One Week Down!

Okay, so I've officially begun a new week with the PWS Lose-a-thon. That means I've completed my first week already.

I have to say, the first week was not bad at all. I haven't done anything that I can't keep up for the next five months. I simply cut out some bad stuff, starting eating like I should be and began a moderate exercise program. I would like to kick it up to a more advanced exercise program but I know my limitations and know starting out at a livable pace is key. It really helps having my Wii Fit to track everything. I'm enjoying the workouts because they're fun, the system is motivating (even if it just a computer cheering me on) and it's rewarding to play/exercise. I like earning higher scores, unlocking new exercises and being able to visually track my progress.

I will post my new weight at the end of the post, but I feel I may have to clarify some things first to explain the shocking results. First, let me say that from the week of Thanksgiving, through New Years, I threw my hands up in the air and said, "The heck with it!" I decided I was going to eat whatever I wanted and pretend like I didn't have to care about weight, health or general well being. I ate like a teenager. And I paid for it. I noticed my clothes were tighter and I didn't feel good, but I just decided, for that month, I wasn't going to think about it--I'd already decided things would change after New Year's.

In late December I heard about the lose-a-thon and was really excited to get involved. It matched perfectly with my plan to pick myself up out of the depression I had been wallowing in for the last six months and start living my life healthy again. The last month of 2008 was kind of an adolescent fit of overeating to celebrate/mourn all that I had been through in the past few months.

Well, I must have really overdone it that last week or so. We had a blast at our annual New Year's extravaganza at Running Y. I cooked lots and lots of food. I did include many healthy choices this year, but there was plenty of junk food too and I must have partaken of a bit too much, especially of the salty stuff...

See, I haven't been a scale in several months. I was too afraid to confirm the fact that I had gained back to 20 pounds I lost in the spring. So, after decadently partaking at New Year's, I stepped on the scale last Sunday night and confirmed my weight at 190 pounds. I used my Wii Fit and calculated my BMI and fitness age. It was all pretty bad. But I also made a choice that I was only going to weigh in once a week so those little fluctuations each day wouldn't be so demotivating.

Well, this morning I stepped on the scale again and guess what? I'm at 180. I know, I know. It seems riduculous that I could lose 10 pounds in one week. Especially, when I just explained that I didn't do anything extreme. And I promise, I didn't! Here's my best guess.

Those overindulges all month long, to include the extra salty chips and nuts at New Year's must have really packed on some water weight. This week, I've most eaten freshly prepared foods from home without the high sodium content, plus no sodas, plus I drank ample amounts of water. I'm assuming this 10 pounds is mostly water weight that I was retaining. I can't think of any other explanation.

So, in one week, I'm a fifth of the way to my goal. Yea! But I know there's a long way to go and there won't me anymore 10 pounds weeks. I was setting a pace of 10 pounds a month. I'm hoping to lose 2 - 2 1/2 pounds per week to stay on track. This set me ahead, and I'm grateful, but I'm not going to let it go to my head and start eating crappy or backing off on exercise. In fact, I'm going to steadily increase my efforts until I'm living the healthy lifestyle I should be living. I want to set the example for the rest of my family.

Thanks, to all of you who have responded so far and encouraged me with your words and/or donations. I am very grateful. I'd love it if anyone else wishes to take up the gauntlet and join Team Molzer. It would be great to have a partner or more in all this. Though, I'm reaching my goal with the weight loss, I still have a long way to go for my fundraising goal, so please consider a donation or a sponsorship. It all goes toward a great cause and your donation is tax decutible.

Week 1 = 180 pounds (-10 lbs)

January 9, 2009

Happy New Year!

Well, I did it again. I let three weeks pass since posting another blog. On my behalf, we have been extraordinarily busy. I was super sick the few days before Christmas. During that time, I had to take two extra days off work, pack and prepare our family for a Christmas trip to Omaha and prepare as much as possible for our New Year's extravaganza, since I would only have a day between coming home from Omaha and leaving for Running Y.

We were divinely meant to go to Omaha. Due to the outrageous snow storms in Portland and Seattle, flights out of Medford were pretty much at a stand still. Our initial plan was to drive to Klamath Falls on Christmas Eve, after Joe got off work, take a flight to San Francisco and from there take a red-eye to Chicago or Denver. Our hope was to arrive from one of those destination to Omaha some time Christmas morning.

As I prepared for our trip Christmas Eve morning, Joe called me from work and told me we may not have to drive to Klamath Falls, but would need to be at the Medford airport by noon if we were going to get out. I put myself into overdrive and we made it there, packed up and ready to go. We actually decided to go through Portland instead of San Fran because Joe saw that a flew flights were making it out and they miraculously had seats on them. We flew to Portland and arrived with 20 minutes until our next flight to Denver. There was no problem getting us on in 1st class--it was half empty.

