The down200 documentary

I will soon start editing some of the footage I've shot for the film. Much to shoot yet. I'd love to get a little of the footage compressed and prepped for my site in advance of the judging for the SXSW interactive comp. We'll see on that. In the meanwhile I thought I'd share a few of my favorite documentaries. If you have Netflix these are all available there, if you don't have it GET IT, or else how will you see all these great documentaries I'm recommending?

American Teen
– this is by my favorite documentary filmmaker NANETTE BURSTEIN. I saw this at SXSW film festival last year and it is great! It doesn't come out on DVD until Dec. 21, but get it in your QUE and move it to the top. It's BRILLIANT!

The Kid Stays in the Picture
– Seriously, this is not only the best documentary EVER made it's one of the most inspiring and interesting films ever made! It's about Hollywood producer Robert Evans also from NANETTE BURSTEIN.

Deliver Us from Evil
– Hard to watch but very powerful film about the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady. The film exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. From filmmaker AMY BERG.

The Bridge
– Also a little hard to watch, ERIC STEEL filmed and then followed up with friends and family on a number of suicides, the Golden Gate bridge is the number one suicide destination in the world. Surprisingly the film includes an interview with a young man who survived the attempt.

Confessions of a Superhero
– Amazing and touching story about a few of the wannabe stars who dress up as superheroes and pose for photos with tourists on On Hollywood Boulevard. Filmmaker MATT OGDEN.

Power Trip
– Nice to see an American for profit company with a social conscience. At least it's CEO had a conscience. Amazing to watch as this American company attempts to run a business in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
– Touching story about a wild flock of parrots and the homeless man who adopts them.

Always a Bridesmaid
– A personal story about filmmaker NINA DAVENPORTS pending 30th birthday and her noncommittal boyfriend. Great storytelling - very humorous and sensitive.

Word Wars
– We've all played Scrabble - these folks take it quite seriously - most making a living at it. Wild!!!

Touching the Void
– If you have ever thought about trying mountain climbing DO NOT WATCH this film. Two young men go through an unbelievable ordeal and some how survive. Great documentary.

Lost in La Mancha
– This film documents the failed attempt of Terry Gilliam to make a movie about Don Quixote. Johnny Depp was to be in this ill fated project - the film appears to have been cursed. The documentary about the failed attempt is GREAT.

Anyway give these a try and I'm sure I'll recommend more in the future!


I weighed 237.6 today

SXSW Interactive Competition

I've got to get out of hear as quickly as I can today. I've got so much to do. I need to get my down200 website up-to-date because I'm going to enter it in the SXSW Interactive competition. I'm so behind on prepping the progress photos and other aspects. Not sure how much chance I have in the contest but getting in would be good PUB for the movie itself getting in a year later.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 239.8 today

Up 5 pounds

Wow, actually thought I did pretty good cutting back yesterday and still gained 6 pounds. I didn't exercise yesterday so maybe that has more impact then I realize. The gym was closed for t-day. I did run this morning - 6 miles. It went well, went swimming after. I'm seriously considering fasting for the next three days. Got a lot to do in preparing for the coming art show so not much time to blog today.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 241.8 today

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm blogging from home with this practically useless dial-up service. It's slowwwww. I did good yesterday calorie wise. I had a small salad at home, a package of sourdough butter nibs (pretzels) from the vending machine at work - 80 calories and one package of Neccos - 220 calories. The salad was probably under 300 (I put some pepperoni in it).

Neccos :)

This morning I boiled a bag of baby carrots and addded some cajun spice - 175 calories total. I'm planning to only have some lettuce and turkey later today. Hope to save some stuffing for after the weigh-in on Monday. Feel bad about not running today, but tomorrow I will be doing the 6-mile straight run - three days in a row. I may blog several times today to keep track of what I'm eating.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

Happy turkey day.

not sure i'll make it

Earlier this month I gave myself the goal of losing 20 pounds by Dec 1st. I just needed to do that because I had hit a plateau and lost very little over many weeks. I weighed 236.8 today, this means I'm exactly 7 pounds away from the goal with just 5 days left. The challenge at this point (besides losing 7 in 5) is that tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the gym is closed, food o plenty and this is followed by a weekend (my achilleas heal). For those who have commented that I beat myself up too much - I promise I will not beat myself up if I don't make the goal. I'm still going to try, because with the long weekend ahead I could easily gain a whole lot of weight. I just can't allow that to happen.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 236.8 today.

quick blog I'm sure

So much to do - but the run keeps coming first. Have a nature art show first weekend in December. Lot's of prep - trying to finish a couple of new paintings for that.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 238.6 today.

