For the people who have always been fat and for those who just need to change.

If this is your first visit to the 30 Day Broth Fast, I'd encourage you to read this from the first entry, like a book.  It's easy and the entries aren't too long.  For the rest of you, welcome back.

For the people who have always been fat, losing weight must be very difficult idea.  They don't really know how awesome they will look.  Nor do they know how great they will feel.  The reason is, they've never experienced it before.  I didn't realize this until I was back in Ocean City, New Jersey working as a consultant, with a Chinese restaurant.  There was a girl who was 20 years old but who looked much older because of her weight.  She was way too heavy for her young age.  She had a pretty face and was always with a smile and a good conversationalist.   She was fascinated by my story of weight loss.  She was clearly interested in the idea and how this could work for her.  I asked her how much weight she would like to lose...ideally.  Her answer was, 10 pounds.  I don't know how much she would have needed to lose to be healthy, but I knew that is was a lot more than 10 pounds.  I would guess about 100, seriously.  The issue was that she had always been fat and had no idea about the concept of being thinner, for herself.

The best that some people have ever looked was chubby, so how could they picture themselves looking hot?  But the truth is, you WILL look hot.  And you CAN look hot.  For me, it's fun to feel good about my body.

I used to try to avoid allowing my wife to see my body when I was naked, but now, I kinda show off a bit.  What the heck, she's my wife and she might as well enjoy the view.  :-)  I never felt comfortable at the beach with my shirt off.  I was always very concerned about how I looked.  I didn't like having a belly that was so big, and I certainly didn't like having manboobs, that part was the worst.  I just hated how I looked.  I was embarrassed by how I looked.  My body was a reflection of my "self-care".  I couldn't have cared less about myself really.

I was really very depressed and miserable.  I didn't like myself, at all.  The self-loathing was horrifyingly overwhelming.  Many times I had prayed that the Lord would just take me.  I would drive down the road in the fast lane closest to oncoming traffic and hope that a semi-truck would cross the divider and hit me.  There was a whole lot of self-hatred.

My weight was a symptom of deeper problems.  So much of life, and just living, was a fight for me.  More like a war.  But losing the weight was evidence that demonstrated my determination,  that I was going to do something about it.  I was going to start the battle to improve myself with the one thing that would give me great joy that was measurable...weight loss.  And that I could actually have success with this.  I "could" control what I ate and how much I weighed.   My life was a war, a war against myself.  The weight was one battle.  But it was a decisive battle.  I knew that this would be a turning point in the war.  Perhaps I didn't fully comprehend this at the time but I sure do now.  And guess what?  I won the battle.  I have triumphed.  The enemy has turned away.

I could do it!! I just didn't know that I could.  I had just accepted life and my poor health as...."well, that's life".  But it wasn't and it isn't.

I don't know why and I don't really know what made me do it, but one day, I decided that I should try to fix this stuff that caused me strife and pain.  I am not sure that I remember a defining moment where lightning struck and made me think, "Aha! Today is the day!"  Now I'll lose weight, and now I'll start on my path to improvement.  In truth, I don't think that I saw it as a pathway to improvement, but it was.  It was the first step.

But it did happen.  One day, it just happened.  I don't think that I could have just waited for it.  It wasn't a shocking moment.  It wasn't because of anything in particular, although the realization that all of my medical issues were stemming from one thing, I was fat.  I knew two things.

1)  I didn't want to be fat anymore.  I didn't want to be unhealthy and "sick".
2)  I could do something about it.  There was a solution.  There was a solution that fit me and my type of weight loss plan.

I knew that I could be tough on myself, but not for long.  30 days what a realistic amount of time.  I remember telling the doctor, "I can do anything for 30 days".  I liked accomplishing things, although I rarely finished anything.  But this, I believed that I could do.  It was simple enough and my doctor was fully supporting me in this decision and recommendation.  It was his idea.  I am very thankful for him.

There was one conversation though.  A famous movie star's wife and I had a short, but pivotal, conversation that I will never, ever forget.  It gave me encouragement to rethink my thinking.  I'll have to share that later, and who the celebrity was.  But that is for a different day.

If you appreciate this blog, please share it with others.  I hope to be an encouragement to you and your friends and associates.  :-)

Still in perfect health....just a bit sick

If you are just joining us, I'd encourage to go back and read the first posting for to fully understand what it is that I did, and why, and how specifically.  I lost 35 pounds in 2 months and then another 10 without trying at all.  For the rest of you, here's the latest.

