A plan to help you keep your weight loss resolution

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight this year?
If so, how are you doing? If you made a resolution and quit because you either broke it or slipped up, I have great news for you. The year is not over and you still have four months to keep your promise.
I made several resolutions this year. Losing weight and getting fit were among them. I’m just getting started on that. I know that losing weight is hard to do. It’s stressful. That’s why I put it off. I didn’t want to make a bunch of life changes at once. Instead I picked the low hanging fruit and started building small successes.
A couple weeks ago my wife Sandy and I committed our family to participating in The Daniel Plan. It’s more than a weight loss plan; it’s a lifestyle plan. Weight loss and fitness are at the heart of it but as byproducts, not the focus. The Daniel Plan originated with pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback Church in California. Realizing that he and many in his congregation needed to lose weight he embarked on a journey to find the best way to do it.
The result is laid out in the book “The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life” that Warren co-authored with Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman.
According to the website (www.danielplan.com), “The Daniel Plan is a groundbreaking healthy lifestyle program founded on biblical principles and focused on The Essentials: Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus and Friends. The program offers an innovative approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle where people get better together by optimizing their health in each of these life areas.”
Although the areas of faith, focus and friends are vitally important to the program I want to keep food and fitness in the limelight here. I have listened to the audiobook version of “The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life” and I have to say that it has a powerful message about food, or the stuff most Americans eat in place of real food.
I never realized just how much poison I was consuming under the guise of food. At the time of this writing I’m near the end of a two-week detox from gluten (basically wheat) and refined and artificial sugars. The only sweeteners I’ve allowed myself are raw honey and the sugars found naturally in fruit.
One of the mantras of The Daniel Plan is to eat more things that grow on a plant and fewer (or none) of the things made in a plant. Our bodies were made to consume whole, natural, organic foods. We were not designed to digest all the chemicals and processed foodstuffs that make up such a large portion of the American diet. Eating fake foods leads to numerous diseases, chief among them being obesity and diabetes.
I am admittedly obese. I suffer from chronic fatigue, brain fog and depression. Back in 2009-2010 I tipped the scales at 260 pounds. (I lost 30 pounds in a clinical study but have stayed in the 220-230 range for the past five years.) My body mass index (BMI) is in the mid 30s. It should be no higher than the low 20s. All of these ailments are a direct result of what I have put into my body.
I used to drink about two or three diet colas a day thinking it was OK because they had no calories. What they have in their place are toxins that poison the brain and trick the body and cause you to crave more food. Since beginning this detox about all I have had to drink are black coffee and water.
As you consider the purchase and consumption of food, whether in the grocery store or at a restaurant, you need to consider the ingredients. If it contains high fructose corn syrup, put it back. Treat it like the venomous snake it is. If sugar of any kind or chemicals are in the first five items on the ingredient list, don’t buy it or eat it. As you look at the ingredient list, ask yourself if your great-grandmother would recognize it or would have cooked with it. If the answer is no, then that should be your answer to consuming it.
While The Daniel Plan is big on vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and other organic plant products, it also allows for consumption of meats. The key is lean, organic meat. Poultry is better than beef, which is better than pork. Trust me, it is cheaper and healthier to buy ground turkey than it is to buy ground beef. It’s not that beef it bad for you; it’s that beef isn’t as good for you as poultry. By all means, if you want beef, eat beef. Just make it lean and in moderation.
When it comes to breads, think whole grain. Eliminate all white flour from your diet. All white bread and donuts and almost all bagels, chips, crackers, breakfast cereals, pasta, etc. should be eliminated from your diet or eaten in very small amounts on rare occasions.
I could go on for a long time about the food aspect, but I think you get the point.
The fitness side has me scared. I have lived a very sedentary life for the past 20 years. Every occasional attempt at exercise or every extended physical exertion I have made has ended in a great deal of pain. I have put off doing any rigorous exercise until my body adjusts to the new diet. I am hopeful that having good, healthy, nutritious foods in my system will help my body recover better from exercise and reduce the pain. It should, because a lot of the stuff I have been eating causes inflammation.
Clearly, our bodies were not designed to sit for hours on end. Unfortunately that is one of the pitfalls of my profession. I have been forcing myself to get up once or twice an hour and stretch and walk around. In a couple weeks I hope to begin a more formal exercise regimen.
As I go through this process, I have to look at my father for inspiration. Although he is not formally on The Daniel Plan, he has been doing something almost identical. He has lost more than 80 pounds in the last year on his goal to lose 100. He is slimmer, fitter and much happier than I have seen him in decades (although I think his new wife has a lot to do with that). If he can do that in his 70s, I can do it in my 50s.
As I evaluate my progress so far, I must confess that I am miserable. At this stage I am at the height of withdrawal symptoms and I have a strong craving for donuts, cheeseburgers, pizza, ice cream and all the other stuff I’ve given up. Fortunately I can feel the change taking place in my body. I’m slowly getting more energy. I’m starting to feel better. I’ve already dropped about five pounds. This is good and I can do it!
You can do it, too. I encourage you to get the book and/or find The Daniel Plan online. Remember, it’s not a diet plan but rather a lifestyle plan. It’s meant to change your life, not just your eating habits. It’s made to be done with family and friends. It is faith-based and helps you on your spiritual journey as well. I’ve talked about the diet here but that’s just the hook. You really need to get into it yourself to discover the benefits. But don’t do it alone, include close family and friends. Trust me, it will be worth the effort.
By the way, if you can do the 40-day plan you’ll still have plenty of time left in the rest of the year to reach your New Years goal of losing weight and getting fit. Now get out there and do it!

