I'M SO EXCITED!

I don't have any time to make this all pretty and attractive - but here's the news!

I have lost 46 pounds in seven weeks and I feel great!
I can run and move and step in ways I have not been able to do in 10 years!
I have clothes that I cannot wear anymore because they look ridiculously large!
I am well on my way to being a grandfather (when the time arrives) who can play vigorously with his grandchildren!

I am excited!

And if I continue to exercise and make healthy choices through Thanksgiving week,
I will have lost 50 pounds in two months!

Whoo Hoo!

STRESSED OUT SHUT DOWN!

I gained a pound this week and learned a lot in the process!

Three funerals, preparing my mom's new house for occupancy, work, SMCT needs, and life in general

 really stressed me out!

I was still eating in very healthy ways,

(at the very least making the best choices that were available to me at the time)

but I kept seeing my times for exercise pass by without being able to answer the call!

I was getting so angry with myself that I could not take the next step of my healthy lifestyle!

I was so afraid that I was not going to be able to do this!

The STRESS produced a giant monster of despair!

I kept stepping on the scale in hopes that somehow my eating healthy was still making a difference,

nothing was coming off and at the end of the week I had gained a pound!

Enter Karen to the rescue!

(Thank you Karen!)

She taught me that not only does my body shut down 

and start storing everything as fat

when I don't eat regularly,

but the same thing happens when I am stressed!

Great!

Now, not only 

the emotions of three funerals, 

the time demands of work, SMCT, and family,

and the frustration of not having time to work out,

but

the idea of being stressed

was causing me more stress!

Karen told me 

to breathe,

to relax.

and to incorporate exercise into my busy life!

If I can not find a time to work out

find a way to put my work out into my time!

Instead of an hour of yoga,

do butt raises, tummy tucks, and neck tensions while I drive an hour to work,

Instead of walking on the tread mill for an hour,

park my car fifteen minutes from my next two meetings and walk to and from there.

Instead of doing power squats at the gym,

do squats as I am painting baes boards in my mom's house.

(up and down and squat and dip the brush and up and down and squat and paint the baseboard,

and up and down and squat and dip the brush and up and down and squat and paint the baseboard,

and repeat 100 times.)

Instead of lifting weights at the gym,

lift the SMCT equipment from barn to van to stage.

EXCELLENT!

While I am not great at time management,

I am very creative!

While I am not good at making time,

I am god at using my time creatively!

I will not fail at this now!

I will figure out how to put my workout into my time

and will enjoy my workouts at the gym when I get there!

ONE MONTH 
AND HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

I began this new choice of life one month ago.

That was forty pounds ago.

(But don't worry, 

my official weigh-in was on Monday, October 29 

and I had only lost 35 pounds,

so that is what you owe for the month 

if you sponsored me by the pound!)

My pants, that were too tight are now being given away,

and the next size is already getting loose!

I have a new attitude of being healthy.

I have a new approach to eating.

I am exercising - 

Yoga for Fat Guys, Walking, and Lifting!

And I feel great!

There is a fit guy inside me 

working his way out of this fat suit!

It's not too late to join the crowd in raising money for two very worthy non-profits 

(Swamp Meadow Community Theatre and The Acoaxet Chapel!)

Sponsor me by the pound each month and they will 

Gain Through My Loss!

You can send checks to:

Swamp Meadow Community Theatre

Box 213

Foster, RI 02825

or 

The Acoaxet Chapel

Box 3749

Westport, MA 02790