The doctors told me that I am in perfect health, just not today.

I guess it's the season and I decided, unwillingly, to participate in the annual winter flu.  I feel sick, but at least I look good.  :-)  I've had this flu bug for going on a week and with a fever the whole time.  Not fun...at all.  Ok, enough of that.  In other news....  Let's talk heart rate.

I was running around the restaurant the other day.  We were crazy busy, which is common.  But on this day we had far too few of us working.  The restaurant is very spacious.  It causes me to run all over the place.  Nothing is all that close.

As I ran back to the kitchen, I was forced to stand and wait for a meal that was being remade for a customer.  There I was, needing to get back to running around but the chef asked me to wait a moment for the food since he was putting the food on the plate as we spoke.  So I waited.  I wasn't upset and probably welcomed the short break. In truth, I was there for about 2 minutes, which was an eternity at that moment.

I could feel my heart pounding hard, as it should given the degree at which it was being required to work.  I was wondering how fast it was beating.  I measured my heart rate as I stood there.  I measured it and I was at 122 BPM.  Not bad considering how hard and fast I was moving while carrying the heaviest plates ever made fill with 20 ounces of short ribs and a pile of mashed potatoes, and forget the veggies...they're light. :-)  I mentioned my heart rate to my boss, Mauricio, who also knew that it was crazy busy.  Mauricio is a wonderful boss. Always helpful and genuinely concerned about us.  Mauricio encouraged me to measure it again.  I thought sure, why not.
  

I knew that I measured it correctly.  It's pretty easy to do.  Take your pulse for 15 seconds.  Whatever number you get, multiply that by 4.  You can also do the same for 6 seconds and multiply by 10. But I seem to use the first method as it's easier to see 15 seconds on my particular watch.  I got 32.  32x4=122. 122 BPM

Anyway, I checked it again with Mauricio.  It had only been about a minute or so since I had just checked it.  As I started to check it, I noticed that my heart had begun to calm down considerably.  My heart wasn't beating as hard as before and I could feel the difference.  At the end of the test, I had my new number.  My rate had dropped to 74.  I thought that seemed pretty good.  I knew that it was good to have a quick recovery time but didn't really know if that was great, good, fair, or poor.

I went to some websites that talk about such things to see how I did.  Although 2 minutes is the standard period of time for such tests, one thing became clear.  That was a pretty darn good recovery rate.

I remember some years back (when I was fat) hiking in the mountains.  I remember that my heart was beating some hard and I could not catch my breath.  It was enough to literally force me to lay down on the dirt and pine needles at the edge of the path.  I could not believe how hard it was beating but what was unnerving was that it wouldn't slow down, for a very long, and unsettling, amount of time.  I wondered what was going to happen next.  Would I live?  Why wasn't I calming down?  Perhaps it was because I was fat and out of shape.

When comparing the 2 scenarios, I am very thankful for where I am now.  The weight loss has helped my health immeasurably.   

Weight loss is the catalyst of total life improvement

It really is about a decision to improve.

If you've just joined us, I'd heartily recommend reading from the first posting.  Kind of like a book. But in a nutshell, I lost over 30 pounds in 60 days consuming nothing but homemade soup broth. I lost a total of 45 pounds, and have kept it off for over a year now.

But it really started with a decision to improve.  

The truth is that I had hit rock bottom, or worse, if there was worse...I am thankful to have been saved from whatever worse was.

I had lost my job, but not just a job.  It was my passion! I was so tremendously and horribly broken by that.  And that made me lose my passion. Or at least I let it do that.  I was in horrible health, financially broke, socially bankrupt, emotionally drained, and very depressed.  A depression that was so dark and so deep it is uncomfortable to even mention here.  Those words are heavy on me and difficult to write.  In truth, it's a miracle that I’m alive

My sweet wife was the one who recommended that I see a doctor to address some of my health issues and as you know, I’ve fixed the health issues but it was all the rest that was still a mess. 

I fixed my weight and health issues, which had seemed so formidable.  So, I should be able to improve in these other areas as well.  If it is possible, and there is a way, with determination, I should be able to improve.  I have the determination, still working on the rest.

SO I USED THE WEIGHT LOSS TO BE A CATALYST FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENT.