It’s a great time for sports

Photo by Joe Southern
Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller hauls in a touchdown pass against Saints cornerback P.J. Williams Saturday at NRG Stadium. The Texans beat the Saints 16-9.

I absolutely love this time of year. Baseball is ramping up for the playoffs, football is kicking off its season and other sports, including the recently concluded Olympics, are keeping the sports schedule packed.
Last week was an amazing week in sports for me. Sports photography is one of my great loves and I got to photograph three Sugar Land Skeeters games, two Houston Astros games and the preseason Houston Texans game.
While I’ve been busy doing that, news coverage has not been lacking. Unfortunately, space in this edition of the paper is, but that is because we have our high school football preview filling up the back section. Our reporter Bill McCaughey has done an outstanding job covering each of the Fort Bend ISD schools.
Our front pages also include some more sports coverage, but local news as well, including an upcoming election in Richmond, the start of the citizens police academy and Sugar Land updating its parks and recreation plan. A lot of what I was working on outside of sports are feature stories and previews of upcoming events that were not urgent and could wait another week. Unfortunately, a lot of the items submitted by the public for publication had to be held. The timely ones will go on our website (www.fortbendstar.com). If your item hasn’t run yet, please be patient. With apologies to the New York Times, a small paper like ours can only print all the news that fits.
That being said, I want to use this column to introduce a second, seasonal column. The new column will run in sports and will be called “Shootin’ the Bull.” Rather than being a traditional sports column, it will be a photo column featuring pictures and brief commentary from each home game of the Houston Texans. First out of the shoot is this picture of the one and only touchdown in the Texans game against the New Orleans Saints. It shows Will Fuller hauling in the ball for the score against cornerback P.J. Williams.
Regretfully, I will have to hold the pictures from the Astros games. I went there because the St. Louis Cardinals were in town. I’m no fan of the Redbirds but two of their players are from Fort Bend County – Matt Carpenter (Elkins High School) and Randal Grichuk (Lamar Consolidated High School). Look for those photos online or in next week’s paper (space permitting).
Speaking of hometown talent, when the Saints came marching in last Saturday they brought with them Craig Robertson, a 2006 Stafford High graduate. That story, too, is available on our website.
I think I’m beginning to sound like a broken record with all the references to our website. Even so, we have a lot of good information there and you really should check it out. Also be sure to join us on Facebook. We post and share a lot of things there that don’t get into print. It’s all good stuff and we’re honored to bring it to you.
In the meantime, high school football returns this weekend. We look forward to seeing you under the Friday night lights!

