Can I have a drumroll, please?

Well, it’s been six months since I began my “quest for thinness in my old age” and I must say it’s been an adventure! But before I reveal the final tale of the scales, I would like to thank all of you who stood behind me through this endeavor, cheering me on and holding my hand. No way could I have made it this far without you. I appreciate all the love, support, and encouragement more than you will ever know.

Like I said in the beginning, this was not just a weight loss process. This was about a lifestyle change that would enable me to feel better about myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. And that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it—feeling good about the skin you’re in? Even though mine has way more sags and wrinkles than I would like!

Truth be told, I can tell a BIG difference in my overall physical fitness since June. While I may not be ready to run a marathon, with a little help from my puffer I can do a 30 minute workout on the elliptical that goes up to resistance level 7 three times! When I started, I could barely make it through 20 minutes on resistance level 2. At work, I can also walk from my car to my desk without getting winded. I no longer need to pull myself up to get up from the floor (as long as my balance isn’t wonky at the time). Who knew little things like this could have such an impact on one’s quality of life?

I’m also happy to report I still love chicken and eat lots of it! It’s been my staple meat for the past six months, and my reliance on yard bird has become a running joke in my family. Seriously, if you remove the skin and grill, roast, or broil it, chicken is a low fat, high protein meat that is pretty calorie-friendly. The same can be said for turkey and most fish.

As for red meat, truthfully I had pretty much given it up long before I started my diet. I’ve long preferred a grilled salmon steak to a T-bone, and just thinking about eating roast beef gives me the willies. While I can eat ground beef, I’d much rather use ground turkey or ground pork—although the calorie and fat counts are pretty much the same for all three.

My last dieting pitfall was this past holiday week. It was chock-full of bad, bad, bad food, and I indulged shamelessly! And my body can now definitely tell the difference. After plying it with a sordid variety of junk food, it’s now ready for some healthy stuff. Maybe it’s just me, but after giving it up for so long, the bad food really does make me feel bad now. And that’s a good thing, right?!

And now, for the results! Did I reach my goal of losing 40 pounds by my 50th birthday? Well, no, I didn’t. But here’s what I did accomplish:

Pounds lost: 32.4
Inches lost: bust 5.5 -- waist 5.25 -- hips 5 -- thighs 6
Body Mass Index: down 5.4 points
Percent body fat: down 10.3%

I've also gone down 4 dress sizes. My fitness guru friend Jeff believes had I just lost fat and not gained muscle, I probably would have made my goal of 40 pounds. And that’s OK—muscle mass is way more healthy than fat, so I’ll take that trade-off any day!

Remember my before picture?

Here’s me on my birthday:

Even though my six months is up, I plan to continue my quest for 40 pounds, including the added muscle weight. I have a whole closet full of skinny britches I would just love to wear again! My next step is to add some weight training to my cardio routine to help me shape and tone. And the more muscle mass I add, the more calories I will burn at rest. And for someone who would rather play on the computer than exercise, that’s a good thing!

Thanks again for accompanying me on my journey to better fitness in my old age! I hope you’ve maybe learned a thing or two along the way—I know I have.

I wish you all the best, and may your new year be full of happiness and blessings!

Week Twenty-Two: No surprises except mine!

It’s getting down to crunch time, and I have yet another holiday behind me. And, may I add that I fared exceedingly well, in spite of the amount of calories, carbs, and fat I managed to cram down my neck in a four day period…and all with very little time for exercise, seeing as how I was on the go most of the weekend.

How much did I lose—or not lose—this past week? I think I’m gonna keep that, along with the rest of my weigh-ins, under wraps until my final check-in. That way I can take this thing out with a bang and not a whimper!

I’m now less than a month away from 50, and it seems that every day I find a new wrinkle. Which has led me to believe that this weight loss thing is a double-edged sword. After all, the fat in my face did a nice job of keeping the wrinkles poofed out and not quite as noticeable. Hmmm…wonder how expensive Botox injections are?

And I would like to take this time to apologize again to my sister and my husband, who apparently had been planning an elaborate shindig to commemorate my slipping into the abyss of antiquity. And before you roll your eyes at that one, riddle me this: is a 50-year-old piece of furniture not considered antique?

As you’ve probably already guessed by now, I put the kibosh (with a capital K, I might add) to that plan before I knew it was even a plan. For many months now I have lamented on how I wished I could just go off to a corner somewhere, by myself, and let the big Five-Oh quietly pass me by. Apparently, these two thought I was kidding and hatched a plan to make it the biggest event of my life thus far. While all this was going on behind my back, I proceeded to warn my husband that, should I be surprised by any sort of formal gathering on my birthday, I would turn and walk out. Because I knew it was just like him to want to make a big deal out of my birthday (which he does every year, really—I think it’s to make up for the fact that it’s so close to Christmas) and because my sister unsuccessfully pleaded her case with me a couple weeks earlier. She even suggested an outdoor barbecue by the pond. It’s December, for crying out loud!

After a couple of days to mull it over, I did lighten up a little and agreed to consider a family dinner. Because even if I’m old, I still have to eat, true?



True story that happened to me yesterday:

This is how you know you're getting old: I was at a department store and needed help finding women's underwear. Not wanting to be crude or tactless by asking where I could find bras and panties, I found a twenty-something employee and asked where I could find the Foundations department. (Not at all realizing I was apparently speaking something akin to Elizabethan era English.) Following her directions, I went around the corner and to my left...to find she had directed me to Cosmetics.

Week Twenty-One: Happy Turkey!

Did everyone pig out today? I know I did. It was shameful…utterly shameful. But, I enjoyed every delightful morsel! And I’m not going to feel guilty in the least.

This week I probably should have posted some flowery, upbeat prose on successful dieting during the holidays…yadda, yadda, yadda. For those of you with that kind of willpower, I bow at your feet. For me, it’s a load of bunk. Thanksgiving comes only once a year and, honestly, totally blowing this weekend was in my plan from the beginning. So, whatever damage has been done is done, and I’ll deal with the fallout next week.

I realize I’ve pegged the needle on the Lazymeter where posting is concerned. But, honestly, there has been no real news to share; good news, that is. Then I got to feeling guilty because it seemed I was only posting when I made progress, which wasn’t what this whole deal was supposed to be about. It was supposed to be about the ups AND downs, not just the ups. Truthfully, the fact is that my progress is still pretty much in a holding pattern, mostly due to my recent inability to say no to foods that aren’t good for me. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had snack/junk foods in so long or what, but lately I have been answering the siren’s call from the chips and crackers and such. Not that I’m eating half a bag of chips at one sitting or anything…just a handful here and there, or maybe a few Triscuits or a brownie. The guilt afterward has been horrible, but apparently not horrible enough to get me to stop. Ack!

