Jeff Blogs

Today marks the beginning of the fourth week of my diet program. I was both looking forward to and dreading getting on the scale. Has all of my hard work and dedication paid off or has my body decided enough is enough and is revolting and not taking off the weight? These are the kinds of internal struggles I now find myself dealing with. At the beginning of my diet I weighed myself on January 13th to find that I had reached an all-time high of 210 pounds. I had vowed to myself never to get above 200 and here I was 10 pounds later cursing the bathroom scale like it was the machine’s fault.

I stepped on the scale with my eyes closed saying a silent prayer to the scale gods. “Oh holy being of springs and counter measures. May your justice be swift and may your dial be slow. I pray thee oh mighty bathroom deity cleanse me of the excess weight and I shall praise thy name from the highest toilet!”

(continue reading…)

Today marks the end of the third week of being on this diet. I am one week away from my four week mark (see even when I am not playing with a full stomach I am still able to do simple mathematical problems). I’ve now started to get into a routine of eating every 2.5-3 hours. I am getting used to the powdered food that make up the meal replacements for most of the day.

I’ve become accustomed to having a protein and green vegetables for dinner and ending my day with a calorie controlled snack. I’m building a pattern of good choices and have remained committed to this eating plan to remain on track. I’m not officially supposed to weigh-in until tomorrow but I snuck on the scale this morning to see I had dropped another 2.5 pounds bringing me under 195 in a long time.

(continue reading…)

When I was first considering going on this diet I was aghast to learn that it required homework. My initial reaction was akin to the reaction Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76’ers basketball team gave when he was benched for missing practice. We’re not talking about weight loss, we’re not talking about losing weight, we’re talking about homework! Not the way I’m eating, not the food, we’re talking about homework! Yeah I know it’s not just about what kinds of food you eat. I know it’s about making a change to my health habits but we’re still talking about homework!

(continue reading…)

Before starting this diet program I was given homework that included reading a chapter, cleaning out the kitchen and pantry, and taking a pre-test to assess how well or how poorly my decisions have been. The test was a disaster where I actually scored negative points.

The pantry and kitchen cleaning was likewise not good. I found junk food and candy stashed in the corners and you know you just can’t let that stuff go to waste so I “took care of it”. That may be the reason why I actually started the diet three pounds heavier than I expected.

(continue reading…)

Sometimes you start a tradition and do not really think through the implications of what it may mean down the road. When our oldest daughter graduated from high school we wanted to reward he by taking a family trip. At the time it seemed like a great way to recognize this accomplishment in her life.

We decided to allow her to select where we would go on the trip. Without hesitation she exclaimed, “Walt Disney World!” Well who are we to argue with a trip to see Mickey Mouse and friends? Plans were made and we made the trip.

(continue reading…)