Day 18 (20)

Football day today so I'll make it quick! Overnight weight loss was 1.8lbs and the total so far is 26.8lbs. Pretty happy with that as I'm closing in on target 30lbs with 4 days left.

Day 17 (19)

A day of milestones today. First, this time NEXT week will be my last day on the VLCD (500 calorie diet), so this first round of HCG will be over. Second, I started this first round 2 weeks ago weighing over 250lbs, and today I went under the 230lbs marker - hugely significant!
The overnight figures are as follows; weight loss yesterday 1.4lbs, total loss overall exactly 25lbs (or for those Brits reading this, 1 stone 11 lbs).
So there you go. have a great Saturday. next update tomorrow.

Day 16 (18)

Friday - 8.50am
Okay we are at Friday, and to be perfectly honest I am looking forward now to introducing some more variety into things. Still, the overnight news is 1.2lbs lost, bringing the total loss so far to 23.6lbs, which definitely makes all the pain worthwhile!!
Here's to the weekend :-)

Day 15 (17)

Blustery and stormy today -- I kinda like it too. last night was a great sports evening with an excellent Game 1 of the World Series and the Blazers winning to go 2/2. Hurrah!
I got a bunch of vitamin tablets yesterday after discovering I'd misread one of my HCG "manuals" and I WAS allowed vitamin D after all, along with C, but only those two. Anyway, I've put that right and so I'm dosed up for the day and ready for whatever Thursday throws at me.
On the weight loss front, another quarter of a pound overnight, making the total after exactly two weeks to be 22.4 lbs.

What money cannot buy

Be honest now, you thought with a title like that that this was going to be a really spiritual post. Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but in fact I'm talking about...basketball!

The Miami Heat showed off their new superstar-laden line up in it's first meaningful match up last night, and I have to confess to a certain grim satisfaction at their defeat, even if it was to another team I do not like, the Celtics.

During the off season, the Heat got out the check book big time to bolster their line-up so they can now join the Celtics in boasting a "Big Three" of their own - Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and, of course, LeBron.

I'll be honest, I'm no fan of buying up all the talent to make up one big "super team". I've seen it happen over the years in soccer in the UK, starting with Manchester United in the late 80s and early 90s, shopping around with check book flapping in the breeze to grab all of Europe's top players at exorbitant prices. 

They were followed in the late 90s by Chelsea, and, to a lesser extent, Arsenal. As all of those teams discovered at first, having the talent is one thing, but getting them to actually play together takes time, and unless the club owner (who let's face it tends to be impatient and want an instant return on his considerable investments) realizes this, times can be a little tough at first.


Both Chelsea and Manchester United struggled initially to make any impact with their new superstar squads, but in recent times Chelsea have emerged as a team who not only have the cream of European soccer talent, but who also have spent time getting them to function as a team.


All this to say that while I have no doubt that the Heat will in time get it together, and probably spectacularly so, it is bound to take time. Despite this however, I personally cannot help feeling that buying in ALL the talent as a principle is not something I can get behind -- which is why I equally do not like the Celtics!


Now I'm sure you'll tell me that if my Washington Wizards, or my Liverpool FC in the UK EPL were to buy up a ton of the world's top players, and then be wildly successful, I'd be singing a different tune, and while that may be partially true, I still maintain that there is a certain hollowness in victories that are achieved by buying up all the talent, opposed to developing talent from younger players or even a youth program.


I realize that some of this might sound "holier than thou" but these are my honest feelings. Buying victory to me rings hollow, and nurturing it is more honorable. Trouble with that course of action is that it takes time, and these days we don't have the time or the money to wait.


To quote the Queen song. "I want it all, and I want it now."

Day 14 (16)

Brrr! It's a chilly one today! Well overnight the weight loss was 0.6 pounds - just over half a pound, bringing the total so far to 22.2 pounds, which for anyone following in the UK is 1 stone 8 1/4 pounds. Just about a week to go, and the initial target of 30 pounds is very do-able!

Day 13 (15) Report

Tuesday 26th - 9.30am:

So here's the skinny (hahaha, geddit..?!) on the overnight weight loss. 0.8 pounds lost, bringing the total lost to 21.6 pounds. Not too shabby!!!
Have a great Tuesday!!

HCG Day 12 (or is it 14...?)

Monday 25th - 9.15am: I'm even confusing myself here!! So this is the 12th day of the 500 calorie diet, and the 14th day since I started taking the drops. There!

After a VERY busy weekend, which saw an unforgettable worship concert by the Naz Saturday Night Band on Sunday night, the weight loss figures for yesterday are in. Loss was 1.2 pounds, making the total lost to date to be 20.8 pounds (or for those in the UK, 1 stone 6 pounds).

I suppose if I were looking for landmarks, this is the last full week I will be taking the drops. Next week I will take them up until Thursday, and then Thursday through Saturday I will continue the 500 calories but will be off the drops. This week though, it's full steam ahead!

HCG Day 11

6.20am: Again just a short post today as I have to be at church soon :-(


Loss for yesterday was just small - 0.2 pounds - but the trend continues downwards at 19.6 pounds. Very encouraging. Have a great Sunday.

Day 10 Report

Just the briefest of reports today cause I overslept. lost a whopping 3.6 pounds yesterday - somehow - bringing total loss to 19.4 pounds. Wow!!!


Okay, gotta run!!!

Bring The Rain

I had to edit a large number of teaching programs before this week's Pledge Drive at theDove, and this entailed going through and listening to much of them, in order to determine where to best position the edit that would chop the program in half. The program that most impacted me this week was the Focus on the Family 2 part interview with Todd & Angie Smith. 