Don’t be afraid to just do it yourself

DIY.
Do it yourself.
Why?
That’s the question I’m asking myself at the time of the writing. We are painting the bedroom of our middle son, Luke. He has been away visiting his grandparents in Florida. Someone – and I’m not saying who, though I think she’s married to me – thought it would be a good idea to finally paint his room while he was out of the house.
Gone is the pale green of the 1970s. In its place is a deep, blood-red/maroonish color and something the store called “stone” or “mocha.” We’ve been texting with Luke and teasing him about the hot pink color we’re using. It’s not that far-fetched. Peeking from under the green trim is a very vibrant shade of pink.
Sandy, Colton (our youngest son) and I have just finished the main coat and are waiting for it to dry so we can do touch-ups. I’m dripping wet from having hosed down the brushes and cleaning up the equipment. My socks, ironically, are now a hot pink. Bella, our black chaweenie dog, managed to get a big mocha spot on her side.
Most of the stuff in Luke’s room is now stashed into other rooms, including the living room. It blends nicely with the boxes of stuff we had sitting there that my dad brought to me when he came to visit last week for my birthday. Just what we needed; more stuff.
As we cleaned out Luke’s room the previous night I became painfully aware of a few things. First, a teenage boy can collect a pretty weird assortment of junk. Secondly, he can collect a lot of it. Thirdly, we now have serious doubts about him actually cleaning his room whenever he was told to do it. Fourthly, a lot of clothes, toys and school papers from elementary school can fit under his bed, dresser and bookshelf. Fifthly, an army of giant dust bunnies and dead roaches can be quite formidable.
I guess we’re going to have to monitor his room a little more closely from now on. In the meantime, this, like all the other DIY projects in this old house, is proving to be a bigger challenge than it appeared on the surface. One thing always leads to something else needing to be done. Take the plumbing for example. I’m not saying the pipes are old, but they do have the seal of an ancient Roman emperor on them.
I’ve never considered myself to be a handyman or a DIY kind of guy. I have issues with things like remembering which way to turn a wrench, being scared to death of electricity, getting things level, drawing straight lines or having even the remotest desire to do handyman kind of projects. Yet as I look back over the past eight years we’ve lived in this house, I have been hoodwinked into doing a lot of things I never thought I’d do. We’ve replaced nearly every faucet, added electrical outlets, installed ceiling fans and re-painted nearly the entire interior of the house.
Each project has left me with a mixed feeling of accomplishment and a paranoid fear of the whole works coming undone. I imagine a shower that won’t shut off or a ceiling fan slinging its blades into the wall, or windows that will no longer open because I painted them shut. Trust me, there is nothing more frustrating than to finish painting a room, getting all the brushes and equipment washed and put away and reorganizing the furniture only to find a spot that you missed. Actually, there are several.
This whole DIY thing extends beyond the house, too. I’ve done projects in the yard and work on my car that I never dreamed of doing, nor desired to do.
My poor dad is very much the DIY kind of guy and tried very hard to instill that motivation in me. I tend to be averse to the kind of pain, frustration and disappointment that goes along with DIY projects. I don’t know how many endeavors he has had to bail me out of over the years. Thank you, Dad!
Now that I think of it, one of the reasons Luke’s room is such a DIY challenge is that he is very much a DIY kind of kid. He, like his older brother Wesley, enjoys disassembling electronic gadgets like remote controlled cars, old computers and other odd items and constructing his own Frankensteinian contraptions. He kind of reminds me of Sid from “Toy Story” but without the sinister, maniacal bent toward destruction.
As a result of his creative experimentation, his bedroom became more of a laboratory than a place to sleep at night. I suppose it was a good thing we intervened when we did because I’m pretty sure the dust bunnies were learning how to drive his vehicles and it would have only been a matter of time before they began invading the rest of the house.
Now, as this project winds down and I reflect on my many DIY successes and failures, I can see and appreciate that it really does make you a better person and improves the quality of your life if you make the effort to take care of your things yourself. You don’t know your limits until you push them. You never stop learning and developing new skills as long as you’re making the effort to get better.
So, why DIY? Because you really can accomplish a great deal of things if you put your mind to it and aren’t afraid to take some risks and stretch your knowledge and abilities. The feeling of accomplishment you get from doing something you didn’t think you could do is a great confidence builder and helps you to feel good about yourself. Now if I can just get this pink color to come out of my socks…