We arrived in Denver and knew we were going to have to run for the Omaha flight as it was boarding, pretty much at the same time we were supposed to land. Also, it was pretty full. We got off at gate 47 and ran to the reader board. The Omaha flight was at gate 45...literally right next to us. I ran up to the counter as they were just beginning to board and asked if there were seats for us. The gate agent said he was just about to call our names. There were exactly five seats left and they were in 1st class once again (Ron flew with us if you're wondering about the "five"--no we have not added another Molzer since my last post). We immediately boarded and were in Omaha by 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve. Only God could have allowed that to happen.

We had a spectacular time with Ron's family and Laura's family. I learned how to make leftse and was a natural as it turns out. We did a Nativity pageant with all the kids at Judy's house--our boys were the cutest shepherds. And we sang/acted out the 12 days of Christmas. The white elephant gift exchange topped it all off. Unfortunately, our presents were of a size and nature that they could not be brought home--we donated them back for next year's exchange.

The trip home went less smoothly. After getting up at 3:00 AM central time, we tried for the first two flights out of Omaha and quickly found out our chances of getting our were not good--not for the entire day. We made a quick decision to drive to Denver (546 miles). We rented a car and got on our way. 11 hours later we arrived at the Denver airport. We blessedly made a flight to Portland where Joe's aunt Barb picked us up. We didn't get to her house until 1:00 Am (or 3:00 am central time). Yes, we were up for 24 hours straight trying to get back home. We got to sleep in wonderful warm beds at Barb's and she made us the best scrambled eggs ever that morning. Then we hopped a flight to Medford and got home around noon on Monday. We were exhausted, to say the least.

But alas, Joe had to work 15 hours on Tuesday and I had to prepare our New Year's trip for us and 16 other people. We took two vehicles, his Montero and my new mini-van, packed to the gills with food, games and gear. I cooked my rear-end off for five days and had a great time playing games, watching movies and talking with friends. New Year's is always a great time and worth the effort.

We got back Sunday afternoon and, once again, had virtually no time to prepare for the week ahead. I had taken two weeks off work, but really felt like a still needed a vacation. We started back to work bright and early Monday morning.

Our holiday season was very busy but we really did have a lot fun. I'm glad this week is over and I can start to play catch up. I'm also glad that we can get back to our normal routines. I am starting a weight loss regimen and participating in the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association's Lose-a-thon. You can check it all out, keep track of my progress and donate to the cause by going to my official page at our website: www.molzerfamily.com/lose.

That's it, as concisely as I can get in for the last three weeks. I'll keep up better with posting now that we're not going a million miles an hour.

January 9, 2009

Happy New Year!

Well, I did it again. I let three weeks pass since posting another blog. On my behalf, we have been extraordinarily busy. I was super sick the few days before Christmas. During that time, I had to take two extra days off work, pack and prepare our family for a Christmas trip to Omaha and prepare as much as possible for our New Year's extravaganza, since I would only have a day between coming home from Omaha and leaving for Running Y.

We were divinely meant to go to Omaha. Due to the outrageous snow storms in Portland and Seattle, flights out of Medford were pretty much at a stand still. Our initial plan was to drive to Klamath Falls on Christmas Eve, after Joe got off work, take a flight to San Francisco and from there take a red-eye to Chicago or Denver. Our hope was to arrive from one of those destination to Omaha some time Christmas morning.

As I prepared for our trip Christmas Eve morning, Joe called me from work and told me we may not have to drive to Klamath Falls, but would need to be at the Medford airport by noon if we were going to get out. I put myself into overdrive and we made it there, packed up and ready to go. We actually decided to go through Portland instead of San Fran because Joe saw that a flew flights were making it out and they miraculously had seats on them. We flew to Portland and arrived with 20 minutes until our next flight to Denver. There was no problem getting us on in 1st class--it was half empty.

We arrived in Denver and knew we were going to have to run for the Omaha flight as it was boarding, pretty much at the same time we were supposed to land. Also, it was pretty full. We got off at gate 47 and ran to the reader board. The Omaha flight was at gate 45...literally right next to us. I ran up to the counter as they were just beginning to board and asked if there were seats for us. The gate agent said he was just about to call our names. There were exactly five seats left and they were in 1st class once again (Ron flew with us if you're wondering about the "five"--no we have not added another Molzer since my last post). We immediately boarded and were in Omaha by 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve. Only God could have allowed that to happen.

