The Method to the Madness

Before I get too deep into my blog post, I have some happy business to attend to and it involves you, the reader.

Thank you.  Thank you for all the prayers, the love and well wishes.  Since publishing my first blog a few weeks ago, I have received a steady stream of encouragement from family and friends.  I have used all of it to help bolster me in times of recent weakness and it has seen me through every single one of those difficult times.  I am extremely thankful for every single one of you and filled with joy.  I've had the opportunity to connect with people from my past that I've not spoken to in nearly two decades.  I've connected with people I've never met in person.  We have all shared our issues, our hopes and our prayers for one another.  No matter what happens on this journey, I am struck with and in awe of how this has brought us together.  Again, thank you.

Down to Business

Since publicly accepting my addiction and announcing I would be working to end it and lose weight, one question has been asked repeatedly:  what are you doing?  I thought I would take this opportunity to explain the method to my madness and offer full transparency.

In terms of my addiction, I am managing it on my own.  I have started looking into the possibility of finding a group to join.  I've never tackled an issue like this before, so I feel lost sometimes.  

I have been fortunate enough to have people, also dealing with addiction, reach out to me.  What I've learned so far is small victories count for something.  I am quite impatient.  I want this weight off and I want to be free of my addiction now, but that is not going to happen quickly.  At least not fast enough for my liking.  It takes time.  It takes patience  And it takes prayer.

Splinters of the Cross

You may or may not know I am a practicing Roman Catholic.  My faith is a big part of my daily life.  I've always needed Christ in my life, whether realized or unrealized, and I lean very much on Him.  There are two things associated with my faith that I recount when I get into trouble.  Firstly, a saying shared with me by a former deacon of my church.

In a meeting one day, I was sharing with him some of my troubles and he said, "Mason, it's splinters of the cross."  Puzzled, I asked him to explain that to me.  He recounted the story of a priest with whom he used to work and that priest often dealt with difficult issues or parishioners at his parish.  And each time he dealt with one of these problems, the priest remembered Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  Essentially, if Jesus can bare the weight of all sin, the splinters of the cross, then the priest could bare lighter issues of his day.  As such, when I find myself struggling, I remember Christ's sacrifice and the splinters of the cross.

I also have a prayer I am memorizing.  Sometimes, I find it soothing to step back and pray:

"My dearest Jesus, teach me to be patient, when all day long my heart is troubled by little, but troublesome crosses."

In terms of my weight loss, I am using an app to track my food intake as well as my activity.  It's called iTrackBites.  When I went through this issues about 6 years ago, I signed up and successfully used WeightWatchers.  I still love the organization, but the app has changed so much it no longer fits my needs.  In an attempt to replace it, I fount iTrackBites.  It works exactly as WW did when I first started that program.

Essentially, I enter some information about myself.  Based on that information, the app generates a daily allotment of points.  My responsibility is to eat enough food to equal that number.  The more exercise I do, the more 'bonus' points I get that I can use should I go over my daily allotment.

What you see above is one day's worth of tracking.  You can also see what I'm eating for each meal and the snacks that I consume.  I am also able to track my activity and weight in my app.  As I lose weight, I enter the new data into the app and it adjusts my daily point allotment accordingly.

The app is free to download, but it does cost something to use it.  It's around $60 for an annual subscription.  WeightWatchers comparatively is around $240 annually.

I will go into greater detail as the weeks go on about how I shop, meal plan and avoid other issues.

As it was my practice the first time I went through this weight loss journey, I would like to list my current weight.  It is important to note that within the first few weeks, my body has undergone some changes.  I've cut out all pop/soda and sugary items.  I've cut out fast food and other things of that nature.  I cook almost all of my meals and drink, for the most part, only water.  That has had the impact of causing my body to detox.  A recourse of that is rapid weight loss.  My body will adjust to the new diet and my weight loss will slow considerably.  I just want you to understand that point and also to let you know I am doing this safely.  Good old fashioned healthy food selection, portion control and exercise.

Starting weight:  389 pounds.

You should know, I didn't quite believe it.  In fact, I weighed myself about 10 times to check and re-check that number.  So, here's to small victories.

Until next time... take care.