Why not the big picture?

Howdy from the land of Ike & Tina--Hoppy & Leroy--Pixie & Miller---all dogs!

Back when I started this trip my doctor asked me how much I wanted to lose and I could not answer.Only that I wanted to lose the LAST TWENTY POUNDS. I did not know what that would be. I still don't know exactly.

One good thing I did , was I did not look at the big picture( I did not realize it was a good thing at the time). I did not look at where I was ---305 pounds ---and say I want to lose 103 pounds. If I had I don't think I would have come as far as I have.

The big picture would have been over whelming.The small details were best for me to focus on. By paying attention to the details the big picture falls in line and become more manageable.

For several months paying attention to the details was easy. I was focused and driven.

The past 3-4 months I have lost sight of the details.Part of the reason I lost sight of the details is my success while I was watching them.---Sounds odd, I suppose, but because I could lose on Monday and Tuesday what I bounced up over the weekend, I began to feel like I could do this forever.

Well, I am here to tell ya, when life slings a cow turd at ya , ya need to keep watching. If you dodge a few turds and get to thinking you got this game by the ass, BAM !! one will hit ya!!

The past 3 months have been hit or miss, and I have gained some weight.Well, hell today's a new day. And, do you know what I get to do? Oh come on , GUESS!!

Hells Bells, you are no fun----I get to go out and lose FAT!!

How ya ask?? With a renewed focus on details.
Detail #1----I put the last 2 pounds in my vest--total 40 pounds
Detail #2----I plan on going back to weighing ALL my food
Detail #3----I plan on doing BWE 5 times a week

Pay attention to details----focus on each line item, the big picture will take care of itself.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
For the want of a nail a shoe was lost,for the want of a shoe a horse was lost,for the want of a horse a rider was lost, for the want of a rider a battle was lost, for the want of a battle the WAR was LOST.

You hear voices??

Howdy from the land of good friends and blessings counted!!

Sometimes I hear voices.

No I am not on drugs,although, I think folks wonder sometimes.

I hear a little voice from time to time. I bet you hear one too.You know the voice I'm talking about----the one that says "come on one cookie" "you lost a pound last week, just one doughnut" " it's raining why walk today".

Yep you hear the VOICE too, we all do.Sometimes the VOICE wins---------DON'T BEAT YERSELF UP OVER THE DAMN VOICE.

Yep sometimes the VOICE wins, sometimes I laugh at the VOICE.A few things I know for sure is----the VOICE wins less often this month than last month. The VOICE is weaker this year than last year.I think more about the VOICE than ever before.I am using my mind to deal with the VOICE.

OMG------when I was growing up I hated, literally hated my father telling me over and over and over again"THINK, use your head for something besides a hat rack, THINK" damn I hated that speech. He was right , of course, but I still hated the speech.

I guess the speech had some effect, whether I wanted it or not. I do think about the VOICE , I think about what I am eating more than ever.Sometimes the VOICE wins,but not as often. The point is today in 2010 I think ,debate,reason and decide what I am gonna eat. Yesterday in 2007, I just ate,ate and mindlessly ate.

Thinking----what a concept for fat loss.I wonder how I can market that diet program?

I can see it now----The Cowboy from Texas'presents The Thinking Mans Diet for only $9.95 +s/h----hell I ought to get rich on that deal---LOL

Weight loss is a multi BILLION dollar business in this country and it ,for the most part, is a waste of time and money.All I have to do is THINK,REASON and MAKE A CHOICE.

Control the VOICE, lose the FAT

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
When ya hear the voice, go ahead and start a one man debate team, you can win.

I wish I could I wish I could

Howdy from the land of wishing in one hand and spitting in the other!!

Momma always said to wish in one hand and spit in the other, then see which one got full the fastest.

Last week I was able to climb higher and go way further than I have ever gone at the Coal Mine Ranch. It was not easy but I got er done.

