Long Overdue

Hello Everyone;

I must say life is always challenging but it is indeed all about choices. Jessie pointed it out to me some time ago that my fatness will put me in an early grave. It reminds me of a saying "Fat people aren't old and old people aren't fat". I think of how are natural family and extended family are very close. I think we owe it to ourselves to seriously challenge ourselves to learn how to eat so that our closeness will remain for decades to come.

I have taken my first major step to do this. I joined a men's weight loss group, a guy by the name of Harvey Brooker. Every Sunday morning there is a meeting in Toronto, where Harvey speaks during his Power Hour. Sounds almost evangelical but believe me there is no religion. There I was among about 150 fat men at varying degrees of weight loss. Some were actually at their ideal weight but there is no cost to keep coming for the support. I was impressed because it was men only and it is less embarrassing. Imagine there were at least two guys who had lost over a hundred pounds and still at it!

I learned that our scales are 6.5 pounds on the light side and therefore I especially realize I must do something. There are ugly realities for me such as one glass of wine-not a bottle; no beef and the bottom line is that somethings may require simple abstinence (goodbye yummy salami). I have bought into the programme (you eat everyday meals as prescribed; there are actually a lot of clues in the Canada Food Guide). They figure I should lose 73 pounds-Wow!!

So I'm going to do it with your support and the men's group and I am sure it can be done. I am looking forward to having grandchildren and I am going to make a point of blessing or maybe haunting! them with my presence for many years to come.

So here are the tips, which we all know the routine.

1. Drink lots of water 8 to 12 cups a day;
2. Don't get on the scale too often (they don't even want us to weigh ourselves at home because of either ecstasy if the weight is done and deserving a reward like lots of calories or despondency if our weight is not down and then the search for comfort food);
3. Write down what you eat- Jessie had plugged me into Fitday, which is a great online diary but I'm back to writing manually for the men's group.

And my last contribution for the night is an article because I know that everyone wantsd to do this as I read all the contributions. I must say I'm probably getting to know my sisters better than I ever have before.

"Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all.
Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind
To new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity.
Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We
can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And
if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable,
we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour,
entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over
confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the
effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely
observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We
created our circumstances by our past choices.

We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better
choices beginnning today. Those who are in search of the good life
do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach
better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth.
And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead
us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics
that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And
then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness
and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone
seeking and needing to make changes in their life-If you don't like
how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to
totally transform every area in your life-and it all begins with
your very own power of choice." -Jim Rohn

I can't do this myself so I have gotten help but I am taking the words seriously that Jessie especially has heard from me so often; "Just do it!"

Good Night and Good Luck

Ham