Waxing nostalgic on birthday, 50-year-old TV shows

Saturday was the 21st anniversary of my 30th birthday.
Please excuse me for being a little nostalgic. This week has set me just a little off kilter. On Wednesday night I found my collection of old home movies on VHS tapes. They’re in pretty poor condition and I’m having them converted to DVD by Elsa Maxey at Star Digital Studios. As I was sorting through them, I took a few minutes to watch a few snippets here and there. It was mostly video shot at holidays and birthdays.
It made me smile to see my little boys getting excited as they opened gifts, played with toys and rode new bikes. It pained me to realize that even though I shot most of the video that I had little or no memory of the scenes I was watching. At times I had to hold back tears. I wanted to hold and hug those little tykes on the screen just one more time. I wanted to tell them how much I loved them. I wanted to play with them and engage them in the things that made them happy.
Then I got angry. I wanted to slap the man behind the camera. I wanted to warn him about the mistakes he was making. I wanted to knock some sense into him and make him realize how precious and rare the time was that he would have with those kids. I wanted him to man-up and take responsibility for his family and his life rather than be a passive observer.
I couldn’t do any of those things. I can’t send a message back in time. I can’t do anything but watch the video – watch and smile and cry and lament.
I can make new memories. I can engage with my family. Yes, two kids are now grown and out of the house. Two are still at home, however, and I can make the most of that. Of course they’re big, moody, hairy, smelly teenagers now, but that’s beside the point. Or maybe that is the point. They’re still at home and at an age where we can engage them and have a positive influence on their lives.
That will be an enormous challenge because as any parent knows, when a child becomes a teenager he or she is suddenly imbued with wisdom beyond their years and Mom and Dad become as clueless as TV sitcom parents.
I have now reached that age where I must hand the TV remote or my cell phone to my kids and ask them to get me where I want to be. This does nothing to defeat the image of Dad as the clueless doofus who is out of touch with today’s world. In fact, it reinforces it. Still, if I want to get off broadcast TV and watch my favorite shows on Netflix I must endure the ritual that typically includes the rolling of eyes and some joke about my age.
That brings me to another point in this nostalgic journey. Three of my favorite childhood shows are turning 50 this year – “Star Trek,” “Batman” and “The Monkees.” I definitely watched the first two shows as a toddler and grew up with them. I didn’t get into the Monkees until I was in college and MTV brought them back as an original music video band.
I got into the Monkees big time. I bought their albums, watched the reruns and even did an interview with Mickey Dolenz in person at one of his concerts. I still have the interview recorded on tape. I just need a tape player to play it on. (At least that’s something I can teach my kids how to operate!)
The Monkees are touring again for their 50th and they have a new album called “Good Times.” Let me go on record here and now to say that they are long overdue for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s time to end the snub! Oh, and Mickey and Peter, if either of you happen to be reading this, please come to Houston!
I have never seen nor met any of the actors from the “Batman” TV show. Meeting them is on my bucket list, meaning I want to meet them before any more kick the bucket. Other than the movie they made, I have not seen the television show since it went off the air. It’s out on DVD now but a little beyond my budget at the moment.
“Star Trek” has had a strong influence on my life. I have seen all the original cast members in person except the late Deforest Kelley (Dr. McCoy). I infrequently watch the show and the movies on Netflix. My boys think it’s antiquated and cheesy, though they do like the rebooted movies. I like the new movies, too, especially the one that just came out, “Star Trek Beyond.”
Now CBS is making a new Star Trek series called “Star Trek: Discovery.” There hasn’t been a lot of information put out about it but the new spaceship, Discovery, looks like someone put the saucer section of the Enterprise on the body of a Klingon battle cruiser. I’ll have to take a wait-and-see approach to this show.
I haven’t been a fan of all of the previous Star Trek shows (or movies, for that matter). I couldn’t get past the first season of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (DS9), although I’ve been told it got much better. As a matter of principle I will not watch “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” again because it was so hideously bad (so were the last two Next Generation movies).
Still, Star Trek has thrived for 50 years, five television series (six if you count the animated series and seven with the upcoming one), and 13 movies. In the world of science fiction, only “Doctor Who” has been around longer and continuously, but it hasn’t spawned movies and multiple series like Trek has.
I thoroughly enjoy being able to share my interest in “Star Trek” with my family and to pass along my love for the show to my kiddos. At least they will grow up with their own version of the adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Doctor McCoy. They will also have an appreciation for the series that started it all. And whether they remember it or not, by virtue of having tagged along with me at conventions, they have also seen many of these and other actors in person.
I guess looking ahead it is safe to say my relationship with my kids will live long and prosper. I just hope my home movies will do likewise. It will be nice if they can be preserved for the next generation and beyond.

