Tag Archives: Weight Loss

Jul 8 2021

Halfway

Bon Jovi probably has the best line using the word halfway. In his song “Livin’ on a Prayer” he tells of Tommy and Gina trying to make their love last. In the chorus – in a melodic scream he shouts:

“Woah, we’re halfway there
Woah, livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear
Woah, livin’ on a prayer”

Technically, July 2 is halfway through the year. Midway between two points in time on a calendar.

So here we sit, a little over halfway through the year. Let me just stop and ask – how are you doing?

At the beginning of 2021, I made 9 commitments, what some people call resolutions, to do every single day of the year culminating in a desired result by the end of 2021.

My commitments were as follows:

  1. Weigh under 250 lbs by the end of the year
  2. Read 25 books (keep list, reviews)
  3. Be happy
  4. Cumulative 500 miles by the end of the year
  5. Pray Daily
  6. Read Bible Daily
  7. Read Other book daily
  8. No more than two Diet DPs a day
  9. Drink a gallon of water a day

I have my reason for each of these. Let me take a moment and walk you through each of them, why I chose them, and how i’m doing on each one. I do this just to help hold me accountable.

Commitment – Weigh under 250 lbs by the end of the year

Why I chose this – Well, who doesn’t want to have a weight loss goal right? Before I moved to Huntsville, I weighed 315 pounds. Then, my brother passed away from a combination of heart problems, sleep apnea, poor health, and more than likely obesity. He had shed quite a few pounds before he died, but the effects of poor decisions took it’s toll on him. So I decided it was time to take it seriously.

I got down to 267 pounds doing strict keto. Then at Thanksgiving/Christmas, I dropped the Keto in exchange for holiday sweets and treats. I got back up to 287 pounds. For those of you who struggle with weight problems, you know it’s an ongoing battle that never goes away. So I made it a commitment for 2021. I was going to achieve a very reasonable 40 pound loss, in a matter of a year. My doctor helped me make a few changes, I went to eating 2200 calories a day, tracking everything on My Fitness Pal, and exercising (see below).

For my weight – i’m measuring in inches my waist, belly, chest, and neck, and then also pounds. I do this only once a month, usually around the 5th or 6th of the month.

How am I doing? I’m happy to say that as of the time of writing, it was time for my measurement day.

My measurements thus far:
– Neck – I’ve lost 1″
– Chest – I’ve lost 2.75″
– Belly – I’ve lost 3.5″
– Hips – I’ve lost 1.5″
– Weight – I’ve lost 19 lbs (since March 2). That puts me at 268, which is right at where I was before I put the weight back on. While 250 is the goal by the end of the year, the ultimate goal is under 225. For a guy that is 6’2″, I think that’s pretty okay.

Commitment: Read 25 books (keep list, reviews)

Why I chose this: I’ve always had a hard time finding good books to read, unless they were Calvin and Hobbes or Far Side comic strips. I wanted to challenge myself on reading some good books, providing reviews for them, and telling people when I’ve found a good one.

How am I doing? I started my 13th book yesterday. I’m right on pace.

Commitment: Be happy

Why I chose this: You know what? Sometimes, I need to choose to do this.

How am I doing? At the end of each day, I evaluate all I did and I write down something that either made me happy, something that I should have found happiness in, or I’ll be brutally honest and gripe about how I did not find happiness.

Commitment: Cumulative 500 miles by the end of the year

Why I chose this: I’ve never ever enjoyed running or walking or anything in between. I’ve had what you may call
“laziness” and I was sick and tired of it. Plus I knew if I was ever going to get to the 250 pounds, I’d have to exercise.

How am I doing? Just a few days past the halfway mark for the year, I hit 247 miles. I try to get at least 2 miles in 5 days a week. It was a bit harder through the winter.


Commitment: Pray Daily

Why I chose this: I found myself only praying corporate prayers at church, in classes, or at meal times. I was struggling in my prayer life.

How am I doing? I have kept a journal every day in 2021 of my prayer life. Some days it’s marked down as “Prayed on my walk tonight” and some days it’s a journal entry. I’ve made it every day but one.


Commitment: Read Bible Daily

Why I chose this: Here’s another confession. I’m not confident I’ve ever read the Bible completely all the way through. I’m pretty sure I’ve read most of it during my 43 years of church, bible classes in elementary school, high school, college, while teaching Bible, and then while doing ministry. But I’ve never made it a goal to read my bible daily.

How am I doing? Excellent. I’ve learned you don’t have to do marathon readings of Scripture. You don’t have to “read the Bible through in a year” for it to count. Nope – at least a chapter a day was my goal. Thus far, i’m nailing that one.


Commitment: Read Other book daily

Why I chose this: In order to hit my 25 books by the end of the year, I knew I’d have to read daily.

How am I doing? Excellent. I have successfully read every day this year something other than the Bible as well as read my Bible. Most days I aim for a chapter, but some days, it’s only a few pages. Either way, it’s something that is stimulating my mind.


