Something for the good of your spirit!

So who are these people in our lives that we see day after day that we are suffering. We see them living out of their cars, on the street, unemployed, begging for help. Do you ever give them some of your pocket change? Do you ever buy them a bottle of water or a cup of coffee? Do you speak to them?
No matter what you think of the people you see on the street, the needy or the destitute, they have something in common with you…they are human. As human beings they deserve the same rights, considerations, respect and empathy that you do. The sad thing is, we laugh, sneer and shun them. We suppose that they make a ton of money begging and we dismiss them as frauds. We are the frauds.

Does anyone remember back when I helped the homeless guy catch his loose dog and then offered him a free haircut in the parking lot of the gas station in Cherokee Springs? It was a little embarrassing and a little humbling, but it was tremendously appreciated and that man is hopefully teaching at a school in Atlanta now, back on his feet. Maybe not, but at least I gave him the benefit of the doubt and the belief that he could accomplish something with what had become a rather sad state of being.

How many times in your life have you seen someone on the street, or in Wal-Mart, or even at work that smelled bad, or was in need of something that you could easily help them with? How many times did you help? Did you look the other way, or stare blankly ahead hoping not to meet their gaze, waiting nervously for the light to turn green when we encountered them at a red light? Have we become that disengaged from the plight of the needy that we think we are too good to help?

I have a feeling that over the next few years some of the people reading this blog might be in bad need of help. I think the country as a whole will see more and more homeless and desperate men and women and yes, even children.

Horry County SC has hundreds of kids living on the street that still attend high school. The school system is doing its best to help them.

Spartanburg SC has an amazing soup kitchen that feeds hundreds.

Asheville has a endangered Women's shelter in the middle of its prominent downtown area.

What are you doing to help the needy? Anything? Nothing?

I want to challenge each of you to dedicate some of your time this week to do SOMETHING toward your fellow man, even if you feel like you need the charity and don’t have a penny to give.Give someone a can of food, or some of your time, or some old clothing or sell something and donate the money or just speak to these people or smile at them, for God’s sake, for the sake of your soul, for the sake of your children. Prove to yourself that love is boundless,boundary-less and that every person on the planet is worth something to you. They are to me.
I hope everyone has the most beautiful day possible and don’t forget that if you are worth more than you think, that alone should increase your neighbors value and the value of the man on the street!

Go Do Something about it!!!!

wow, what a workout!!!

OK, so I have not been posting as much lately, I know. I have been yelling at myself about it. I have not been doing as well over the past few weeks and I am allowing some discouragement in my life to affect my progress.

Have you ever tried to put yourself into someone else’s shoes and try to understand what is going on in their mind?

I have had a crazy few weeks. I am trying to put together a career (have been for a while) and it is fighting me like a living person, beating me down more and more every day. I have tried to figure out how to make my professional life stronger and how to move on from my current situation into a better one and I just can’t do it. At least I feel like I can’t do it.

I can go on about this but it is pointless. The reason I brought it up is that the discouragement has caused me to focus less on my health and wellness and it is starting to affect my results.

I also recently saw a picture of myself that was less than flattering, and it sent me even further into a spiral.

The truth of this whole post comes when I realized that while we are all responsible for our feelings and we are all responsible for our outlook, we cannot always control our feelings and out attitude toward our outlook. There must be some ties in the words responsibility and control, both are words contingent with the will of the person using the words. Both words have emotional and physical elements. (Both words are also qualities of the Green Lantern, SHOUT OUT)!

Responsibility in the context of accountability…position of being accountable to somebody or for something

Control …to exercise power or authority over something or someone.

The only thing I can see or think of that responsibility has in common with control is that both words tend to describe actions taken over somebody or something.

I think that before we can take responsibility for a career or control over the elements of our lives that affect our lives, we HAVE to learn responsibility and control over ourselves. We need to have a firm grasp on our mental and physical wellbeing before we can extend that hold over other aspects of our lives.

