Wow, that was the worst virus that I could remember. It was terrible. I was out for two weeks. Then trying to recover after that and get my strength back. Only recently have I felt totally well, but my exercising has gone down to nothing.
   My weight went down a little during the sickness but since then has come back on. I weighed in today at what else...270. Through the month of August I plan to get going again with my exercising and doing better with my eating. You know, not eat so much! It seemed like a good place to start again... August 1st. We'll see how long that lasts!  
   Now that I feel better, I'll be blogging on a regular basis again. And I hope the weight starts melting off once more like it did in the beginning of this journey back in May. I know it's going to be some work but I'm determined. I'll blog to you soon and keep you posted.            

   I know it has been a while since I blogged but I have been ill... really ill. A couple of my children came down with that dreaded pertussis virus in full force, also known as the whooping cough, back in the end of May. It seemed to affect only my older children with the exception of one. Now my children are strong and eat healthy but my  daughter who caught it first was out for 4 weeks! The other... 3 weeks! Ruth caught it later, but now is going on 4 weeks!
   Then in the middle of June my middle ones got it. But the Three Musketeers and myself were okay. Good! That was short-lived. The Three Musketeers caught it. I was doing what I could to dodge this nasty thing. It was well into July, when I got it, exactly Wednesday, July 10. And I got hit with the full force right away. Hopefully I won't have it for 3 or 4 weeks! I did weigh in last Wednesday but I have been feeling so terrible I could not even blog. Only now do I have a little relief. I'll keep you posted. Oh, the scale?... what else, 270.

   I think I'm going to call this blog, "Will's Struggle to Weight Loss". I would have posted before but I was a little bummed. I weighed in at 270, Wednesday. It was discouraging, but what can I say? The weight just won't melt off by itself! I know I need to put in a better effort. I'm serious about my last blog. I'm going to be sprinting again with this weight loss thing, like I did in the beginning, when I lost 16 pounds in my first week.
   Exactly, how long is a sprint in weight loss terms? I mean, a 100 meter dash is over in seconds. So is the 200. But this weight loss journey is what, a lifetime? Do you see my point? So I think a sprint would be about a week. Makes sense to me. Actually, I'm going to start my sprint and just keep going for as long as I can. After that, take a break, and run another sprint. So on and so forth, until all this extra weight is gone. Well, that's the plan anyway. Who knows, maybe I will keep going one of these times. You know, like extending my sprints to 400 meters and 1 mile runs, and so on. I might actually start enjoying running farther distances. I can't believe I just said that, but it might happen.
   For now though, I have to concentrate on starting this next sprint and see how long it lasts. I'll let you know when I start and when I finish and how much weight I lose. One thing for sure, I have to do something different. 

   I have finally broken through that seemingly impossible barrier. I weighed in at 269 pounds on Wednesday morning. Even though a breakthrough, it doesn't seem like much. I'm glad to be finally out of the 270's and I don't want to go back. I'm getting the food thing down but my exercising has been a little lacking. I think I'm going to try something.
   I'm going to start an extreme weight loss program. Well, it's not really a program. I mean I didn't get it from anywhere. I just came up with it to suit me. You see, when I was younger, I used to be a sprinter, and I loved it. I was fast but not for long distances. It's funny. I like running, but only in short sprints. But as far as longer distances (anything over a 1/4 mile), I really don't enjoy it at all.
   Anyway, I'm going to do the same in my exercising and see what happens. If I think about it for the long haul, it seems too much. But in shorter segments (a week or less), it seems doable, even fun. Did I just say that? I told you, I like sprints. So, yes, fun! I'll keep you posted.

   I'll get right to it. I lost those two pounds and weighed in at 270 pounds. I was hoping to get in the 260's but at least I'm back on track. I remember weeks ago when I started this journey, how I flew past the 280's without landing and was in the 270's without any struggle. Now the 260's has become a huge wall. Well, I'm about to plow through that wall and not look back. I did have a road block a couple of weeks ago but here's the thing... shake it off, get back on track, and keep going!
   I'm seeing that the wall is in my head. For those who don't struggle with their weight it is hard for them to understand. For those of us who do, we totally understand. And even though just in our heads, sometimes seems impossible, at the very least, extremely difficult. Okay, it's not just in our heads; it's also in our stomachs or I should say taste buds. I'm training my taste buds in healthy foods and it's working. It really is. In fact, I really enjoy healthy food... not "health food", but healthy food.
    Some of the foods I used to eat, I don't even want any more. I can't stand anything too salty or too greasy. And I love salads... as long as I have my own dressing. I make my own dressings and all my family likes them. Of course they have their favorites, all made with canola oil, no salt, and only a little honey. There is my tuna dressing, mango, lemon poppy seed, ranch, avocado, and more. I make them all creamy because I like dressing that actually stays on the lettuce. The lettuce I use is Romaine and I put other veggies in there, like cukes, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. Okay, I'm done for now. It's 12:30, and I'm going to make my self a salad. I just blogged myself into it! Hmm, I wonder what dressing to use...bye.