As a result, I’ve only lost less than a pound since my last posting, and there’s only 5 weeks left to get the last 10 pounds gone!

Can she do it?!?

I’ve promised myself I’m going to be diligent about posting each week until my time is up. Will it be good news, or bad news? Guess you’ll have to tune in and find out!

Until next week, I hope you enjoy what’s left of the long holiday weekend. And before you go to bed tonight, take a moment to think about what you’re thankful for this year and send a little prayer of gratitude to the Big Man upstairs.

Week Seventeen: What Price Beauty?

This week’s post is starting off with another HUGE Thank You to everyone for your continued support. It truly does mean the world to me, and I know I wouldn’t have gotten this far without all of you in my corner, cheering me on and giving me so much encouragement!

I’m excited to be able to finally report some progress this past week! Another 2.4 pounds lost! I’m not sure whether I’ve fully escaped the doldrums yet—we’ll see what next week’s weigh-in brings. It’s very tempting to weigh myself every day. If I’m honest, I do sometimes sneak onto the scales mid-week, and it’s usually a disappointment. But willpower only stretches so far, you know?

Last week a friend commented on my blog that my version of diet and exercise is “keeping it real.” That statement got me to thinking about different weight loss and exercise plans and the lengths to which we go to stay thin, or in shape, or both.

Seems like no matter where we look—movies, magazines, television, the internet—“slim and trim, young and beautiful” is being shoved down our throats like some bad-tasting medicine. It’s no wonder so many of us look in the mirror and just want to puke. The pressure for perfection has reached biblical proportions.

In 2009, Americans spent a staggering $45 billion on diets. That’s a hell of a lot of money for lettuce and carrot sticks. While evidence continues to show that weight loss from exercise and healthier eating can increase longevity and decrease medical issues, if you add another $10 billion a year for plastic surgery, $1.2 billion for liposuction, $1.1 billion for breast augmentation, and $8 billion for cosmetics, it’s easy to see our obsession with looks goes far beyond simply maintaining a healthy weight.

How many times have you looked at a glamorous movie star or fashion model and thought “Man, why can’t I look like that?” I know—me, too. But did you ever wonder how far they go to maintain that size and shape?

I found an article at celebrity-diets.org that claimed to have the inside skinny (I love a good pun, don’t you?!) on how the rich and famous maintain their sleek physiques. For instance, it said Renee Zellweger maintains her 7st (7 stone) figure on tuna, cold meats, dressing-free salad and raw vegetables, for a total of 773 calories a day.

OK, I had to Google to find out how much 7st is in the first place. Imagine my shock and horror when I found out it’s only 98 pounds. The calories I can appreciate because I stay anywhere between 750 and 1000 per day, but 98 pounds? At 5’4”? I remember being 108 pounds at an even 5’; I could fit into a size 1, and every time I saw my grandma she was on my case for being too thin. What size must Renee be—00?

The article goes on to give the typical daily intake of actress Liz Hurley—a paltry 449 calories—which I’m pretty sure is less than that of most people in third world countries. As if her micro-diet isn’t enough, she takes regular pilates classes which burn around 300 calories per session. Supermodel Claudia Schiffer’s typical daily intake was listed at 537 calories.

Spice Girl Victoria Beckham was reported to have been on a strawberry diet before the birth of her third child, eating a bowl of strawberries for breakfast and little else for the rest of the day, except for liters of mineral water.

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how this sort of eating is either reasonable or healthy. I wonder what sort of medical issues these girls will have in, say, 25 years or so. While I’m not condoning a diet like what the article listed for Kelly Osbourne—over 2000 calories’ worth of cheeseburgers, fries, shakes, and colas—it has been scientifically proven that there are minimum calorie requirements to maintain healthy body functions. And I would bet none of these ladies comes nowhere close to meeting that standard. After all, what good is having a knockout body when it’s going to conk out on you before you’re 50?

It would be nice if we could all have our own private chef to cook only sensible meals for us and a personal trainer to see that we get the proper amount of the right kind of exercise. Maybe in some parallel universe where watching TV is good exercise and chocolate is one of the five food groups.

The fact is the majority of us are just regular people with regular lives and regular jobs. Which means we must resort to regular means of eating healthy and staying fit. Can’t afford a membership to the gym, much less a personal trainer? Not a problem. Walking doesn’t cost a dime. Neither do many other types of exercise. All you have to do is a little research and find what works best for you. Make Google your best good friend. Don’t have a computer? That’s not a problem, either. Your local library is a great resource for books and magazines, and many of them also have computers with internet access available for patrons’ use. And while you’re there, check out some cookbooks and magazines for healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes you can fix yourself at home.

Trust me, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with a recipe for success. A pinch of research, a dab of determination, and drop of perseverance will take you a long way. And, as always, make sure you consult your health care professional before starting any diet or exercise program.

Good luck!

Week Sixteen: Repeating Myself

I hate to have to report it, but this past week was fraught with dieting pitfalls, and Yours Truly fell off the wagon big time—two nights of eating out (and I’m not talking about stopping off for a Jared sandwich) plus a birthday party with cake and ice cream. Gah! With temptations like this, it’s no wonder I lost less than a pound. But, despite my shameful lack of willpower, I still managed to not gain—which is a good thing! Maybe I should just consider it more research toward weight maintenance.

I’ve said these words before, but I think they bear repeating. Portion Control!

Now, more than ever, I’m convinced it’s not so much what you eat as how much. For example: On one of the nights we went out I ate salad, BBQ pork ribs, and baked sweet potato. This meal can play out two completely different ways, depending on how you order: Salad—Diet friendly in its own right, except for the dressing. Instead of letting the kitchen pile on a couple hundred extra calories for you, ask for low-fat dressing on the side. Pork Ribs—By smoking the meat, you’re not adding any extra fat or calories. Great start! Now you can take it one step further by ordering dry ribs so you can also cut the calories and sugars found in barbecue sauce. Baked sweet potato—While this isn’t exactly a carb friendly food, if you’ve just gotta have it, try skipping the brown sugar and order the butter on the side so you can control how many calories and fat are added.

In the end, my meal consisted of about 1-1/2 cups of the salad, 3 rib bones, and a quarter of (being honest here) what was a pretty good-sized sweet potato. Much better than the old days, when I would have eaten the whole salad, at least 6 bones of ribs, and probably half (or more) of the sweet potato. I think it helps to know that I won’t need to give up foods I love once I reach my goal weight, just as long as I don’t eat myself stupid.

As for the birthday cake and ice cream, I ate about a one inch square piece of cake with about half a scoop of ice cream. Bad, I know, but the damage could have been much worse had I let it!

