THE DIET SHOP

I visited a new shop this afternoon, one that some of my WW colleagues have been recommending to me - The Diet Shop in Ronkonkoma.

They have an amazing selection of foods that are all pointed out for those on the WW Flex Program, from soups to snacks to entrees, with some great muffins that are just one point each.

In the interest of my Saturday members, I bought a load of different things to sample so that I can pass on informed recommendations. I'm not going to eat this stuff because I want to - honest!

The store is on Portion Road about one mile west of Nicolls in a Tudor-style shopping center right across from Waldbaum's.

I recommend it!

GOD LOVES ME!

I have approached the Christmas season with a great deal of concern as traditionally this has been the most testing time of the year for me. Christmas is the holiday for most Brits and I'm sitting here in Texas with my family surrounded by all kinds of tempting treats that have the potential to seriously derail me.

BUT - I've had a gastro-intestinal problem all week and am existing on Gatorade and little else. I'm having a great time with my children and grandchildren, but am not faced with food challenges at all.

You see, God does love me!

(Sorry if that's too much information for you!)

CHRISTMAS

Heading to Dallas in an hour or so for Christmas with my son and his family. Our daughter and her son will be joining us on the 26th, so we'll all be toegther for a few days.

I have packed my running shoes and clothes. I also have a strategy for watching what I eat.

I'll let you know how it goes on what for me has typically been the most challenging time of the year.

SHOW AND TELL

Tomorrow I've decided I'll take the one piece of clothing I have from my larger days with me to my WW groups. I hope it will help me make the point that there are some things that we just have to look at and they help us keep moving in the right direction.

This garment certainly does that.

What is it?

Tomorrow!

BIGGEST LOSER

I was out last night, so had to record the season finale of The Biggest Loser. It came as no surprise to me that the ultimate champions were twins Jim and Bill - after all, they're New Yorkers and when we set our minds to do a thing, we do it. They did incredibly well.

There were some huge percentage losses among the eighteen original contestants, but I must admit that given all the assistance they received, I'm feeling pretty good right now about the 39.92% of my starting weight that I lost with Weight Watchers.

Most of us will never make the TV show, but there's an equally effective program within a short drive of most of us.

SAYING NO

This week I took a bit of the advice that I was dishing out last Saturday morning when I was encouraging my WW groups to reduce the stress of Christmas by declining some invitations.

For reasons too complex to go into here, I am a member of both Medford and Ronkonkoma Chambers of Commerce and they had their Christmas dinners on consecutive nights this past week. I opted to go to just one, figured the second would not fall apart without me and knew that this would not only simplify my week but also reduce the amount of challenges I would face to my healthy lifestyle.

In preparation for the one function I did attend, I ate a dinner of my choice before I went. Then I went to the restaurant, enjoyed the folks at the table, pushed my salad around my plate for ever and asked for the entree to go (next day I gave it to my daughter).

That's not the way I treat every event, but it worked for this week and I end it with no regrets!

LIFE'S NOT FAIR!

Well, fancy that!

Neil loses 10lb but doesn't make it to the finale of The Biggest Loser. I bet he's pig sick, but then again he goes home a winner, almost unrecognisable from when the show started.

I'm glad to see they're starting a Biggest Loser - Couples on January 1st. They'll probably diversify as much as CSI now they know they have a winning formula.

Look for -

Celebrity Biggest Loser
Biggest Loser - Seniors
Teenage Biggest Loser
Biggest Loser from Mars
Biggest Loser for Irishman
Left-handed Biggest Loser
Vegetarian Biggest Loser
Biggest Loser - Pets

Etc., etc.

Kick Start

When we were given the new WW materials for 2008, I thought this was a weird time for the company to introduce some innovations. It seemed logical to me to put out the information right after the holidays, but they wanted us to put it ion people's hands this week.

I think I finally understand their logic. There's a great tool included that will be a considerable help in navigating the challenges of Christmas and New Year and I'll be taking quite a bit of Saturday's meeting to talk about it.

What is it?

You're kidding, right?

You have to be there - 8.00am, 9.30am, 11.00am or 12.15pm.

ROUTINE

There has been so much going on this past month that I have got way out of routine where my exercise is concerned. Twelve days in India, three days in Florida over Thanksgiving and then guests in the house for nine days.

I have barely been running 15 miles a week, which is way less than the 40+ that was my regular pattern. It was good to get back to the gym today and have a half decent workout, knowing that my schedule for the next two weeks should allow me to be on the treadmill far more frequently.

The real challenge in staying healthy is staying on track when life is not normal. I've done that fairly well, but am glad I've now got my early mornings at the gym back.

SATURDAY SNIPPETS

+ Had a good morning at WW. We have some excellent people in our groups. It's a pleasure to spend time with them each week.

+ The banana I ate for breakfast at 6.45 had worn off by the time I got home at 1.45. Maybe I need to eat something more substantial next week.