Commitment: No more than two Diet Dr. Peppers a day

Why I chose this: I have a major addiction. One of the reasons I have never touched alcohol is because I know I’d be an alcoholic. I would drink daily. I know some of you may think that 2 Diet Dr. Peppers a day is still a lot. Well that depends on how you look at it.

How am I doing? Not very well. I’ll leave it at that. I still have a long way to go. Sadly, I’m often not even “halfway there.”


Commitment: Drink a gallon of water a day

Why I chose this: Initially, I chose this because I thought if I did this, i’d be less inclined to drink Diet Dr. Peppers. I was wrong.

How am I doing? Just okay. I do start every morning with 12-16 ounces of water before doing anything else. There are some days I hit about 30 ounces. But reaching 64 ounces daily has not happened but maybe a few times. Who has time to drink all that water when i’m busy drinking Diet Dr. Pepper?

Jan 9 2020

How to Lose Weight Without Even Trying

 

Okay, so I’ll admit – that title is a “reel them in” type headline.  For years, I’ve looked for the solution.  Pills, shakes, fads, etc, and would you believe that NONE of them worked?

People put stickers on the arm, people spend thousands on specially formulated shakes, people spend even more on devices that make it all easy.  And the sad reality is that some truly believe that if they just pop a pill, put a sticker on their arm, or drink a special shake, that the weight will come off without any effort, and it will stay off forever.

I know, because I have been there, and bought the XXXL t-shirt.

When I got out of college and took my first job as a teacher and coach, I survived off eating Doritos and Totinos pizzas.  I ballooned up to some awful weight, and then discovered ephedrine.  It was in ALL the diet pills.  And you know what?  It worked, and it worked well.  At that time, I weighed around 265, and dropped down to 190, which was my high school weight.

But the more I read about ephedrine, the more I realized it was a simply awful pill.  So I stopped taking it.  And with that, all the weight slowly crept back on.  No, it wasn’t overnight, it took about the same amount of time it took for it to come off.  But it came back, and then some.

And for the past 17 years, I’ve tried to replicate that success with varying degrees – all without victory.  Arbonne, Advocare, drinking shakes, exercise only, the list goes on and on.  But nothing worked.  I even tried joining a very expensive weight loss support group, but found the support highly lacking, and they really just cared about getting my money.

Part of that was my attitude toward food.  I simply LOVE to eat.  Pizza? Yes.  Cheeseburgers? Yes.  Chicken tenders? Yes.  French Fries?  Yes please! Mexican food of all types?  OH YES!  I could down baskets of chips, then eat everything on my plate.

But you know what else I had?  Stomach and digestive issues.  I’d fill myself up, and feel awful, bloated, sick to my stomach.  Me and Mr. Toilet were best friends.  And I began to creep up and up in my weight.

It wasn’t just that either?  My confidence was completely shot.  My self esteem was at an all time low.  My mental clarity was non-existent.  And when I checked the scales and I had climbed up to 315 big ones – I wept at what I had become, and knew something had to be done.

So here’s what I did.  I started off with prayer.  WHAT?  Prayer can’t help you lose weight can it?  But here’s the catch – I didn’t pray for me to lose 100 pounds.  I prayed for my mindset to change.  I prayed for willpower to say no.  And I did this for a few weeks before I even started.

On August 7, I began my transformation.  After many weeks of prayer and prep, I decided to do the Keto based diet.  In essence, it is highly restrictive in the amount of carbs you can have, and dependent on healthy fats and protein to fill you up.  I had seen some lasting success in others who had done it, and from what I read, seemed like it was something I could do.

That Wednesday, I actually had a speaking engagement in Winterhaven, FL.  I was successful during the day, and left Tampa around 4pm to make it to the church in Winterhaven.  Typically when I speak somewhere, i’ll grab something to eat in the car on the way home.  So this was my first test.

I remember thinking – “Oh well, Lane.  You gave it your best shot, but it’s just not practical to stop eating fast food burgers and fries, because you’re just in the car too much and traveling too much.”  I drove for about 25 minutes fighting that conversation.  And then it hit me – this is what I had been praying for!  I change of heart.  Willpower.

I went home, and at 9pm or so, sat down to a Keto approved meal.  And the rest is history.

I’ve not cheated once since then.

At first, I was doing Keto and strict calorie counting.  As I have moved on, I have swapped calorie counting for full satiation.  I’m not going nuts on the calories, but I walk away feeling full.

If we do fast food – burger without a bun, no fries.  Steak places are easy, with broccoli, salad, and a big steak.  Chicken for days, so long as it’s not breaded.  Cheese and more cheese please.  I’ve eaten more salads, more cruciferous veggies, and more pieces of meat than I ever thought possible.

I also began doing intermittent fasting – a method of restrictive eating based on time.  My last meal is dinner, and I’ll not eat breakfast, with usually at least a 15 or 16 hour break of not eating until lunch.

All of these things have worked.  Since August of 2019, I am down from 315 pounds to a still not so great but much better 274 pounds.  41 pounds of weight loss.