That is an important statement and really expands this blog about weight loss to include what I have been doing to make strides in other areas as well.  To think that the weight loss would give me such a sense of accomplishment that I would be able to say, what other areas need fixing and what's the best and quickest way to accomplish that?  

For me the weight loss came first. Maybe for some, improvement in another area encourages them to seek body and health improvement.  It's really not just about weight loss.  That's a catalyst to total life improvement. 

For me the weight loss came first.

From that came good health.

From that came a clearer picture of who I am.

Now, I continue to strive to improve in these other areas. 

I now have motivation.  I do now know that it is possible to change oneself.

My guess is that anyone could do just that.  It takes desire.  And commitment, And determination.  But it didn’t require lots of money, nor did it take lots of time…well, at least for the weight loss. The nice thing about the weight loss was that it was quick.  Bamm! In 2 months I was 30 pounds lighter. 

However, not all areas where improvement is needed are solved with a quick fix.  And not all of them go as smoothly.  In hindsight, the weight loss was the easy part.  

I'll write some more about specific challenges and what I've been doing to improve in these other areas.  

 

It's official...I'm in perfect health!! After losing 45 pounds, keeping it off for more than a year, I am healthier than ever and there is evidence to prove it.

I am in perfect health!

After a recent trip to the doctor, I thought to myself, "I feel well and healthy". But "Am I really healthy?" was the question really that I should be asking.

So I went to the doctor again. I told him that I wanted to have blood work done. This was a tremendously fearful decision for me as I have fainted in the past from blood tests and even TB tests. But I decided to be brave. I thought to myself, the need to know how my health was, trumped my fear of passing out. I told the doctor that if he was going to take my blood he might as well run all the tests and be able to have a complete workup of what is going on in my body.

Although I cannot remember the names of all of the tests, I do know that it included cholesterol, A1C, CBC, thyroid, PSA, and I think a couple of others. I wanted to know everything related to my health.

Well, the results came in, only a couple of hours ago actually. Every item on the list was in the normal range except for one and according to the doctor, the variance in that one subset was insignificant. What a blessing this is! I thank the Good Lord for His grace and mercy and blessing.

You see, at one point my cholesterol (LDL) was over 350.  And my triglycerides were over 790. It was either 790, 860, for 960. I can't remember. Suffice it to say, it was really crazy high and I was very unhealthy.  And my A1C was high enough to be basically considered diabetic.

Now these numbers have all dropped.  My LDL went from 350 to 182.  182!! It has never, ever been that low.  My triglycerides fell dramatically as well.  And my A1C dropped to a place where I would be out of the diabetic spectrum.  WOW, can you imagine!!

Amazing to think that just through two months of being tough on myself and drinking nothing but soup broth, (which in hindsight was a pretty simple and low price to pay for good health) I have such a tremendous health. An enormous blessing that I never expected to see.

I am telling you. Losing this weight has changed, and saved, my life in ways that I never could have imagined. Truthfully, it was the catalyst to change so many other areas of myself.

So with that, I can say that I lost 45 pounds, quickly, and I have maintained it, easily, and have improved my health.  Outstanding!! Let's rejoice together.  I hope that this gives others motivation to make changes in their own lives to IMPROVE!!

Nearly 25,000 posts. WOW!!

Ok so if you have been following you might know this, but here's the deal in a nutshell.
I lost 30 pounds in less than 2 months.  I've kept it off for more than a year, and I'm healthier than at any point in my life. And almost 25,000 people have read about this from all over the world. Crazy huh?

As the great old hymn says, "I love to tell the story.."
I love to tell the story of successful, and maintained, weight loss.  A very nice lady came into the restaurant where I work last night.  We had a conversation so similar to those I've had with many others.

So this lady came in but I want to share with you a bit about my job.  I work as a waiter at a great restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara called Benchmark.  (look it up, it's pretty cool).  Anyway, I find that I walk a lot there.  I mean a whole lot, and very quickly, for about 5 hours.  While walking all over the place, I find myself carrying plates that are very thick and overtly heavy for their size. And with hearty portions of food aboard.  It is a very physical job, but a job that I love.  There is no way, that I could have performed this job before.  I would have been exhausted.  I don't know how far could one walk, at a good clip, in 5 hours, but it has to be pretty far.  That's what I do probably 4-5 days a week.  But often before or after my shift, I can often be found walking around the pretty and well decorated shops on State Street.  And what about the plates, and glasses of water, and the dish racks of glasses, and the buckets of ice.  And do you have any idea how heavy large trays of butter knives can be?  I mean why with all of our technology can we not manufacture hollow butter knives?

