CHOP SUEY FOR BREAKFAST

We left home pretty early yesterday, headed for Norfolk, VA and from there on down to the Outer Banks. In the interest of economy, we flew with Southwest, which involved a layover of two and a half hours in Baltimore.

Since we arrived there at 8.30am, I reckoned we could find something in beautiful Maryland for breakfast, as my appetite was not exactly at its best when I got up at 5.30.

Here's an interesting game you can play next time you're bored in an airport - it's called Try To Find Something Healthy To Eat.

In the end Gill and I opted to share a bagel and that was it.

I could have had Mexican food, pizza, McDonalds, or could even have joined a line (yes folks a line at 8.30am) for Chinese cuisine.

Try getting some cereal or some fruit and you'd fall flat on your face. But there was no end of breakfast burritos, et. etc. etc.

I'd love to open a food place there serving real food to real people, but I fear I'd go broke as it may well be that the whole country now eats crap - period!

HEALTHY BARGAINS

Just got back from a quick visit to Waldbaum's Supermarket while I was out doing a few other things. I loaded the freezer with shrimp.

Here's the scoop - you'll see it at http://www.waldbaums.com

+ For three days only, Friday through Sunday they are selling 2lb bags of frozen extra large raw shrimp for $9.98. That's a savings of $20! Here's the follow-up, because shrimp has no fat, you can eat 6oz of it for a mere 3 WW Points!

+ While you're there, pick up Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (1 Point) at 12 for $3.96

+ Just to prove summer is coming, they have fresh corn (2 Points) at 10 for $1.99

So there are the weekend shopping tips! The yogurt and corn are available all week.

PRO-PORTIONS

While I was out this afternoon I stopped by Pro-Portions to pick up my regular supply of their muffins. I tried the Weight Watchers muffins, but the truth is while they are tasty, they're pretty fluffy so by the time you finish one you could still eat the rest of the box.

Pro-Portions on the other hand do a very filling 3-point muffin that has become a favorite evening snack, eaten alongside one very large mug of coffee.

Now I know all the nonsense about caffeine being bad for you etc., but let me put it this way - I no longer eat french fries, big macs, tortilla chips, full fat ice cream (except for when I'm cheating!), real eggs, bacon, sausage, cheesecake, crumb cake, donuts, buttered rolls, to name but a few.

Take away my coffee and Beam me up Jesus! So just leave me alone with that one luxury.

My evening drink and that huge muffin set me up for the night.

If you're near Stonybrook or Selden, it's worth visiting the store and trying one. BTW, you need to nuke it for 35 seconds as they're far better warm. But whatever you do, resist the temptation to then put butter it!

STAYING ON TRACK

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that this maintaining business is easier said than done.

I think it was a lot more straightforward when I knew that I needed to lose weekly, than it has been this past three weeks of trying to stay within two pounds of my goal.

I guess it's not the way I should be going, but for the past couple of weeks my pattern has been pigging out one day (or two) and staying on program for the rest of the week. Yesterday was the pigging out day. I'd be embarassed to share here what I threw down my throat. I'd be mortified if I gave it all a points value and totalled that up.

I'm still confident that come next Monday I will not have shown a significant gain (if any) - thankfully however hard you try, you can't put 133lb back on in twelve hours - but I need to get a more balanced approach to this and I'm working on that.

One messed up day doesn't sabotage the whole process, so today has been a brand new day.

I love that!

DAY OF RECKONING

Monday's my weigh-in day of course, so I was off to WW this morning. Lost 0.6lb, which brings me back under my goal weight. Three more weeks of this and I become a lifetime member, which means I don't pay a weekly fee any more!

GOT ENERGY?

It seems that the majority of people I chat to about the journey of this past couple of years immediately expect me to feel a whole lot better and to have discovered amazing energy.

To be honest, I felt fine before I dropped the weight and my energy levels seem no better as I fall into bed, battling to stay awake anywhere after 11.00.

But the truth is, I think I do have more energy - I just use it!

Consider today ...