   I was expecting the worse. Certainly a weight gain, but by how much?! To my relief, I weighed in at the same 272 pounds. Now that doesn't sound so good, but like I said, I was expecting worse. I feel stuck. Just like this picture of this jeep. Trying to go up hill, getting stuck and putting the brakes on so I won't slip downhill. I really like this analogy. I've made it up this hill of losing weight, only to get stuck, trying not to gain weight, and waiting to get going again. I really think that I have to push through this. Yes, physically, but I'm finding harder still, is mentally. That is where I'm struggling.
   I've said this in my past blogs, about starting out good, but it seems without fail that I hit a wall. Then I get discouraged, and slowly gain the weight again. HELP!! I just needed to get that out. I'm going to keep putting my foot on the brake and hope that I don't slip. Any comments are greatly appreciated and will remain confidential. I'll keep you posted of what happens in the next several days. Thank you for your interest. You are definitely a reason for me to keep pushing on!

   I gained 2 pounds. I weighed in at 272. I was afraid of that. You know what my problem is? Well, I'll tell you... I like food. Let me explain. I like preparing food. I like cooking food. I like serving food. And of course I like eating food. And I mean healthy food. Only whole grain foods, including rice and pasta. No sugar. No processed foods. Lots of fruits and veggies. If I ate junk, I'd be much heavier.
   I need a stricter plan. Not so regimented, but still stricter. And then I need to stick to it. Yes about the food, but mainly about the exercise. I recently have had an injury to my tailbone. How? I really don't know. I think it was when I fell asleep on the couch one night. Ever since then I've had trouble. It is  much better now, but for a week or so, I wasn't able to sit much more than a few minutes at a time. It kind of set me back. I feel like I'm trying to hang on, and my grip is slipping. Do you know what I mean? It is a little frustrating. I'm telling myself, "Hang in there". So, for now I'm going to hang on, and hope for the best. I'll let you know what happens.

   I've got good news and bad news... what do you want to hear first? Okay, I'll give you the good news. I haven't gained back any of the weight I lost (20 lbs.). Now for the bad news. I haven't lost any weight since last weigh-in time. Still at 270 pounds. Actually, I thought maybe I was going to gain some weight.
   I've been struggling lately. An injury set me back for some of the week,  I've been feeling a little weary and it's been raining and/or cold lately. You know what I think? Here I go again! It seems I get going okay and then I drift back. This time I'm going to push through this and persevere. I looked it up in the dictionary.
per·se·vere  [pur-suh-veer]   verb, per·se·vered, per·se·ver·ing.
verb (used without object)1.to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.
   Wow! That says it exactly how it is. There will be obstacles, discouragement, or difficulty along the way. It's just a matter of persisting or continuing. Getting back up and keep going. Persevering.

   Let me get right to it. I weighed in yesterday at 270 lbs. That's two pounds lost. I know it was not much for one weeks time. Usually I would have failed by now, leveling off and losing no weight or gaining a couple of pounds. So seeing that I lost  2 pounds was a mixed bag. I definitely wanted to lose more but I still did lose some weight. 
   The first week is always the easiest for me and the second week is not so bad, whenever I tried to lose weight in the past. The third week always seems to be tough. This time I'm still going, looking ahead. Maybe the fourth week will be better. I am waiting for a break-thru. So, I'm going to continue and wait for a break-thru. Actually I'm going to continue whether I get a break-thru or not. For the record, I have lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks. Now that sounds a lot better!

   I've been busy. I'm doing a remodeling job for a someone in Zion. I'm helping my older children launch their businesses. I like to spend some time here with the younger ones. I'm working on The Town Sound. It seems I am always buying groceries, mostly fruits and veggies. Not to mention washing and drying all the clothes, which happens to be my job... well, I guess I mentioned it. Today alone, I did 4 x-large loads. Actually it seems almost every load is an x-large load! I'm also doing this and doing that.
   Well anyway, that doesn't leave much time for exercising, or blogging for that matter. I haven't blogged in a few days, so I feel compelled to do that. Okay, getting back to exercising... I know I should do more, but I've been busy! Exercising doesn't always have to be on a machine or a certain regiment or workout.
   Right now, blogging this, I am standing up. I got rid of my chair, and I have to stand up or get on my bike, if I get on the computer. It's my rules. Being busy at home, on the job, and on the road does provide  some good exercise. So I have to consider that, and anyone should. Now that I said that, I know I need to do a little more if I want to see good results, come weigh-in time. But, I just want to say it one more time... I've been busy!