239.5 Not bad

Weekends have been such a challenge for me. All things considered I did pretty good this weekend, happy just to still be in the 230's even if barely so. I feel confident I'll see some quick dropping this week. Unfortunately Thursday is Thanksgiving and the gym is closed. I'm looking forward to a day off, but being at home just presents more temptations to over-eat. I have so much work to get done though too.

I reached a bit of a new level on the run. Today I ran 6.53 miles. First time over 6 and half miles!

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 239.5 today.

Another run down

Got thru the 6 miler. Today is critical for making the interim goal of 229.2 I set earlier this month. If I can keep control today then next week should go well. The lower calories definitely make the running harder, I can feel the difference. Doesn't matter - I feel like if I can get thru the ned of the month and make the goal I'm in the home stretch of phase 1 here.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 237.4 today

Art in the clinic

Today when I arrived at the gym I realized that I had forgot to bring my iPod (even though I had stopped at the office first). It's so cold out I decided to walk back to get it rather then drive. I figured the walk would do me good prior to the hour long run. A little warm up. My office is pretty far from the work out facility and the clinic has an intricate series of underground tunnels collectively referred to as the subway. It's an amazing institution and I'm constantly thankful to be a part of the effort. We're pretty much closed on the weekends and it's ungodly quiet. You walk under probably 10-12 different buildings as you go. Some floors are carpeted some are marble. And most every where you go are works of art. I pass at least 12-14 Andy Warhol pieces, Joan Miró paintings, sculpture by Auguste Rodin and dozens of others. I go a little out of my way to walk underneath a Dale Chihuly blown glass installation. It has thousands of pieces of glass weighing thousands of pounds. It's suspended about 30-40 feet above where I walk. It would be a shame to lose such a beautiful piece of art but were it to fall, what a poetic way to die, I'm pretty sure you'd bleed to death quite quickly. My daughter told me once that she wanted to die via a bear attack - I think I will choose to be crushed and severed by a Chihuly.

The best part of the walk though was when I was nearly back to my office I ran into one of the clerks from one of my favorite shops in the subway, she was just opening up. She stopped me to say how amazing my weight loss has been, she wanted to know how I was doing it so she could inform a family member. As we parted she then said - and you look so much younger now too - that made my day.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 236.6 today

In the 230's

Late blog - I finally moved into the 230's very happy about that - got to work at SEMVA tonight - got to go.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 238.6 today

230's by tomorrow?

I may just slip into the 230's tomorrow. I guess there still a chance I may make the 229.2 goal by Dec 1, I haven't given up on that yet, but it'll be close. I ran 6.35 miles today - I keep pushing the MPH's. It's been a long time since I weighed in the 230's to long to mention.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 240.6 today.

Apple??? Why???

I was such a big fan of the iPod and Apple, I thought at one point I might discuss them in a very positive way. I will be editing my film on a Mac - buying Final Cut Pro to edit with and most of all exercising with my iPod Shuffle was great. I made the mistake of putting my iPod thru the wash and even though it came back to life initially it eventually died. I then purchased a new one that died within just a week or two (no washing) and then 4 more of them, same scenario. Going back to Best Buy and returning the iPod was enough of a hassle, but what’s really bad is that Apple has lower (capped) the volume on the Shuffle. I'm guessing to protect our ears, maybe they were regulated into it - but at this point while I'm on the treadmill I can barely hear the music/lyrics. There’s fixes for this issue on all the iPods except the shuffle.

Well – the 12 pound gain I realized on Monday is almost gone as quick as it came – easy come easy go I guess (water weight like I thought).

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 243.2 today.

