Hi everyone and Happy Halloween!

A lot of different things have happened this month, some good - some not so
good. At the beginning of the month I entered the Zeeland Pumpkinfest Chili
Cook-off, something I've always wanted to try but never had the guts to do
it. I made 2 pots of my beanless turkey chili and they were gone within the
first 30 minutes of the cook-off. I learned a lot about chili like my recipe
mirrors that of Sister Mary Agreda of Spain - one of the many origins of
chili. According to stories, in the 1600's she would go into trances and
visit the Southwestern Native American Indians and preach to them. During
one of her visits she brought back a recipe that called for Antelope meat,
tomatoes, onions, & chili peppers stewed together. The strange thing is that
years later when missionaries from Spain made their way into the Southwest,
the people there talked about a 'lady in blue' that would visit them. I also
found these tidbits interesting:

*Beans are not standard in Texas chili. Beans were introduced by
impoverished people that could not afford meat to put into their chili
*Cookies(trail cooks) used to bring 'chili bricks' on trail rides which were
dried beef, peppers, & spices that were pounded together into bricks. All
that was needed was a big pot of boiling water to reconstitute the bricks
into chili.
*The Texas prison system used to feed prisoners chili & bread (where gruel &
bread was served by the Northern states prisons) and the taste of the chili
varied from prison to prison (recipes were different). Some prisoners liked
it so much they would write the warden for the recipe after getting out
because they missed it.

Needless to say, I got many compliments but lost out. The first place winner
was a ringer - she was opening her own restaurant... You can see a picture
of me at the cook-off:

http://photos.yahoo.com/mvanderplow

I had a great time and will do it again next year!

I also had the opportunity to talk with Dave Ramsey on the radio about my
weightloss. He was impressed at my commitment and sent me a copy of his
book, "The Total Money Makeover". I hope to implement my commitment to my
weightloss lifestyle to our family's financial lifestyle using his book...

I am walking 3mi/day 5 days a week and have recently ramped up my Xbox
exercise program to 30min/day 5 days a week. As a part of my walk in the
mornings I am starting to jog a little as well. One block length at a time,
gotta start slow - I didn't start out walking 3mi/day...

I am shocked to say that I stood on the scale today and saw the number
288.4lbs staring back. Another 10lbs have been lost forever, bringing the
total to 193lbs in 20 months!

I wanted to share the gist of an article that someone gave me. It was an
article that someone had written about their ride to work. The writer drove
to work a certain way every day and began to notice a 300lb man jogging
along the road. He didn't think the guy would commit to jogging every day
and didn't expect to see him, but day after day, week after week, the man
was still jogging along. People on the morning commute began to cheer on the
man, waving and honking their horns at him to encourage him. A year later,
the guy had noticeably lost a lot of weight - his clothes were now baggy on
his frame. He was wearing them as a sort of badge of honor or a reminder of
where he had been. The writer regretted that he never pulled over to shake
the man's hand and tell him what a good job he had done.

I hope these monthly updates are an encouragement to you that if you put
your mind to it and trust in the Lord, you can accomplish anything!

I got a little encouragement the other week, my mother-in-law commented that
she saw a couple of guys in front of church talking and didn't realize that
I was one of the guys. She had mentioned on how I am starting to 'blend in
with the crowd'. That felt good...

I have a little stress going on in my life right now and could use some
prayer. Thanks again for being a part of my weightloss journey!

Matty
481/288/241
(starting weight/current weight/goal weight)

First mini goal achieved - 104lbs lost 10/26/04
Second mini goal achieved - 137lbs lost 01/28/05
Third mini goal achieved - 183lbs lost 09/30/05
Fourth mini goal - 200lbs total lost by 02/24/06 (7lbs from goal 10/28/05)