Update Season VI - "A New Day Dawning"

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm sure you've said it before, but who's your favorite team? Personally, I'm with the Royals - I usually follow until the end of June, and if they look toast, I stop following...which is essentially every year.

1) St Louis Cardinals
2) Texas Rangers

[Joe Biden 2020]

Inks, I had only one coke all day long and that wasn't until dinner.

Today, since I won't be walking outside because of the heavy rain and cold weather, and thus can't get to a mile walked, I will be drinking water and my V8 juice, which in reality is a lot better than a coke.  It's not perfect, but it's a little more than water and it's not drenched with high fructose corn syrup.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I drink both Regular Coke/Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper.

[Joe Biden 2020]

We've had two solid days of moderate rain with a total of 2.5-3.5" in most of the Oklahoma City metro.  It has been really cold with temperatures in the high 30s to near 40, and Northwest Oklahoma has had a little bit of wet snow, but it has been exactly what we needed.  The rain is supposed to be out of here by sunrise Thursday and we'll warm up ahead of another storm system coming in late Sunday and staying through at least Wednesday.  Late Sunday - Tuesday we should have a lot of organized severe weather with heavy rain, flash flooding, large hail, damaging winds, vivid cloud to ground lightning, and tornadoes.  Wednesday, we'll have another strong cold front come through knocking us back from the 70s to the 40s with lingering rain.  This week and next week will put a huge dent in both our short term drought and our long term drought.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Good Thursday Morning! I had a good 7 hours sleep. I went to bed around 2:00 am and got up at 9:10. Today is going to be a good day. I have a baseball game at 11:30 - Angels vs. Reds and then my Aunt and Uncle will be coming into town this evening between 3:30 and 5:00. My aunt will be leaving for a week from April 10-17 for Florida, but will be back in Oklahoma for another 5-6 days. Uncle will stay with his Dad in Nicoma Park all three weeks and go back home to Las Vegas with his wife when they leave the 4th week of April. This is going to be a fun April!

[Joe Biden 2020]

I haven't walked today.  I've been out with my mother all day and now at Grandma's waiting for the family to come in.  They should be here between 4 and 5.  It is bright and sunny here in the high 40's, but we'll be busy all month with family and birthdays, so I will walk when I can this month.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'd drink all month long if my April was anything like Bushie's. I can only tolerate relatives coming to town for so long...

After they leave, we'll have my Grandmother's birthday (87) on Apr 24, My pastor's 30th birthday on Apr 27, his 12th anniversary and my Uncle's 66th birthday on Apr 28 and my 31st birthday on Apr 29.  We won't return to normal until May 1!!!

[Joe Biden 2020]

I haven't walked today.  I've been out with my mother all day and now at Grandma's waiting for the family to come in.  They should be here between 4 and 5.  It is bright and sunny here in the high 40's, but we'll be busy all month with family and birthdays, so I will walk when I can this month.

Yet from 9:10 - 11:00, you didn't say you had anything to do.  And you've had time to come on the forum... walking only takes 30 minutes, at most.

I made some phone calls and sent emails.  I could have walked, but I didn't.   No big deal.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I haven't walked today.  I've been out with my mother all day and now at Grandma's waiting for the family to come in.  They should be here between 4 and 5.  It is bright and sunny here in the high 40's, but we'll be busy all month with family and birthdays, so I will walk when I can this month.

Yet from 9:10 - 11:00, you didn't say you had anything to do.  And you've had time to come on the forum... walking only takes 30 minutes, at most.

I made some phone calls and sent emails.  I could have walked, but I didn't.   No big deal.

OK, but you've been making excuses for years.  You didn't become obese overnight just from not exercising once.  Unless you get in a daily routine, you're never going to actually change.

True, I have been making excuses, and I let things get in my way.  I need to stop planning and just do it.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I haven't walked today.  I've been out with my mother all day and now at Grandma's waiting for the family to come in.  They should be here between 4 and 5.  It is bright and sunny here in the high 40's, but we'll be busy all month with family and birthdays, so I will walk when I can this month.

Yet from 9:10 - 11:00, you didn't say you had anything to do.  And you've had time to come on the forum... walking only takes 30 minutes, at most.

I made some phone calls and sent emails.  I could have walked, but I didn't.   No big deal.

OK, but you've been making excuses for years.  You didn't become obese overnight just from not exercising once.  Unless you get in a daily routine, you're never going to actually change.

True, I have been making excuses, and I let things get in my way.  I need to stop planning and just do it.

I believe when I see.