The Health Risk Assessment

I took my employers HRA a few days ago. The division I work for actually creates/manages/supports this. I thought that maybe by choosing the goal weight of 167.5 I had perhaps set my sights too low. I've heard that if you are a body builder then these sort of test become quite invalid. Too much muscle weight for your height. I'm not a body builder though and was quite surprised to find that according to the HRA my weight needs to be between 125 - 170. My goal barely makes the range and here I thought I wasn't being realistic. I would love to weigh 125 again, maybe this should be called down 250.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 250.1 today.

OMG!

I decided to take a day off yesterday and that was a big mistake. After Saturday's run I was down to 242.8 a new low for me throughout the entire diet so far. I thought that I might actually have a shot at making my monthly goal. Forgot my workout clothes and took off yesterday. Didn't pay attention to calories yesterday (even bigger mistake) and today I weighed 255.4. I gained 12.6 pounds. That's by far the largest gain from one weigh-in to the next. Oh well - very depressing, I know much of it is water weight gain, will attack it hard this week.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 255.6 today.

Messed up!

The roads were very slick this morning, my jeep was fishtailing a couple times so I had to take it fairly slow. Was looking forward to a second 6 mile run and even got lucky with the last remaining parking spot on the street. It took about 40 minutes to get in. I then realized that I didn't grab my work out clothes. No way I'm driving back and then back again on these roads today. I have a couple of options - I could take the day off relative to the run, though I hate to miss it. This might even allow me the time to silo and update some of my progress photos. I could go and buy some new workout clothes. I do need them desperately - the shorts and jackets I run in are from when I weighed 370, they are so loose now that they wave back and forth while I run. But the stores don't open for another 2 hours. Or I could just go sit in the sauna for awhile and head home.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

If I run later maybe I'll update this blog with a weigh-in amount.

Good day

Got in my full 6 mile run in one session, drank nearly an entire gallon of skim milk (my sole calories for the day), dropped to 242.8 (a new low), and got my ear pierced.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 242.8 today.

A little drop

It's been an interesting past two months - it's been nearly that long since I've seen my weight drop. I've stayed with the program and have no intent of stopping. I've continued with the 6 mile a day run routine, it's a constant in my life right now. I see myself still running (perhaps more then that) a year from now when the film (in theory) comes out. I have to have lost weight by then. Wouldn't you think? I checked on my records I've now been running 7 days a week for 241 days straight. Some of that was for 3 miles and some for 6. Jst got to keep it up - not sure what else to do.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 245.2 today.

crashed and burned again

Last night's run did not go well at all. I only got in two miles or so and had to walk the rest. I never have trouble breathing (out of breath) or leg soreness anymore, no more side pains but what has happened from time to time is just an over-all weak feeling. Not just a little weak, but like about to collapse. I cut out a good deal of the sodium yesterday, maybe that had an effect. Anyway this morning's run was reasonably good again.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 247.8 today.

It's Blank

Just a brief bit of time to blog. It's funny keeping at a blog like this - sometimes there is just so much to talk about and other times it can be a complete blank. Today it's blank!

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 247.2 today.

Vanilla covered raisins

Interesting diet yesterday. I had a bag of light butter popcorn (330 calories), a kit kat crisp bar (240 calories) - should have stopped there (that was the plan) but when I got home I had a salad and vanilla covered raisins and a multi vitamin. I'm not even sure where the total calories ended up (I wasn't tracking the raisins). Self-control to maintain the 600 hundred or less goal is just proving really tough. Today will hopefully be the day I get it done.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 248.0 today.

Weekend fluctuations

I'm happy that I'm able to do the weekend runs all in one longer 1 hour segment. Long term I don't think I can keep up the demands of two workouts. By the time I reach a maintenance phase I see myself getting up at 4:30AM instead of 5:00AM and just doing a single daily workout. But for now the single weekend run is resulting in about 2-3 pounds of additional water weight loss. Makes the weigh-ins a little out of whack- oh well.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 249.4 today.

Surprised

I'm really surprised - I thought after running the 6 miles straight last Sat. and not being able to complete it last Sunday, that I'd need to take today off, instead I did it again. I ran the entire 6 miles in one hour and actually a little faster. I ran 6.03 miles in one hour both last Saturday and yesterday and today I did 6.07 in one hour. Anyway - I'm quite surprised and pleased. I hit the pool for a cool down right after, so nice!

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 244.8 today.

