Hi folks, it’s good to be back after what was a much longer sabbatical than I had planned. On the plus side the break from writing was very much appreciated. I also managed to migrate Tuesdays with Terry to a new location with a new look. And D and I finished the first phase of our project which I am now at liberty to disclose.

First the blog move: I won’t bore you with the details but I decided to move Tuesdays With Terry from Blogger (Google) to a self-hosted WordPress site which gives me much more control over the form and content of the blog and better statistical data and access control. I also maintain three other blogs on WordPress so the consistency is helpful and will make my life easier. Another factor is that although I like Google for the most part I prefer not to have my entire digital life Googlized. From an appearance standpoint I’ll miss the sailboats on the bay but the Rocky Mountains are my second most favorite place to be and whenever we took four wheel drive trips into the backcountry I always found myself in a contemplative state and very much in awe of God’s handiwork. I hope you too enjoy the new look.

Next the sabbatical: Maintaining four blogs is a lot like work (well, it is work!) and I was slipping, not really giving it my best. I want to keep my readers interested and equip them with useful information for running their businesses, integrating their faith with their work, and surviving and thriving in the sandwich generation and with multigenerational living. I was losing the focus necessary to achieve those purposes. I needed the mental break, and took the opportunity to do something for myself as well.

Which brings me to number three, the project: D and I have been struggling with our weight and poor eating habits for years. I am now a sixty-something overweight diabetic male with metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, rising blood pressure, and arrhythmia. But D and I want to be around to see our grandchildren grow to adulthood and begin to live out God’s plan for their lives. We have failed repeatedly at trying to lose weight. We tried counting calories, counting points, and plenty of other weight loss techniques which seemed to make sense, all without good and permanent results.

Recently I’ve been researching things like paleo diets, grassfed beef, healthy and unhealthy fat, no sugar, no starch, DASH, no processed foods, and many other dieting concepts. The ideas that made the most sense were those that run counter to what many in the medical profession have been preaching for fifty years. In other words, it’s not about cutting the fat, cutting the cholesterol, or calories in – calories out. Healthy fats and protein are necessary for good health and a healthy metabolism. My caloric intake was already reasonably low and I’d be starving if I cut caloric intake by 3500 calories each week to lose one pound.

It made a lot more sense to me that I needed to change how my metabolism was working and get my body to burn its own fat. In fact it is sugar that gets converted to fat and stored in the body, and that fat needs to be burned, not stored. There is a fair amount of contemporary research which supports these new theories about weight loss through metabolic adjustment so we were willing to give it a try.

Then one of D’s coworkers gave us a copy of a book offering a well thought out approach to adjusting metabolism and said she’d lost a substantial amount of weight over a short period and kept it off without counting calories or being hungry. After a review of the book and its companion recipe book, and the concepts they presented we were convinced this approach was worth a try.

Here’s a quick summary of my results after five weeks and three days with this new eating plan:

1. Weight is down seventeen pounds (about three pounds per week)
2. Body measurements (waist, hips, upper arms and thighs) have all dropped an inch
3. Blood pressure has returned to normal
4. Blood sugar morning readings (7, 14, 30 day avg.) have dropped dramatically into normal range
5. Total Cholesterol is down and well within the normal range
6. Triglycerides are substantially down (over 140 points) and are now well within the normal range
7. Liver functions have returned to normal
8. Heart arrhythmia has subsided and is virtually non-existent
9. Eyesight has substantially improved
10. Leg cramps have virtually disappeared
11. Muscle ticks and twitches have virtually disappeared
12. Energy level is up

We eat thee meals and two snacks every day, don’t go hungry, and don’t count calories. If I was to count calories I would estimate that my intake is 2000-2500 per day. We eat beef, poultry, pork, fish, healthy fats, grain and lots of produce. We drink about half our body weight in ounces of water every day (weight = 170 lbs., water = 85 oz.). It has been hard to break bad habits like eating sweets and snack items which tend to be addictive, and having extensive snacks before bed but I have been able to stay on plan very consistently.

Suffice it to say D and I are pleased with the results, hers have been nearly as impressive and she doesn’t suffer from most of the health issues I deal with. Even when I achieve my goals, which are pretty aggressive, I know I can stick with the food rules for a lifetime and be perfectly happy with the occasional exception for special events.

Soon I’ll be adding a page to the web site where I can discuss more of the details of this new eating plan. Meanwhile, I’ve included links to The Fast Metabolism Diet and the companion cookbook written by Haylie Pomroy in the Resources section to the right. Check them out.

So there you have it; I’m back in the saddle again, feeling much more energized and looking forward to many pleasant ponderings which I’ll be happy to share with you.

Welcome back … Pops