Since my weigh in on Wednesday, I’ve been extra-diligent about exercise and not straying into forbidden foods territory. Hopefully, I’ll have some good progress to report next week!



The Dieter’s Psalm

Strict is my diet. I must not want.
It maketh me to lie down at night hungry.
It leadeth me past the confectioners.
It trieth my willpower.
It leadeth me in the paths of alteration
      for my figure's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the aisles
      of the pastry department, I will
      buy no sweetrolls for they are
      fattening.
The cakes and the pies, they tempt me.
Before me is a table set with green beans
      and lettuce.
I filleth my stomach with liquids,
My day's quota runneth over.
      Surely calorie and weight charts will
follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the fear of scales forever.

Week Fifteen: A Visit with Mssrs. Merriam and Webster

intestinal fortitude noun: courage, stamina

focus verb: to concentrate attention or effort

These days it seems I’m having a really hard time drumming up enough of the former to be able to do the latter. I came off the weight loss blocks at a dead run, eating nothing I wasn’t supposed to, exercising at least five times a week, and dropping pounds like a dog sheds hair in the spring.

Now, almost four months later, I find my willpower quotient is hibernating deep in the basement somewhere, while my loathing for my elliptical—once my best good friend—has launched straight through the roof. Am I just being lazy, or have I maybe burned myself out? Perhaps I started out at sprinter speed, when I really should have been pacing myself for a marathon. The big question is: How do I get back on track so I can finish the race?

It’s not that my progress has ground to a complete halt. In the past four weeks I’ve lost about four pounds and a total of 3 ¼ inches from my bust, waist, hips, and thighs. Better than gaining pounds or inches, right? Way better! I knew before I even started this so-called diet that weight loss is more rapid in the beginning weeks and slows down as you lose. I just didn’t think it would be this sucky when it happened, ya know?

Knowing my plight is not a solitary one, I let my fingers walk me back to Google, where I found a short, concise article that nicely summed up exactly what I’m going through right now. Written by Carol Sorgen for WebMD Weight Loss Clinic, it give tips on how to stay psyched for the long term; it talks about motivation and the “dreaded plateau”; it tells you how to get creative so you can avoid burnout. I bookmarked this one, so I can refer back to it whenever I need a little pick-me-up. Click here to read the article.

If this big ol’ funk ball of a cloud that is hanging over my head right now has a silver lining, it would be that my diet doldrums have given me a possible glimpse at what maintenance may be like once I reach my goal. And that is the really important/scary part of any diet, isn’t it—being able to maintain your new lower weight once you’ve shed all the excess. Because keeping the weight off isn’t a short-term plan, it’s a lifestyle alteration. And like an old pair of jeans that don’t fit, it’ll hang in the back of the closet and never see daylight again.



Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Do you have to tell it all?
Where do you get the glaring right
To make my clothes look just too tight?
I think I'm fine but I can see
you won't cooperate with me;
The way you let the shadows play
You'd think my hair was getting gray
What's that, you say? A double chin?
No, that's the way the light comes in;
If you persist in peering so
You'll confiscate my facial glow,
And then if you're not hanging straight
You'll tell me next I'm gaining weight;
I'm really quite upset with you
For giving this distorted view;
I hate you being smug and wise -
O, look what's happened to my thighs!
I warn you now, O mirrored wall,
Since we're not on speaking terms at all,
If I look like this in my new jeans
You'll find yourself in smithereens!

Author Unknown

Week Fourteen: Checking In

I hated to go three weeks without posting, so I’m posting this short update tonight. But there’s not really much to report, unless you want to count a severe case of the dieting doldrums. I haven’t made much progress the last couple weeks…less than a pound.

The cause of this plateau is undetermined. I’m sure there’s some scientific term for it if I Google hard enough. My goal for the next few days is to poke around online and see what I can find on the subject and what others have done to kick start the weight loss again. If any readers have encountered similar issues, I would love to know what you did to get past it!

Anyhow, I know my plight is not an uncommon one. I also know I need to recalculate my daily caloric requirements, since they no doubt have changed after losing 25 pounds.

So, it looks like I have some serious work cut out for me in the coming weeks. But hopefully I’ll have some good news to report the next time I check in!



That's me on the right...

Week Twelve: Masked Villains and Pesky Reptiles

Well, this is the end of Week 12 and I’m still at it! It’s been a long time since I’ve had this much determination and sticktoitness about something. I lost 2 more pounds last week, for a total of 24.8 pounds since I started. What the hell—let’s just round up and make it an even 25! ; ) Sounds a little more motivational, don’t you think?

I have a confession to make. During the past couple of weeks I have been sneaking little bites of foods I previously considered to be strictly taboo on a weight loss program: a few chips, a couple of crackers, a spoonful of rice or a few noodles with some stir fry…. I haven’t gone hog wild and done anything as drastic as eating a whole candy bar or a fried chicken dinner (although those are both lovely thoughts!). Just a nibble here and there to satisfy my craving for something besides my standard fare of grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. There’s something about the “you can’t have that” mentality that just cranks up the cravings, know what I mean? Especially when you see those types of foods just lounging around in your cupboards, begging you to snatch them up and devour them. So instead flopping down in front of the TV with a bag of chips or a pint of Häagen-Dazs and not coming up for air until it’s all gone, I’ll pick just 2-3 chips from the bag or grab a Weight Watcher’s ice cream bar from the freezer, and leave the rest in the kitchen. Just my totally inexpert opinion, but I believe it’s not so much what you eat, as how much you eat. By itself, one of my Weight Watchers ice cream bars is fairly innocuous at 100 calories. But if I eat the whole box, I’ve wolfed down 1200 calories. I could eat a whole pint of Häagen-Dazs for that. See what I mean?

And while I’m on my portion control soapbox, let me also reiterate the importance of exercise. While you may notice a difference simply by adjusting your eating habits, I’ll bet you see even greater results if you add some regular exercise to the equation. But of course, please make sure you consult with your health care professional before starting any diet or exercise program.

The biggest reason I stress talking to your doctor before making any significant lifestyle changes like me is because you never know what medical conditions may be lurking under the surface, masking themselves as weight and/or age issues. Take me, for instance. Contrary to the advice I’m peddling now, I did not talk to my doctor before beginning my program. Guilty. I just figured the lethargy and weight gain were the result of my increasing age and decreasing activity. As we discussed in last week’s post, it turns out I have a bum thyroid and needed medication.