Gill and I got a bite to eat after church and then I spent the afternoon watching the Mets being embarassed by the Braves. Nothing different there for me than bygone years - but there was.

When I weighed 133 pounds more than I do today, I was exhausted after church and was battling to stay awake through lunch. I would watch the ball game in a horizontal position and would seldom be awake for the ninth inning.

I saw the whole disappointing game today and not from a sofa. I watched a little of it at home and then drove to the gym where I saw the second half of the fixture on a TV monitor on my treadmill. I ran over six miles as I watched the game and then switched to an elyptical, racking up a total of eight miles on the two machines combined.

I guess I do have more energy. I couldn't have done that before.

But I use the energy - so now I'm shot!!!

THE 'S' WORD

The question has arisen as to whether I was suggesting yesterday that being overweight is sin. Let me clarify, to the preacher who publicly declares that smoking, watching TV, dancing and listening to secular music is sin (yes folks they do still exist!), his eating habits probably fall into that category too.

Of course I'm not that kind of preacher to start with. I have no problem telling things the way they are, but I am only too aware of the fact that we are all a work in progress and we all walk our own unique walk with God.

Much of my own sudden interest in health stemmed from the realization that I need to be relatively fit to do what God has called me to do. I also suddenly became aware of the fact that I couldn't outrun all the risks of morbid obesity for the rest of my life.

So I changed course so that as much as I have control of things, I won't be hindered in doing what I love doing by things that I personally could have averted.

So, let's take the "s" word off the table and simply say for people who believe their lives have a God-given purpose, we should be doing all we can in every way to commit ourselves to his plan for us.

GOTCHA

Okay, the joke's on me!

Re-thinking my previous post, I took a more detailed look at the website that carried the story and it turns out it's a satyrical site.

The whole point they're making I guess is that while pastors call all kinds of things sin, the majority of them are overweight and seem to think that's okay.

Good point - had me fuming!!!

FAT PREACHER WHO'S A DISGRACE

A friend sent me this link today. If you need my help to explain why this guy is off the wall, something's up. If you're in his church - leave. This is one leader you don't want to follow!


Pastor Makes 1 Timothy 4:8a His "Theme Verse"

YOUNGSTON, GEORGIA

Rev. Charles "Chuck" Dewease, pastor of the First Pentecostal Church of Youngston, is not ashamed to tell anyone his weight."I'm a little over 415 pounds and proud of it."

He says.About ten years ago while reading the book of 1 Timothy, Dewease came under "intense conviction" when he read 1 Timothy 4:8a which says, "For bodily exercise profiteth little." Since that day Dewease has made it a point to avoid any and all manner of exercise, intentionally gaining a tremendous amount of weight to show his "conviction."

"I've never been what you might call a 'small man.'" Said Dewease. "But ten years ago my life changed. It was a liberating and freeing experience when I read that verse in 1 Timothy. I never much cared for diet and exercise, but when I read those words my heart just leaped for joy! I knew that I didn't have to worry about it anymore."

Now, Dewease no longer concerns himself about what he eats. His breakfast often consists of a large six-egg omelet with cheese, ham and sausage, four or five biscuits with gravy, a large serving of grits, and 8 strips of bacon. During the day he usually keeps a large stash of snack foods and soft drinks in his office.

For lunch he normally eats out."I love fried chicken." He said. "There's a local place just down the road called "Claire's Cafe" that makes the best you'll ever eat, and I go there just about every day. They all know me. I just walk in and say 'I'll have the usual' and they bring me my ten-piece family meal with baked beans and potato salad."

Dewease does not concern himself with how people might look at him but rather refers to his obesity as his "testimony to godliness," claiming that the larger he gets, the more he displays himself as one who is not concerned with bodily exercise."What I'm doing is found right there on the pages of the Bible." He said. "This is how we are all supposed to be living our lives, not spending time at the gym. I don't have time for that. With so much sinning going on in this world, with so much alcohol and tobacco use in my own community, I've got my work cut out for me. This is a holy pursuit."

Despite Dewease's passion for "holy pursuits" some members of his own congregation are concerned about his weight."I just think he needs to slow down a bit." Said one member who wished to remain anonymous. "He's going to keel over with a heart attack one day."

