Friday, April 14, 2006

Now this is interesting, I'm sure. Went to WW yesterday, as I have been doing since October, trying to get back to "maintenance", which is 155 pounds. Attending WW, I went from about 182 to 155 during the period from late 2004 to early 2005 and became a "lifetime member". Then I fell off the wagon and gained 10 back. I had spent over $350 in altering my business suits when I initially lost the weight, and then I reached the point where I could only wear two or three of those suits. I didn't want to spend the money with more alterations. And I hated to think that I had lost control of a part of my life that I could control (There aren't a lot of others you can control, you know.)

So last fall it was back to every week of WW, usually the only guy there (which is not all bad). Yesterday I weighed in at 158.5! Only 1.5 pounds to go and I'm into the "maintenance range", which is 2 pounds above and 2 pounds below "maintenance". When one is in the range, one does not have to pay to attend WW.

Loosing and keeping off weight, once you have passed a certain age, is very, very difficult. Every where I turn, there is food. At every social function and in the place in my house where I spend most of my waking time, the kitchen. And if its hard for me, a male type, my observations of the women at WW is that it is doubly hard for them.

This may be hypothetical right now for the generation of K&K below Carol and me, for whom their metabolism is a friend and not an enemy, but I assure you, the time will come when your body just won't burn up as many calories every day. It would not be a bad idea to work on good dietary habits now, so you will not have to make a radical change later.

One really sad thing that I observe these days is that not only are adults of all ages overweight in ever increasing numbers, but children are overweight in large numbers as well, as they never were when I was growing up and when our children were growing up.

WW has my hearty endorsement. It has a simple formula, less calories consumed, less weight added. More calories, more weight. You learn easy ways to evaluate the calory worth of foods you might consider eating and to keep track of those calories. Its about "portion control", mostly, and not swearing off altogether things you like to eat.

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