A thought crept into my mind this morning.I am here to tell you I have a vivid imagination and can just see all my desires coming out peaches and cream. In my mind nothing ever goes wrong and I always get to the top of the mountain first. The sky is always the bluest and the fish are always biting-----WHAT A TRIP!!

In reality, I can honestly tell ya ,the feeling I get by being able to do things that I could only wish I could do BEFORE my fat loss journey started is A HELL OF A LOT BETTER than the dreaming I did about things in my imagination, those things I merely wished I could do.

I guess this means the hand with the spit is getting full, while the hand with the wishes is just that ----wishes.

I stand today at yet another cross road,behind me is where I started ( and I have accomplished a lot)---before me is the path I will continue on ( and I have far to go)---to the right and the left are detours and challenges ( I am sure to try a few of those).

I suppose all we can do is try. Endeavor to persevere.But I look back and realize I have set myself up for failure by not preparing well enough.By thinking or expecting fat loss to be easy or fast I was doomed to stumble and fall.

This time around I have educated myself, I have researched a lot, I have opened my mind to other opinions. It has paid off, wishing is not enough.

Travel down the road with me. If ya see me on a detour holler out loud----Hey dumbass this way!!!

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
If WISHES were HORSES, BEGGARS would ride.

Pack pics

Here's a couple of pics the camp photographer ,Mac, snagged of me with my back pack.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
Don't put more stuff in yer pack than you can pack.

Windmill Mesa

Howdy from the land of tired feet and throbbing knees!!

I went to Van Horn ,Texas last week and we had a great time. We chased them dirty rotten Aoudad sheep around, we talked smart, we climbed mesa after mesa and generally had a good time.

I guided ole Joe all the way to the rimrock on Windmill Mesa to harvest a real nice ram.The climb was not too bad but the 1000 yard descent was a killer on my knees.All in all, I finally got to go places that I have not been able to go in 6 years of going to the Coal Mine Ranch.

I have put a couple of pics on this post. The top pic is my sheep this year. We walked about a mile on this stalk, over two ridges and down thru two creek beds.On the way out I estimate my pack weight was around 35 pounds. The second pic is from 2008. I was 90 pounds heavier then and if you look close we are only about 100 yards above the road close to the tunnel.I would add, that 100 yard climb in 2008 was a hellava lot harder than the mile stalk this year.

If my knees were pain free I could probably run them sheep down and put salt on their tails.

Today is another day in my journey.I have lots of work to do. I lots of lard to lose and lots of mesas to climb.

Let's move on down the road, you and me.Come on we can do it, I seen me do it.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL
Before you die, make a bucket list and get to work on it.

Road trip

Howdy from the land of guns in the truck and grub in the box!

Old Art Coles, I used to work for him decades ago,always said when it's time to go, it's time to go.

It's time.We are leaving to go to Van Horn,Texas for a few days and chase them Aoudad sheep around Gettysburg Peak.What a blast we will have. Man needs to get away every once in a while.

One of the good things about next week will be the walking, nothing flat.All the roads and trails are uphill or down hill. Mostly the sheep are up hill from where I will be.

Got a little injection in my knee yesterday and I have high hopes for going UP after them sheep.

I'll let ya know how the week goes when I get back.

Pearl of Wisdom form the mind of WEL
If man does not leave room for wild things , they will be no man.

It's a boy

Howdy from the land of planned adventures and reality checks!

Tessa is having a boy and everyone seems real pleased. I don't think there is anything wrong with having little girls and for a few years they both eat the same and make the same amount of poop.However, a little boy is just fine with me.

But having Grand kids does get me to thinking about just how to spoil them and what not to do with them. I have been giving some thought to kids and how we effect the way they grow----both mentally and physically.

Now, our First Lady is wanting to work on childhood obesity. I think this is a much needed under taking.

We are certainly what we eat.

I think one of the best things we could give our kids and our Grand kids would be an EXAMPLE----an example of good diet habits, an example of a good exercise routine, an example of good work ethics, an example of loving our spouses, and from my perspective---an example of being a man.

