Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Technology is something

Howdy from the land of high hopes and slippery slopes!!

I have often thought that most of us walk down a razor thin edge between feast and famine.One minute we got the word by the ass on a down hill drag, the next next it's "Oh Crap, how did I get in this situation?".

I was talking to a good friend of mine yesterday about my boss's wife and her heart problem. He said he had heard a line in a song that said "we are all one phone call away from being on ours knees". Man how true that is!!One call, one miss step, one slippery slope.

That got me to thinking about 91+ pounds ago and how thin the ice was I was walking on. I guess I had better balance back then than I gave myself credit for because a step one way and I was a 305 pound lard ass that could function a little , one step the other and I was a 305 pound lard ass with someone young punk shocking me with some paddles.

Now I will be the first to tell ya , I can't go through life on "what ifs" or "this might happen" but we have the tools in this world to help keep us back from the edge of the abyss.We have so much technology available to us , we sometimes forget that we have some control over what happens to us.

Hell, at the touch of a button we can see what is happening on the other side of the world, we can plot our drive to another state,we can call someone and don't even need to slow down.Technology has given us pregnancy status by peeing on a stick,we can fix a clogged artery in your heart as a routine(although major) surgery.We can order goods at the speed of light and even track where your package is-----BUT----there is always a damn but----we still want to blame McDonald's or Wendy's' or our job or our genes that we are morbidly obese----------and that my friends is a load of cold cat crap!!

We have technology available to tie up your stomach and force you to loss weight.And by all accounts it will work. I know some folks that have had it done.But even with the technology, you have to change the way you live, the way you eat, and the way you look at yourself. The hard part is there is no technology to make these changes , the task lies with each of us.

I am here to tell you , you can make these changes.If I can make them , anyone can. It is not easy and there will be detours along the way, but if I can , you can.If you doubt what I say, then by all means look for yourself.We have the technology----get on the Web, the successes are out there. Folks all around the world are discovering self fulfilment by taking control of their lives and shedding the fat.

With every click of a button I can find someone that is living the same problem as I am. I can find someone that has been there and done that.I can find someone that understands.Don't take it from me, find out for yourself.

Tonight, with the help of Technology, we have the ablity to hear a whole load of cold cat crap----called the State Of The Union----I am better off looking in the morror and looking at the State Of Bill. I have much more control over my state and can tell the difference when I try to lie to myself-----ain't Technology great!!

Pearl of Wisdom form the mind of WEL

If ya hear a politican talking, hold your wallet.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Creaky knee 2

Howdy from the land of pounding pavement and bay side breezes!!

Just a short up date. I did 2 1/2 miles , Full Pak Trac, at lunch. My old knee felt about the same at the finish as it did at the start.Popping was about the same too.

I guess my aggravation is gonna be short lived. We all got aches and pains. We can all find excuses to sit on our asses OR we can get up, move a little , get a grip on yourself and just GET ER DONE.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL (didn't know my mind could hold two pearls in one day)

What don't kill ya , will make you stronger.

Creaky knees

Howdy from the land of black cats and cotton rats!!

I sure need to count my blessings this week. Last Tuesday I woke up and one of my creaky knees was sure hurting, and it got worse as the week went by.

The datgum thing got bad enough I had to go see the Doc ,the short term was a knee injection (I Hate Needles), the long term is I am getting closer to a Total Knee Replacement by the mile.

I sure got aggravated over this set back in my walking and doing routine.

Well, then on Monday , while I am still in a mood over my old worn out knee, I find my boss's wife is in emergency bypass surgery at the ripe old age of 35! I guess it is now time to count my blessings and quit bitching about my knee.

The bottom line for today is Kelley is doing OK and Bill is gonna go walk and let the damn knee pop-----that way I know I'm alive.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
Count your blessings, count them one by one.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Fear of failure?

Howdy from the land of sandhill cranes and baby bluebonnets!

If you know me and read my little blog , you might recognize that I use friends and folks as inspiration on this rag sheet.Well, today one of the ladies in the office told me she brought walking clothes and intends on walking with me at lunch. Man that is great.

I told her I can't wait for lunch and asked her if she told the others in the office. She said no, I don't want them to laugh at me. So in my ever so tactful way, I said "if they laugh, I'd tell them to kiss a fat man's ass".

Well, she said she was afraid of failure and she felt like she would walk today, then not tomorrow and walk again Thursday, etc,etc.

This got me to thinking about myself and all the fears I have had along this road I am on.I ,too, have feared that I would not succeed in losing fat. I feared people laughing at me and feared those kind friends that would tell me I could not lose weight. I even cringed when folks would laugh at the way I looked with my head sweats on and my weighted vest while going thru the lobby while they were on the way to town to eat lunch.

As time has moved on I have moved from taking one step forward and one back to taking three forward and one back. And now I am taking eight forward and one back.

I have also began to look forward to the folks that laugh at me and call me a dumbass and tend to ridicule me for my efforts. I know in my mind(weird as it is)that I am doing something good for me and also that those folks are really beating themselves up over their insecurities.And That my friends is sad.

One of the ways I have over come a lot of my "fear of failure" is by recognizing the fact that the fear of being morbidly obese and being reduced to living in a bed with some stranger wiping my ass for me is FAR GREATER than the fear I have had because it takes me six months to walk 3 miles at one time.

***Latter in the day*** We walked and we talked and we had a good time--2 1/2 miles Full Pak Trac!! Tuesday is a success.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
AMERICAN---say it with me!!! A MER I CAN !!!!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sunday stroll


Howdy from the land of sunshine and calm winds!

Yes sir, if ya don't like the weather in Texas just wait a day and BAM! it will change. What a beautiful weekend it was.