In addition to my lethargy and weight gain, I also noticed the more I became exerted, the harder it was to breathe. At work, walking from the parking lot to my desk on the second floor left me panting. Ten minutes on the elliptical felt like I was trying to exercise with a boa constrictor wrapped around my chest. Old and fat and out of shape, right? Wrong again. Imagine my surprise when my doctor told me I have asthma. Asthma! That one came from waaaaay out in left field. *shakes head* I now puff on a maintenance inhaler twice a day, plus use a rescue inhaler before I exercise, and it has made all the difference in the world. My lungs actually work again, and that dratted snake has taken off for parts unknown!

So for all of you who laugh and think I’m being a drama queen for freaking out over turning 50, I’m thumbing my nose at you. It appears the closer I get, the more I’m falling apart! I’m only joking, of course. I can see (with help from my two other eyes), I can hear, I can get out of bed in the morning and motor around under my own power…and with the help of a few pills—and a couple of puffers—I’m managing my little ol’ medical conditions just fine.

I’m blessed and I know it. I thank God for it every day, and I pray for His help for those who aren’t.

Taken from Reader’s Digest:

No More Meat!
The teacher in our Bible class asked a woman to read from the Book of Numbers about the Israelites wandering in the desert. "The Lord heard you when you wailed, 'If only we had meat to eat!' " she began. "Now the Lord will give you meat. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, or ten or twenty days, but for a month -- until you loathe it." When the woman finished, she paused, looked up and said, "Hey, isn't that the Atkins diet?"

-- David Martino

Week 11 Results: Fat Jeans (Genes?) and Pie Wagons

Yet another two weeks with no update, so I'm posting a day early to make up. My excuse this time? No internet. But, we’re finally up and running again, and I have good news to share: 3.8 pounds lost since my last post! That’s a total of 22.8 pounds since I started – over half way to my goal!

The jeans I had been wearing were starting to get baggy, so this week I pulled the next size smaller out of my closet. You know, the ones you hang onto just in case you are able to shed a few pounds and can fit back into them? (I actually have a whole smörgåsbord of sizes in my closet, but that’s a subject for another day.) I’m happy to report the smaller jeans not only fit, but were actually comfortably loose. If you’ve traveled down this weight loss road as many times as I have, you know it’s seeing progress like this that makes it much easier to keep yourself on track.

Since my last post, I learned something about my body that just may be a contributing factor to my weight gain and the battle I’m fighting to take it off. While on vacation I got a call from my doctor’s office informing me that lab work showed I have hypothyroidism (low thyroid). Talk about feeling poleaxed—I had no clue. Once I googled it, net surfer that I am, it made all the sense in the world. I had 7 out of 11 of the symptoms, including slow metabolism/weight gain. Again, I had just attributed the changes to getting older. (I’m thinking maybe it’s time I quit riding that scooter, hmmm?) I started taking medication a couple of weeks ago, and time will tell how much it helps—not only with the disease symptoms, but with my weight loss as well.

All this got me to thinking: what exactly causes weight gain? Overeating is probably the most thought-of culprit. It’s pretty much global knowledge if you consume more calories than your body burns, the excess is stored as fat and you gain weight. So how do some people eat anything they want and stay rail thin, while others count every calorie and carb and are still overweight? The reasons are many, and I’ll share a few of them with you.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, your environment can play a big role in your weight. Do you walk, bike, or drive to work? Is your job sedentary or physical? Me, I sit and drive 80 miles a day to a job where I sit for 8 hours a day. Two strikes for me right out of the gate. Do you spend your spare time stretched out in front of the TV or curled up with a good book, or do you engage in activities that get you up and moving, such as hiking, gardening, or playing sports? Considering my next tattoo is going to be a bookworm, you know which category I fall into. That’s why I utilize my Kindle’s text-to-speech feature to combine my love of reading with exercise. Letting my Kindle read to me while on the elliptical turns an otherwise boring workout into an almost pleasurable 20-30 minutes. Another product of my diet-induced creative thinking! ; o )

Health conditions can also contribute to weight gain. Hypothyroidism can decrease metabolism and cause protein deposits in the body, leading to fat accumulation and fluid retention. Essential fatty acid deficiency can inhibit the body’s ability to make hormones and maintain metabolic rate. Food sensitivity can lead to weight gain caused by fluid retention. Cushing’s syndrome, a hormone imbalance, can cause fat to accumulate in the face, abdomen, and upper back. Heart, liver, or kidney disease can cause fluid retention and subsequent weight gain.

Another source of weight gain can be prescription drugs. Some medications used to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, mood disorders, seizures, and migraines have been attributed to weight gain. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), oral contraceptives containing estrogen, steroids, and NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen) can cause you to pack on the pounds as well. Well, color me shocked. While I don’t take all of these types of drugs, I do take medicine for high blood pressure and migraines, and an occasional Aleve. Guess what’s going on my ask-the-doctor list?

One of the biggest reasons I hear people give for being overweight is “fat genes.” In her book Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm, Roseanne Barr wrote, “The reason people are fat is because it’s genetic. If you are a great big old pie wagon, you probably come from a long, long line of great big pie wagons.” While I don’t think I remember seeing any actual pie wagons on my charts at ancestry.com, I can tell you some members of my family struggle with their weight, just like me. In an article on obesity and genomics published by the CDC, it was suggested that bombarding the “energy-thrifty genes” given to us by our ancestors (the ones that kept them from starving when food was scarce) with today’s overabundance of food has helped contribute to the weight issues we see today.

The article went on to say that genetics, in combination with your environment, can also influence your drive to eat, your tendency for inactivity, an increase in your capacity to store body fat, and a decreased ability to use fats from food as fuel. That’s not to say just because your parents or grandparents are overweight means you will be, too. I’ve seen lots of slim people with overweight families. On the flip side of the coin, I’ve seen lots of overweight people with slim parents.

I think the bottom line is to not succumb to whatever undesirable metabolic genes you may have inherited. If you seem to fall under one of the genetically-enhanced conditions listed above, maybe you could benefit from adjusting your eating and/or exercise routine. The journey will undoubtedly be smoother for some than for others. I believe the biggest keys to success are 1) admitting you need to make changes, and 2) having the desire to change. And no, I’m not running a 12 step program here, I’m just stating my own personal observations and (what I hope is) common sense.

This week’s post contains lots of technical subject matter, and I can’t stress strongly enough that I am by no means a medical professional, nor am I using this blog to distribute medical advice. I’m simply sharing some of the information I have gleaned with my mad web surfing skills. The same information is available to everyone, all you have to do is seek it out. For medical questions and issues, please talk to your health care provider.

I want to thank everyone again for reading and for sharing your comments, stories, and words of encouragement. It’s making all the difference in the world to me, and I love hearing from you!

I worry, as this blog progresses, that I’ll have issues coming up with a new topic each week or that I’ll just become flat-out stale. Six months is a long time to keep coming up with fresh material. If any of you have questions about what I’m doing, or would like to see a particular subject addressed, please let me know and I’ll do my best to include them.

