Thursday, May 24, 2007

One step for the rest of my life!

Well… I have decided to get off my butt and loose my “winter coat”! It’s a bout time I know. It’s been really hard these past few … ok 12 years with all this weight. It’s amazing how much of my life has been affected by caring so much extra weight around. When I was in the military I was much thinner and in excellent physical condition. I had so much energy, was full of life and generally had a much more up beat attitude. Who was it that said that youth was wasted on the young?

So its time to drop the baggage and get healthy for my growing family. Not sure if you know this or not but, last year I was very close to getting a spot on the TV show The Biggest Loser. I received a call and was told I was on my way to Hollywood… the week before leaving I was told I was cut from the line up. That’s how it works. I was not really looking forward to being on TV, but instead I was interested in having the opportunity to do nothing but loose weight. It was not meant to be though… I’m sure God was saving me from a mountain of humiliation in front of an International audience.

Michelle and I have tossed around the ideas of joining a gym or going with home gym equipment. Due to our limited budget, and extremely limited time, we have decided to go with home equipment. So far we have a treadmill (belongs to my mother) and will probably pick up a “Total Gym” or something similar. I have started to use the treadmill and man… do I have a long way to go.

At this point it takes me about 24 minutes to walk a full mile. What a shameful thing! I used to run 3 miles in about 19 minutes. Is there any hope?! I try and not think of the work ahead and instead try and focus on what I could do with my health like ride a bike with my kids, or play sports, or hike, or go swimming in public with out feeling ashamed of myself and wanting to hide! Have self esteem… not that's a concept.

I just weighed in this past Sunday at 405 lbs… that’s the starting point. So I’m asking each of you to pray for me. I need the prayers to stay focused and walk off all this weight. I will post updates to my progress and try and post some pics of my weight loss journey.

This year is shaping up to be a year where God is helping me to get things done in my life. I changed jobs, moved my family 2000 miles to HOT Texas, I am testing for my Customs Brokerage license, seeing a Dr about my sinus problems, hearing problems, foot problems, depression, trying to loose weight, and on top of all that God has blessed us with another son John-Paul. Needless to say were pretty busy. I’m determined to get focused and start accomplishing instead of just dreaming about accomplishments.

So let’s get to work! Pray for me and I will pray for you.

In Christ
Joe M

3 comments:

Joe McClane said...

Good News! I weighed in at 402 lbs this morning.... I was also able to trim the mile down to 20 minutes.

In Christ!
Joe

Anonymous said...

Good for you Joe!!! Make sure you let us know when you new bundle of joy arrives.

Andrea

K said...

Hey Joe,
Congratulations on the new baby! I've seen you and the family at Mass and knew you guys were part of the Bread of Life, but didn't know your names to say hello.

I am pulling for you on the path to health. Your family needs you to be around for as long as possible, and anything we can do to be there for family will be blessed by God. Of this I am sure.

The journey starts with a single step, whether it takes 24 mins to walk the mile or not. You've taken that step and I'll keep you in my prayers that you are able to stay focused and motivated. When I am struggling with my workouts, I try to think of Christ on the cross. It really helps me to put my discomfort in perspective.

I'll be checking in on your progress! Feel free to check out my blog as well...