A sunny day

 What is the motivation to get out side - to walk the 10,000 steps  or because the Dalhouise needed to go for a walk.
I think it was a combination of the two, and because the sun is shinning.
So today when I weighed in the scale read 222 lb. That is is a lost of 9 pounds since I began 31 December.

10,000 steps

Maybe you have heard the recent guidelines about walking 10,000 steps per day.
 How far is 10,000 steps anyway? 
The average person's stride length is approximately 2.5 feet long. That means it takes just over 2,000 steps to walk one mile, and 10,000 steps is close to 5 miles.
 I have set my goal to walk 10,000 steps every day.  So far two days in a row I have achieved this goal. I think Dalhouise is very happy - three walks today.
One of the benefits - eagles are still hanging around...
 

food picture of what I am eating for my diet

Weight loss challenge -
31 Dec 2012 = 229lb
4 Jan 2013 = 226.4

Food - Friends - Laughter

 New Year Eve's Party

Friends – Food – Laughter.

So much for a balanced diet. Earlier in the day all was good I only ate one cup of Rice Crispies and one cup of milk. Half of this was on cereal and other half I drank.

Lunch was a banana muffin of 50grams.

Supper was one cup of rice stick noodles cooked and 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup of left over turkey breasts.

Thus ends the healthy part of my eating.

Seven pm. Party time – there sitting on the table chocolates, candies, nuts, chicken wings, little pastries of pizza wraps, sausage rolls, potato chips and dip, banana muffins with cream cheese icing, shrimp ring, deviled eggs - bread / cakes  a punch – you know all the tasty yummy things that are not good for you.

Did I over indulge – you bet your life I did. 

December 31 -- Morning weigh in 229.0 lb  

Now for the party it self we talked – we laughed – we played a board game and because of a little mistake – I had everyone laughing so hard that it hurt and tears ran down faces. It has been years since I have lost such control. If you haven't played the game Apples to Apples I would strongly recommend it. Back to my slip of the eye – it was my turn to judge (pick) a winner of the round and I totally read the answer wrong.

The Game: two color decks – red and green. Players are dealt seven red cards with a word on it with its definition – and then the green deck has another random word that the judge draws and reads to the other players - All the other players choose from their cards a word that would best fit or match the green card word. There are times when nothing in your hand comes close – but still you pick one of your cards and discard it to a pile on the table. After which the judge picks up everyone’s discarded cards and chooses the one he likes best. Simple but fun – I like simple games.

I can't remember my green card word but the right answer on the red card that I chose was angry hornets – but I read angry hormones and very loudly read it out. Wow it only took moments before my mistake was made known. We were a gathering of Christians you know the church type of a wide age range and so my comment was all the more hilarious. I am not going to live this down.

January 1^st - Morning weigh in 230.6 lb

• well considering what I ate the night before I should be grateful it is not much more.

New Year Resolutions and Diets

New Year Resolutions and Diets

What happened to all my Christmas postings – they might come later with some reflecting thoughts, but for now I am getting ready for a new adventure. It is a time for renewal – new plans – new desires – new goals. All is good for about a week or so then everything falls flat and old habits – old patterns take hold once more. No .. Not this time.

I have enter a competition with two other men from my church who have been dieting for a while and were being followed by the local newspaper I think from some city competition. The one man has lost about 40 lb and still has more to go and his son. I do not know the son's start weight or his present weight but he was wanting others to join him to keep him motivated to loose. I agreed. So my blog is going to change directions for a while. We are going on a Diet

Goal – I want to loose 41.2 lb.

First goal marker is 15 lb by 25 February 013.

Life is going to change – I like to eat – I don't always exercise – I like to eat lots – I also do not like to loose and I am very competitive and so the challenge is on.

So 31 December is the first official day and weigh in of our competition- but I have began today.

Breakfast: two slices of bacon, two fried eggs, 1/2 cup of sweet potato and a cup of orange juice = 385 calories.

Lunch: one hamburger patty and 1/2 a whole wheat bun - salad = 405 calories

Supper: Canned Tomato soup 1.5 cups – tuna salad 60g = 296 calories

This day's total 1086 calories – 153 carbs – 32 fat – 54 protein

I am going to starve to death .............

Library

 Going to the library is such a wonderful activity to do on a winter afternoon.

Sitting near the gas fireplace – reading magazines that might have one or two interesting articles mixed with so many unwanted advertisements from my perspective. I used to subscribe to many different magazines but became so disappointed with the garbage of so many advertisements that I just stopped.

Today as I browsed some of my old favorite – nothing has changed – but now it was free. The pictures were amazing – the writing – well I read a little but mostly just looked at the pictures.

Christmas Parade

Santa Clause parade. Noni and I volunteer to participate with our church in the Squamish Christmas parade. The theme was a reminder that Christmas is all about the Cross – just to remind people that Christmas is not about presents - Santa or  shopping but because God became human and dwelt with us as a flesh and blood person. Being born of the virgin Mary – growing up – being hated by people who should had loved him – Nailed to a cross – to pay the price / to appease God the Father from the judgement that we deserve – giving us the privilege to be born a new into the family of God. It is all about the Cross – Death – hope – FORGIVENESS – to those who will believe/ accept it.
Christmas is about real life - real relationships - about the meaning of Life - our purpose of existence and the reason of why there is evil in our world.