Missionary Biggest Loser --Week 5

This week I decided to let the Polish news give their own explanation for Mr. Stover's unimagineable weight gain over the past year.
"Warsaw, Poland 16 February 2007 The average Pole eats 2 ½ paczki on Fat Thursday. That means about 100 million Polish Donuts, Paczki, were eaten in Poland yesterday. The Polish people added 50 billion calories to their waste lines and trailing posteriors. Fat Thursday is a day of gluttony and belly worship in Poland. People gather together and consume huge numbers of Paczki. Eating 10 of the lard fried calorie bombs is not uncommon. "

It would appear Mr. Stover has decided that there should be a "Fat Monday, Fat Tuesday, Fat Wednesday, Fat Friday and a Fat Weekend" to go along with Fat Thursday.

So, on to the facts of the week.

Current weight: 259 --ONE pound heavier than Mr. Stover

Total weight loss: 29 pounds and struggling.

Overview of the week: This one was the worst ever! I still lost 4 pounds but it was the hardest week so far. I think I've hit a serious plateau or something. I'm still SO STINKING HUNGRY all the time and I broke down and ate a candy bar this week. It was worth it though.

On a more positive note, it's been almost two months since I've had a Coke or Sweet Tea. I'd give anything for a Mt. Dew. I have a couple sitting in the cabinet taunting me. . . .

Major Issues--Biggest Loser week 4

Well, I must say that there have been some changes this week in my weight loss. I hit the 25 pound mark according to my scale here in the bathroom. BUT, this week my in-laws left Bangkok to go back to Cambodia and while they were packing up to leave, we used our scales to weigh their bags for the plane. We tried to put one wheel on the scale to weigh the bags but in doing so, we bent the scale and it quit working. Now, I've had to buy a new scale but that scale doesn't read the same as the old scale. So, I've lost 25 pounds but the new scale says I weigh about 13 pounds more than the old scale. So, my actual weight according to this scale is 263 not 250. So, my starting weight according to this scale would have been 288 not 275.
SO, even though I expect GREAT PROTEST from Mr. Stover, my total weight loss is 25 pounds. My actual weight according to this new (and expensive) scale is 263. This means I've got a lot further to go than I thought if I'm going to get down to around 235.
This was a total bummer because I fully expect Mr. Stover to say "his scales broke" and he now found one that says he weighs 210 or something like that.
But, we all know he can't do much more than "talk trash." Those of you who played golf with him in the States know that to be true.

Biggest Missionary Loser--Week 3

So, here we are again. Time to weigh in. Well, first of all let me tell you I'm in a whole new world now. It's a world I assumed I would never see again. It's a world called "The 250's." That's right, it's official. I've broken into the 250 range for the first time in about 8 years. Courtney and I got married in the summer of 1999 and I can remember writing on my Missouri driver's licence that I weighed 255. So, before I give the figures for the week, let me run down a couple of other accomplishments from the past 7 days.
I can remember back in the 4th and 5th grade that we had to run a mile for our physical education class. It was some sort of "Presidential Fitness" program that forced elementary school kids to not be fat and lazy. Well, needless to say, even then I couldn't run a mile without stopping for a Coke on the way. As time progressed, I grew taller and bigger and considered myself more of a "strength" guy than an endurance guy. (Yeah right-only if eating cheeseburgers is a strength) I consequently was never able to run a mile straight without stopping to walk for a little while. WELL, all of that has changed now. This past Thursday night I approached the treadmill with a new determination: I would RUN a mile without stopping to walk or rest. It took me almost 13 minutes exactly to accomplish my task, but I made it. I ended up walking and running 3 km which is 2/10 of a kilometer short of 2 miles. It was a week of personal victory. I celebrated by eating FOUR pieces of dessert that Courtney had made.
So, here's the breakdown.
*I've been at this for just over four weeks now. Total weight loss as of today, Saturday April 12,
20 pounds exactly. It probably would have been 21 if I didn't eat the 4 pieces of dessert but it was worth it. So now I am at 255 the exact weight that I was at when I got married almost 9 years ago. Sweet.
*I haven't had a Coke in 32 days.
* None of my pants or shorts fit anymore.
*I've lost 7.4% of my total body weight since I started.
So, this week I'll refrain from any comment about Mr. Stover. I'll let him see if his money is where his mouth is . . . .http://www.stoversinpoland.blogspot.com
ONE QUESTION for all readers: Jason and I never talked about a prize for the winner. If anyone wants to give any suggestions for an appropriate prize, we'd love to hear it.

Biggest missionary loser --Week 2

So here we are again at the end of another week. I will confess that those of you eager to scan the depths of my personal life and find out about the incredible victory that I've experienced over Mr. Stover this week, will be disappointed. Did I lose to Mr. Stover? Doubtful. Will I ever lose to him? Only in sumo match or a donut eating contest.
So, here's the lowdown. On Friday morning I had to make an unplanned trip to Surin to look at some houses here and transport some of our belongings to storage. So, I wasn't able to check my weight on THE official scale at home. When I left on Friday morning, I was running just at the 14 pound mark. So, I can't give an official update until next Saturday. For those of you who were able to view Mr. Stover's blog, you will see that he found a delightful picture of me that will adequately describe why I need to continue losing weight.
Speaking of pictures, where's this guys' chin????? Good thing it's cold in Poland for 10 months of the year. At least Mr. Stover can keep on hiding inside those HUGE jackets. Check him out at http://stoversinpoland.blogspot.com