Week Nine Results: On The Road

Wow! Two weeks since my last post, and lots has gone on. Where to start?

BJ and I went on vacation for 8 days and had a great time! We started in Kansas with a visit to our youngest son and 10-month-old granddaughter, Ahliegha Renee – she is beyond awesome, by the way, and beautiful, too! We don’t get to see her very often, so we really enjoyed our time with her.

When we left home, we had no idea where we were going once we left Kansas, we just knew we were heading west and ended up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The idea of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants vacation is a novel one, but I don’t know that I would do it again. Not that I can’t be spontaneous, but we spent a lot of time going back and forth with the “What do you want to do?” thing and it wore me out after a while. Nonetheless, we did have a great time and saw some really beautiful sights.

As for the diet, I wouldn’t exactly say I threw it out of the window, but I did eat lots of things I normally wouldn’t have eaten at home. It’s really hard to stick to my type of eating plan when you’re eating out every meal for several days. But I did exercise portion control and stopped eating before totally stuffing myself. (Which is something I would NOT have done in the past.) And I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a road trip snacker: chips, popcorn, Chex mix…anything crunchy. I only snacked twice in over 2,900 miles, which is pretty good for me. I ate a small bag of buffalo wing-flavored pretzel bites, which totally rocked but weren’t exactly healthy, and I also got a bag of trail mix with nuts, raisins, and dates. Not exactly low-calorie, but a better choice than the pretzels, don’t you think?

My Wednesday weigh in was two days before we left, and I had lost half a pound. We were on the road this past Wednesday and had no scales available, so I won’t know how I did weight-wise until next Wednesday. Damage report on my next post.

And speaking of weighing in, my new scales arrived the day before we left. They look very high-tech with a glass platform and chrome trim. The display is much easier to read than the old scales, and it breaks weight down into tenths of pounds. I calibrated them and weighed myself, and I’m totally convinced they lie. I weighed about 4 pounds heavier than on the old scales. Maybe they are manufactured by the same folks who make doctor scales, hmmm? Honestly, I really didn’t expect them to be exactly the same. I simply noted both weights on my progress chart and I’ll track my progress from there.

Now it’s back to reality, with my grilled meat, steamed vegetables, and daily exercise. Taking a break from the diet was fun, but after several weeks of healthy eating I don’t think I could go back to a steady stream of burgers and fries.

Week Seven Results: Do Scales Tell Tall Tales?

I’m baaaaack! Yeah, I know I missed last week’s post. Mea culpa and all that jazz, right? ; P

The past couple of weeks were very taxing for me, and I just couldn’t summon up enough intestinal fortitude to come up with a post for last week. The wonky weather that rolled through the area wreaked havoc on my head, so I pretty much felt crappy for several days – even missed a day of work because of it. Needless to say, I didn’t much feel like exercising, either. And since my unwavering exercise routine seems to be the catalyst for my progress so far, I must admit I only lost a couple of pounds the past two weeks. I’m not gonna let it get me down, though. I’m still ahead of my goal to lose two pounds per week, I’m feeling better, and I’m back in the groove! And to make up for not posting last week, I’m giving you this week’s post a day early. : )

In a totally unrelated, but nonetheless button-popping, subject, Baby Gavin won first place in his division at a local baby show this past week! He slept right through it (hey, he’s only three weeks old) but still managed to charm the pants off of the judges. Here he is, showing off his ribbon, totally tuckered from all of the excitement!

My biggest dieting dilemma at the moment is scales. Not the kind you find on fish – I’m talking about the ones that unassumingly occupy a corner of the bathroom floor, then spin the dial all willy-nilly when you step on them and refuse to give you the same reading twice in a row. Whatever evil virus causes scales to do this, ours has certainly succumbed to it. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out the little bugger has been lying to me all this time and I’ve really only lost five pounds so far.

Our bathroom scale is what I consider to be a reputable brand, but it is several years old and has the dial-type readout. These types can be hard to read, since the hash marks for each pound are pretty close together. I have trouble reading them sometimes, even with four eyes. Hmmm…maybe it’s time for an upgrade.

Another question I have is why do the doctors’ scales seem to weigh you so much heavier than your scales at home? Are they that much more accurate, or do doctors just calibrate theirs to add to your weight so it gives them one more thing to bitch about to you?

Once again, I took off on the Information Superhighway to see if I could find answers to this week’s questions. (I swear, if I were to ever permanently lose internet access I think I would wither and die!) Here’s what I found out: when choosing bathroom scales, do a little legwork and find a reputable brand with a good rating for accuracy. Turns out pricing scales is pretty much like pricing cars – the models and cost are widely varied. With a little research, you won't have to pay a fortune for decent bathroom scales. I ordered a set of digital scales online, found them on sale and paid around $30 with free shipping. I read 15 consumer reviews and overall they rated them about 4.5 out of 5 stars. I’m still waiting for them to arrive, so we shall see how they perform. Wonder how they compare to the ones we currently have? : /

As for doctor scales, I found so many variables it’s almost impossible to compare them to your bathroom scales at home. Firstly, most people weigh themselves at home with minimal (or no) clothing. I suppose you could do this at the doctor’s office as well, as long as you don’t mind getting the stink eye from other patients who may pass by during your weigh-in. But for the sake of argument (and public decency) we’ll assume everyone is fully clothed. Now, let’s define fully clothed. Do you have on a sweatshirt, jeans, and boots? Or are you in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops? Are you like my husband and carry around five pounds of stuff (literally) in your pants pockets? See where I’m going with this? You can easily add 2-3 pounds (or more) to your measurement just by what you’re wearing.

I also learned the time of day can make a difference, too. Your weight can fluctuate as much as 2-3 pounds during the course of the day, what with eating, drinking, activity, etc. From what I read, you’ll get the most accurate reading first thing in the morning, before daily life has a chance to factor in. So, if you add everything up, it appears you should weigh yourself first thing in the morning, with no clothing. Seems to me the easiest way to accomplish this would be to weigh yourself at home. Even if your scales are off by a couple of pounds, by consistently weighing on the same scale you can still accurately track your weight loss. Unless you’re like me and can’t read your scales.

If, however, you don’t feel complete without tracking your weight on doctor scales, you can either a) buy your own set for home, or b) talk your doctor into giving you a key to the office so you can sneak in before hours for your “true nekkid doctor scale weight.” Choices, choices.

