Weight Loss Challenge (week 3)

Well here we are at the end of week 3 and the battle is really picking up! My mom has chosen to put the heat on me. I will need to work even harder next week if I am going to pull this one off. So our weight loss for this week was...

Drumroll please!

Peter - lost 2 lbs (8 lbs total)
Mom - lost 3 lbs (8 lbs total)

I can't believe it, my mother is on her way to victory!!!

This next week it will be key to combine a solid eating plan, with activity to keep the momentum going and shedding those pounds.

If anyone else out there is reading this and losing weight let me know with a comment or an email.

Talk to you soon.

A Second Chance

How many times have you embarked on a journey and then failed?

It is so easy after failure to say that you can't re-embark, because you have failed in the past.

I remember a great quote I once heard..."you can never change your past, but you can always change your future."

We are not defined by the pages of our story that have already been written. Rather we are defined by the blank pages that have yet to be written.

My Dad chose to not let a cold jail cell define him...instead he became someone that created hope for those in need.
My Mom chose to not let a family lineage of alcoholism define her…instead she became an example for others to follow.
Richard Brown (video) chose to not let his poor health define him…instead he became someone that showed us just how quickly we can take back our life.

What are the unwritten pages of your life going to say? Will you make a choice to change the direction of your life, to steer yourself down a road that you may have tried before and failed? Will you leave a legacy of victory over challenge? Will you inspire others? Will you…???

The video below is an incredible example of a life changed in an instant. You have the ability to change the direction of your life today.

Weight Loss Challenge (week 2)

Well here we are at the end of week 2 of our weight loss challenge and we have had some obstacles to overcome. My mom had surgery on Thursday and I had a family vacation this weekend (these are traditionally a great weight loss breaker). So our weight loss for this week was...

Drumroll please!

Peter - lost 2 lbs (6 lbs total)
Mom - lost 1 lbs (5 lbs total)

Great job maintaining the weightloss!

The race is getting close, but we are still both losing weight and that is what matters most!

Weight Loss Challenge

Only 3 days left this week...press through to Sunday!

Laughter is the "Best Medicine" for Your Heart

Can a laugh every day keep the heart attack away? Maybe so.

Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

So take a moment to watch this video and enjoy a nice belly laugh.

Lessons From a Child

I can remember seeing my first child (Cole) lying on his stomach in the middle of our living room crying. He was 5 months old and his little head was struggling to lift up. He kept trying harder and harder to lift his head all while crying loudly. Slowly his head lifted, until finally he could see mommy and daddy sitting right next to him.

The crying suddenly stopped. Why?

Then it hit me, he thought he was alone when his head was down because he could not see us. Then, when he finally got the strength he lifted his head up high enough to see us and in an instant realized he wasn’t alone.

WOW, I sat there and was amazed at the power in this lesson.

How many times have I been depressed or sad because I felt all alone? I would walk around with my head down, unaware of the host of friends and family sitting close to me that truly loved me.

I wasn’t alone, it just seemed as though I was.

In those moments it is so hard to lift your head. It is much easier to keep your head down and cry, unaware of the support sitting so close.

Don’t let yourself lie there. Struggle, grunt, press on, do what ever it takes to lift your head up. See those sitting close to you ready to help, be a support and love you.

This Blog is meant to be a visual representation that your not alone...to be there with you as you fight and struggle to climb the hill that at times seems enormous.

So lift your head...and see all that are so close to you supporting and cheering you on.

Can

Every now and then, you come across a story that moves you and causes you to understand something more powerfully than at any other time before. The video above(Dick and Rick Hoyt) is one of those moments.

In an interview, I heard Dick say that when they race, he provides the legs, and his son Rick, provides the heart. Amazing how some of the greatest lessons are sometimes taught by those with the quietest voice.

When I feel like I can't do something, or that I don't have the strenght, I can remember the lesson that Dick and Rick Hoyt taught us...CAN!

What is your weakness

We all have weaknesses. The dilema has always been, how do I overcome my weakness...? Well here is my weakness...macaroni and cheese...as dumb as that may sound.

I love the stuff. I am drawn to it like a moth to a lightbulb. I wonder how many other people have the same weakness.

Well last night I made dinner for my daughter and asked her what she wanted. And she said...macaroni and cheese. UGH! Well I made her dinner and did not try it. No sneaked bite, no eating her leftovers, nothing. So what happened?

I feel as though I have had a mindset change. My mind is starting to respond differently to temptation than it did before. It can kind of be summed up by a shirt I read recently. The shirt had a simple message on it..."pain is weakness leaving your body".

Now when I am at the gym, or being tempted by food, my mind is seeing the pain as a challenge or an opportunity. It is reminded that this is a true sign that I am becoming stronger.

Nice try macaroni, but I have you beat!

Weight Loss Challenge (week 1)

At the start of the week I told my mother to watch for dust. I said she should watch for it, cause when she saw it, it would remind her that I am leaving her in it (dust). Well week one is complete and the dust is nowhere to be found. Drumroll...

Peter weight loss - 4 lbs (total - 4)
Dixie weight loss - 4 lbs (total - 4)

I want my mom to know that she can't get comfy...below is where I will be in a few months. So always be thinking - "I wonder what he is eating right now".

Weight loss challenge (start)

The battle is on...mother versus son. The question is who will be victorious. Who will reach their goal first. Peter's goal is 30 lbs. Dixie's goal is 20 lbs. Stay tuned to see who will be victorious.