But I don’t give the credit to keto or intermittent fasting.  I give the credit to God giving me the willpower that I prayed for and believed I would receive.

For those of you who know me well, or at least knew me well before I did this – I did NOT eat well at all.  Especially on my veggies.  But here’s a plate of food that I ate the other night, and I devoured it:

If you’re struggling with your weight – please, STOP looking for the easy fix.  And also PLEASE understand that this is your life you’re dealing with.  You have one body, and that’s it.  My goal weight now is 225.  Who knows?  Maybe I can even beat that.

But even if I don’t — I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER ALREADY!  No more bloat, no more stomach issues, and no more 30 minute trips to restroom.

I hope you find what you’re looking for.  Listen – will this end in demise or success?  I know what I want, but I also know it will only be as successful as the effort I put into it.  I hope you find your motivation, and I hope I maintain mine.

Dec 18 2019

One of the Only Guaranteed Things in Life…

cloud-transformation-changes

Changes.  They happen.  I guarantee it.  Changes happen, regardless of whether we want them to or not.

Recently, I’ve gone through some changes.

First – my family and I made a move from Tampa, FL to Huntsville, AL.

Second – I got out of full time preaching ministry, and took a job as a Discipling and Associate minister.

Third – I went off some major medication.

Fourth – I lost something.

Now, let’s discuss these changes real quick.  Back in March of 2015, we moved to Tampa, FL from Nashville, TN to preach for the Northwest Tampa Church of Christ.  My time there was both a blessing and a hardship.  I will admit, I had a hard time there.  It was far from my family.  It was not the “Bible Belt” that I was used to.  It didn’t have the traditional southern charm we grew up with in my family.  But for 4.5 years, I worked with some great families in my church, and we miss our small group terribly.  There were some great folks in there, even though one of them did ruin my birthday cake by putting turnip greens into some cupcakes…but that’s for another time.

We were not looking to move – but an opportunity landed in my life that I felt was directly from God.  I was invited to work with the Mayfair Church of Christ and to serve on their leadership team as their discipleship minister.  I began that job in October, and it has been the greatest blessing of my life to work alongside the best ministry staff in the world.

At the same time, my wife was able to secure a teaching job at Madison Academy.

When we started to make this transition, I decided to go off some medication.  I hesitate to write about this, because it is deeply personal, but I feel like it could help someone in the future.  In August of 2017, due to some situations that had occurred in my life, my doctor thought it was best, after visiting with a counselor, to go on some anxiety medication.

I remember when I took the first pill, I didn’t know what to expect.  From my time in teaching and youth ministry, I was expecting to zone out – but what happened was exactly the opposite.  The things I worried about, struggled with, things I couldn’t let go of – I was now able to deal with them.  Things that got shut me down didn’t anymore.  Situations I didn’t want to face were no longer a problem.

Lack of encouragement was a real motivator behind going on the medication.  A person can only go so far without it, and was really struggling.  While the medication did not provide “encouragement” it did provide the ability to see beyond it, to compartmentalize things, to move forward.

On Sunday, December 15, I took my last pill.  I no longer need it.  I have been encouraged and uplifted here and that was a MAJOR factor in being able to move past the pills.

Another major change has been something I’ve lost.  Since August 7, 2019, I have been on the Keto Diet.  I used to laugh at folks who did the diet.  I couldn’t understand why people would want to restrict themselves.  How can you give up potatoes and rice and chips?

Earlier this summer before all the changes began – I ballooned up to 315 pounds.  It was officially the heaviest I’ve ever been.  I was miserable.  I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.  I was in a bad place.  When my wife and daughter moved to Huntsville ahead of me to start school, I began doing the Keto diet.  No more than 30 carbs a day, try to keep under 1600 calories a day, and lo and behold, the weight started to come off.

I wasn’t able to weigh myself over the past few months since we’ve been staying with my in-laws with all of our possessions in storage.  So this past weekend, when we finally closed on our new house and moved in, I was able to find the scales.

I’m down to 275.  40 pounds gone.  And it feels wonderful.  I still have a long way to go.  But I feel so good.  I’m not bloated, no upset stomach, food is no longer a major motivator in my life.  I can bend over and tie my shoes without struggling.  I’ve struggled with weight most of my adult life.  I know that dieting is not a fleeting moment, but rather, a lifestyle change.

I say these things to motivate you.  To encourage you.  If you think you may need medications for anxiety, depression, etc. – don’t wait.  Go see a doctor today.  If you need to lose weight, don’t put it off.  There’s no time like the present.  I know, I know, the holidays are coming up, so you’ll “start it in the new year.”  No, you probably won’t.  Sure you may go and buy what you need and plan on it, but if you wait, there’s always an event coming up that you don’t want to miss.  I did TWO THANKSGIVING MEALS and DID NOT CHEAT!  Christmas is coming, and I’ll again do the same.

Finally – I’ve moved my blog to this new site – http://www.ministerlane.com – with hopes of having a more regular presence once again.