Holy spandex! It’s Super Hero Night at the Skeeters

There is something magical about looking out at the world through the eyeholes of a mask.
When your true identity is concealed and who you are is tucked away and protected, you have the ability to become someone or something else. You have the ability to shake off your inhibitions and express yourself in ways that the plain clothed you would never do.
On Friday the Sugar Land Skeeters will host Super Hero Night. While the crux of the promotion is to pay tribute to real-life heroes, there is also the element of fun as the public is invited to come in their superhero costumes or to wear their favorite superhero apparel. That, along with the story I did last week about the Skeeters’ mascot Swatson and all the coverage of the recent San Diego Comic Con got me thinking about how much fun it is to go to events in disguise.
Outside of Halloween, I have extensive experience appearing in two costumes. I am a former mall Santa and I have attended comic cons and other events as The Lone Ranger.

In the two seasons that I sat in a mall in the red suit and white beard I had hundreds of children come sit on my lap and tell me their Christmas wishes. Even my own children visited Santa without knowing who he really was. That was one of the most enjoyable side jobs I’ve ever had. There is nothing like being able to bring some joy and big smiles to small children.
And yes, there are even some disastrous moments, like the time a mom took a crying baby from my lap and walked off with a fistful of my beard in the process. She had the elastic band stretched as far as it would go before realizing what happened and untangled herself. As I looked back down the line of youngsters waiting to see Santa all I could see were dropped jaws and astonished looks.
When I first assembled my Lone Ranger costume for the Memphis Film Festival in 2008, I wore it without shaving off my mustache. It wasn’t until I got home and saw the pictures that I realized how stupid I looked, especially compared to the other barefaced Lone Rangers at the festival.
That’s when I shaved my upper lip for the first time in about 12 years. I’ve been clean-shaven most of the time ever since and every time I’ve been in costume. I’ve worn the outfit to Comicpalooza and to several parades and other events and thoroughly enjoy the attention I get. I love posing for photos and talking with fans. At Comicpalooza I even had celebrities ask to have their pictures taken with me!
It’s weird when you slip out of the costume and back into street clothes how no one recognizes you or wants to take your picture. The first time I experienced that it taught me how empowering a costume can be. As a photographer, whenever I go to events like Comicpalooza, Space City Comic Con or even the Texas Renaissance Festival, I find myself drawn to people in costume. I have thousands of pictures of people dressed up and having fun.
A costume can make even the nerdiest and unattractive amongst us look and feel special. I’ve never considered myself to be an attractive person but I love the attention I get when I put on the blue suit, white cowboy hat and black mask. I see the same thing in the eyes of costumers – or cosplayers, as they are called – whenever they attend public events in disguise.
I really have a deep appreciation for members of the different Star Wars costuming groups such as the 501st Legion. They take it to a whole new level by making hospital visits and supporting numerous charities while dressed as their favorite Star Wars characters.
I also have a deep love and respect for people who dress in period costumes and portray characters from history, such as Civil War or Texas Revolution re-enactors. They have an educational motivation behind their costumes and weaponry that gives real purpose and value to what they do.
Even though re-enactors and those in period dress are not hidden behind masks, they share a lot with their costumed brethren in their desire to escape reality, entertain and have fun while doing it.
Whatever your motivation, it never hurts to leave the difficulties of reality behind and live a fantasy for a while. It’s magical and empowering at the same time. If you’re so inclined, this Friday’s Skeeters game would be a great chance to don your super suit and have a little fun. Who knows, you might even run into The Lone Ranger.