Week 2 Update

Sorry for the delay kiddos.... been a little crazy in the Fish pond. I've actually been working, while at work during the day & every night this week has been a ballgame, church or meeting. Actually, last night both boys had their games rained out (YEAH!!!!) & Jen got out of class much earlier than expected. Therefore, the 4 of us enjoyed a nice game of LIFE (Pirates of the Caribbean Edition). First time in a LOOOOOOONG time we've had a family fun night. It was nice!

Anyway.... I went in for my weekly check up on Tuesday & everything was fine. Several of the nurses, receptionists, etc. all commented on how much of a difference they could see. I've been hearing alot of those kind of comments. About how my face is thinner, legs look smaller, neck looks smaller, etc. Gotta admit... it's kinda nice. Not really doing this for anybody else other than me, Jen, Ty & Ian.... but it's a nice moral booster when you receive a positive comment of any kind.

As for the weight lost to date.... 39 pounds as of this morning, which is day 37. Just over a pound a day! I still don't understand how the HCG is working.... but sometimes you just go with the results & try not to get bogged down in the "how". I do know that I'm almost ready to put a new notch in the belt, 'cause it's just about "loose".

Here's the latest pics. Compare these to the 1st post & see if you can see the difference.

Everybody's been asking me how I can function on 500 calories a day. Well... I gotta tell ya.... I don't know how, but I am. I've not been hungry once during this whole process! I eat 100 grams of chicken & 100 grams of cabbage for lunch, an apple or strawberries for an afternoon snack, 100 grams of white fish & 100 grams of broccoli for supper, then an apple or grapefruit for an evening snack. On top of that, I drink 64 ounces of an organic cranberry / water mixture & at least 64 ounces of water. Again.... I don't get bogged down in the "how", I just follow the plan & watch the scales go down. :-)

Also... several friends & family members have asked me to go join them for lunch or dinner since I've been doing this. I have to decline because I have to weight my food before I cook it & it has to be all natural / organic. I know restaurants have fish, chicken & steamed broccoli... but they also have butters, oils, etc. that I'm not supposed to consume. So... if you're one of them who have asked or wanted, please understand that I'm not trying to be rude or unfriendly... I'm just trying to stick to the plan. Hopefully we'll have all the chances in the world to dine together come September or October.

This weekend is gonna be my first REAL test. It's Jen's family reunion down at the family farm & I'm BBQ'ing. Starting tonight around midnight or so, I'll start smoking a couple pork lions, 6-8 pork butts, beef brisket & whatever else shows up for me to cook. I made my rubs, sauce & marinade injections last night & only tasted twice & that was just off the end of a spoon. It's gonna be tough not to sample... but I'll count on some of Jen's cousins or other family to taste for me. There will be a few adult beverages put away this weekend too.... but I'll just have to enjoy my water & cranberry mix. Again.... it'll be TOUGH, but I will conquer. :-)

Lastly.... and this is on a completely different note... I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those great men & women who sacrificed their life so that I may freely write this little blog. Aside from all the idiots, lunatics, radicals, extremist & politicians who try to ruin this country... I think this is the be country on Earth. Freedom is a wonderful gift & this holiday weekend I don't want to take it for freedom. Make sure you do your part, too! Put flowers on a vets grave site, take the kids to a war memorial or just stop & thank God for what those fine young men & women did for us.

Till next time...

Fish

Week 1 Update

Okay... so when I last left you, I was weighing in at 341 lbs. & getting ready for my two "load" days. Let me tell you.... those two load days were quite an adventure!

The first day I started with my injection & then followed that with 3 eggs scrambled (with 1 cup shredded cheese) in 2 tbsp. of butter, 6 slices of thick cut bacon & 12 tbsp. of heavy whipping cream mixed into a glass of milk. CAN YOU SAY 1330 FAT CALORIES?! WOW!!!! The rest of the day involved a one pound block of cheese, a one pound summer sausage, a can of macadamia nuts, a can of heavy whipped cream (that was actually alot of fun to eat!!!), 2 burgers fried in butter & topped with 6 slices of bacon, several slices of cheddar cheese & half a tub of bleu cheese. Followed that up with a large can of king sized black olives covered in 1/2 cup of bleu cheese dressing. Then.... for dessert... I had a peanut butter milkshake with 12 tbsp of whipping cream, 2/3 cup of coconut milk & 1 cup of peanut butter. WHEW!!! If you're tired of reading, just imagined how I felt trying to eat all that! Once I finally laid down, I had consumed over 8300 fat calories for the day. 8300!!! In case your wondering, I was completely miserable! Ended up sleeping in the recliner, because I couldn't lay on my stomach it was so full & couldn't sleep on my back cause I couldn't breathe. Overall... not a fun day!

