Jim's Place

Like graphs?

Just got back from today's workout - a 7.2 mile bike ride on my Trek Madone. I use a Garmin Edge 305 GPS/heart-rate monitor on my bike to record heart-rate, distance, elevation, etc. I get a real kick out of uploading the data to my computer and seeing all of the info. Thought you might like to know what the graph looks like...Click on the image to see a bigger version.

Created BFL 2008 photo album

Finally, uploaded my Body-for-LIFE progress photos for 2008! Guess I wanted to drop a lot of weight before putting them in a photo album! Currently, I'm at 251 lbs which equates to a weight-loss of 54 lbs since Jan 21. However, I'm just getting started... The photo album is in the left column or you can click on BFL 2008 to go straight to it.

<- Jan 21 305 lbs

           July 6 253 lbs ->

            (down 52 lbs)

Went down to San Diego harbor

Decided to go down to the harbor today, planning on getting some nice pictures and video. When I left the house it was sunny but as is often the case the coast was overcast with a marine layer. Whipped out the video camera anyway and made a quick "video email" to send back to Tom and Tommy...

New photo album - 1987 Texas trip

A few weeks ago I was going through some boxes of photos and found quite a few that I never scanned into my computer. One packet of photos was from the 1987 road trip when Patti, Richard and I drove to Texas in our pint-sized Plymouth Colt economy car. Hard to believe we had enough room for the 3 of us and our stuff! We also stopped in Hearne to see my Dad and that day was I guess the last time I ever saw him. My...how things have changed since then... I added a photo album which you can find in the left column or click on 1987 Texas trip to go straight to it.

"Pastor Jim" is in da house!

I don't usually talk too much about "spiritual matters" when discussing my Body-for-LIFE program, but perhaps I should... For several months now, I've been going to the Men's Group at my church on Wednesday nights. Although it is certainly a Bible study - and I gotta admit I could use some learnin' in this area! it is so much more than that... I've known some of the guys for years and it's been great re-connecting with them...but I've also made new friends with some great guys who inspire me with their commitment to grow and become the man God wants them to be. We actually have a great time and I always feel jazzed when I'm there. Of course, some of the guys have noticed that I've been dropping a good deal of weight and tonight I felt compelled to share "my secret"...

There is no doubt that the Body-for-Life program is a key tool in my latest comeback, but the dog-gone reality is that without God's help and these guys praying for me, I simply wouldn't be making the progress I am. After the setbacks of the last couple of years, I started 2008 struggling to get my confidence back and really believe I could lose the weight - again. But one of my friends tonight told me that I simply wasn't the same man of a few months ago - that it was obvious that God was moving in my life and that someday he was sure I would be healed. What a blessing to have that kind of support...

No doubt you need a good deal of fitness knowledge along with tremendous motivation, persistence and determination to get your body into shape. But to really be the kind of person you want to be it's going to take a lot more than just showing up at the gym. The enemy is always working to drag you down and try to convince you that God doesn't care about your life...your hopes...and your dreams. And he doesn't play fair. He'll use your life circumstances, your past, your fears and your doubts to try to discourage you from doing much more than sitting on the couch and flipping channels... Building muscle is a key component of just about any fitness program but without also feeding and exercising your spiritual muscles I don't think you can have long-term success with any exercise regimen. Perhaps you can reach your weight-loss/fitness goals without God being the center of your "program"...perhaps...but I wouldn't bet on it...

OK, "Pastor Jim" is stepping down from the pulpit...well, at least for now...

My latest monthly article for the PNA

Just submitted my article for the Pituitary Network Association's monthly newsletter/website. They asked me in 2005 to write a monthly article chronicling my journey through illness - in particular the pituitary disorder that I was diagnosed with in 2001 - although I started having a lot of symptoms such as fatigue in the spring of 1996. This latest article covers the Fall of 2004. The article archive in the right column has links to all of the articles so far covering 1996 to the present. My hope is that people - especially those facing challenges with illness - will be encouraged to hang in there and never give up... Here's the text... Or you can click on Fall 2004 to open the document.
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It had been a rough summer and for that matter a difficult and trying year, but I was still optimistic that things would take a turn for the better before 2004 had ended. I had been undergoing treatment for almost 3 years now and it was hard to believe that I was still struggling not just to get through the day, but just to get off the couch… My knees hurt when I walked, my back hurt when I stood and I felt so exhausted that most of the time I didn't even feel like picking up the phone to touch base with my friends and family. How peculiar it seemed that even simple tasks often turned into an ordeal. I had to make my showers very quick because my back would start cramping within a couple of minutes of standing. At the grocery store, I had to lean on the basket…trying not to let the cashier see that I was really having a hard time. My doctor even authorized a disabled tag for my van and I had to admit that at least for now I really needed it.

 

For the rest of August, my entire focus continued to be trying to find out why I was so exhausted and feeling so sick. Since heart disease was common in my family my doctor sent me to a cardiologist. But after looking at the ultrasound, she told me that I still had the heart of an athlete. I was then checked for kidney disease, diabetes, liver function and pretty much everything else under the sun. I had been using the new auto-adjusting CPAP machine for a couple of weeks now and I certainly seemed to be sleeping much better. Nonetheless, my days continued to be dominated by fatigue.

Man! I'm stoked!!!

After reading the subject I'm sure you're dying to know what the heck is Jim so stoked about this time!   

"Gee Jim, did you win the lottery?" NOPE! I wish!   

"Hmmm... Let me guess... You finally got down to your ideal weight!" NOPE! Not even on the horizon (yet!)   