But despite the criticism Dewease is unwaivering."I don't care what anybody says." Said Dewease. "They can mock me, ridicule me, and scoff, but it is better to obey the Bible rather than men."

TO CARDIO OR NOT TO CARDIO

Monday morning when I was sweating like a pig on the elyptical, I saw a guy appearing on Good Morning America who was touting his latest book, an informed tome entitled - The Cardio Free Diet.

By this stage I had already run six miles on a treadmill and was well into my second mile on this next instrument of torture, so about the last thing I needed to hear was some wiseguy telling me I was wasting my time.

His logic followed two main lines -

1. Cardio does lasting damage to your joints as your knees absorb the impact of jogging or whatever.

2. Cardio makes you hungrier so you eat more.

IMHO, I don't know where he got his facts from for #2, but that has not been my personal experience.

As for #1, carrying around surplus pounds does a number on your knees too, to say nothing of the heart and who knows what else.

I guess this guy will sell books, but he said nothing whatever to convince me that my morning ritual is indeed hindering my health.

As they used to say when I lived in Yorkshire, England, Owt's better than nowt. Which roughly translated means - Something is better than nothing.

So I'll just keep doing my something. It may not be pretty and it may not be pleasurable, but it sure beats sitting around in TV studios criticizing millions of Americans who have become proactive about their health.

THE TEMPTATION IS GONE

Good news, the remains of that half gallon of Turkey Hill ice cream I mentioned recently will never trouble me again. It is gone, finished, done with, out of here, exiled, totally eliminated.

The down side of all that is I got rid of it by eating it last night!

But before I did so, I did some basic math. I worked out that the remaining contents of the container were the equivalent of 28 WW points. Since I get 35 flexible points a week, I reasoned that enjoying the ice cream would not be too much of a diversion from my path, provided I remembered that most of my extra points were already used up.

So I ate it!

It reminds me of something I said while I was teaching in church on Sunday - before people fall into sin, they rationalize it to try to get peace of mind about what they are about to do.

Now I'm not saying ice cream is sin - I think it comes from heaven - but I see the same process in action and tend to agree with a definition of rationalizing I heard recently ... rationing out lies!!!

So I did it, I enjoyed it and I'll take it into consideration as I plan my diet throughout the week.

The temptation is gone!

ASPARAGUS

Dinner's under way and I'm making two of my most recent favorite vegetable side dishes - salmon for the protein.

Here's how I love asparagus - not recommended if you have to watch your sodium intake or if you plan to weight in at WW in the next 48 hours (you'll retain fluid!).

Spray a pan with PAM, crush around four cloves of garlic and fry them for a minute or so. Put the asparagus in the pan and sprinkle liberally with garlic salt. Fry gently but well - if you like garlic, you'll love this!

Spray a baking tray with PAM, cut sweet potatoes into steak fries shapes and lay out on the tray. Spray the sweet potato fries with PAM and then sprinkle liberally with curry powder. Baked at 400 near top of over for 40 minutes.

Asparagus is zero points and sweet potato is 3 points for 10 oz uncooked.

BALANCING ACT

Okay, so I'm learning that this maintaining gig is a bit of a balancing act - one I haven't got right yet! Weighed in at WW today and had gained 0.8 lb, which in the grand scheme of things is not meteoric and only lands me about 6 ounces above my goal, but I do need to get rid of it this week.

What to cut out?

Maybe the 1/4 gallon of Turkey Hill ice cream I ate last Monday night???

There was I, thinking how virtuous I was not to demolish the whole container, but I am sure that the amount I did consume didn't help - though it was good!!!

Had a couple more out of balance days and four solid ones on program, so now I need to lean towards program a little more this week. Shouldn't be a problem, though the other 1/4 gallon is still in the freezer!

PARTY TIME

I had a really good time last night at a friend's 50th birthday party. It was one of those surprise events where you have to lie and deceive so much to keep it secret, you're feeling guilty by the time things get under way. Looking at his face as he arrived, Mike's family had all done a great job of keeping things under wraps.

