1) Played two dances with my duo this weekend, both were enjoyable...dance floor full both nights. I'm thinking seriously next year I will do most of these as a solo...

2) I've come up with more reasons to end my band than to keep it alive...

3) On April 15, I weighed 260 lbs. At 5'11, that's WAY too much.

4) Today after 3 months of DAILY exercise, which started with walking 2 miles a day then 6 weeks ago bought two new bikes and biking upwards of 125 miles per week, I now weigh 225...35 lbs. has made all the difference. My back pain is gone, my Doc took me off the BP med I was taking...my reflux is dormant and I'm sleeping better. My goal is to be under 200lbs. by the end of the year...Which is quite reasonable...My ultimate goal is to settle in between 185 and 190, which I think-and my Dr. agrees, will be great for me...


5) Really looking forward to meeting CassP for lunch today. We both big hockey fans. I'm a Pittsburgh fan, he's a Detroit fan...we had a wager on the Stanley Cup Finals that whoever lost the finals would have to drive further to meet the other one for lunch, which the winner would buy. Cass has a 3 hour drive ahead of him, me-just 1 hr, but I'm picking up lunch...Cass is a class act and a very kind guy. A while back my wife Patty was told she was likely facing quadruple bypass surgery and Cass was kind enough to talk with her and answer all of her questions. He barely knows me, doesn't know my wife from Eve yet took the time. That kind of gesture I find rare but touching...

Have a great week everyone!

------------------
Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 07-20-2009).]

BILL.....

Your Monday Morning Musings are beautiful...
You have changed your mind and the result is that your life has changed...Stay focused, it will continue.

CassP did for your wife what is a very natural human thing to do... Love is what we are in our depths. Love is so easy to share yet men seem to prefer to war, rape & pilage the people and our planet...

The more we love the more we will love... The same is true of the horrible opposite alternative as history and our present tell us over and over and over...

Good for you on the weight loss program... You and CassP enjoy a wonderful and healthy lunch together....Hug each other for me!

Elizabeth Evelyn...


------------------

Drat Bill! I should've given you my extra 800 to take to Cass for review Anyway, congrats on your loss, health, happiness and future plans. Hope to see you around these parts too.

Today's visit was most enjoyable. We met in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant, but quickly decided to go across the street and eat at Subway. Bill's choice was somewhat healthier than mine. From there we drove about two miles to a nursing home where Bill does a monthly show. Only today was not one of his scheduled days. He called ahead and asked if he could put on a gratis show becuae he had a friend coming in from out of town and he wanted to highlight his music.

Now wasn't that going the extra step. Bill played a full set using his T2 and Bose L1 - a fantastic combination. Despite what Bill says, he has a great keyboard/piano style and an excellent singing voice. If I didn't know better I might have guessed he spent some time on a few Detroit street corners - very soulful.

Afterward we stopped at McD's and each had a diet Coke. We talked about our lives and careers, our families AND music. Bill gave me a few pointers that I will try with the PSR3K. Bill had to leave to take one of his daughters to band practice back in Troy. i hopped on I-75 and high-tailed it back up north to Southgate, and it only took 2 hours (don't tell Bill 'cuz I think I got the better end of the bet).

Now I've personally met two SZers, Tony Rome and Bill Corfield. Both are top notch, A #1 upstanding guys. I'm confident that if I ever have the pleasure of meeting more of you that it will be just as enjoyable and memorable.

Bill, thanks for hosting me to a great day! Take care and God bless.

Cass

It was my pleasure, Cass... Everything was as Cass described. Time went by too quickly-we could've talked for several hours, I bet...

Hopefully, we get to meet up again...

Enjoy your new Red Wings swag, lol...



------------------
Bill in Dayton

SUBWAY ?!?!? ... you drove 2 - 3 hours and had lunch at SUBWAY???!?!?!?!?

You guys have GOT to get out of the Mid-West ...
t.

Bill,

That's verrrrrry impressive. Thanks for posting the "benefits." But you didn't mention your diet. Did you alter that any or just lost the weight from exercise?

I've been working out regularly all of my life, but lately the weight keeps packing on regardless. I'm not sure what to do about it as I never had this problem. I also have that reflux situation that causes me to rely too much on the Rolaids.

So, are you just exercising the weight off or doing a combo act (exercise and diet)?

Lucky

Larry-

Generally, I'm targeting 1200 -1400 calories a day. I've tried tracking carbs in the past and had some success, but not like this. Typically for breakfast, I'll have a bowl of Special K with Strawberries, which is about 110 calories. Sometimes I'll have 2 scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of toast, some cottage cheese and a few peach slices. That's about 400 calories.

Lunch is either a tossed salad or a 6" turkey or roast beef sub on whole wheat with 2 slices of provolone, lettuce, tomato, onions and fat free honey mustard dressing plus 2 cookies and a diet caffeine free soft drink. Lunch usually winds up around 500 calories.

Dinner is usually similar to lunch. I also try to eat fish (Salmon is my favorite) at least 1/wk.