We are products of our raising's after all.We humans tend to do the MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO thing a little too much.So maybe we should turn off the TV and go outside.

I think I need to get some fish stocked in the tank so Grandpa and little poop maker can go walk to the tank and feed the fish.Might need to fix up a pier so little poop maker can run and jump in the tank-----kinda getting ahead of myself I guess.

Anyway, I guess I need to start making a list of EXAMPLES that would be good for Little Poop Maker to see from grandpa-----bet Tessa' doesn't much like the name but it is kinda catchy, don't ya think?

Set an example, work hard, move more, laugh out loud.

Pearl of Wisdom form the mind of WEL
If ya spend enough time with your kids, no man can ever sell them drugs.

To preach OR not to preach?

Howdy from the land super bowl pots and cheese whizz nachos!

Well,for those of you who don't know me, I have been accused on a couple of occasions as being OUTSPOKEN. I don't know why but I have.

Today in the hall I had a lady in the building commenting on my journey and she switched gears into her troubles and her weight and her genes and her big bones.This went on for several minutes with me trying to encourage her and listen. The common theme in her conversation was #1 she had no clue how many calories she eats and #2she only moves from the car to the chair , back to the car and to the chair in front of the TV.

After, 10 minutes of this life style enlightenment, I kinda told her "quit stuffing so much junk in yer pie hole and get up off your butt and move".

And , I'll bet you'll never guess what she said to me???She said I was just like everyone else, just preaching to her!

Ok , maybe I was preaching. Mac would say I was brutally honest.

This got me to thinking about. And I hope my little blog does not sound like I'm preaching but sometimes ya got to call a spade a spade.

Now in an effort to not sound like I am preaching let me tell ya what old Bill has learned on my trip----I am getting old ,so I will probably not mention everything I've learned, but here goes:I've learned

what a calorie is and that the damn thing is KING
that movement uses calories
that I can take in more calories in 10 minutes than I can use in 4 hours
that I don't need sugar---I want sugar
that a habit is a habit ,and a habit I can break
only I have control of what I eat
I can not wish fat off my body, I got to want it off-----bad
the television is a damn communist plot to kill me off with a heart attack
if I go outside and sit down I am not as hungry as if I sit inside
carrots are really sweet
38" jeans look better than 46" jeans---but cost the same , which doesn't make sense
that by educating myself on sound weight loss facts I am succeeding
that if I want to lose fat I need to eat some fat
that if I want to lose some weight I need to pick up some weight
the worse I feel before a practice session the better I feel afterwards

I know I have learned so much that my mind gets clogged up but you see the point.

Learn something about the trip you want to take.Don't just listen to me preach, find out for yourself----------and

if all else fails, quit stuffing junk in your pie hole and get up off your ass.

Pearl of Wisdom form the mind of WEL
Today's mighty oak is just yesterdays nut, that held it's ground.

Running out of room

Howdy from the land of weighted vests and El Cheapo coyote calls!

Hot dog it was a cold weekend in south Texas. I got a little done Saturday in the 30 degree wind. Pulled my truck out of the mud, because I didn't listen to my wife and got the rascal stuck Friday night. Sunday I changed two windows in the house---three more to go.The use of a ladder and this left knee pain combined to wear my right knee out, but we got er done.

Today, I added 2 more pounds to my vest for a total of 38 lbs. I am running out of room in the vest. I will add the last two pounds to it , hopefully, in March.After March, I will have to invent another way to increase my calorie consumption. This vest has been very good for me to burn calories. I would recommend it for anyone that is wanting to increase lean muscle mass.

Speaking of increasing lean muscle mass, "mrlowbodyfat" has a very good two part article on his site about burning fat and increasing muscle mass with resistance training. You should check it out.I am in the process of increasing my resistance sessions and work around this knee pain. I'll let ya know how it works out latter this month.

Pearl of Wisdom from the mind of WEL (Tessa sent me some)
Just remember, if the world didn't suck , we might all fall off.