Feelin' good

I completed the 6 mile straight run again today. Feel much better afterwards today then I did last Saturday. The running just keeps getting easier. Also have improved my calorie restriction effort and the weight is dropping.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 244.8 today.

It's late

Better late then never - I did good yesterday and OK today. The cross country banquet and potluck (just got back from that) found me over-eating. Hopefully, I won't be hurt too much by that. I weighed in at 248.6 after the morning run and 246.6 after the second. Officially, I'll count the first run weigh in. We'll see where I am in morning - one 1 hour six mile run in the morning. Not looking forward to that but hope to get through it.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 248.6 today.

It's not easy

I'm determined to get the weight dropping again, but cutting the calories back (to the levels of just two months ago) is prooving very difficult. I know that the additional exercise and the additional calories (I added 400 calories at my doctors suggestion) have been beneficial over-all, I'm feeling great, the leg cramps have all but gone away, my rate on the treadmill is climbing fast, loosing inches, etc. but the weight loss has truly flat-lined.

I'm burning nearly 1300 calories daily with the running alone, just need to get the calories down again (maybe 600-800) and I know the weight will start dropping too. It's just that the exercise is causing such a craving/need for more calories. Just need to make it happen - got to get through this starting today because the month is moving by quick already.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 250.0 today.

Taking Sunday off

I'm thinking about taking Sunday off to do some shooting and also to replace a part in the snow blower. The shooting sounds like fun - I want to try the cooking demo idea out, replacing the part in the snow blower doesn't sound like much fun. Last Saturdays full hour 6 mile run was so devastating to the muscles in my legs that I was barely able to run for even 20 minutes on the Sunday after. By Monday though I was feeling great! I've been easily over 6 miles total (even if over 2 runs) everyday this week.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 249.2 today.

Got to have a plan

I have about four and half months left to make my goal of losing 200 lbs. in less then a year. The last couple of months have been a disappointment with respect to the weight loss, but I have had far more positive commits about how I'm looking so I guess that's good. The increased calories were suppose to add muscle. In theory I may not have lost as much weight - but may actually be thinner. I need to take measurements again. I have not done that in about 6 weeks. I do have a pair of 42 jeans that were tight a few weeks ago and are now too lose. I got into a pair of 38's this weekend. They are just a tad too tight wear yet, but it felt great putting them on, they zipped up.

Anyway with just four and half months left and roughly 80 lbs. to go I need to get a plan and stick to it. I NEED TO REALLY PUT THE PRESSURE ON MYSELF AGAIN! According to my doctor I have 40 lbs. of excess skin which will need to be removed surgically, that means 40 more pounds to lose the old fashioned way. If I were to lose 10 per month (half the rate I had been doing) that would do it. I think I'd rather start by attempting to lose 20 in November. That's the plan then - 20 in November.

BY DECEMBER 1ST I WILL BE DOWN TO 229.2

I weighed 249.2 today.

Great, great run.

I just had the best run of my recent crazy losing weight and exercising life. For two reasons: First since it's the weekend and I want to do the running in one session (weekdays I run in the morning and evenings) it's been very difficult. I try to run for a full hour straight. Generally I've stopped for a drink of water or I've slowed the pace, tied my shoe - etc. But today for the first time I actually paced the speed so that I could get in 6+ miles in less then an hour - and I made it. That means I ran at a nine minute and something per mile pace - for a full hour, no stopping. My thighs are hurting and I know I will not be able to repeat the feat tomorrow but that's OK.

Secondly, while the chances of the documentary film getting seen are slim and the chances of me getting sponsorship are slim and the chances of me making money off this whole project is slim, even so while running I decided that I do not want to profit form this. I especially don't want my weight loss to define me for the rest of my life (as it has with Jared). So I've decided that any and all monies (should there be any) will go to the setting up and creation of a non profit org dedicated to providing funds to people who have lost a good deal of weight and who now find themselves disfigured due to the excess skin. More to come on that as I figure out all that goes into something like that. Since I've been dropping weight so rapidily, since I have about 40lbs of skin to lose myself (via surgery) and since several people have commented on this very issue to me - it seems like a good idea.

Congrats to Kayla Woltz - I blogged about her a week or so ago. She won the sectional (she's not even in HS yet) and today she came in second place in the state competition!

I weighed 249.4 today.