THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

Greetings to all the Skinny Minnies and Franky Fatties out there.
How's the battle going?

For years...I could eat anything that I wanted to eat...and never gain weight. When I first met the lovely Ms Brenda Williams, I weighed in at 131 pounds of pure, rippling bone. I went away to Bible School in Chattanooga...and over period of time of eating, sleeping and no exercise gained upward...to the point of when I got married...I weighed 175 pounds. I began to take karate at Bushido School of Karate...taking Wado Ryu Karate (where there was no air conditioner and classes went for 2 hours) and lost down to 160 pounds...which were probably beaten out of me.

Marriage was good (and still is after 39 years)...but after eating the goddess's cooking...I gained up to 195 pounds. I remember standing in a locker room at Courtsouth Racquetball Court...and the scales tipping at 195...and one of my racquetball partners told me that I better stop eating now...because before I knew it I would be over 200 pounds. I told him..."that will never happen." Well...if those words were meant to be prophetic...I guess I would have to be stoned...because before I new it...I hit a new high in the weight
department.

I tipped the scales at 323 pounds. I quit weighing after that... so I do not really know how much weight I actually gained.

The picture with my lab coat is probably at my heaviest. I remind myself of balloon in the Macy Day Thanksgiving Parade. I am smiling in the picture...but I am not happy. Oh... I was "jolly" and to be honest...until I saw this picture...I did not realize how much weight I had gained. I was either in self denial or oblivious to the fact. Maybe I was like a vampire who avoided mirrors.

It was at this point that I made some choices. I helped spearhead a Weight Watchers group at work at Southern Hills. I would send out a newsletter (hmmm...imagine that) over the hospital system about weight loss, life, etc.

I began the slow process of losing weight...feeling better.. clothes getting loser...and enjoying the compliments from people who said they noticed the weight loss. I did not feel as bloated as I did...and could watch the Macy Day Thanksgiving Day Parade without wincing.

At the same time I began to take karate again. With the combination Weight Watchers...and karate...I continued to lose weight.

Over the years...I dropped in and out of Weight Watchers... attempted other things from juice to fasting, to low carbs to high carbs etc...but nothing worked like Weight Watchers for me. I am currently back at Weight Watchers...and continuing to take Karate at Bill Taylor's Bushido School of Karate. I have been back for 10 years now.

I still Battle The Bulge. Currently I am weighing in at 260 pounds...with a goal to lose another 60. The process is slow ( I like that) but steady. I have gone from pant size of 56 to size 46...and can squeeze into size 44 if I hold my breath.

I am turning 60 years old in a few days...and I sure don't feel like 60...unless you consider my knees and shoulders...quick to fall down and slow to get up....BUT...I am still kicking.

NOTE: I will be OK...if a leprechaun attacks me.

You may be asking yourself..."Self...why is Rodney sharing these thoughts and these pictures?"
Well...I am glad you asked that question.

I am making a public declaration to you, the Lord, demonic forces, and my soul (me, myself, and I)...that I am not giving up. I am in a process and the process ain't over yet. I am in a physical battle...that I belief for me has deep roots in the spiritual realm. I have found that if I have a LARGE GOAL...I must set SMALLER GOALS...as I move forward in the journey. That's what I did with karate...with the BLACK BELT as my large goal...but progressive, individual goals/belt ranks...taking me towards the prize. So it is with my weight. Smaller goals have brought me to the current weight (with some set backs...and regroupings)...and from my 60th birthday...until Thanksgiving is my next touchstone.

"All things are lawful for me, but ALL THINGS ARE NOT PROFITABLE/HELPFUL. All things are lawful for me...BUT...I WILL NOT BE MASTERED/BROUGHT UNDER THE POWER OF ANYTHING." (I Corinthians 6:12)


"Everything is permissible for me--allowable and lawful; but not all things are helpful--good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things. Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under the power." (I Corinthians 6:12 The Amplified Bible)

"And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through--that is separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God--may your (1) spirit and (2) soul and (3) body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. (I Thessalonians 5:23)

Hey God loves me no matter what I weigh...but He really is concerned if I am being mastered in any area of who I am...spirit, soul, or body. Even a skinny person can be addicted to food or booze just as much as a fatty. My prayer for myself...Lord... bless me indeed...in all areas of my life...spiritual, physical, emotional. I WILL NOT BE MASTERED BY ANYTHING...especially FOOD. Lord...I do need your help. May THE HELPER...the Holy Spirit lead me along the "weigh" : )

Love and God Pleasing Kisses
Rodney "Not As Large As I Use To Be" Boyd.