Week Five Results: The Starvation Scare

Since I began my quest five weeks ago, I have used the tools at myfitnesspal.com to help me track my calorie intake and my exercise. After eating three meals per day, along with a couple of snacks, my average intake is around 800 calories per day. My body burns about 1450 calories per day now (before exercise); a 3500 calorie deficit is needed to lose one pound of weight. OK, now let’s do the math:

Weekly calorie needs (1450 X 7) = 10,150
Weekly calorie intake (800 x 7) = 5600
Calories burned during exercise (350 X 7) = 2450
Weekly calorie deficit = 7000

A 7000 weekly calorie deficit means I’m on track to lose approximately two pounds per week. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, not according to myfitnesspal’s calculations. After entering my food consumption at the end of the day, I get a not-so-subtle warning that I’m eating too few calories per day and am in danger of going into “starvation mode,” which is essentially a drastic decrease in the body’s metabolic rate in response to prolonged calorie reduction. This results in a significant slow down or cessation in weight loss. Since I have been steadily losing three pounds per week, I really didn’t pay much attention to this caution.

Until this week.

When I stepped on the scales on Wednesday, I was horrified to learn I had lost only one pound. One single, solitary pound...IN A WHOLE WEEK! The dieting euphoria I had been living in for the past month suddenly vanished, and I had agonizing visions of being stuck in fat mode for forever. I just knew my body had shifted into the dreaded “starvation mode” and I would never lose another pound. Ever. No matter how little I ate or how much I exercised. The sudden funk was almost palpable.

OK, so maybe it was time to read up on this so-called starvation mode phenomenon.

After more internet surfing (who knew this skill would be so handy on a diet?) I found nearly as many articles on starvation mode as I did on the fat/muscle burning issue. Swell. It’s no wonder obesity runs rampant in our country, what with the preponderance of fast food in our diets and the scientific know-how required to understand and put together a decent weight loss program. What I did learn was that, while there really is such a thing as starvation mode, most studies found it happens when calories are reduced to less than half of what the body requires. And it’s only after the body is in starvation mode for an extended period that there is a significant decrease in metabolic rate.

Whew! I feel a little better after that! If you want to read more on the subject, CLICK HERE for Google’s list of articles. And I know I shouldn’t panic over this week’s results. I’m still above my goal of losing two pounds per week. I just have to keep on track and see what next week brings.

Lastly, I did realize one other important thing this week: the more weight I lose, the more adjustments I need to make to my calorie intake and exercise regimen. The less you weigh, the fewer calories your body needs. So I’m going to have to either eat less or exercise more – or both. Booyah. I sure hope that dieting euphoria comes back real soon.

This week’s funny is actually a true story. Years ago, I had a neighbor with a big mouth and an even bigger belly. Harsh, I know, but nonetheless true. I was pretty good sized myself at the time, but he actually had the gall to say I was fat. Which really pissed me off. What do you say to something like that, right? Here’s what I told him: “Yeah, I may be fat, but you’re just damned ugly. And I can diet.” That was the last comment he made about my weight...to my face, anyway.

Week Four Results: A Reason to Live Healthy

A whole month under my belt and I’m now 12 pounds lighter! Woot! Another 3 pounds gone this past week. I’m nothing if not consistent. : /

The diet took a back seat this week to something much, much more important: the birth of our grandson, Gavin. He’s very precious and we love him lots! And I want to be around to enjoy him for a long, long time.

He was 2 days getting here, though, and that meant lots of time sitting and doing nothing. A hospital cafeteria isn’t exactly a treasure trove of diet friendly food, and there wasn’t much opportunity for meaningful exercise. There’s a Subway not too far from the hospital, so I ate lots of “Jared sandwiches” and walked up and down the stairs for exercise. I took a few strolls around outside, but it was very hot (heat index 105+) so they didn’t last long. But when you’re out of your normal element you have to get creative, right?

Hot topic for this week: I’m losing weight, but am I losing fat or muscle? This concern has plagued me since I started this venture. Do I need to eat less carbs and more protein? Should the settings on my elliptical be for fat burning workout or aerobic? Honestly, my muscle has been buried so far beneath fat I wasn’t even sure I had any. And on the off chance I did have some muscle left, I certainly didn’t want to be burning it instead of the copious stores of fat I have accumulated over the past few years.

So I decided to do a little research on the subject of burning fat vs. burning muscle—and what I found out was that you practically need a degree in nutrition, human physiology, or one of those other ultra-scientific subjects to be able to truly understand how your diet and exercise program is working for you. Either that, or a personal trainer, and one is about as expensive as the other. What I needed to find was a reliable source of information for cash-strapped folks like me.

Thanks to my mad internet browsing skills, I came across a great article at www.dummies.com (remember the Computers For Dummies books that came out when PCs became so popular?) that breaks down the myths of fat burning into an easily understood article. Click here to read. Be sure to read the Comments section, too—you’ll find a lot of interesting discussion there also.

I also found a body fat percentage calculator that incorporates several measurements to calculate your percentage of body fat. (I put a link in the Tools section.) According to its calculations, I’ve dropped 2.4% body fat since I started. I still have a long way to go, but I’m making progress!

You can get all ultra-scientific if you want, and I’m sure hardcore athletes and bodybuilders are real fanatics about it. But at nearly 50 years old, I know I’ll never work my way to a ripped physique. Even with a ton of plastic surgery. So for folks like me, the bottom line is you have to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight.

While I have made significant adjustments to the way I eat, in the month I’ve been tracking my diet and exercise I’ve learned I can fudge just a little and still lose weight. I just step up the exercise when I do. You have to ask yourself, ‘Is that helping of mashed potatoes worth an extra 30 minute jog on the treadmill?’

‘Cause I don’t believe you have to give up all the foods you love, just because you’re involved in a weight loss program. You just have to be sensible about what you’re doing and know that there is a price to pay for eating outside your regular menu: you either increase the exercise, or your weight loss slows/stalls. The choice is up to you.

Week Three Results: Keepin' On Keepin' On

I can’t believe it’s been three weeks already since I began this journey! It’s a worn out expression, but time really does fly. I’ve been trying to keep myself occupied with things like exercising, tending to my flowers and my herb garden, etc., to keep from just vegging out in my recliner with my laptop and eating myself stupid. And what a difference it has made: three more pounds gone on weigh-in day! That’s a total of nine pounds in three weeks! Woot!

The new “do” was a hit, by the way. Got lots of compliments from family and friends. And it has proven to be much easier to care for in light of all the recent sweaty workouts!

Well, this past week was nearly a carbon copy of the previous week: a veritable cornucopia of dieting booby traps. We had another carry-in at work and two more evenings of eating out. How much temptation can one girl stand, I ask you?! There was an awesome selection of fresh veggies at this week’s carry-in at work, which allowed me to nosh off and on all day with virtually no guilt. (We won’t talk about the handful of Triscuits I ate. Shhhh!)

