weight-Loss-A-Thon-week 4

It has been a crazy week at home and work, so short and simple, the diet is still working!..

Not that it is a surprise. One thing I that has been most noticeable is that smaller meals now fill me up. I think most of the instances when I have tried to "Eat better" never lasted long enough to start changing those sorts of things. So all is good... one more pound down.

The down side for the last two weeks has been on the exercise front. My knee has not had much pain over the weekend, but a short walk/jog this evening has it back in a painful spot. Guess I'll get that checked out.

Have a great week everyone... I do have some non weight-related posts in the works as well. Unfortunately those are harder to write.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

Weight-Loss-A-Thon-week 3

Short and sweet... the diet is going great and I definitely fill up on smaller portions. Sugar cravings are present but hey, sweets are tasty.

And the verdict is.. Last week's 253 was probably dehydration-aided, but I will definitely take this week's 252 as progress. That is 7 pounds in three weeks. Get ready to pay up folks!


On the exercise side of life, I have done something painful to my right knee, which is no fun. Talk about feeling old. It has hurt for a week, and a short walk/jog tonight only aggravated things. Time to shop for a knee brace.

Other topics - Joshua is recovering well from his lip reconstruction. He is such a happy dude most of the time... what a blessing!

He has started eating oatmeal cereal. The bottle method is definitely easier, but Renee is up for the spoon challenge.


Have a great Monday out there!

Don J.

Weight-Loss-A-Thon - week 2

First - Joshua is doing very well after the surgery and is mostly back to his normal cheerful self. His lip is still swollen a bit and tender, but he eats well and smiles a lot! It is strange to look at photos and realize he will never look the same again. Weird. I wonder what adults think after plastic surgery. hmmmm.

OK.... Week two is in the books and the diet is going very well. After a few years of unrestricted eating, it is really hard to explain how hard it is to resist some food cravings. Even more comical is the self-talk and rationalization of things within my own head. Seriously, in my head, I can debate whether stopping for pop-tarts to make my breakfast cereal last longer is an OK break to the diet. Come on, brain!

But it is going well, and exercise is even better. I have to get the pace up to about 11:30 per mile, but that should be doable in a couple of months.

253 is great!... Actually, I think I did not drink enough water this weekend with a full day at the hospital and busy days since then. But the downward trend is good and we will keep it that direction.

I hope that you all have a great and meaningful week. Go do something good!

Surgery Day

Before:


I'm not sure if surgery can be a nice day, but so far today has gone as well as can be hoped for. We expected Joshua to get fussy after missing his 4 a.m. meal, but he hung in there until he was taken to surgery around 7:30.

Medical City Childrens Hospital has been excellent in every way. (although hospital food is still hospital food). Communication and attention to detail have been superb and the people who work here have taken the time to be very helpful with every need.

One neat thing that I have not seen before is a message board in the waiting room let you know the status of the procedure. A scalpel means surgery in progress, stitches mean they are wrapping up and a band-aid means they are headed to recovery.


Joshua was pretty groggy from the anesthesia...


Now he is out taking a lap of the floor to see what he can see. He has a short attention span and got bored in our room. He takes after his dad on that score I think.

The lip looks good (I think)... It will take several weeks for the incision line to start going away, but he can still eat as normal.


Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive.

If anything, spending a few hours around a children's hospital will make you thankful for the health of your kids. Across from Joshua in Pre-Op was a kid not more than 12 years old who was in for a pacemaker replacement. He had also had heart surgery and other problems. Another young girl was in for prep work for a colon resection procedure.

Be grateful for the amazing blessings in your life!

Surgery plans...

Joshua had a check-up yesterday and he is a very healthy kiddo. At almost 4 months old, he is a chunky 17lbs 11oz and doing all of the things he is supposed to do.

For friends, family, and those praying along with us in the parenting journey, the corrective surgery for young Joshua's cleft lip is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. Friday morning. We have pre-op meetings and whatnot Thursday afternoon.

So this is all routine and minor. And scary at the same time. I rather enjoy watching Joshua sleep, but anesthesia is a whole 'nother ball of wax.

As a confidence builder, I have nothing but praise for the staff and organization of Medical City Dallas hospital and the office of our surgeon Dr. Fearon. They have been absolutely on top of every detail, making sure that we have everything taken care of as we get ready.

So... thanks mucho again for all of the support and encouragement for Renee and I over the last four months.

Charities for children of soldiers

With the loss of a large number of soldiers over the weekend making headlines, it is a reminder that there are a lot of kids out there who just lost a dad.

Here are some links to charities and organizations doing something in support of children of our warriors. I'm sure there are others, feel free to leave links in the comments.

Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund

Freedom Alliance

Relating to this particular incident- 31Heros

Always give responsibly.. these look legit. It is very unfortunate that there are fake charities to scam from this sort of story too.

Don J.

Weight-Loss-A-Thon - week 1

One pound is not of any statistical significance, but I'll take it!

But it has been an interesting week. Aside from a dead home air conditioner, life is good.

The most fun of this whole experiment has been receiving encouragement and being encouragement, so thanks to those of you who are part of it.

The diet has been pretty good, with a few exceptions along the way. Two birthday parties, including one at CiCi's Pizza surely top the list, along with some skittles and chiclets from the office vending machine. Sugar cravings are a beating, and there have been headaches.

Today's birthday party had cupcakes.

My sister-in-law can cook. That frosting tasted exactly like peanut butter fudge. It doesn't matter what diet you are on, it is worth having one.

And that is kind of the point of this diet anyway. If I can't go celebrate with family and enjoy tasty foods, some joy of life goes away.

But I only ate one. And none of the tasty dessert pizzas at CiCi's. So take that fat belly!

If you haven't committed your $1 per pound for the Kaufman Genesis Center, contact me at doncjohnsonphoto@gmail.com.

Totally different topic, Joshua's lip surgery is this Friday, Aug. 12. I will update more on that later, but it is, of course, a bit scary.

Crying baby, gotta run...

Don J.

The Plan, Part 2. Exercise.

Diet. And Exercise. That is all. Whenever anyone I know is on a popular diet plan, I am quick to say that I think the only thing that really works is diet and exercise. So this better work.

The thing is, I know it will. Common sense and observation are all you need as proof.

So the exercise is the industry-standard 30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week and some light strength exercises in between.

But wait, there is more. Pesky goals mean you have to actually do some work.

I plan to run in the Lone Star CASA Speak Up for Kids 5K in Rockwall Nov. 5. That will be my second 5K, and I want my time to be in the 35 minute range. My time in the first was over 42 minutes. There is work to do.

Most of the cardio will be running or walking.. if you want to check up on that or join in on Runkeeper.

That is about it. Simple is best. I also want to gain flexibility and muscle tone, but that is more difficult to measure. That should come naturally as part of the other work.

I am getting started a little bit late on the exercise portion, thwarted in part by dealing with a broken home air conditioning unit. No excuses though ... life is going to happen all the time.

The key, I think, is making sure that the urgent and immediate things don't replace the important and lasting things.

Weight check tomorrow night... I'm thinking positive.

Don J.

The plan, part 1. Diet restrictions.

Thanks to those of you who have already committed to the Don Weight-Loss-A-Thon. For those who haven't said you're in, come on down! It is $1 per pound for a great cause.

As with any successful endeavor, there must be a plan.

My weight loss plan involves a modified and defined version of the "Don't eat stupid fatty foods" program that a lot of us think about but don't actually accomplish.

The key (and I have done this successfully before to lose 20 pounds in three months) for this is eliminating foods in my own diet problem areas. This is not about maintenance after the weight is off, it is about jump starting the process of getting back to someplace healthy.

For me those areas are fried fast food, sugary snacks and fatty fast food breakfast. Ok, fast food in general is a problem.

So here are the restrictions.

1. No cola drinks. None. Even Dr. Pepper. Only water, tea and coffee, with an honest attempt to lower sugar content on the tea and coffee. (I don't use creamer)

2. No fried potato products. Salty goodness adios. Even Chick-fil-a waffle fries.

3. No candy bar items, cake-y coffee treats, Donuts or milk shakes. Yes, one of the closest restaurants to my office is a Braums.

4. No fast-food breakfast per week. Cereal at home will rule the day.

5. There is no number 5. That is it. Attacking the problem areas. Let the Dr. Pepper cravings begin.

The rest of the diet is simply making a conscious effort to choose wisely from the menu available. For example, I need not even walk into a Chicken Express for the next four months.

When you start looking at what you are putting into your body in modern American dining, it is sickening to think about even though it tastes so good.

On that note, two observations from Day 1.

1. Eliminating a medium fries from Arby's kept me from eating 600 calories and 31 grams of fat. 31 grams is more than heart patients get to eat in a day. 600 calories is more than 1/4 of the 'typical' 2000 calorie diet for a normal size human. Also, there are no other nutritional positives from fries. They just taste great.

2. The Arby's Market Fresh Turkey sandwiches are a nutritional nightmare. They also taste good. But you think, hey Turkey sandwich on wheat bread is healthy, and a little bacon, cheese and ranch is not so bad, right? WRONG!

My Market fresh turkey was more fattening than a Whataburger with cheese.

OK, day one in the books. I am not weighing every day.. it will be a Fitness Friday thing. Tomorrow.. the exercise part of this experiment.

Don J.