Don't blame you, Kal.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Yeah, I know I say that every time, but I'm not going to apologize for following through on Kenya, because there is no need.  We just got through with a nice dinner and a nice visit as a family.  Tomorrow morning, I don't have much going on, so I will get out and walk for 30 minutes in the morning before I start my afternoon and evening activities.  I should be able to walk Saturday and Sunday afternoon, as well.  With my family in town, my time will be limited, but I'm not going to let that stop me from trying to walk during the time I do have and drinking water when I'm not with them and iced tea lightly sweetened with Splenda for dinner when I am with them.

Its time to be candid right now:  I have had about 4-5 glasses of water a day all week, but my food consumption has not been what it should  I have been pigging out.  I weighed myself this morning for the first time in over a week and I have gained five pounds since I last weighed myself early last week.  I've gone from 264 to 269.  That along with what the doctor told me last Thursday that I've got high cholesterol, weight-induced arthritis in my knees that will travel down to my feet if I don't get this under control, and since he put me on kidney alert because of my mother, has got me concerned.  So, tonight before I go to bed, I'm going to plan out some kind of walking schedule each morning to where I can try to walk at least 30 minutes every day or as many days as I can.  I can't really plan my diet until May as I will be with my family the next three weeks and then have birthdays the rest of the month, but I can at least do what I mentioned above with the water and iced tea.  I'm going to try to go to bed earlier tonight than what I have been which is 1:00-2:00 am, so I can get up a little earlier tomorrow and walk for 30-40 minutes before coming in to get a shower and start my day.  It is time to get serious about this so I can enjoy my time in Kenya among other major benefits that don't need to be mentioned.

One thing I really like about my Indian doctor is he is concerned about my weight.  My regular doctor in Edmond was never really all that concerned about it.  He mentioned it in passing, but never pushed it as a major issue and I am the same size now since when I last saw him last April.

[Joe Biden 2020]

One thing I really like about my Indian doctor is he is concerned about my weight.  My regular doctor in Edmond was never really all that concerned about it.  He mentioned it in passing, but never pushed it as a major issue and I am the same size now since when I last saw him last April.

Yes - I remember when you first went to him you mentioned this and said you'd get in shape because of it... but that hasn't happened.

And part of your old doctor was probably that he was used to you as being overweight.  At some point, he probably realized, "Jeff hasn't lost weight the past __X__ times I've told him... there's no point insulting the man."  That's how some here are.  I'm like the Indian doctor... although a bit more abrasive.  I know you're overweight, and I'll keep reminding you until you aren't.

How about you go walk for an hour tomorrow to make up for today.

Look Jeff, this isn't hard.  I've lost 15.8 pounds in less than 3 months, just by eating less.  I haven't intensified my exercising (which, I'll admit is less than ideal during school, but over the summer, I do get out and jog).

I'm not trying to insult my old doctor or question his practices.  He's an excellent doctor and I was under his care for 16 years from 1996-2012 and I never had any real complaints with him.  In fact, I still have his number on standby for major emergencies that I would feel more comfortable with a regular doctor than a tribal   The reason for that is the Indian Hospital is in Ada, Oklahoma which is a good 75 minute drive from my house.  My old doctor is associated with Mercy Hospital which is in NW Oklahoma City.

I'll definitely get out and walk tomorrow.  It will be a beautiful day, and I want to take advantage of it.

What I really would like to do is try to remember what I did between November 2011 and March 2012 when I lost 25 pounds and go back to doing that.  I do remember I switched completely from Coke and Dr Pepper to Diet Dr Pepper and Coke Zero.  I had several real sugar Cokes in Kenya that got me hooked back on Regular Cokes.  Anymore, though, regular Coke or Dr Pepper tastes fattening and is starting to not taste as well.  Right now, I'm drinking a Diet Dr Pepper since my fish oil capsules taste terrible with just plain water, so I have to have something other than plain water to wash it down with.  Normally, at this time of night, I have some V-8 to take my medicine with, but tonight I decided to have a Diet Dr Pepper.  I know DDP is not necessarily any better, but it is calorie free and still is satisfying like pop generally is and does not taste fattening or sugary.

So, that is my goal, to recall everything I did 2 winters ago and do that.  That would at least get the weight off if nothing else.

[Joe Biden 2020]

This is your life we are talking about. If you don't let that warning concern you, I don't know what will.

I think a lot of us, myself included, want you to get better and we don't wish for you to be sick, but you are, and you could get much worse. You are 31 years old and have problems even my 90 year old grandfather does not have. And you're still making excuses. Family time, birthdays, etc. You're a grown man. You sound like you're 15 years old and have no choice but to stuff your face at all of these events. I get you are home now and your parents do not respect you as an adult, but still.

You've gained 5 pounds in a short period of time, you aren't exercising, working, and you're sleeping in, watching tv all way. I mean, goodness, come on, pal, I don't want you to die so young and that's where you are headed.