So today I started the most intense month of workouts to date. I am infusing more physical activity every day and plan to follow my trainer’s strict nutrition program (intermingled with my WW plan) to get the maximum results I can get.

My new plan for my daily routine will take me to the point of more responsibility and control, not just in my personal life, but in my public and professional life as well…

Let me know how you are doing and let’s keep on the right track together!!!!

Brian H…This post was being written when you sent your comment to my status today, so this is dedicated to getting us both back on track!!!!

Update on some fun stuff.

This is an interesting bit of info...

After several years of writing, a great story line, some awesome character development and a ton of super positive feedback, “The 20” project finally might (keep fingers crossed) have an illustrator. Yes readers, my comic book vision might be one step closer to reality.
I went to dinner and a movie with someone Friday night and we went to see X-Men first class and then had dinner. The movie and the conversation re-inspired me to dive back into my creative process and go back to the story of that I began developing close to six years ago.
For those of you that were part of that creation, and for those of you that were part of the character inspiration, you know who you are, you will be excited to know that this illustrator is a college student that is a complete comic junky and is pursuing his future with a degree in graphic design and commercial design and is a classic cartoonist. These illustrations could very well be similar to the art seen in The Phantom and Dick Tracy comics from way back in the day, and also from classic Cat woman art from the sixties. EXACTLY what I see in my head when I am writing Lucretia and her minions Wolfie and Poi.
I will update on the blog when this happens as well as where I am in story development and possible online publication, as I have recently been introduced to the possibility of that as well.
Get excited, The 20 is coming!!!

recipes and links

I made an amazing veggie soup last night with sauce made from my own garden's tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peas, carrots, chicken and salt and pepper, that's it!!! it was yummy and best of all, i ate two bowls of it and didnt feel guilty!

I love to eat healthy, and try new things. The recipe for this soup should find its way on to the food website my family is trying to create, although it is starting out kind of slow...I also will be putting a recipe for salsa on there too, so stay tuned for that, the link to the blog is on my links list so check it out. Also check out TRUHEALTHQUEST as well, it is amazing as is its author, Daniel!!!

MOTIVATION!!! getting over it and not giving in!

I have been typing for almost an hour and a half. And I just erased the whole post because I haven’t the courage to say what I want to say. I was allowing a situation to upset me and hinder my journey and I am now aware of it. I learn more about myself through typing the words I feel than I do by thought. It is amazing to me how I can do that.I am also amazed that I am going to handle this a little differently than normal, instead of begging or obsessing, I am going to try and motivate myself and you all, and then I am letting it all go, FOREVER!!!

I am going to make a post. I am not going to add a picture, or be silly. I am however going to say that this Journey I am on right now is pretty damn important to me. It is more important than my feelings about any one part of the old Rob. I AM different, NEW! I am growing, becoming stronger and I don’t need to react or act the way I did before, for even one minute, or for even one person.

My core belief system is intact, my ideals and desires have not gone away, fact is, they have come to light. What was important still is and the love I share is still as strong as ever!
I am still me! STRONGER!

Some things, however have changed, I will not beg, I will not give in to the gluttony that created the 450 pound monster I was, I will not view myself as a failure and I will NEVER be sorry for changing for my health and my future! NEVER GIVE UP!

Read into this post if you want, try and figure out why I typed it and tell me if you understand. But most of all, FEEL THIS WAY TOO!!! The best relationship you will ever know is the one you have with yourself!
Love to you all!

update!!!

Update on my last post…
I lost most of my zucchini plants and the one that is left is producing poorly so I am cutting them down tomorrow, the pumpkins are looking really sad too, but are still blooming and I will keep them a little longer. The tomatoes, however are doing great and have made me feel much better about the garden, next year it is going to be root veggies and cabbage and tomatoes.
My attitude is better too and I am trying to whip myself back into shape with my workouts. I am doing much better with my desire to train and feel stronger every day.
The rest will come in time and I have to accept that nothing happens over night. I have to keep saying that to myself over and over and over again until it sticks.
This will lead into the next post……

The Good and the Bad, which one is this?