Mac came up on Sunday morning and we walked down the road. Walked over an hour with 50 pounds in our packs. totaled up to 3.4 miles. I could sure feel the grade change from down hill to up hill. I thought I would be real sore today , but it is not too bad. My legs were tired when we got done.

I think this is going to be a really good addition to my calorie burning. And I think it will help get control of my weekends.

The goal is still to make to all the way out to the highway and back.I think it will take several weeks to make the goal come to fruition.

Keep watching to see how long it takes me OR better yet come on by on Sunday morning and we'll stroll together.

Pearl of Wisdom form the mind of WEL
Families are like fudge, really sweet but most have a few nuts.

I added a pic of me and Leroy and Hoppy, on my first 50 pound back pack walk.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Singing in the Rain

Howdy from the land of steady rain and water traps on the track!

Yep, it was a steady rain pouring today on the track. Me and Andy were the only brave souls out. What a wonderful time we had!

Because Andy is a runner, he just passes me by and most of the time I am walking by myself----so I just started singing.Just like in the movie , only my singing kinda sounds like a cat caught in a dryer.

The bottom line is #1 I did not use the weather for an excuse to not burn a few calories and #2 I turned a not so beautiful day into a celebration -thus making it much more enjoyable.

If ya need to lose some fat---please, find a game to play and get your ass to moving. Make it fun, sing a little.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
A man that won't walk in the rain don't really know what fun is.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Hauling ass

Howdy from the land of Bartlett pears and Fuji apples!

There is a saying that goes---life is like a roll of toilet paper, the less paper on the roll the faster it spins.

Life is like that, the older I get the faster time flies. I guess it has been that way with every generation.It is already mid January---crap Christmas will be here before you know it.

I often think we all run in too high of a gear. Always in a rush to go here and do this, or buy this and live like this. We forget what is really important----family, love,laughter,friends,sights , smells ----the little things we will never get back and all those things that no one not even the federal government can take from us---our memories.

We speed thru life and wake up one day obese and worn out---why, because we did not pay attention to the important stuff.

While, in my last post , I felt somewhat discouraged with my journey, I should remember the important stuff about where I am at and how I got here. In 4 weeks I will go back to Van Horn, Texas ----if the Lord is willing and the creek don't rise. I was in better shape last year than any year I have gone previously. I am in a lot better shape this year.This year I am around 30 pounds lighter, able to walk twice as far and carry 50% more weight in my pack than last year. And that MARTHA is a GOOD THING!

My point is, in slowing down and really paying attention to the important stuff---my health--- I have improved my health , my strength and my attitude.

Like my friend Muata will tell ya, consistent practice and strength building wins the race.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
Slow down damnit, ya might see a rabbit.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Discouraged?Determined?

Howdy from the land of frustration and satisfaction!

I have said before that I can "Bounce" 2-3 pounds between Friday morning and Monday morning. I will typically lose this "bounce by Wednesday morning. I have always thought this was fluid from the changes in my routine over the weekend----eating more/different foods and having a couple of drinks of Crown.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas I got kinda off the highway and in the ditch a few times. But the "bounce was only 5-6 pounds and after that I dropped that the first 4 days after Christmas---so far so good---back to my routine---move forward.

With renewed focus I went over the New Years weekend and Monday morning the "bounce" was 9 pounds!!nine!!damn

I thought I did OK over the weekend not great but Ok. I got out and walked Sunday Morning.Oh well I know it will drop right back off.

My point being, it sometimes is easy from me to get frustrated with my fat loss progress. While I am more determined than frustrated most of the time ,I sometimes have my doubts that I will get to where I want to be.I just need to look forward and take another step.

I started this post last week, today is Monday, the "bounce" this weekend was only 0.2 pounds. That is much better!!Sunday I put on my new back pack with 50 pounds on it and got in about a mile walk----WOW----thighs/calf burn!!

Stay with while I work thru this frustration thing and remain determined to get this fat off my ass.

See ya down the road, honk when ya go by!!

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
Wish in one hand , spit in the other , see which one gets full the fastest.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Weekend havoc

Howdy from the land of field mice and and grey foxes!

My weekends have really been a challenge for a few weeks now.It seems when they come along I get to "watching the ball" that I hit during the week and shift my truck into reverse. I have been beating myself up over this issue for several weeks.

Today Muata has a post about being consistent for 2010.Consistency is something I am gonna try and put a lot of focus on this year. Not consistency from Monday thru Friday, but consistency from Monday until the end of the month.

The real test of losing fat is not to lose,gain,lose,gain----the real test is to lose at a reasonable rate and cement those life style changes along the way.

It does no good to beat myself up over having havoc on the weekend. The weekend is over and it is time to move on and do better the next weekend.

I have four weekends left this month so here we go!

Pearl of Wisdom form the mind of WEL
(This one I remember from Senator)
When the events of the day are left to chance, chaos will reign.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year

Howdy from the land of small blue bonnets and new calorie burners!

Yep the little bitty Blue Bonnets can be seen here and there in the grass. It should be a banner year for wild flowers this year---the signs are right.

I got me a new back pack yesterday and I have devised a new calorie burning scheme for Sunday mornings.

As of right now, I am carrying 36 pounds in my vest at lunch.I added 2 pounds Thursday for the month of January.

So, I just had to have a good back pack before we go to Van Horn this year. And , BAM!!, Cabela's had just what I was in such a desperate need of.Anyway, I plan on dropping a 50 pound sack of shelled corn in the Eblerstock pack on Sunday morning and walk out toward the highway. From the barn , down the county road, it is about 2.8 miles. I think it will take 2-3 weeks but I hope I can make the trip and not have to call Janet on the cell phone to come get me---LOL

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
TIME may be the great healer, but it is a lousy beautician.