The second day was not nearly the success of day one. I won't go into all the details (I know... you're all saying "thank goodness"!!!!), but I was only able to consume just over 5100 fat calories. Kind of disappointing, huh?!

Anyway.... day 3 I slept till 11:00 AM & things seemed good. The doctor told me I would probably be grouchy on this day, but according to my wife & neighbors.... I wasn't grouchy, but I was a smart a$$. I gotta admit.... there were a couple things that just shot right out of my mouth without me knowing what I was saying. It was actually kinda funny.

Day 4 & 5 went off without a hitch, considering I could only eat 500 calories for the day. Sounds bad, but it really wasn't. I've not been hungry, yet.

This leads us to day 6. Today.

I had my first "weigh-in" at noon & although I had gained 10 pounds during the load days... I was down to 338 lbs. That makes it a grand total of 27 lbs to date. Considering I started the detox 27 days ago.... that's 1 pound a day. If I keep that pace up... which they tell me is possible... I should be down to 275 when it's all said & done. Stay tuned to see if I can make it.

Lastly... I thought I would let you know that Jen says I have completely stopped snoring during the last 3 weeks. Also, when they checked my blood pressure today it was 125/81. I don't think my top number has been below 130 in the last 15 years. So... no more snoring, already lowered the blood pressure, sleeping much better & almost ready to go down another belt notch. Not bad for less than a month's worth of work, huh?! :-)

Till next time...
Fish

I'm a big fat loser!!!

That's right... I admit it... I am a big fat loser!

Truth be told... I'm proud of it!

Now before any of you think I'm being negative about myself, I'm not. I've lost 24 pounds in the last 3 weeks & I wanted to share that with my friends & family. I'd got "too big for my britches" as the ol' timers would say & I had to do something about it. I'm ashamed to say it, but I started at 365 pounds. Today I weighed 341 pounds. That's 24 pounds in 3 weeks!

So... I spent the last 3 weeks going through a "body detox" to prepare myself for the next phase. The "detox" involved lots of supplements, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, some fish & water. It wasn't fun, but I can't really say it was that bad. Considering it took me down 2 notches in my belt, I gotta say I kinda liked it. But the detox is over tonight when I go to bed. Starting tomorrow I begin the HCG Diet. I'm very excited about this & thought I would share this information with y'all so I wouldn't have to answer the same questions thousands of times over. So sit back & let me tell you about the upcoming journey.

First off, HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a glycoprotein produced by women during pregnancy. 70-80 years ago a doctor by the name of A.T.W. Simeons discovered that the use of HCG, along with a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) causes weight lose and reprograms the Hypothalamus. You can look on the web for more info... but that's the Reader's Digest version. Before any of you start freaking out, I am doing this under the supervision of a doctor. I've had lab test done before I started & will have them throughout the program. My hopes are that once I have completed the HCG diet I will have lost another 70+ pounds. Now... back to the journey...

Starting tomorrow morning I will be taking a daily injection of the HCG for 10 weeks. The first 2 days will be "load" days. Sounds crazy, but I will be eating between 3500 and 7000 FAT CALORIES on the "load" days. Starting on the 3rd day, I will begin the VLCD which is 500 calories a day. That few calories have me a bit worried, but I've been assured by several people that it'll work & I will be healthy... so I gonna go on faith & do it. From day 3 forward, I should lose 1-2 pounds per day. DDDDDDAAAAAAANNNNGGGG!!!!

I'm asking each of you for support & encouragement during this time. I know several of you will look into this diet & want to tell me all the negatives you've read on-line. I don't need that. I've read just as much negative as I have positive... no different than what I found when I was researching what TV to buy. If I didn't feel confident enough that this would work, I wouldn't do it. Yes I have a hint of skepticism... but who doesn't when they try something new?! So... again... no negative comments or feedback! As Thumper said, "If you can't say something nice... don't say nothing at all".

