Sorry this is late, but checked in this week at 256lbs, down 11. 21 more to go. Meanwhile, the waves in Hawaii are supposed to be legitimately the biggest in quite a while. It is supposedly going to even be bigger than the 1969 swell. Hoping to check it out Monday when it lands and The Eddie hopefully runs. Aloha

Happy Thanksgiving and Day-After-Thanksgiving! It’s been a good week as far as the diet is concerned, I’m definitely noticing a difference in the way I eat, and in the portions I choose. It’s a small thing but it’s exiting for me to see real changes happening in my habits and in my weight and appearance. Anyway, I weighed in this morning at 257lbs, which is down ten pounds total. Again this week, I weighed in at that weight early in the week and kept consistantly at it through the week. In other news, my father in law, Bob, is rocking our faces off and as of last week he was down 19lbs. Congrats to Bob and any others who are working at this, stay strong through the holidays and let’s come out of this thing lighter on the other side.

Sorry that this week’s update is late. I actually weighed in on time and posted a nice 259. It was doubly nice because I weighed that on Monday. It is nice to begin to see a little more consistancy. As I write this I am preparing for the second thanksgiving feast in as many nights and I just posted a nice 258 on the scale. How’s the weekend and process going for everyone else? How is the thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year season outlook?

Hey everyone, back home in Hawaii and getting back into the swing of things in terms of my diet and exercise. Was pleased with my weigh-in this morning, rocked it at 262 lbs, exactly 1 pound more than I weighed a month ago. It’s a good thing I’m making all this progress ’cause Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up and all the eating that goes along with the next 2 months is staring down the tunnel at me. Thanks for reading and for those who are also shrinking, stay strong as we hit this wall!

I was checking out my YouTube and saw that David Crowder* Band posted a music video for the song “How He Loves,”  I checked it out and loved it (big surprise) and thought I would pass it along.  DC*B/YouTube won’t allow embedding so here’s the link.  go check out “How He Loves,” in HD. Enjoy

PS.  I finally get to see these guys live again (it’s cooler this time ’cause I’m now an uberfan, before I only liked them alot), when they perform the worship concert at Hawaiian Island Ministries Honolulu Conference, March 4-6 2010

Well, we are now at the 8 week/2 month point and at weigh-in this morning I was again at 265 lbs.  Our vacation was awesome and we had incredible time/meals with our families, and I am thankful I was able to stay at 265 lbs.  My calorie budget is still at 261, so hopefully I will start to drop back down with more workouts and abiding by my calorie budget.

so there are the raw numbers, it’s been 2 months and I’ve lost 2 lbs.  bummer, but reason to be hopeful.

At the end of our second vacation week I just weighed in again at 265. Not great but atleast I didn’t gain anymore. Also of note, I finished last week’s post by saying I was going for a run. Well, that run felt like it was trying to kill me; my legs did great but my lungs felt like I had asthma. I think it was a combo of cold, dry air and me being a little sick. My runs this week have gone much better.

Well, week 6 is a doozy. It finds us smack in the middle of vacation where we are eating differently and have little opportunity for exercise. I weighed 265 at a 2:30 pm weigh in and I am about to go get a quick run in. On a positive note, last week right before we left I made it down to 261. But now I’m back up. Oh well, off to run.

This week was sort of a rough week. I was only able to get to the gym once, and I spent Thursday having one of the most unhealthy eating days ever (even though I miraculously only went over by about 150 calories). I started today with a massive 2 hour dawn patrol surf session with a few friends for Craig’s birthday. I weighed in after I got back from that (and ate breakfast) and posted an encouraging 263lbs. So after 5 weeks I have lost 4 pounds (close to my goal of 1 a week) and have about 26 or so to go (though my technical goal means I have 23 to go, I would like to end up down below 240). We are heading on vacation Sunday and that should make this whole process a little more difficult but “Lose it” is really helping a ton and I hope to keep it up.

Today, October 14 is Coach John Wooden’s 99th birthday and I thought I would link up a cool article from the LA times for all my readers (basically my family and maybe 2 friends).  The article gives 99 facts about Wooden on his 99th birthday, and it is certainly inspiring.

I also thought I would relay my own personal John Wooden story.  My freshmen year at UCLA I was in the midst of my first college football season, dealing with the pressures and excitement of actually playing but also the difficulties and frustrations of being an 18 year old, 235lb fullback (for the non-football readers, that’s a pretty small fullback if you aren’t 21 or 22 and super strong).  I was away from my family which wasn’t easy but I was blessed by having my folks come down to a couple games and meeting them up in the Northwest for a couple games.  Anyway, I was far from home, learning new things, living my dream and being blessed to do so.  One of the new friends I made was a Bay Area based quarterback named Brian.  He had played his high school ball at De La Salle high School in Concord and was blessed to play with many great players (one of whom, Maurice Jones-Drew, ended up playing with us at UCLA the next year).  Brian was also privy to be the son of then-Oakland-Raiders-head-coach Bill Callahan (these were the good years when they went to the super bowl).

Brian’s dad had had the opportunity to spend some time with Coach Wooden and was so impressed by the man that he set up a meeting for his son with the coach at the coach’s own home.  Brian, being the nice guy and incredible friend that he was, decided to invite me and an older receiver, Tab Perry and the three of us spent a fall Sunday afternoon at coach Wooden’s.  We arrived at his place and one could immediately see that it was completetly filled with various awards.  It was to the point that his house almost looked messy because he was the recipient of so many awards.

The afternoon was full of Coach Wooden, hearing stories about coaching Alcindor (Kareem) and Walton, about the many conference championships, about the National Championships and mostly about his wife.  I think the impression I was most left with was the incredible love he and his wife shared.  Even after her death he would write her a letter every week (I would bet he probably still does).  This is a man who is deeply in love with his wife.  He also is a man who practically lives a life of faith in God.  He shared about his weekly church attendance and showed us all the message bulletins he had saved, he also told us about a Christian book he was co-authoring where he would share some meditations and the other guy also tied them in spiritually as well.  I remember leaving and feeling incredibly inspired and blessed, knowing that this was one of those rare momemts in my life I could never forget.

I also remember my sophomore year, when we were preparing for our bowl game and one of only a few hundred people still at campus.  They were dedicating the court at the opening of the 2003/2004 season against a good Michigan State team.  Our whole team was at the game to see the court dedicated and so were probably hundreds of former Wooden players.  All the greats (the aforementioned Walton and Abdul-Jabar included) came out to support their coach and see UCLA’s court receive it’s proper name; even Magic Johnson, though he never played for coach Wooden, came out and supported.  Again, in the court’s naming (it’s the “Nell and John Wooden Court”) everyone can plainly see this humble, great man’s great love for his wife.  The night was also a testament to Wooden’s powerful and lasting influence in the lives of so many.

So Happy Birthday, Coach Wooden.  I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I, unlike so many countless others, cannot forget you and the incredible mark of your life and character.  Here’s to you.