Redemption

So, I've not been exactly regular here. I'll try to fix that. I also have spoke many times about losing weight and being serious about it. Well, now I am, but I'm not going to say how serious I am. It was spurred by  someone saying I looked like a person in a TV show. I was unfamiliar with the show so I looked that person up. He was fat. That was an eye opener. First I wanted to get mad, but then I realized, I am overweight. So, I'm getting to it. I'm cutting calories, and I'm slowly going to get back into biking and weight training. I will be posting updates.

As before I will be taking pictures, but will refrain from posting them until I myself see positive results. I have considered starting a dietbet.com thing like my friend Marcia did, but I'm in this for me, and winning money would be nice, but boosting my energy and self confidence is a better reward. I will share this with you:http://www.myfitnesspal.com/merlinglx - my MyFitnessPal profile page. I did start at 230 and have slowly gotten down to 220, but I need to be more aggressive. I actually wouldn't mind being 220 with a smaller waist and larger chest. Just a thought.

What a Weekend

First off, I want to apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes in this post. I feel terrible and I am only sitting up long enough to type this, then I'm lying down for about 2 years, give or take a month.

The good news is that I'm now published! My short story, Michael's Education is on Amazon for 1.99 - Click Here. It's not very long, I had to keep this one under 5000 words, so please forgive me. There is another book coming out that picks up where this one left off in a few months (not constrained to 5000 words). Please spend a few bucks and check it out, it would make me happy. I also have made good progress on my novel and will release an update on it soon, still raising money for publishing (since I want it in hard copy form and listed nationally).

Well, sorry to cut this short, but I think I'm dying, so until next time.

So far, so meatless

Small Update here on the diet.

It is working well, I do seem to have more energy, but that could be a placebo. I'm losing inches (dropped one pant size so far) and I'm building a lot more upper body strength. Instead of being Batman, I might have to be Bane (Due to upper body size, not because I'm now evil).

See. Told you it was short.

Update on New Lifestyle, and Other Things

Well, even though it's Saturday, it's not any time for me to slack off. I rode the stationary bike for about 20 minutes, and walked around my property (the whole 2 acres) for another 10. Only reason I didn't ride the entire time was that it was getting too hot in my shop and I couldn't find my fan. I'll find it before I try to tackle my goal of 10 miles in one ride.

I'm still doing well on being borderline vegan, so I'm hoping that I'll be alright during the Easter Feasts to come tomorrow. I did cooked Eggs and Bacon for the family for breakfast, both of which I won't eat (meat and\or diary). I did sneak in almond milk in the eggs instead of regular milk. ;)

With all the exercising and stuff I've been doing, I've not bragged on my carpentry skills:

My side of the bed.

Lyndsay's side of the bed.

I've been doing well at designing and building floating shelves, and so far, nothing has fallen! I'm not sure about my next trial, but I think it will be a coffee table themed after some caped crusader… Before that though, I have about two or three leather projects to knock out. It's amazing what you can get accomplished if you just try.

Dieting and Exercise

Let me tell you first, dieting is a loose term, if you want to stay slim and healthy, apparently you have to change what you eat (at least most of the time) forever. As for exercise, well, we all should be exercising anyway, so no complaints there (I'm lying, I'll complain). To get back into the rhythm of exercising\working out, I've started out with the stationary bike (4-7 miles per session) and pushups, started with 15, trying to increase by 5 every night, until I get to around 50 and then I'll keep it there for a while, because I'll add some weight exercises to the mix. I know this doesn't sound like a familiar James, but I'm not unfamiliar with working out, the food change however is uncharted land and I might be a red shirt crewman. The worst that could happen is I fail, so no harm, no foul, and if I go through with it and I succeed, then hooray for me. In case you're wondering, I'm staying away from meats and dairy products. Definitely vegetarian, and borderline vegan. I never thought I'd be trying it, but with great power comes more vegetables. I said I would post pictures, but not today. I will say in the 3 days I have been doing this, I have lost 4 pounds, which is great. I also have a lot more energy and I sleep better. I also can fly now. Alright, caught me, I was joking - I'm not sleeping that much better. On a side note, I have been making sure to get my recommended amount of water in:

Not being used to so much liquid intake has made me appreciate the fact that the restroom is right next to my office. Really. Hopefully within a week I'll have a photo to show, I'll definitely keep you updated, but I may still be too self-conscious to show my pudgy tummy to you. Check out some of my progress: RunKeeper

Diet - This Time I Mean It

As with all previous tries, I'm heading into a diet with full force, but this time I'm not going to give up. It was the realization that I had to wear size 40 pants that depressed me enough into getting serious. I'm going to try my best to get results through hard work and will power. Sounds corny, but ultimately those are the only things that will provide results.

I'll keep the progress updated on here, and possibly have progress pictures, but those will come later, as I have progress to show, and not just my fat body.

Writing is easy, funding is hard

To say writing is easy is actually a lie, I should say that writing is easier that getting funding for publishing, at least for a new author. I understand that there is a doubt that the book will ever see the light of fluorescent in a book store, but I think that I'm worth the risk. However, this experience will surely lead to an essay called "I Wrote a Book and No One Read It".

I appreciate the current donations more than the donators probably realize, I think I'm starting to love them all, those with faith in me.

I have tried to spend as much time with my family, but there is a lot of time spent in my home office writing away or at our kitchen counter writing down notes. There is also the all too common waking up in the middle of the night because I had an idea that I needed to get in my notebook before it left my brain. Putting a price tag on my time is hard - but I think that over the course of writing this book (and all processes related) is worth well more than the $5,000 I'm seeking for publishing, which isn't for my time it's for me being able to publish my book so that the world (or at least the United States for now) can read and hopefully enjoy my story. It's a long 11 (probably 10 now) days, and my hope is low, so I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Please Help!