I don't eat anything of consequence after 8:00pm...Maybe a bowl of cereal or a yogurt if I'm starving. I do eat one Peppermint Patty a day to satisfy my sweet tooth. Its the healthiest (?) candy bar out there made mostly of chocolate. (140 calories, 25 fat grams...)

Fast food places are off limits...period. Not to get gross or anything but I've found gastrically speaking, I'm much less of a threat to society in the gas department, lol. I go to the bathroom less and its not as pungent might I say. My loving Wife and two daughters both confirm this improvement, lol...I remember eating out sometimes and it would just seem to run right through me. Now, that never happens...which is another way I feel much better.

Speaking of fat grams, I watch those as much as I do calories...Things with a high fat gram count aren't good. Ignore the labeling claims of low fat (a relative statement), reduced fat (same thing) and so on. I actually read the label.

When we started biking we we each eating one power bar to make sure we weren't hungry during the ride...One bar has 300 calories and a bunch of fat grams. They ARE really filling, but we now split one and feel great...

I'm not usually hungry...It takes less to fill me up now, which is cool. I haven't taken my Aciphex (my reflux med) in a couple months. NOTE: If you're eating Tums/Rolaids regularly, you should see your Doc. Its probably reflux, but he can make sure its not something else. Also, the meds he may prescribe also work to repair the damage whereas otc meds don't.

I hit it hard from both ends. Stopped eating like crap and started working out daily. 120+ miles on a bike has done the trick. I spend less time at my desk...my work is still getting done, though and I feel terrific.

I ride someplace different everyday to keep it fresh. In fact, the department store bikes I bought Patty & I back in June are holding us back. I guess when you're riding as much as we are, you're surpassed the limits and intentions of the bikes. We've already agreed our Christmas presents to each other will be some decent road racing bikes. It may cost us a couple of grand, but those bikes are far more efficient at processing your energy into movement. The effort it takes us to travel at 12 mph right now will propel us at 20mph or so once we're on those kind of bikes. Plus, the craftmanship is better than what we have, so the annoying gears slipping, brakes falling out of adjustment, etc. won't happen as much. I'm told 120 miles per week on our current bikes will translate into 200 or so miles on proper bikes.

Today I broke through the 225 mark and weighed in at 224.8. Its fun for me to see how it comes off and what older clothes I can now wear "comfortably" again.

I'm also finally hearing comments from my audiences and others on it. Saturday, Patty and I biked into the Square here in Troy and bumped into an old client of mine and her husband. The husband asked if I was the guy on TV? (I did two local access things a few years ago that they continue to rerun incessantly) I told him yes-his next comment was, "Wow-you've lost a lot of weight, haven't you?"

That was pretty cool...


------------------
Bill in Dayton

[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 07-21-2009).]

Hi Bill,

I really enjoyed your post. A few years ago my band just sort of died of natural causes. I do miss the guys sometimes because we really were friends, but from a working standpoint, I couldn't be happier. I must tell you that I listened to your band recordings and they really took me back. As a matter of fact, the day after I listened to "Cab Driver" I had a request to play it and thanks to your recording, I remembered all the lyrics. Your guys have a nice sound but it's nothing you can't do on your own.

Now to the next part. Thanks for posting about your weight situation. I know at the beginning of the year I was well over 300 lbs. BTW, I'm 6'3". That's still way too much. When I decided to get serious about it, I weighed in at 310 (I was sick at the end of April and didn't eat for several days and lost several lbs.)

I'm now on Nutri System for about 6 weeks and am down to 295. This may not seem like a big loss, but the massive chin is gone and my clothes fit better and people are actually beginning to notice. I will stay on this program for several years. At my age, 59, rapid weight loss is not a great idea. I plan to lose around 10 lbs per month and I'd like to settle in somewhere around 200 or so. I really start to look great at 250, but for my health, I want to go lower. I've tried about everything out there but this really works for me. I like the food and they give you lots of opportunities to eat real food as well. I'm loving fresh fruits and veggies. I'm now a regular customer at all the local stands.

And the bike riding is so cool. I rode extensively in the 90's topping out at 4,000 miles for 1992. And yes, a really good bike does make a difference. I currently ride a Trek 7700 which is a hybrid. I like to ride trails as well as the road.

All the best!

Joe

------------------
Songman55
Joe Ayala

[This message has been edited by Songman55 (edited 07-21-2009).]

Hey Joe-

We're not really friends, but we get along for the most part. I enjoy two of the guys quite a bit, the other not so much. He's a loner, doesn't really talk to me unless I initiate it and just does his thing. He has good points and not so good points...

It takes alot of the fun out of it...Throw in no interest in rehearsing, learning new material, etc. , well...11 years have been pretty good. Our dance floors are still packed but that's not all there is, imo. I'll have more fun myself...

I'll try and keep most of the accounts as a solo. Some that I don't enjoy I'll drop. I'm already adding new retirement community clients, so I'm still ahead of the game.

Good luck with the weight stuff, its certainly worth it...

Cheers-

------------------
Bill in Dayton