A New Day One

Well, this was Monday May 19 and my new day one.
I am now working out at Spectrum Clubs here in San Antonio "FOR FREE" thanks to SA Living & Spectrum Clubs and thanks to all of my encouraging friends, at church, here in town, and all over the US sending me emails of encouragement. The contest is over but life goes on. Next goal? Under 200 pounds. Donning my SpongeBob Bandana and workout clothes, I WILL make it. Next week I have an appointment with Registered Dietician Heather King to get my food intake in order. Till then Iwill keep steppin, walkin, lifting and stretching and logging all of my meals so she will see all of my "On my own" mistakes.

The above picture is me on the Precor Eliptical trainer. No shock, and kinda like cross between a cycling and running. The weight loss also has a lot less pressure on my new hip which allows me to do alot more much more comfortably.

See that picture below? Just imaging me thinking to myself..."oooohhhhh, that feels sooo good" Lower back stretch. Another Precor machine but for streching.
One of the restrictions with the new hip parts was not to break 90 degrees between my thigh and torso. I am recovering well and able to get well beyond that restriction.


I will post more soon so please come back. CS

More of the Journey

That is Claudia (13) on one arm and John (4) on the other. That's two of my three.

Well, by the time this picture was taken 4 weeks had gone by as well as 11 pounds. Over this weekend my workout suffered as did I. No treadmill, or bowflex or weights. This weekend it was Friday and Saturday replacing about 23 feet of Cedar Fence. Going to home depot, loading the wood, knocking down the old fence (except the post) and putting up the new was the workout of the weekend. I would take hiking and lifting anyday over that but because it was only about 23 feet or so of fence, there is much more to go. By Sunday, everything hurt, neck, back, legs and arms, hands and feet. I did a good curcuit on the Bow Flex Sunday night and today (Monday) I can just feel the ending of the work pains from Fri & Sat. My body fat is down a little also and I will look at that again tonight to be sure. One thing that still feels the burn is my sunburnt shaved head. Next time I will wear a cap or a bandana.

At this point I was around 21-22pounds lost.

I remember raising my shoulders and pulling in my stomach to get these pants on. NOW??? They're too big. The workout of the week or the last two weeks has been? Yard Work!!!
Walking while pushing a weight called a lawnmower that is not self propelled, raking leaves and grass, turning my compost pile, cutting over grown rose bushes (OUCH!) and other shrubs and more plain hard work outside. Up and down ladders and trying to finish my
out door place of rest on our back patio has been most of what I have been doing and it leaves me much more sore than any hike or weights. One other lifestyle change has been instead of taking a nap on Sunday between services I have been doing some of this work mentioned.

This is Shelly Miles, me and Leslie Bohl Jones.
I have been watching the SA Living Show for a few years now. I have found out through the show and emails we have sent back and forth that these two are a class act and very down to earth. Meeting them only secured what I had already known. What really secured this was my wife also saying how nice they both were. The day of the finale for the online losers was my wifes birthday and more importantly her day off from work. We went to the studio and had a great experience. We were allowed to stay after our segment of the show. Took this awesome picture then eventually made our way home for my wife to change clothes, got off to breakfast...(No food before the show, I had to weigh in that day) Another contestant (Marci) and I were given prizes for sticking it out online. I lost 30 pounds and Marci 32.

My wife Julia and I later went out to one of our favorite hikes at Pedernales State Park. We went for a short but challenging hike there because the hike is across an exposed rock river bed.

Where I am sitting here is not totally surrounded by water but there is also no direct or real
path to get there. Just jump some rocks and avoid the water and you are there.

That is me below and the beauty below right is my wife Julia. Iam soo glad that she likes to go hiking and likes the outdoors. Our honeymoon? We hiked several location between San Antonio and the Grand Canyon. Big Bend, The Catwalk outside of Silver City NM, The Grand Canyon, and Enchanted Rock were all hiking spots on our honeymoon. We also hiked on Mother's Day.

Well today I was right at 220 pounds this morning. My ultimate goal is between 160-170 so the road is before me and much work is to be done. Keep me in your prayers and come back to see the progress. God bless you all. CS

San Antonio's Biggest Loser

Many moons ago, I wanted to join the Navy. One problem...I was over weight. I had to lose 40 pounds just to get in and I ended up losing 75. I got down to 150 and I was in great shape. Over the years in the Navy I yo-yoed up and down with my weight until it became impossible just to get under 200 pounds. The years after the Navy was more of the same except it became hard to get under 220 and that has been my sticking point for many years. The opportunity came around for San Antonio's Biggest Loser and I decided to give it a try. Now the problem.I was still recovering from hip surgery back in November of 07. I had a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing surgery with new metal inserts at the top of my femur and in my hip socket. I also had a good sized incision in my hip to get those things in place. I think I was about 10 days off of my cane when I showed up for the casting call. I did not get selected BUT! Shelly Miles & Leslie Bohl Jones are the host of the San Antonio Living show. They are two of the nicest ladies you will ever find any where. The 6 contestants were selected THEN, they increased that number to 9 THEN, they announced that anyone that wanted to register online could do so and there would also be an online competition. This is where my journey begins.
On February 24th of 2008 I began a journey to better health. Still getting over a cold and was sick all week, but getting with the program.

This was me on day one. 254 pounds according to the old home scale.














The first thing I realized I had to do was KILL THE SCALE!
IT LIES!!!




Well, since this journey is about calibrating me,
I decided to do some self calibration instead of
calibrating the scale.
We have a treadmill at home as well as a
Bow Flex resistance machine. I like hiking quite a bit so My favorite hiking spot would also be on the exercise menu. Food? Well, I amnot much of a dessert and sweets person so all I had to do there was get away from the fried everything, cut down on the carbs, don't skip any meals and go for smaller portions and lower calories.