So there you have it! Please continue to check back in periodically. I'll try to update you all as often as possible. There may be other stuff posted on here too from time to time, but what else would you expect on a blog called "Fish's Random Thoughts"?

Now... here's some beginner pics from 3 weeks ago.

Here's the pics from today... 24 pounds lighter.

I can't tell much looking, but Jen says my face is thinner. And as I mentioned before, I did go down 2 notches in my belt.... so there's some kind of difference.

The Necessity of Thanksgiving

Sorry for the delay in posting for a few days, but things have been a little hectic. We've got more work at the office to shake a stick at, we've started painting at home all while preparing for this wonderful holiday.

I found a wonderful article yesterday & I had to share it with you all. It's from the PatriotPost.US & was written by their publisher, Mark Alexander. I hope you enjoy it. Also... I just wanted to say thanks for reading. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

http://archive.patriotpost.us/pub/07-47_Thanksgiving/

The Fundamental Difference between the Right and the Left.

These were just too good not to share.. for educational purposes, of course. :-)


THE BARBER

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies: 'I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist is pleased and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open his shop, there is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: 'I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop is happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later a Republican comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: 'I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The Republican is very happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a gift certificate for lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Then a Democrat comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: 'I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The Democrat is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up,there are a dozen Democrats lined up waiting for a free haircut.


JESUS IN THE RESTAURANT

A Republican in a wheelchair entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. The Republican looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus sitting over there?" The waitress nodded "yes," so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee, on him.

The next patron to come in was a Libertarian with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."

The third patron to come into the restaurant was a Democrat on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and hollered, "Hey there, honey! How's about gettin' me a cold Miller Light?" He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that God's boy over there?" The waitress once more nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold beer. "On my bill," he said.

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed."

The Republican felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.

Jesus also passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed." The Libertarian felt his back straightening up, and he raised his hands, praised the Lord and did a series of back flips out the door.

Then Jesus walked towards the Democrat. The Democrat jumped up and yelled, "Don't you dare touch me... I'm collecting disability."


HELPING THE HOMELESS

A Republican and a Democrat were walking down the street when they came to a homeless person. The Republican gave the homeless person his business card and told him to come to his business for a job. He then took twenty dollars out of his pocket and gave it to the homeless person.

The Democrat was very impressed, and when they came to another homeless person, he decided to help. He walked over to the homeless person and gave him directions to the welfare office. He then reached into the Republican's pocket and gave the homeless person fifty dollars.


FATHER/DAUGHTER CHAT

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and had grown to be in strong favor for the distribution of all wealth in America.

She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative which she expressed openly. One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich &more welfare programs.

In the middle of her heartfelt diatribe based upon the lectures she had from her far left professors at her school, he stopped her and asked her point blank, how she was doing in school. She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain. That she had to study all the time, never had time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn’t even have time for a boyfriend and didn’t really have many college friends because of spending all her time studying. That she was taking a more difficult curriculum.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Mary.”She replied, “Mary is barely getting by,” she continued, “all she has is barely a 2.0 GPA,” adding, “and all she takes are easy classes and she never studies.” But to explain further she continued emotionally, “But Mary is so very popular on campus, college for her is a blast, she goes to all the parties all the time and very often doesn’t even show up for classes because she is too hung over.”

Her father then asked his daughter, “Why don’t you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to her friend who only had a 2.0?” He continued, “That way you will both have a 3.0GPA and certainly that would be a fair equal distribution of GPA.”

The daughter visibly shocked by the fathers suggestion angrily fired back, “That wouldn’t be fair! I worked really hard for mine, I did without and Mary has done little or nothing, she played while I worked real hard!”

The father slowly stood, patted his daughter on the back, smiled and said, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”


Althought these are jokes, it cuts a little to close to the bone doesn't it?!

Maraccas are dangerous!

Today's posting is one about personal safety. It stems from an incident that happened across the street last Thursday at my neighbors. To protect his innocence, I'll just refer to him as "Rob".

Anywyay... Rob was going to help his oldest daughter (Keri) make caraccas for a school project. His youngest daughter (Britney) wanted to help, too. So after he had partially opened the can and removed the greend beans from within, he drilled a hole in the bottom & prepared to intsall a wooden dow rod for the handle. He got it lined up & told Britney to sink the screw through the bottom of the can & into the wooden dowel rod. She did exactly as he said & it worked great... until the screw bottomed out & caused the can to spin in Rob's hand.

