or 32 sounds better but that is long term. Get away from 2xl and into large shirts. Be able to run and play with my son without always having to say sorry son I am too tired and out of breath. Mike has been a God send for me also but, it is more about how to be encouraging as you try. I mean I probably have lost the least weight of the men (Wanted to be the most, right), But what I have noticed is muscle now instead of fat, being energetic instead of lazy. I know that this program only has a few more weeks but for me it is the rest of my life due to the change in my lifestyle. I used to say, "go to the Y, why?' Now it is Y am I not at the Y! I also want to say thank you to the people I have met along this journey and how they have been encouraging and noticing when I sometimes can't. Thank You All !!!

I've been asked lots of times "Why did you decide to do The Greatest Loser?" This question honestly has caught me by surprise. I mean to look at me I would think would be enough of an answer in itself. I started out weighing in at over four hundred pounds. I would think people would ask "Why has it taken you this long to get serious about your health?" Then it hit me. There are things that I have to deal with, some of which are on a daily basis that most people don't understand. Think about every time you sit down. For me this can be a stressful situation. I have to casually look over the chair and think about the structural integrity and design and wonder "Will my butt fit?" and "Will it hold up, or will I break it?" Now I have broken a few chairs and it's quite embarrassing. There are other times, like getting a ride with a friend who has a small car. I open the door and, under the guise of moving the seat back, I try to envision the most graceful way a fat guy can get into the car. Then the hardest part is once inside trying to appear as if you are actually comfortable for the duration of the trip. My brain is constantly churning, trying to think ahead of the next fat guy hurdle, because if you let your guard down, embarrassment will surely follow. I really felt more sorry for my kids. They want me to do things with them that I can't physically do. I have been forced to exit a roller coaster before it started because I didn't fit. So we would have to go because she wasn't tall enough to ride on her own. Or at school when the parents are there for the festival or the program, my kids have the fattest dad there, and have you seen the tiny chairs they have at school?! Sheesh, talk about sweating bullets! So I guess the answer to the question as to "Why?" would be simply so that I could enjoy life, and not have to think about how fat I am all the time. I don't want to break any more chairs. And I don't want to be an embarrassment to my kids. I want to be an obesity survivor, and I want to prevent my kids from ever having to worry about the things that I worry about.



Mike Osborn has been such a blessing to me. He is the trainer for my team. I am having to relearn how to work out. I have a power lifting background where you are constantly pyramiding and focusing on the bigger muscle groups. Mike has me working muscles in ways that I couldn't have imagined. I have never felt better. And let me tell you it felt great to be passing people walking up the hills at Silver Dollar City. I still get out of breath, but I've noticed that I get it back really fast now. Mike is really great at putting nutrition and exercise together, and what I love the most is I'll be at the grocery store trying to put together a meal or just getting confused about something and I'll just call him up. He has been so graciously accessible for whenever I have a question or if I'm struggling with my food plan. I owe Mike a lot already, and I'm just getting started!

I had a great experience in the yoga class last week. I need to work on my flexibility more. However, I am more flexible now than at the beginning of this challenge

This has been a good week. The yoga class last week was awesome and relaxing. It is something I would like to work into my regular routine, even if I need to purchase a DVD and do it at home. I also reached my "Zumba" peak this week during my pool workout with my trainer. I hadn't been able to reach it doing other things besides Zumba and I felt like I was not accomplishing anything. I also thank the other members of the Greatest Loser for their encouragement, they told me at least I am still going and doing what I can inspite of the injury, I could have just quit and stayed home. I plan on incorporating the pool workout into my plan also even after the injury heals.

We talked a lot this week about internal and external sources of motivation to keep us inspired. I think the trick is to not fixate on just one thing, but to recognize that the hard daily work of making healthy eating choices and exercising has numerous beneficial outcomes, and to evaluate all of them in turn. These include: pounds lost, inches lost, lowered cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, reduced Body Mass Index (BMI), loss of body fat, increased muscle tone, smaller clothes sizes fitting, feeling more energetic, sleeping better, not being short of breath, etc. If the scale doesn't move one week, find another benefit to concentrate on to reinforce the positive changes you are making in your life.