Friday evening we ate at a Mexican restaurant, where it seemed nearly every menu selection was either wrapped in a starch-laden tortilla, smothered in cheese sauce, or fried. Or an unthinkable combination of all three. (Can you say chicken chimichanga?) I settled for chicken fajitas—what, you didn’t think I would get beef fajitas, did you?—forgoing the tortillas and just eating the meat and veggies. I tried not to think about how much grease/oil was used in the sautéing process and did my best not to feel guilty for enjoying the meal. If I’m honest, I have to admit to a little backsliding, though. My entrée came with a dollop of guacamole on the side, and I simply did not have the willpower to not eat it. Bad, I know. As penance I spent an extra ten minutes on the elliptical the next day. Is there an upside? Of course there is! I ate about a third of my meal before I was full. I brought the rest home with me, and BJ and I finished it up the next day.

Saturday night found us at Olive Garden, the mother lode of fat, calories, and carbs, what with all of the cheese and pasta on the menu. But the food is sooooo yummy! Calling on my mad surf-the-Net-with-your-phone skills, I scoped out OG’s website for nutrition information. I found that the dinner portion of their seafood alfredo (which is my go-to dish there) has a whopping 1,040 calories. Yikes! But, by saying no to breadsticks, eating only a small portion of their house salad and only half of my entrée, I was able to keep dinner to around 700 calories. This was way more than I would normally eat at dinner, but this was our official wedding anniversary celebration (we had gone to OG on our very first date) so I didn’t let myself feel too bad for my dietary indiscretion.

So what is the point of all of this, you ask? The point is, you can eat foods you like and still lose weight, you just have to exercise a little common sense and a lot of self control. In the not too distant past, I would have gone to that Mexican restaurant and eaten half a basket of tortilla chips and salsa, a whole dish of guacamole, and that starchy, cheesy, deep-fried chicken chimichanga. Instead, I chose the less volatile fajitas (which were very tasty, by the way) and let myself be content with a couple of tortilla chips with my dollop of guacamole.

‘Cause at the end of the day, eating right and slimming down is going to make me feel a whole lot better about myself than eating that damn chimichanga.



Talk about your exercise in self control!

Week Two Results: Carry-Ins and Eat Outs and Calories -- Oh My!

Another successful week – 3 more pounds lost! Yay! That’s a total of 6 pounds in 2 weeks. Another couple of weeks like these and I should hopefully be able to tell a real difference. Being able to see a difference on the scales is a true motivator. So is noticing a difference in the way your clothes fit. Keeping track of inches lost also helps as well. Since muscle weighs more than fat, if you’re replacing one with the other you may not notice so many pounds lost as you do inches lost.

This week I was faced with a couple of trials of the worst kind: a carry-in at work, and going out to eat. Friday everyone from my old unit at work brought in food as a send-off to those of us leaving due to a recent reorganization. The temptation to pig out was overwhelming! I did choose a couple of goodies I wouldn’t normally have eaten while dieting, but I kept the portions very small, like only one pinwheel rollup and one 2 x 2 piece of a breakfast casserole. I took some of my dill pickle rollups and ate a few of those, since I knew exactly how many calories I was eating with them. Did I want to eat more? You bet I did! Usually these events at work translate to an all day graze for me…with God only knows how many calories and carbs. But at the end of the day I could look back and feel satisfied with knowing that I didn’t succumb to temptation and stray (too far) off my regular eating regimen.

Speed bump number two came on Tuesday night, which was our wedding anniversary. Since it was a weeknight we decided to stay close when choosing somewhere to celebrate. We went to a local restaurant we hadn’t been to for a while. Going in I hoped I would be able to find some sort of grilled chicken or fish (go figure!) on the menu, with maybe some green vegetable on the side. I was surprised and delighted to find there were many! Using the rationalization that it was our anniversary, I went out on a limb and chose tilapia stuffed with crabmeat and shrimp, and steamed broccoli. I really, really, REALLY wanted a baked potato with lots of butter and sour cream, but all it took one was one look down at my thighs to squelch that craving. I also passed on the rolls and butter too, which wasn’t hard for me since I’m not much of a bread eater. The fish did have a bit of creamy sauce on it, so I tried to eat around that as best I could. The best thing, however, was me filling up on only half of the meal. I was actually able to put down the fork with lots of food left on my plate, and I brought the rest home for the next day. Not only did I turn a potential pitfall into a night of relative success, I was able to enjoy my special treat two days in a row! I’m still missing that baked potato, though….

This week I also boosted my exercise a little, which I hope will help things along. My 20 minute preset workout goes in steps from resistance 1 to 5, then back down. (The machine has resistance settings all the way to 10.) After only a week this routine started feeling a bit too easy, so I decided to push the 30 minute button and see what happened. This one starts at 3 and goes up to 7 – three times *gasp* – like three mini-workouts strung back to back. By the time I hit level 7 for the third time, I was really feeling the crunch. I felt like I was trying to run uphill with a dead body over my shoulders, and my brain was in full Danny Glover mode: “I’m too old for this sh*t!” By the time I was done, though, the display said I had burned 525 calories and over 90 carbs. Wow! What a boost from the 290 calories the 20 minute workout!

Annnnddd...After all of this focus on giving myself a body makeover, this week I decided that also includes my head. So, after four years of growing my hair, I decided to cut it all off. Yikes! I made an appointment at the beauty parlor and just did it before I could talk myself out of it. And am I ever glad I did! With all of the sweaty exercise I'm doing nowadays, it's so much easier to take care of. And I'm pretty sure the long hair just made me look that much shorter and fatter (at least it felt that way) so I got an added bonus in the process! So...whaddya think?

All-in-all it was a great week! I guess it helps that I don’t mind eating lots of the same foods over and over (such as my yogurt every morning and grilled chicken salad for lunch.) Kinda takes the worry out of wondering what to fix. And since I have to be at work so early (I leave the house at 5:45 a.m.) easy really works for me. But I only have one more week of this early business and then my schedule changes and I’ll have more time in the mornings. I may branch out then and see what other goodies I can find to add to my menu. : )

When I started this blog I intended to end each post with some quote or funny ditty about aging or weight loss…or both. It was only after I had posted my second entry that I realized I totally forgot. Imagine that! So, to make up for lost time, here’s three for this week.

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age. – Victor Hugo

If it weren’t for the fact the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart, some of us wouldn’t get any exercise at all. – Joey Adams

And this, as submitted to Reader’s Digest, is what happens to your diet when you don’t read the fine print:

Needing to shed a few pounds, my husband and I went on a diet that had specific recipes for each meal of the day. I followed the instructions closely, dividing the finished recipe in half for our individual plates. We felt terrific and thought the diet was wonderful—we never felt hungry!