What followed was lot's of blood, Rob nearly passing out, Kristi (Rob's wife) making a trip to the emergency room where Rob squirted blood everywhere before receiving 29 stitches & then getting a nice buzz from the Lortabs. Sounds like fun, huh?! Well I can assure that Rob didn't have any fun, but thank God he still has all 5 fingers, though. The cut is about 1-1/2" deep & he goes to the orthopaedic specialist on Thursday to find out what, if any, muscle & nerve damage there is. Nerve damage or not, I think he can still pick his nose if he needs to.





So... the lesson to learn here kiddo's is don't be a dumb a$$ and hold the spinning end of a green bean can with the lid still attached to it!!! Put it in a vise, then drill it & screw it.

In all seriousness, be careful out there kiddos!!! The slightest little miscue can be quite dangerous. Please think twice about what your getting ready to do & take your time.

You see, Rob doesn't get to help me paint or move furniture now due to his accident & I want to make sure I can still count on the rest of you if I need you this week or next. :-)

The Greatest Scam in History?!

That's what John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel, stated in his blog (icecap.us) 2 days ago. I figured this was something you wouldn't hear on the mainstream media (especially NBC during GREEN week)... so I decided to post it for you reading pleasure.

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM.

Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data back in the late 1990's to create an allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental wacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the "research" to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.

Environmental extremist, notable politicians among them then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild "scientific" scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda.

Now their ridicules manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmental conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.

I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party.

However, Global Warming, i.e. Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you "believe in." It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a nonevent, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won't believe me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.

I suspect you might like to say to me, "John, look the research that supports the case for global warming was done by research scientists; people with PH D's in Meteorology. They are employed by major universities and important research institutions. Their work has been reviewed by other scientists with PH D's. They have to know a lot more about it than you do. Come on, John, get with it. The experts say our pollution has created a strong and increasing greenhouse effect and a rapid, out of control global warming is underway that will sky rocket temperatures, destroy agriculture, melt the ice caps, flood the coastlines and end life as we know it. How can you dissent from this crisis? You must be a bit nutty.

Allow me, please, to explain how I think this all came about. Our universities have become somewhat isolated from the rest of us. There is a culture and attitudes and values and pressures on campus that are very different. I know this group well. My father and my older brother were both PHD-University types. I was raised in the university culture. Any person who spends a decade at a university obtaining a PHD in Meteorology and become a research scientist, more likely than not, becomes a part of that single minded culture. They all look askance at the rest of us, certain of their superiority. They respect government and disrespect business, particularly big business. They are environmentalists above all else.

And, there is something else. These scientists know that if they do research and results are in no way alarming, their research will gather dust on the shelf and their research careers will languish. But if they do research that sounds alarms, they will become well known and respected and receive scholarly awards and, very importantly, more research dollars will come flooding their way.

So when these researchers did climate change studies in the late 90's they were eager to produce findings that would be important and be widely noticed and trigger more research funding. It was easy for them to manipulate the data to come up with the results they wanted to make headlines and at the same time drive their environmental agendas. Then their like minded PHD colleagues reviewed their work and hastened to endorse it without question.

There were a few who didn't fit the mold. They did ask questions and raised objections. They did research with contradictory results. The environmental elitists berated them brushed their studies aside.

I have learned since the Ice Age is coming scare in the 1970's to always be a skeptic about research. In the case of global warming, I didn't accept media accounts. Instead I read dozens of the scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct when I assure you there is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. It is all a scam, the result of bad science.

I am not alone in this assessment. There are hundreds of other meteorologists, many of them PH D's, who are as certain as I am that this global warming frenzy is based on bad science and is not valid.

I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped.

The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway.

I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend.


What?! I can't believe this!!! This makes me ponder the following:

Could it be that Al Gore's crusade is all fake and make believe?!

Could it be that the Clinton Climate Initiative is just a facade for the DNC?!

Could it be that the Montreal & Kyoto Protocol were strictly politically & financially motivated policies?!

What's next?! You're going to tell me that Al Gore didn't invent the Internet?!

(My previous comments are dripping with sarcasm... just in case you didn't know!)