We had a spectacular time with Ron's family and Laura's family. I learned how to make leftse and was a natural as it turns out. We did a Nativity pageant with all the kids at Judy's house--our boys were the cutest shepherds. And we sang/acted out the 12 days of Christmas. The white elephant gift exchange topped it all off. Unfortunately, our presents were of a size and nature that they could not be brought home--we donated them back for next year's exchange.

The trip home went less smoothly. After getting up at 3:00 AM central time, we tried for the first two flights out of Omaha and quickly found out our chances of getting our were not good--not for the entire day. We made a quick decision to drive to Denver (546 miles). We rented a car and got on our way. 11 hours later we arrived at the Denver airport. We blessedly made a flight to Portland where Joe's aunt Barb picked us up. We didn't get to her house until 1:00 Am (or 3:00 am central time). Yes, we were up for 24 hours straight trying to get back home. We got to sleep in wonderful warm beds at Barb's and she made us the best scrambled eggs ever that morning. Then we hopped a flight to Medford and got home around noon on Monday. We were exhausted, to say the least.

But alas, Joe had to work 15 hours on Tuesday and I had to prepare our New Year's trip for us and 16 other people. We took two vehicles, his Montero and my new mini-van, packed to the gills with food, games and gear. I cooked my rear-end off for five days and had a great time playing games, watching movies and talking with friends. New Year's is always a great time and worth the effort.

We got back Sunday afternoon and, once again, had virtually no time to prepare for the week ahead. I had taken two weeks off work, but really felt like a still needed a vacation. We started back to work bright and early Monday morning.

Our holiday season was very busy but we really did have a lot fun. I'm glad this week is over and I can start to play catch up. I'm also glad that we can get back to our normal routines. I am starting a weight loss regimen and participating in the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association's Lose-a-thon. You can check it all out, keep track of my progress and donate to the cause by going to my official page at our website: www.molzerfamily.com/lose.

That's it, as concisely as I can get in for the last three weeks. I'll keep up better with posting now that we're not going a million miles an hour.

shepherds

January 9, 2009

Happy New Year!

Well, I did it again. I let three weeks pass since posting another blog. On my behalf, we have been extraordinarily busy. I was super sick the few days before Christmas. During that time, I had to take two extra days off work, pack and prepare our family for a Christmas trip to Omaha and prepare as much as possible for our New Year's extravaganza, since I would only have a day between coming home from Omaha and leaving for Running Y.

We were divinely meant to go to Omaha. Due to the outrageous snow storms in Portland and Seattle, flights out of Medford were pretty much at a stand still. Our initial plan was to drive to Klamath Falls on Christmas Eve, after Joe got off work, take a flight to San Francisco and from there take a red-eye to Chicago or Denver. Our hope was to arrive from one of those destination to Omaha some time Christmas morning.

As I prepared for our trip Christmas Eve morning, Joe called me from work and told me we may not have to drive to Klamath Falls, but would need to be at the Medford airport by noon if we were going to get out. I put myself into overdrive and we made it there, packed up and ready to go. We actually decided to go through Portland instead of San Fran because Joe saw that a flew flights were making it out and they miraculously had seats on them. We flew to Portland and arrived with 20 minutes until our next flight to Denver. There was no problem getting us on in 1st class--it was half empty.

We arrived in Denver and knew we were going to have to run for the Omaha flight as it was boarding, pretty much at the same time we were supposed to land. Also, it was pretty full. We got off at gat 47 and ran to the reader board. The Omaha flight was at gate 45...literally right next to us. I ran up to the counter as they were just beginning to board and asked if there were seats for us. The gate agent said he was just about to call our names. There were exactly five seats left and they were in 1st class once again (Ron flew with us if you're wondering about the "five"--no we have not added another Molzer since my last post). We immediately boarded and were in Omaha by 9:00 PM on Christmas Eve. Only God could have allowed that to happen.

We had a spectacular time with Ron's family and Laura's family. I learned how to make leftse and was a natural as it turns out. We did a Nativity pageant with all the kids at Judy's house--our boys were the cutest shepherds. And we sang/acted out the 12 days of Christmas. The white elephant gift exchange topped it all off. Unfortunately, our presents were of a size and nature that they could not be brought home--we donated them back for next year's exchange.

The trip home went less smooth. After getting up at 3:00 AM central time, we tried for the first two flights out of Omaha and quickly found out our chances of getting our were not good--not for the entire day. We made a quick decision to drive to Denver (546 miles). We rented a car and got on our way. 11 hours later we arrived at the Denver airport. We blessedly made a flight to Portland where Joe's aunt Barb picked us up. We didn't get to her house until 1:00 Am (or 3:00 am central time

Starting Out

I can't believe I'm actually starting a new blog when I have trouble keeping up with our regular family blog. I'm hoping this one will be easier, as I will always have updates to post on my weight, BMI and general progress during this Lose-a-thon.