So if you're trying to be careful, what do you eat when you're going to a dinner party?

Here's my solution, but it only works with a long guestlist. Do not - I repeat, do not - try this if there are only six people sitting around someone's dining room table.

I ate before I went.

Had a full dinner, felt stuffed and had no appetite by the time I arrived at the hosts' home - even though the spread being offered was amazing. There were so many people there that only those sitting near me saw that I spent the whole evening with a couple of diet cokes and some coffee and they all know that I have to be careful what I eat nowadays.

I can positively predict that had I turned up there hungry, I would have pigged out. You would not believe the amount of dishes that had been prepared and man, did they look good!

So, if you're honest enough to admit your weakness and can do so without risking offending your host, eat before you leave home and enjoy all the other benefits of those special occasions while steering clear of the food.

FISH

I'm not a great fish eater. The Brit in me only really cares for white fish, covered in beer batter and deep fried - but of course it's a while since I ate it like that.

A couple of weeks ago I saw tilapia on special, so I bought some, froze it and cooked some of it for dinner tonight. It was delicious!

Sprayed a frying pan with PAM, fried the fish slowly with some lemon juice and black pepper. It was not only tasty, it was healthy too. Six ounces of cooked tilapia is only 4 points - and that's a whole lot of fish.

APPLEBEES

I often meet people over lunch and made a decision some time ago that more often than not, if it was my choice, the regular destination would be Applebees.

They have a Weight Watchers section on their menu which is extremely helpful when you're trying to monitor what you're eating and above all, it's helpful that they actually give you the WW points value for each of the items they offer.

Of course I haven't managed to work out why smaller, healthier portions cost more than many regular meals you can order, but it's a fact of life that there's probably some definition for in economists' text books. Rip off comes to my mind, but then that phrase comes up when I go to Starbucks, pump gas and do 101 other things.

It's a fact of life that to get what you want, you have to pay for it.

But all that apart, you can get some tasty guilt-free food in Applebees - I recommend it.

THE LAST STRAW

I guess there's a "Aha" moment for everyone who decides to make a major life change, for some it's an instantaneous Damascus Road experience and for others it's the final one of a succession of events that becomes the last straw.

My last straw came one Saturday afternoon in February 2005 as I sat on our bathroom floor in intense pain, sweating profusely and throwing up the barely existent contents of my long empty stomach.

It was Superbowl weekend and I was looking forward to watching the game with a friend, the refrigerator well-stocked with refreshments in anticipatiuon of the big day. On the Monday my wife and I would be flying to South Africa to check in with the humanitarian program we help operate over there, working with at-risk children and AIDS orphans.

None of those things happened. Instead, I had emergency gall bladder surgery a few hours before the big game and was sleeping off the anesthetic as the Patriots beat the Eagles. The SA trip was cancelled.

That was my third hospital visit in six months. The previous summer I had minor knee surgery, finding myself back in hospital seven days later with a blood clot on my lung. That was all a bit much for someone who had hardly had a day's illness in his life and the last episode pushed me over the edge.

As they wheeled me through the hallways of Mather Hospital to prep me for surgery, I saw a sign that seemed to bellow at me - Move More, Eat Less.

When it was all over, I decided to take that advice. I had seen enough nurses, surgeons, hospitals and bedpans and determined that I would do all that was within my own power to become healthy and stay that way.

And so the journey began!

WELCOME

Nine days ago, on Moday April 2nd 2007, I passed a significant milestone. After slightly more than two years of a regimen of diet and exercise, I finally weighed in under my goal of 200lb, registering a total weight loss of 133lb.

On this blog I'm going to talk about weight-related issues and chronicle the really tough part of this journey - maintaining.

It's late now and I've just watched a pretty depressing program on PBS that basically says very few people who lose weight sustain that loss.

I' am determined to be one of the exceptions and to help me in that I'm going to bed now before I'm tempted to sit and snack.

A good day - ran six miles this morning and ate 25 of the 26 points Weightwatchers recommends for me.

More another day!