7-10-11
So I am getting a little frustrated with a few things and I needed a little encouragement so I thought I would blog about it.

My garden, is at the top of my list today…I water it a lot, I pull the larger weeds, and it’s looking really sad. The tomato plants’ leaves are wilting and it’s not blooming anymore. The pumpkin plants were attacked by aphids and even though we got rid of the bugs, they are dying a slow and nasty death. The zucchini and squash are still producing and growing but they are now infested with giant brown, weird looking bugs that are not affected by sevin dust. I am tempted to just run the lawnmower over the whole thing and call it quits because it is kind of depressing me to even look at it. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE APPRECIATED!!!

Motivation. I have lost some of the motivation I need to track what I eat and I think it is going to affect this week’s weigh in. I am still tracking, but I am guessing instead of using strict portion control and I noticed that I ate while watching TV and I have tried to stop doing that. I had been posting some of the food I was eating but that got to be too tedious and my internet was acting weird so I was unable to keep it up. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Workouts. My workouts are getting more intense and I am dreading them on some days. I still do them, but with some serious loathing. I am scared that this feeling of dread mixed with the lack of motivation in my nutrition will hinder my fat loss and prevent me from moving forward on my journey in the direction I want to go in. ANY ADVICE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Sadness. I am so sad. I feel a little bit like I am on a roller coaster ride emotionally over the past week and I am not sure why. I was thinking it was a lack of sleep, or a lack of relaxation, or my job or my loneliness. I am not sure, but I feel like I am being pulled down by something and I am getting concerned because I remember feeling this way before I made the commitment to get healthy and it ALWAYS leads to self destructive behavior. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

Fear. I am scared that all of this above will send me backwards on my path toward a healthy mind, body and soul. I have been really focused on succeeding and now suddenly it feels threatened. ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!


7-11-11
I decided to sleep on everything I was worried about. I woke up this morning an hour and a half later than usual and woke up with that pit in my stomach and the sadness was still there. I sat directly on the end of my bed and remembered one word I typed last night and said it out loud. “COMMITMENT”

I went back through the entire post and reread everything carefully and just as I was about to give up I noticed, I was writing in the order of the subjects that were causing myself doubt. Remember, I have a very low self esteem to begin with, so this shouldn’t surprise anyone.

My garden. This is the first attempt I have ever made with plants, period.
I should not expect perfection and certainly should expect problems. So I made the decision that as long as the plants were producing and had blooms, I would not run them over with the lawn mower. When and if they failed to produce and lost all their blooms, I would not hesitate to remove them from my life. If I get any assistance, I will try a different approach, but this is my game plan now.

My Motivation, I have had seven months of the greatest success with nutrition and weight loss and I am not going to allow a lack of motivation to keep me from my goal. Failing at a garden will not be a catalyst for gaining weight. I am going to go back over my first three months of food tracking and I am going to make a better effort to write down everything that goes into my mouth from what I drink to what kind of candy I lick. EVERYTHING! I am going to be more strict on my measurements and portion control. I will be going to dinner on Wednesdays with my friends but I WILL NOT BE USING IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EAT WHAT I DESIRE TO EAT. The dinner with friends is for the fellowship, not the food.

MY Workouts, plain and simple one here folks. I am being a big friggin baby!!! SO WHAT, the workouts are getting harder. The hard workouts are gonna make me harder and that is what I want! I have made the decision to take the workouts outside. I am not gonna let my lack of motivation prompt me to become indifferent to my fitness goals! Screw that!!!!!! I am getting ready to work out now and am going to make it the best workout to date! (look for the sports injury blog to come shortly after this one, lol)

Sadness, well duh! Of course I am sad. I changed direction mid-stream and am sad because I lost some motivation and started to dread the workouts I loved, and my failing garden pushed me to the edge. REALLY?!?!? Yeah I guess it did. I am more fragile than I thought. Or am I? I started the garden three months in to my journey, and now that my fat loss has slowed down slightly, and the garden is looking weak, I am transferring that weak feeling to my journey and it is making me sad. IT’s all connected.