At least when I'm with my family, we'll have proper meals (meats, vegetables, fiber, etc) and won't have any fast food.  I will just limit myself to one plate and one piece of pie for dessert and trim the portion sizes just a bit on that one plate so I don't overeat.  Tonight, I made a mistake.  My grandmother made my favorite pie, Pumpkin, and I had one for dessert, but an hour or so later I went back and got another piece of pie with a little more Vanilla Ice Cream to top it off.  I should not have done that.  My mother is having to do the same thing, trim her portion sizes.  She was able to do it this evening and still felt a little hungry after her dessert, but she didn't go back for seconds and did not have anything else to eat or drink the rest of the night save the little swig of Diet Dr Pepper to take her medicine.

I'm still going to enjoy myself while I'm with the family, but I can enjoy myself without over indulging.  In fact, I might enjoy myself more if I don't over indulge.

I might treat myself for my birthday as my Dad will be grilling hamburgers weather permitting, but that's about it.  I'm not going to let my family's company stop me from trying to at least cut down and walk when I'm not with them.  Then, once everybody leaves and the birthdays are over on May 1, I can go full throttle into this diet leading up to my trip to Kenya.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I have heard those fish oil pills lead to some smelly, fishy burps. Maybe it helps to take it with some soda?

That is true, and it helps to take them with soda or fruit juice.  Although, my burps haven't been near as bad as I thought they would be, so that's a blessing.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Do you frequently have dessert with a meal? One dessert is superfluous.

Only when my grandmother cooks do we get a 10 course meal and dessert because that's how she was raised.

When my mother cooks, we don't have dessert and maybe one side dish.

[Joe Biden 2020]

It's been a very long, but very enjoyable day.  I walked for about 45 minutes this morning, then left for my grandmother's at 10:45, got there at 11:00.  My aunt who is a retired CPA helped me with my taxes this afternoon as it was a lot more complicated than usual for someone who knows hardly anything about taxes.  It's a good thing she helped me because it took 4 hours to complete.  We probably could have gotten them done in 2 1/2 hours, but we had to print some Utah forms out on my grandmother's computer and that took forever to update the Adobe Reader and all of that.  It took probably a good 60 minutes just to do that, then we took a break and visited for a bit.  It was more complicated because I had both Oklahoma and Utah to file.  I'll get a decent sized refund back, so the 4 hours was worth it.  We had dinner at 5:00 which was just Vegetable Beef Soup and Cornbread along with Iced Tea.  I had one bowl of soup and two small cornbread muffins and one small slice of Italian Cream Cake for dessert.  Tomorrow, it will get even busier, because my mother's cousins are coming up from Fort Worth at Noon to visit.  They will only stay until Noon Sunday, but we'll have 9 people for dinner tomorrow instead of 7.  Then, on Monday, my Uncle Alan (Mom's brother) and Aunt Teresa will be coming down from Kansas City around 1:00 or 2:00 and leave on Tuesday.  So, we'll have 9 people over for dinner again Monday night.  My Aunt Sherri, the one who helped me with my taxes, is heading to Florida Tuesday morning for a girls weekend with some of her girl friends.  Her husband will stay with his Dad in Nicoma Park until she gets back next Tuesday, April 16.  When she comes back, we'll have a couple they are friends with fly back with them, so we'll have 9 people again for dinner from Tuesday, April 16 until everybody goes back home on Monday, April 22.  Mom, Dad, Grandma, and I may sleep for 10 days straight...

[Joe Biden 2020]

Hey, guys.  It's been a long, exhausting day visiting with family, but it was fun.  I am very exhausted right now, but will stay up until midnight and wake up around 8:00.  I'll leave here around 9:30 in the morning so I can get ready for my music special in the service.  My cousins and I are singing a contemporary piece called "Shout to the North".  Tomorrow is an off day with family, I just have church in the morning and in the evening.  I'm going to try to fit in a walk right after I get home from church tomorrow afternoon for about 30 minutes before I settle in and watch baseball until church time again.  Monday is another big family dinner with Pork Tenderloin being served.  The rest of the week should be pretty low key before it picks up again the following Tuesday, April 16 for another 6 days.  Although, that week doesn't look as brutal as they'll be with his side of the family for a night or two and give us a break.  The last 8 or 9 days of April look nice and easy with just the four of us celebrating two birthdays.

