The mini-fridge downstairs

So…I had this calorie tracking idea that seems to be working so far. I wake up each morning, plan my meals, and then place everything that is supposed to go into my gut for the day in its own spot in the mini-fridge downstairs. I’ve been talking with a personal trainer from the Biggest Loser Ranch in St. George (Fitness Ridge). The ranch in St. George uses the exact same methods of training, weight loss, and mental wellbeing that they do on the TV show. The trainer says that everyone on the ranch eats 1200 calories per day, regardless of body mass and gender. They also exercise for seven hours per day. Killer! Anyway, I have adopted the 1200 calorie idea and am working towards the seven hours. Each day, my 1200 calories goes into the mini-fridge and each day it is honestly a struggle to eat it all. I guess the struggle is because its 1200 healthy calories, which is quite bulky. To eat 1200 calories at Chuck-O-Rama is a breeze, it would be a single plate full, but in health food, 1200 really is a lot of mass.
So far it’s working pretty well…at least for now. What I mean by “for now” is that I’m finding that all good ideas work when they are new but they can lose their luster over time to where they are not as motivating anymore. Take my blog for example, at first, I was unstoppable with the thing, but as time wore on, blogging alone lost its power to motivate me. I think in weight loss, we need to be prepared to make some changes as our current regimen becomes less effective.
Well, that’s all for today. The weather is supposed to be great for a while and that means no more excuses. Wish me luck, and I wish you well…as well.

We must develop a new, healthier mindset

I’m not sure what’s happening here but I am really feeling the fitness bug these past few days. My nutrition has not reached the point of perfection, but I’ve been eating much smarter and am already in love with exercising again. I am no longer consumed with thoughts of food either; rather I wake up, do a few sets of crunches, and plan my exercise opportunities for the day.
It is a significant thing when I say that I am not consumed with thoughts of food. As dumb as it sounds, I think all extremely overweight people or people with inappropriate relationships with food, think of food all too often. I can actually be in the middle of a great (and by great I mean “unhealthy) meal and already be thinking/talking about what I am going to eat for the next one. I’ve thought and behaved that way so often and for so long that I did not realize until a few years ago that to be that consumed with food is not normal. I think most overly-large people think that way as well, its part of our problem and we must develop a new, healthier mindset.

The first real good day in a long time

After being in weight-maintenance mode for the last several weeks, it’s hard to come right out and say that I am back and ready for battle…but I am back and ready for battle.
Yesterday was a good nutrition and exercise day, the first real good day in a long time. It felt good to get out and walk in the sunshine and it felt good to go to bed slightly hungry. I sleep better than I had in weeks. I always sleep pretty well, but I sleep VERY well when I am eating right.
I have some new and very important reasons to get in shape and I cannot afford to fail. I will not fail.

Book Review

The Thorn: Book One. The Chronicles of Gan
By Daron D. Fraley
The Scriptures are clear. There are other sheep not of our fold, but them also He must bring, and they shall hear His voice and there shall be one fold…and one shepherd. In his insightful new novel, The Thorn: Book One, The Chronicles of Gan, author Daron D. Fraley takes us on a journey through time, even space, to a marvelous world with two suns and multiple moons, a civilized planet, much like our own, yet eerily unique.
Fraley has spun for us a type or a shadow, a symbolic view of an Old Testament era world, perhaps one of those other worlds spoken of throughout scripture, which are as the sands, without number. Yet they are known by their Great Creator, and the Messianic events of our world are known by the people of Gan, and the Ganian faithful look to the skies for the signs of His earthly birth.
A war for rights to the throne is raged between three Ganling brothers, two seek for blood, one strives for peace. Two brothers seek to obtain the powerful, ancient scepter that symbolizes the rights of the kingdom to the holder, and the rightful brother fights only to maintain the scepter and the religious freedoms of his people.
Fraley’s epic tale reads as if you were in a strange dream, somehow secretly watching the tumultuous Ganian events leading to the sign of Christ’s birth from afar. Unlikely friendships are forged between enemies, there are loves won, and loves lost. Lives won and lives lost. Swords flash in the duel suns’ light and blood runs down the cloaks of the wicked and righteous without prejudice.
The story is intertwined with foreshadowing, dreams, intrigue, murderous plots, swordplay, assassins, treason, magic, miracles, shimmering glowstones, broken hearts, epic battles, exciting skirmishes, loyal companions, redemption, death before dishonor, betrayals, prophesy, tokens, signs, symbols.
Daron D. Fraley’s The Thorn is a historical fantasy with a uniquely futuristic feel and it will keep you turning the page well into the night.