I am going to refrain from trying to absolve my fear; I plan on using it as fuel.

I am going to post this anyway. I want all of you to see how truly hard it is to stay focused and push forward when you have spent your entire life in sloth and gluttony. I also want you all to see how easy it is to make the right choice. I did most of the choice making right here in front of my laptop just now! I think I have found a way to move forward in a positive direction now; I have a plan for my garden, a plan to get re-motivated and a plan to get more out of my workouts. Keep checking back for updates on today’s post!!!

A couple of anniversary's and a big question!

What is the secret to sustaining a long and happy romantic relationship?
I am fortunate enough to have many,many people in my life that are in lasting committed relationships that have stood up to the tests of time and even though I know these relationships have had their troubles, they have always remained strong and unbreakable.

Today is the thirteenth anniversary of one of my lifelong friends. Thirteen years of experience that I only wish I had. My parents have been married 44 years (I think) this December. That’s just two amazing examples of longevity that inspire me to work harder at all of my relationships.
I think part of the strength of these two particular relationships is that the people involved seem to be best friends as well as committed partners. They include each other in most facets of life and respect each other enough to trust that they always have each other’s interest at heart.

As I move forward on my journey I want to be able to feel equal with everyone in my life, as these four people feel to their partners and I want everyone to know what I believe; Love is not a variable, but an absolute.

I don’t believe that we fall out of love; I believe that love just becomes stagnant and boring, and that is why we drift. There are tons of couples that find ways to generate more and more excitement over time and that helps keep the relationship going. I also believe that anger can become a much stronger emotion than love and it can destroy relationships, so can depression and anguish. Learning, over time how your partner reacts to the stimuli of different emotions is another key to a lasting relationship. But some people seem to have it figured out right outta the dugout...

I have two friends (Ashley and Spencer) that are celebrating there one year anniversary and I want them to know that the beauty in their relationship comes from the love they have toward each other and that year two goes by even faster than year one because the routines are in place, the awkward first “living together” experiences are over, the “leather” of your marriage “glove” has loosened a bit and fits much, much better. I have been amazed ever since meeting the two of them at how they seem to have alot of the confusing relationship stuff figured out already!

I think a big part of the secret to the success of all of these relationships is simply True Love. I know that I see that love in the actions and words of these great people and that they will find a way to make it through even the hardest of life’s moments and they will persevere till the end of life together as strong individuals made complete through the love of their partners!

Happy Sunday to everyone, Love and Congrats to Ashley and Spencer and Aaron and Dean, and continued love and long life to my incredible parents Bob and Linda!

I hope their successes rub off on me!

What a great day!!!

Well folks today is going to be a great day!!! I just wanted to take a minute to say hello and wish everyone a fantastic friday! I am off on Sunday and plan on taking a bike ride, somewhere, if anyone wants to join me let me know!
No matter what you have going on in your life, no matter how sad and how frustrated you are about your own situation, the best thing you can do is get outside and move. I know this sounds dumb to those of you that are stuck in your homes or on the couch in front of the TV, or sucked in to video games and online this and that, but its true. Try a little bit of sunshine and outdoor activity and see how much better you feel!

Love to you all, and Have a great day!

Check out this post!!!

http://truhealthquest.com/2011/07/a-true-transformation/, My friend and Trainer Daniel wrote a very nice piece about me on his Blog check it out and if you wanna join us with Turbulence Training, give him a shout!!!

http://truhealthquest.com/2011/07/a-true-transformation/

Check this out!!!