Oh, and I did walk the other day, but unfortunately, when I tried to download the app it gave me an error and I couldn't download it.  I gave up for that evening, but I will try again pretty soon, I've just been caught up with family, hence why I haven't posted much the past two or three days.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I've been doing some calculations.  I am very obese, but my ideal weight is not extremely far away and within eyesight.  At my current weight of 267, I am only 67 pounds over my ideal weight, which is 200, and only 52 pounds over the high end of my goal range.  That is not astronomical when you think about it.  A normal weight for me is about 190, but I think if I can get down to 200-215 eventually, I'll be fine, or at least in much better shape.  It is a lot, don't get me wrong, but I see so many people who are well north of 100 pounds over where they should be, especially in Oklahoma.  If I'm only 50-70 pounds, then it is very doable what I need to do and really shouldn't take too long.  If I can lose maybe 5 pounds a month, I'm only talking like a year of solid commitment.  I can do this easily.  It is well within my realm of capability.  I just have to get started.  I know what to do, so now is the time to just do it.  This next week will be great for getting started as I won't have any family commitments other than Monday night and Friday night dinner with some friends, but I've got a great opportunity to take advantage of wonderful weather and really start walking and getting serious.  Tomorrow will be a good day, Monday up until 17:00 will be a good day, all day Tuesday-Thursday, Friday up until 17:00, all day Saturday-Monday the following weekend will all be great times to take advantage of.  I've got this.  It's time to rock and roll tomorrow!

[Joe Biden 2020]

Why are there so many fats in OK? And y'all don't even guzzle the booze like I do... It's insane.

It's the "Old Country Cookin'" that you mentioned earlier.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I did manage to have three glasses of water today, although I will admit my lunch was the pits.  I ate okay for dinner, but my lunch was not good.

I've learned something.  Do not step on the scale when you have company, because no matter what I do, with several glasses of water a day and a brief, brisk walk most mornings, my body still seems to find the pounds.  So, I'm going to focus on what I need to do for the next couple weeks until everybody leaves, but not worry too much about it.  Worry gets you nowhere and only shortens your life.  When the company is gone, I'll be playing catch up until I go to Kenya.

The thing I don't get is everybody is saying it's extremely easy to take just a little bit when you have a 10 course meal set out in front of you, everybody else is filling their plates and their bellies, and you don't want to offend the host.  The toughest thing for me is limiting myself to one plate AND trimming the portion sizes on that one plate.  I do not want to leave the table still hungry, because I will inevitably go for an extra slice of pie in an hour or so that I don't need.  I don't need to stuff myself so much that I'm miserable, but its tougher than it looks to just take one helping of everything, or most things.  I'm not saying it can't be done, and it may be easy for those who are used to doing it, but for someone who is used to getting seconds, and occasionally thirds of several things on the table, it's a big change.  I've got a big dinner tomorrow night, so we'll see how I do limiting myself to one plate.  I'm just going to focus on limiting myself to one plate and then work on trimming the portion sizes a bit when I know I can successfully cut out the seconds.  When I get past the company and the birthdays, things will settle down quite a bit and it will be much easier to get into a routine.  I will not watch what I eat on my birthday, though, because it is wrong to diet on your birthday, unless you have a medical condition that requires you to do it.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I will not watch what I eat on my birthday, though, because it is wrong to diet on your birthday, unless you have a medical condition that requires you to do it.

Unless that medical condition is morbid obesity, in which case, you can still say, "Screw it! I want cake!"... Is that really the argument you're making?

I'm talking conditions where the doctor has given you a specific diet, such as diabetes or other conditions that restrict what you can eat.  Obesity itself doesn't restrict what you can eat, just that you should restrict what you can eat.  There is a big difference.  Plus, one is required to enjoy themselves on their birthday at all costs even if that includes pigging out.  They only get one birthday a year.

So, to answer your question, Yes.

[Joe Biden 2020]

And, oddly enough, according to the lab results, the doctor said I'm closer to Hypoglycemia than I am to Diabetes.  My lab range was 4.5-6.5.  Anything 4.4 and southis Hypoglycemia, and anything 6.6 and north is diabetes.  My result was a 5.0.  They are going to check my blood sugar again on September 27.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Diabetics can still eat things that everyone else can eat; it's all about balancing your sugar intake and insulin levels.  Just because you're diabetic doesn't mean you can't eat cake; it means you shouldn't have the whole damn cake.  And the same goes for obesity.

Quite true, but nobody obese or not should eat the whole darn cake.  There is something called self control.  Granted, I don't have much, but I do have enough sense to just eat one slice of cake, two at the very most.

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Fair point

[Joe Biden 2020]

This morning, I weighed in at 271.  4 pounds higher.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I've reconsidered not weighing myself until the company leaves.  I need to weigh everyday so I can make sure I don't go too far off track.  Plus, I just can't go three weeks without weighing!  As of this morning, I am back down to 269, a drop of two pounds from yesterday morning.  I'll be walking around Grandma's property for about 30 minutes right after I get over there.  I'm leaving at 10:30, so I should be able to walk from 11:00-11:30.  My family won't be in until around Noon or shortly thereafter.  Tonight, I will limit myself to one helping and will drink water throughout the day again.  I'm not going to let the excuse of family completely stop what I'm doing, and I have never said they would completely stop me.  I just have to do what I can in the face of a lot of other factors.