If you're reading this, I want to thank you. That means you took the time to read my page, decided you wanted to know more and care enough to see how I'm doing. Thanks again!

Right now I'm very optimistic. I know 50 pounds in five months is a very aggressive goal, but I believe I can do it. It's only two or so pounds a week. More importantly, though, I want to be healthier. That's why I included the "and/or BMI of 22". I realize that my percentage of body fat is really high right now. I know I could starve off the fat and lose the weight, but that wouldn't do me a tremendous amount of good. I need to be healthier, and that mean gaining more muscle and losing fat. I also know that muscle weighs more than fat. So, that means, if I continue to get in shape and build muscle, I might not reach my 50 pound goal, but I may get my BMI down to 22, which is just as (if not more so) important as getting the weight off.

I've decided I will only weigh myself once a week. I think it's easier psychologically that way. The last time I was trying to lose weight, I weighed myself every day. It was not a good idea.

Also, my mom got me a Wii Fit for Christmas. I'm so excited. I just got it all set up and began using it today. This will be a great tool for me. It already measured my weight, BMI and "fitness age". I'm ashamed to say I'm as fit as a 44 year old; so, that's something that will improve too. The Wii Fit will keep track of my progress and is a fun tool to utilize for working out. I can do yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance excercises with it.

So...here's to the begining! 50 pounds in five months! Thanks again for your support.

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Another year has come and gone already and what a year it has been! I’m not going to rehash all the major events that happened in this country since last Christmas (I’ll leave that to CNN & VH1) but I’d be happy to give you a rundown of the Molzer Family’s major events for 2008.

Medically speaking, we’ve had a great year; no surgeries or hospital stays in 2008 (Yea!). Though it took a while, Cainan recovered from his disastrous tonsillectomy he had last year at exactly this time. He has continued to grow and amazes us everyday. He’s so tall and looks very much like a little boy these days and not our jolly little toddler from just a year ago. He talks up a storm and, while his vocabulary and communication skills have hugely improved, it’s still very difficult to actually understand his words. He’s working on that though; he’s very motivated to be understood and pretty patient about repeating himself and/or incorporating signs until we get what he’s saying. He’s continuing in pre-school and he loves, loves, loves it! This will be his last year for pre-school as he’ll moving into Kindergarten next year!

Asher has had a very eventful year. We’ve always known he was a sensitive kid but we learned earlier this year that there’s actually a “disorder” and treatment for kids like him who are really sensitive; it’s called Sensory Integration Dysfunction. He’s been seeing an occupational therapist since June and what a huge difference it has made in all our lives. He’s so much calmer and less fearful of things. He can relax a lot easier and we’ve learned how to give him the kind of attention he needs to make progress. He’s such a delight and sweetheart! He also started pre-school this year and attends the same class as Cainan. It was really a blessing that he could attend with his brother as this allowed him to make a smooth transition and enjoy the classroom experience. He’s more willing to try anything if he sees Cainan do it first. Cainan even participates in Asher’s therapy for that very reason, so that’s helped a lot.

Both the boys are so much fun! Joe and Heather are really enjoying their time with them through these toddler days. We recently got back from a family trip to Disneyland (in case our Christmas card didn’t give that away). That was at the

beginning of November and the boys still talk about Disneyland every day. They will talk your ear off about all they saw and did. It was a great family vacation and we had tons of fun! We have lots of pictures linked to our website at www.molzerfamily.com.

Moving on to Joe…he is still working with SkyWest as a supervisor but hoping to make a transition to another opportunity soon. In the spring he hired an instructor to teach him to drive big rigs and he obtained his CDL in an amazingly short time! He hopes to operate large equipment for BLM or similar work. He will be very excited to take a break from the customer service business for a little while.

Heather is still with the police department. She was able to attend a great training this year on Forensic Video Analysis and hopes to continue next year with more training. In July she and the boys were in two car accidents, a week apart. The second was a drunk driver who fled the scene (later caught). Thankfully, there were no major injuries (Praise the Lord!). The boys are fine (other than a brief fear of car rides). Heather has a herniated disk in her neck and may have to have surgery in the next year or so. She’s still recovering but doing very well!

God is so good! We had a wonderful, blessed year! We hope you all had a great year, too. We wish the best for you and your family in the next!

Joe, Heather, Cainan and Asher