Todd Smith is one third of the Christian vocal group Selah. He and Angie already had three daughters when she became pregnant with a fourth, whom they had named Audrey Caroline, back in 2008. It became apparent early on that there were serious problems with the pregnancy, and Todd & Angie had to make some tough decisions.

The outcome can be followed in a blog (now a book called "I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy") which has been read by hundreds of thousands of people, and which has provided comfort, inspiration and challenge to many more.
 
I was riveted by the Focus program when I listened back to it this week, and decided to investigate the blog further. It is lengthy, but also fascinating, compelling, and very emotional. The latest Selah album - "You Deliver Me" - includes as a bonus song a musical version of an open letter to Angie's daughter, written by her mommy and recorded by the group. It is a powerful, powerful song.

I could talk for hours about all this; how reading the blog and hearing the interview seemed to kick start something within me which wanted to get back to this incredible God who revealed himself through this extraordinary set of circumstances, and from whom I have been WAY too far away... 

but instead I will content myself with posting the link to the blog and encourage you - if you haven't already - to check it out, or better still, get the book. You will cry, you will laugh, you will be angry, but through all this you will see the fingerprints of God all over this story.
Take a look here

P.S. I ought to point out that on May 19th this year, Todd and Angie welcomed their daughter Charlotte Olivia into the world. God is good.

HCG Day 9

Just a quick mention that after 8 days we are looking at another 0.8 pounds loss. Total now just under 16 pounds (15.8 pounds).
Today at the office we are all walking around in something of a daze after 4 incredible days of Pledge Drive. Looking forward to the weekend, that's for sure, but I have a busy busy one ahead with multiple church commitments. Pray for me, for strength, and that I stay awake! I'll be going into work on Monday for a rest!!!

One week (Day 8) of HCG and the last day (Day 4) of Pledge Drive

So it's just after 5.30am and I woke of my own accord around 5. Maybe I'm too tired to actually sleep - who knows?
Anyway, after an exhausting week of pledge driving, we have our final big push today, the day when historically, most people call in. I really hope they do, because we are 100% listener supported, so we need people's support so we can keep going - that's no exaggeration. By 6pm tonight it'll be over and we'll know just how much we can do in the next 6 months.
After a slightly less exhausting week 1 of HCG, I can report that the total weight loss (after a loss overnight of 0.6 pounds) is exactly 15 pounds for the first week. Not too shabby, I think you'll agree! For those Brits reading, by the way, that is 1 stone and 1 pound.
Anyway, time to finish my cup of tea and probably go straight to work. Might as well, seeing as I have to be there by 7 anyway today. Get there early and get some work done....

Day 7 HCG, Day 3 Dove Pledge Drive

Well it seems that the Take That name change was just proposed, and not finalised, which is a relief - not that I'm too closely into that one, you understand!

On the weight front, day 6 saw a loss of just under a pound (0.8 of a pound to be exact - I have digital scales!), to make the total weight loss as we move into day 7 14.4 pounds. Those in the UK will recognize that as being just a fraction over a stone, which is the first big landmark. Feeling okay as well. No headaches, cravings or starving hunger, so I'm quite encouraged so far.

Right. To work!

HCG Day 6 and Pledge Drive Day 2

So apparently Take That are changing their name to "The English". Bizarre!

Okay let's cut to the chase here after a hectic Day 1 of our Pledge Drive at theDove. First time we've ever done a Monday, and at times it was lively, at times slow, but we're into Day 2 now.

As for HCG, the weight loss is slowing, but at least the trend is still down. Overnight another 1/2 pound lost, bringing the total to around 13 1/2 pounds.

More news tomorrow. Back to Pledge Driving now!

HCG Day 5 and Pledge Drive day 1

Okay, so the skinny for today (haha) is this. Weight loss overnight - 1 pound. Total for 4 days - 13 pounds.


It's Pledge Drive Day 1 today, so things are pretty insane here.

HCG and other matters

I realize it's been an age since I last posted. To be frank, I've struggled quite a bit recently with several things. The wait for news on my visa has been quite a strain, and I have sadly let myself go more than I would have liked when it comes to health, to the point where I am just not happy with what I am right now.


One thing I can do is to work on getting healthy while I wait to find out if I get to stay in the country, so I have just started the HCG diet. HCG has been very well documented online and pretty much everywhere else, so I won't go into the ins and outs of it here. 
Suffice it to say that there are many - my GP, who researched it thoroughly and then did it along with his wife - who have done, or are doing it who love it, and there are those who do not approve of it. That's fine. That's their choice. My choice is to do this diet.


Because I know there are a lot of people online who are struggling with weight issues, I don't personally feel I want to talk about HCG on networks such as Facebook, so I am going to use this blog as an update opportunity.


So, to update now. Thursday was day 1 of the 500 calorie HCG diet, and there are 23 days on the drops. On day 1 I lost 5 pounds. Day 2 I lost 4 pounds, making the total 9 pounds, and yesterday, day 3, I lost 4 pounds, making the total to date 12 pounds.



I will try and remember to update daily on here. That might be a challenge this week as we have 4 days of Pledge Drive at theDove starting tomorrow. This is a necessary but exhausting period of work, which we do twice a year to raise the funds that keep us going, since we are 100% listener supported. Basically if the money isn't donated, it doesn't happen.


I'll be the first to admit that I really don't like asking people for money, especially in these really tough financial times, but it has to be done, and so I'll be in endurance mode until Thursday night. If you have a spare moment, pray that the funds we so desperately need come in. 




Thanks, and now the football is starting. Gotta go!