"OK then, you must have met some hot babe! Yeah! That's got to be it!" Well, using my best impression of Dana Carvey..."Not gonna go there! Wouldn't be prudent!" (A funny way of admitting that I'm not quite a stud - yet!)

NOPE, I'm simply jazzed because I got to do my weight workout today - for the first time in over 2 months! That's it! That's the big event! OK, maybe I am being over-the-top a bit, BUT IT IS a big event! I know we all have our ambitious goals that we are shooting for and working every day to move closer to. But sometimes I think you've just got to take in the moment...and enjoy your workout and how great it makes you feel AT THIS VERY MOMENT... If I hadn't missed so many workouts because of the wrist fracture, perhaps,PERHAPS! I wouldn't be so stoked...but I hope it is more than that...

Man! If I can feel like this every time I work out...strutting my stuff with a silly grin as I'm leaving the gym...then I win! And I win TODAY! How about them apples?!!! Although I'm absolutely determined to achieve my goals at the end of this challenge, I'm just as determined to enjoy every day along the way...every single blessed day...

I just wanted to share my experience - hitting a 10 emotionally - and encourage all of my BFL buddies - and everyone else for that matter! to continue to give it all you've got, but at the same time, make sure to have some fun along the way... What do you say?! Deal?

Check out these new songs!

I found a few songs the other day while exploring AmazonMP3.com. I found several great songs but I especially liked a new artist "Colbie Caillat" and her album "Coco". Guess it came out last year but it's new to me! Thought it would be great to share a couple of songs with you. You can play "One Fine Wire" from the embedded player below or from the "Favorite New Songs" column on the left. But also check out "Midnight Bottle". Catchy tunes with a nice sound. Hope you like them!

Making lemonade...

Can you believe I'm posting 2 days in a row! Well, I really enjoyed putting my website together in 2005 and really want to keep it up-to-date. This is the second week of my Eleventh Body-for-Life challenge and I've hardly made any progress. I'm still fighting that tenacious virus I picked up about 3 weeks ago. That's a long time to have a virus but I think I understand why it's hanging on so long. The pituitary disorder and going through the slow withdrawal makes me prone to catching stuff and amplifies the impact. What would in past years be more of an annoyance than anything else now wipes me out and pretty much shuts down my fitness program for a while. I've learned to adapt to those times and make the best of it. So this last couple of weeks I've focused even more on watching my food intake very carefully and have asked myself "What can I do to move my life forward even when I feel sick?"

The most important thing has been to do my daily "homework" as I like to call it - working through issues to keep myself in an empowered state and not let the frustrations of life drag me down. This daily exercise of managing your mood and state is very important - otherwise your life becomes an emotional roller coaster, with your mood controlled by things you have no control over... And trust me, the enemy is just waiting in the wings to use your life circumstances against you, trying to discourage you and make you question if God really cares about your situation, your dreams, your life... If you don't take a stand against the external forces that try to control your life and rob you of your joy, you become a puppet to other people and other things who don't necessarily have your best interests at heart. This taking charge of your mental, emotional and spiritual focus is even more crucial when you are coping with chronic illness, when you don't know from one day to the next if your body is going to cooperate with your plans for rebuilding your body and being the best "you" you can be...

Even though I felt like crud yesterday, today, I had planned on going to the gym and doing an lower-body workout. When I got going, I didn't even feel close to being up to it but wondered if I shouldn't just push forward with a "come Hell or high water I'm doing my workout today!" focus. I've certainly done that in the past and used that approach last week and this week even though my body was telling me I shouldn't... Seems like my instincts were correct - both times when I pushed myself to do a bike ride, my body crashed for several days afterwards and the virus got worse. Seems like a big "Duh!" right now - "If Jim has to push himself to get on his bike, there must REALLY be something out-of-whack with his body!!!" No kidding...

Still truckin'....

Hey everybody thought it was about time I posted again! Actually, if I saw that more people were checking out my website I know I'd post more often. Maybe I just need to post more stuff so they have something to read! I just added the video update for my recently completed Body-for-Life challenge (July 6). It's in the right column. Click on the thumbnail and it'll play back right on the page.

I started my latest BFL challenge last week, but it's off to a slow start. I just got the wrist splint off but have had a tenacious virus that has been really knocking me for a loop for the last couple of weeks. I've only done 2 workouts and even then I really had to push myself to even get out the door! My allergy doctor says it's hitting so hard because the underlying pituitary disorder greatly amplifies the impact and makes that kind of stuff last a lot longer. When you figure in the fact that I'm in the process of a slow withdrawal from the cortisol medication (Cortef) that I've been taking for the pituitary disorder for years I guess it makes sense.

I just dropped from a 22.5mg daily dosage to 20mg on June 1st. 20mg is a threshold amount because that dosage is below the level my body needs and the only way it is going to get it is for the long dormant pituitary and adrenal glands to kick in and make up the difference. Although prior lab tests indicated they were still functioning, my endocrinologist told me that it would be hard on the body once I got down to the lower levels of the medication. Seems like he was right. So the best thing I suppose is to ride it out and maybe within a year I'll be completely off the medications and the pituitary disorder will have been reversed. If that happens, it'll be a profound turnaround in my life. With God's help, I'm just going to have faith that it'll all work out and finally illness will no longer dominate my life. Wouldn't that be something?! You betcha!

OK, I don't want to sound needy for attention but do leave a comment if you feel like it. The nice thing about Typepad is that you can leave a comment without having to create an account! Maybe it'll inspire me to put some really cool stuff on my website! Keep on truckin' and I'll catch ya later....