But when we realized we were gaining weight, not losing it, I checked the recipes again. There, in fine print, was "Serves 6."

Week One Results: On My Way!

Well, I made it through Week One and I’m still alive…and three pounds lighter! Go me! Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement – they really do mean the world to me.

The first few days didn’t really feel much different than usual, except for the notable absence of two of my best friends, Ben and Jerry. (I expect they’re probably holed up somewhere in Vermont, loudly lamenting their loss of revenue.) I have been eating Greek yogurt for breakfast and grilled chicken salad for lunch for weeks now, so I made no adjustments to those meals. This past week I was more cognizant, however, of what I ate for dinner; I’ve been sticking to mostly grilled chicken with either steamed vegetables or sautéed in just a drizzle of EVOO. (For those of you unfamiliar with Rachael Ray, that’s extra virgin olive oil.) I threw in some broiled tilapia one night, just to mix things up. I also love a good grilled salmon steak, but seeing as how it is more expensive than prime rib now, I can only look at it sitting there in the grocer’s meat case and sigh.

I can hear all of you asking yourselves, and yes, I do eat LOTS of chicken. I buy the boneless, skinless variety and dress it up lots of different ways. You can use dozens of different seasonings: garlic, sage, rosemary, citrus…the meat may be the same, but the flavor possibilities are endless. I also have an herb garden, so I take advantage of all of those wonderful fresh flavors.

And I gotta say, my husband is being a real trooper through all of this. For dinner he pretty much eats what I do, but I try to throw some type of starch in for him, like rice. (I could feed him rice ten times a day and he would be in hog heaven.) When we go to the grocery I ask him if he wants to pick up anything different for himself, and he always declines.

My sister was appalled to find out the amount of yard bird I feed my husband. “You feed that man a steak!” she scolded me the other day. So, I did pick up a couple of New York strips the next time I went to the grocery. I got home from work one evening to find he’d fired up the grill and seasoned both steaks. When I told him I was going to eat chicken (big shock, that one) he politely informed me both steaks were for him. I will say he didn’t eat both of them at one sitting, though.

No weight loss regimen is complete without exercise, so when I sent Ben and Jerry packing I revisited my old friend, the elliptical machine. It sits behind the recliners in our living room, facing the television. In the past I would put something interesting on the TV to watch while I exercised, as I simply don’t have enough self-discipline to work out without something to distract me. This past week, however, I took advantage of the text-to-speech feature on my Kindle (the best gift BJ has ever gotten me!); a good book and some ear buds, and I’m all set! I’ve started with a 20 minute preset workout – many days I do it twice – and with my Kindle the time just flies by. I can knock out about 290 calories and 50 carbs in one 20 minute jaunt. Even when I really don’t feel like exercising, I make myself do it anyway; I’m to the point that I’m tired of my ass being fat more than I want to sit on it.

A friend introduced me to a great online tool to help me keep track of my eating and exercise: www.myfitnesspal.com. (I added a link under the Helpful Tools tab – check it out!) It has a library of literally thousands of different foods – all you do is search for what you’ve eaten, then click on the portion size. It automatically populates calories, carbs, and fat and protein grams. The program also allows you to track your exercise and calories burned. If you set up a profile with your height and weight, when you total your food and exercise at the end of the day the tool will calculate your approximate weight at the end of five weeks, based on your entries that day. How cool is that?

So, with one week under my belt and some notable progress, I’m still pumped! I know there will be rough patches – days when I really want to pig out, when I don’t feel like exercising – that’s when I’ll be relying on my family and friends to kick me in the butt and get me motivated again.

The Beginning

40 is the new 30. 50 is the new 40. Nowadays there are so many deterrents to the aging process – facelifts, tummy tucks, boob jobs, Botox…the list is endless. And it seems the only ones getting any real satisfaction out of the deal are plastic surgeons. Now that I’m just six short months away from my 50th birthday, the realization that I am no longer younger than springtime (with a body that’s already bracing for the chill of winter) has hit me. Hard.

Turning 40 didn’t bother me much until my grandma, God rest her soul, lovingly pointed out to me that I had probably already lived half my life. Her observation remained a special joke between us until her death 8 years later. I thought 40 was bad. I’m a big enough person to admit when I’m wrong. I’ve been dreading 50 like a farmer dreads drought.

The years between 40 and 50 have not exactly been kind to me. Or should I say they have not been kind to my body. Then again, I’m pretty sure I’m partly (OK, mostly) to blame as well. Mother Nature only takes care of us up to a point; after that, it’s up to us to pick up where She leaves off.

My early 40s found me in pretty decent shape: an easy size 3, tanned skin with no sun damage, no crows feet, and just a sprinkling of gray that was easily taken care of with a little help from Miss Clairol. Although I worked in an office, I wasn’t chained to a desk so I got a fair amount of exercise and burned off at least as many calories and carbs as I consumed. We also lived on a farm where taking care of horses, mowing grass, and cutting limbs and brush were part of my regular activities. If you don’t like going to the gym, just by some acreage and a few horses.

Just before turning 43, I landed a job with an insurance company, where I still work today. Not only does this job keep me desk-bound, I’ve add nearly 2 extra hours a day of sitting while driving to and from work. And to top things off, about 3 years ago I started working four 10-hour days per week. So now not only do I get absolutely no exercise while at work—unless you count typing and talking on the phone, which I believe burns about 50 calories per year—after a 12 hour day I just can’t seem to motivate myself to exercise when I get home. I’ve also discovered the wonderful world of cyberspace and all its many gems: e-mail, Facebook, chat threads, online stories…all of which are immensely entertaining, but sadly offer exercise only of the cerebral variety. As a result, my weight and dress size, much to my horror, are advancing more rapidly than my age. And here's the proof:

After trying nearly every fad diet known to modern man – all without much success, I might add – I’ve come to the realization that if I have any hope at all of fitting back into my skinny jeans before I die, I need to completely overhaul my eating and exercise habits.

So, I’ve decided I’m going to shed 40 pounds before my 50th birthday. Not with any superdiet or personal trainer, but just by healthy eating and lots of exercise. A lofty goal? Maybe. Doable? Absolutely. My journey to a “new me” will be chronicled on this blog…every veggie-eating, sweaty-workout, pain-and-fun-filled day. My goal is to post every Sunday, detailing my progress for the week ending the previous Wednesday. (Gotta have a little time to write it all up!) With the help of my wonderful family and friends, I know that on December 29th I can greet 50 with a smile, look it in the eye, and tell it to kiss my ass.

Testing 1-2-3....

Just a test posting to make sure things are working before I launch on Wednesday.  See you then!