http://eatlesstobemoore.blogspot.com/

Less is Moore is the idea behind a new blog dedicated to healthy eating from a family standpoint!
My immediate family, my parents, and two sisters and I are starting this blog as a way to get healthy ideas in food and family activity to our friends. We are all trying really hard to get healthy and get our lives in order so that we can enjoy life instead of eating our way through it.
We are going to be posting recipes that we have tried or have invented. We are going to get new recipes to try from you and post our opinions on how they taste and how easy they r to make.
We are also going to talk about family time and holidays and how we are going to try and make family time a little less about food and computers and smart phones and more about quality time as individuals coming together as a family.
The first post is an explanation about what we have accomplished and why we are doing this and the second post is a recipe my sister Jennifer wanted to share for fish. I am going to post a recipe soon for easy fruit parfait, so look out for that.
Our intent is to take the complexity out of healthy eating and to make people aware of how easy it is to make better choices.
So for all my readers that I have been begging to get onboard with the Journey, to all of my readers that are on this journey with me…This blog is for you!!!

Independence day!!!!

I love holiday time!!! I love everything about holidays! I love the food, the fun with family and the activities! As my family undergoes a transformation, from sedentary and listless, to active and full of life, we are begining to understand why we became the way we became and what caused us to become so unhealthy. Our Mom has always been the healthy one in the family and try as she could, we would not be broken. In otherwords, we didnt care what she tried to tell us, we were going to eat what we wanted when we wanted it. Then we decided to change, together!
so far this year, my family has lost a combined total of 173 pounds. We are feeling better, looking better, smiling more and making real plans for our future instead of dreaming about our future. Our hearts are beating better, we are giving less of our money to the drug companies and the fast food restaurants, which I am convinced are in cahoots with each other and we are having fun.
Tomorrow is Independence Day here in the US, and even though I have some followers in Germany and India and Eukraine, I thought it would be a neat idea for all of us to declare independence from something unhealthy.
I, for instance am quitting soda, I have been drinking too many diet sodas, so that is what I am quitting. My older sister is declaring independence from the clutter in her house, my Neice is declaring independence from poor sleeping habits and my younger sister wants to declare independence from being single, but that's for another blog...but you get the point.
What kinds of things do you want to declare independence from? Are there alot of things or just a few that you can think of? What is stopping you from quitting these things? What are your reasons for feeling dependent on these things?
My Mom says that if you spend 5 minutes a day cleaning each room of your house you will never have to take a whole day off to clean. Try taking 5 minutes a day and think about the things in your life that you are seriously unhappy with, decide how to rid yourself of the things you deem unhealthy.
Let me know what you want to declare independence from and lets work together to get this done!!! Maybe we can get one step ahead on our journey!!!
Happy Independence Day Everyone!!!!

What a great weekend!!!

So, by now all of you know that I struggle every day with my weight and my food choices. I am willing to bet that most of you do as well. How you handle your worst days should help you understand how far you have come in your Journey. If you are the type of person I am, you would have eaten an entire box of cookies after a stressful day at work. Today, however, I am finding myself lifting weights and meditating (not at the same time) when I am stressed.
Yesterday was a stressful day at work, I was very busy and the day was just all around rough. Today is likely to be rough as well, so instead of over eating I am planning my meals, taking a deep breath and soldiering forward. I am keeping my emotions in check.
This weekend is also likely to be rough on some of you as I know we all have our family traditions associated with the fourth of July and food. This year though, I am focusing on the fun and the family and not so much on the food. I hope you all do as well.
There isn’t much to today’s post, I just wanted to let everyone know that you are not alone, and if you are having a rough day and need some support, this is where you should come instead of the fridge. Reread some of my posts and maybe they will help you get through your moment of weakness.
Here is my food plan for today
Breakfast
Oatmeal, 2 cups with 2 tspn sugar in the raw
2 cups of yogurt
1 egg
Snack,
String cheese and a banana
Lunch,
Tuna salad with low fat mayo and relish
7 grain sandwich round
Zucchini fries with dry ranch rub (recipe coming soon)
Snack,
Cottage cheese and pineapple and blueberries
Dinner,
Half cup of Chicken bbq on 2 sandwich rounds
Steamed veggies with fresh salsa salad
Snack,
Banana and 1 cup of yogurt
Yeah I am still eating, but I am still losing too!!!!
Love to you all and keep fighting !!!