This work load has had a significant effect on me physically.  For the first time in my life...ever, I actually have muscles in my arms.  They're not huge, but I'm not a huge guy.  But they are bigger than they have ever been before that's for sure.  And I'm fit.  That statement, "I'm fit" is one that I haven't been able to say that in good faith for well over 25 years.    

So, back to telling the story of the lady at the restaurant..... Last night I had an opportunity to discuss my recent weight loss with a customer.  I told her that I lost the weight fast while fasting on soup broth and she brought up a familiar and common question.  Weren't you hungry? And her friend had another common question to ask as a follow up to my response.

I asked them if they were hungry before they came into the restaurant just now.  Obviously they were.  And so to stop their hunger from overtaking them, they sat down and ate.  But surely they would be hungry again, unless they ate again. They would only be hungry when they didn't consume some form of sustenance.

The soup broth diet was the same way.  I was only hungry when I didn't consume some delicious, well flavored, nutritious soup broth.  But when I was hungry, I consumed my homemade broth.

Following up with my answer her "dinner date" (love that old midcentury term) wanted to clarify that she got this right.  "So, nothing but soup broth, 3 times a day, for a month?" she asked.  I told her that I'd have it like 10 times a day, or 20 times, or whatever.  There really wasn't a limit on how much I could have. No prescribed time of ingestion.  I was only hungry out of choice or of my own neglect.

I'd drink broth as others might drink coffee I guess.  Oh, or pardon me, perhaps I should say "tea" for those who might live under the Royal Britannia.  And if I had the broth often enough, I wasn't really hungry.  Every time that I had a mug or bowl of soup broth, any hunger that I had was satisfied completely.

It's a quite amazing story if I do say so myself.

Well, I'm literally leaving for "Benchmark eatery" as we speak.  I'l be sure to write more and perhaps have a surprise for my 25,000th anniversary.  "Come and see."

The Journey continues: Part 3 Improvement sees all different forms

Talking about weight loss, losing weight, and being in a state of actually losing weight, is a past, present, and future idea.  People "talk" and "think" about the possibility of future weight loss.  The hope that it will provide for them a new life.  But it is so hard to accurately judge the future, it changes all of the time. Sounds very much like something Yoda would say.


The journey continues with the improvement of my mental faculties and my attitude

20,000 views for 45 pounds

Blow's my mind:  20,000

I never imagined that so many people would read this. 20 grand, dang, that's pretty cool. Of course, I don't know how many people revisit this blog and actually read each post like a story and how many read it once and then not again.  But for those of you who actually read along....thanks! That's pretty cool of you.  :-)

But the 45 pounds part still seems a bit unreal.  The part that is hard to wrap my mind around is that I was actually THAT big.  I found a pic from August just before I started the broth fast.  Pretty shocking that I was actually that big.  Thank God that I didn't die.  That was just so crazy unhealthy.  I remember having difficulty catching my breath at times and now, that is completely gone.

As you may know, I work as a waiter now.  I walk...a lot.  I walk briskly through our good sized restaurant, non-stop, for about 4-6 hours everyday that I work.  That would have been impossible before.  Actually, taking the job at the restaurant was a great decision.  It keeps me fit and has increased my strength.  My arms have gained more muscle that they ever had.  Now to be honest, that's not saying too much. :-)   My sweet, darling wife tells me that she likes how I look.  It's very nice to hear from your loved one that you look physically attractive.  Yesterday, I worked from 11;30 until 6:00 and never stopped for more than a few moments.  I'd stop walking long enough to enter an order on the computer screen at work, and then off I go to some table or back to the kitchen.  After work I wasn't done for the day physically.  And I found myself a bit disappointed that my bride and I  didn't just walk over to our friends' house for a dinner party a few blocks over.

The point is: After losing the weight, I have a new, restarted life.  Do you need a fresh start?  "Do you need a fresh start?" That's a good title for a blog post.  What do you think?

Hey!! Drop me a note to say hi.  Ask me anything that you want.
NEW?? try starting at the first post.  It's fun, kind of like reading a book