Well, It has been forever since I have taken time to post in my journal. I figured I would take a few minutes and add an update even though there isn’t much to update on. I have pretty much settled into the weight I was at a few months ago (370). Not sure when my last update was, but I think it was back around February or March. I haven’t really done much in the way of weight loss in the past 3 months. I was working at it for awhile. But, as the economy got worse (To the extent that people have had less and less disposable income. Seeing as who you ask they might still say the economy is doing good), so did my bottom line (at least in financial terms) and I found myself with less and less time to focus on eating well and working out.

I have noticed that as I am spending more hours working, I am opting for easier, quicker meals. The ones that come in a package with tons of calories and not so healthy ingredients. I have even sunk to the point of buying snacks like oreos and chips again. *gasp* While I have managed to maintain my weight give or take 10 pounds, I started getting to the point where I wasn’t feeling as healthy. So, I decided it was time to try and start doing things a little healthier again. The past few weeks, we have been eating much more natural foods with tons of salad and fresh vegetables. I have been enjoying it and I am definitely noticing an improvement in the way I feel.

I have also taken advantage of summer being here. Not as much as I would like to but, I have been getting out more. Work has kept me from getting into the pool as much as I would like to and we have gone to only a fraction of the state parks and local attractions I would have liked to this summer. One thing I did manage to squeeze in was the second annual camping trip for my son and I. We went to Watkins Glenn State Park in New York State. It was nice to spend 5 days with just my son and nature. We got a lot done in those 5 days too. I will post more on the a little later.

All in all, it has been a pretty uneventful summer with regards to weight loss and exercise. I am hoping that the recent decline in oil prices continues and things start looking up giving me an opportunity to start focusing mroe on exercise as the cooler weather of fall arrives.

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Well, despite my strong start to this year, I have kind of strayed from my motivational high and moved into a holding pattern. My biggest issue right now is time. I have none of it. I seem to do best when I can focus on eating well and making the best choices. When I have the time to figure out the best foods to eat, plan a menu, figure out my calorie intake and write about my progress. It’s fairly obvious I haven’t had much time to write about progress or lack of it seeing as I haven’t made a post in close to a month. I just haven’t had the time lately, so I have just kind of gone into a holding pattern at around 360lb. At my last visit to the nutritionist, she suggested that I was her success story and indicated that if I never lost another pound, my weight loss to this point could still be considered a huge success. I suppose in the text book sense that is all fine and dandy.

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Today was my first visit with the nutritionist since October. The past week without a doubt has been better than the several weeks and months prior to it. I have been eating better and doing more. The weather has been a little warmer (a lot warmer yesterday. 60 degree days in January. woohoo!) and I have been taking advantage of it. Yesterday I got out and took the recycle we have been building up during the past two months to the drop off. My garage is definitely happier to have all that recycle out of it. Today after my appointment I took the dog out for a walk. It was only about 8 blocks. Not far, but still a good start. I’m hoping for more warm days and also hoping that we don’t slip back into the frigid temps. As long as it stays above freezing, I see myself getting out for daily walks. My appointment went pretty much as I expected. I am 5 pounds heavier than I was in October. Not great. But not horrible either. Last week that number would have been +10 pounds. So, I am moving in the right direction again.

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At my last appointment with the nutritionist we were talking about my ups and downs and the things that I am having the most problems with. To date my biggest hurdle has been feeling hungry. Some days I just want to eat. I can eat something and 10 minutes later I fee hungry again. When I can keep that in check and eat good, healthy food, I do ok. But when I start to lose focus, I tend to eat not so healthy food. A tidbit of information she shared with me that I found very interesting is the fact that fat cells don’t go away. Read the rest of this entry »

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Well, it has certainly been awhile. I haven’t really had the time or the motivation to post here in awhile. I haven’t really had the motivation for much. I seem to have hit a point where things are standing still. I will drop a few pounds over the course of a week or two and then gain a few pounds. I seem to be sitting at a plateau. I haven’t really been trying either. I have been eating more than I should and not doing enough exercise. The good news is that I still have been staying around the same weight. I am currently at 365 pounds. I seem to have hit my 100 pound mark and hovered there.

That pretty much sums up where things are and have been as far as my weight goes. I have been getting a lot more exercise though. That is part of my reason for less time to devote to this web site. We had an above ground pool installed in early July and spent the summer enjoying that and getting out of the house a lot more. I took my son on his first camping trip and we went hiking and boating, I have walked more in the past 4 months than I probably did in the 4 years before starting to try and lose weight. All of that is part of the reason that I have not gained a ton of weight back. Now, I just need to get my eating back in check and things will be good again. I think breaks are a good thing. I have been trying to use this one to find my next level of motivation. My previous motivation came from the fact that I could barely do anything. I would eat dinner and be so tired I needed to take a nap. I barely got out of the house and I wanted to spend time with my son. I have been doing those things, so the motivational focus needs to shift to something else and I have been trying to figure out that shift.

I plan on adding a pile of posts over the next day or two to cover a lot of the things I have touched on here and some of the things that have been on my mind the past few months. Today is Friday, Sept. 28 2007 and I have carved out some time this weekend to devote to writing posts and to getting this web site to where I want it. I have spent a few hours during the past month adding in the features I have been wanting for this site. Things like a forum where you can weigh in with your thoughts and opinions on topics such as losing weight, maintaining your weight, nutrition, exercise and more.

I have added a link directory full of resources for overweight folks spanning multiple categories with more than 600 links currently in it. I plan on adding a lot more as time goes by. You can also add any relevant links you think might be helpful or simply browse through the links, rate them and leave some comments. Finally, I have added some pages packed with useful products and product information in various categories in the Shopping XL section. The product categories include: Body Fat Monitors and calipers, fitness dvd’s, diet bars and shakes, exercise equipment, Fitness books, weight loss books, vitamins, weight loss supplements and more. All of the products at this point are courtesy of Amazon.com and focus solely on diet, exercise, weight loss and nutrition. I am hoping to incorporate additional reviews of products through the weigh in section of this web site. If you would like to add your thoughts about a product, feel free to Weigh In at the forum and let us know what you think!

My initial idea behind this web site, was to create a place where people of size could easily find and share information on products and services that make life, being built big, a little bit easier. Up until this point, I have pretty much used this site as my personal journal with only the plans to add these additional features. During the next few days, I will be making these pages live and rolling out these new features. I think these new additions will help bring BuiltBig.com a little bit closer to being that resource I have been wanting it to be. I hope you find some value in the new pages and as always, If you have any questions, suggestions or simply want to say hi, stop in at the forum or contact me here.

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I am posting my weekly weigh in today since I had my first visit with the nutritionist and was weighed when I checked in. My current weight is 433. Seems as though I am having a tough time beating down the 430 pound mark. Maybe it is my lack of exercise or just the fact that I haven’t been trying quite so hard the last couple weeks. I think after my visit with the nutritionist, I have a little better understanding on what I need to do and now that I know of the Fit Day website that I can use to track my daily food intake I think I will be able to do much better with my calorie tracking and be able to eat better than I have been. I am looking forward to seeing where I am at with my next doctor visit.

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