+ I love it when people stand on the scale sheepishly, but then get a pleasant surprise. Of course the opposite to this scenario happens at times too - that stinks!

+ Towards the end of the morning our Location Coordinator got a lot of the stuff in place for the revamp for '08 that we'll be introducing next week.

+ It's very quiet at this time of year, with attendance down by a good 35%. Of course, come January that will all change.

+ Got nailed good this morning when I was talking about reducing holiday stress by accepting offers of help. One mischievious member asked if I would be doing that Christmas Day. (Last week I shared that the kitchen is my sole domain at that time of year and no one else is allowed in!)

+ Sounds like the temptation to ease up on exercise is the main issue for folks at this time of year. I liked the idea of using a good walking DVD and also the concept of going up and down the basement stairs every time there is a commercial break on TV.

+ Did I say I enjoy the folks at WW???

CHRISTMAS WISHES

There's nothing that I really want for Christmas.

Let's face it, I'm blessed and have all I really need. Sure, I don't have a BMW, a vacation home in the Bahamas or even an iPhone but the reality is there's more to life than stuff.

This year I'll have the thing I love most at Christmas - dinner with all my family. Gill and I, the kids and the grandkids. What more could a man ask for?

There's one thing I don't want and I hope you don't get either -

A weight increase that wipes out weeks or months of self-restraint and effort. Last Saturday I recommended to my groups that they set themselves a target for the holidays, a time when the average American gains 7lb - 10lb.

You see, if you don't know where you're going you'll end up any old place. So I suggested reasonable goals should be established.

Here's mine - I want to hit January at my regular goal weight.

No gain will be a win for me.

That's my Christmas wish - but wishing alone won't make it a reality.

UNEXPECTED AWARD

I was given this award for being Rookie Leader of The Year in WW Eastern Suffolk Territory today. Not sure what I did to deserve it, but it is much appreciated. On the left of the picture are Barbara and Nikki who are part of the Saturday staff team and on the right, Territory Manager Lucia Velardi, presenting the award.

LITTLE SISTER

I met my younger sister off the plane at JFK this afternoon as she has come from the UK to visit for a week. She became a lifetime member with Weight Watchers last month, but since I haven't seen her for four years, there was a strange OMG moment in the Delta terminal.

Both of us have been cursed with the family tendency towards obesity and both of us have lost substantial amounts of weight since we were together last.

So there was a moment of mutual congratulation and disbelief when we saw each other's trimmer look today.

Great job Pat!

Genetics may not help us at all, but that doesn't mean we can't help ourselves!

ONE DAY

It was thin at Weight Watchers yesterday (no pun intended), which was totally expected, but hopefully will remedy itself next Saturday.

At this time of year there's the danger of blowing it at Thanksgiving by eating everything in sight and consuming what's left in the fridge on Black Friday. Sadly, some people then give up, check out for the holidays and in reality never get back on track.

How do I know that? - Because I have done it on at least four occasions in my life. After months of focus, I've let it all go at this time of year and gone back to my old ways, sometimes for years at a time.

The big achievement for me on my recent weight loss journey was staying focused through the holidays for the first time in my life. I'm not saying I didn't put on weight, I'm simply stating that I didn't turn my back on everything and say farewell to months of efforts.

Thanksgiving is just one day - plus one for the leftovers.

It's important to get back on track and refuse to jettison all that has been accomplished.

TOMORROW'S THE DAY

Okay, I'll start off by admitting that no one has less of a challenge on Thanksgiving Day than I do. Now that's not because I'm an immigrant and don't celebrate the day - heck almost all of us are imigrants and that's what the whole day is about.

This year, as for a number of years, we are spending Thanksgiving with some good friends in Florida and that's what makes the challenges of turkey day far more tolerable.

For a start, there's a beautiful four miles run from our friends' home to a causeway and then along it, with sand and sea on both sides of me. So starting the day with exercise is no problem.

Dinner isn't too much of a challenge as we go to a country club where they have a Thanksgiving Day buffet. That means we do all our eating there. There are no chips, dips, hot wings, etc., etc., etc., in the house - and no leftovers either! Nothing to snack on in the evening when the stomach has shrunk from extremely overloaded to moderately bloated and you're really only eating because it looks good and it's there.

Planning ahead is the key to survival on big days, deciding ahead of time what you're going to do. I've decided to observe the "one plate rule" and to ensure that salad occupies half of that space. I'm also going to skip dessert. Pumpkin pie is not my all-time favorite, so that won't be a big miss. Of course if there's some fresh fruit, I'll go that route.

Thanksgiving is about being with friends, pausing to count our blessings and watching the Colts win, so I don't have to abandon the healthier lifestyle I've adopted in order to enjoy it.

Plan ahead. Make your decisions today too!

BACK!

Got home yesterday from a twelve days trip to India. It was a great time, though I must admit my exercise plans were thwarted when I was advised that going running in the mornings was not advisable as there were a lot of snakes around at that time of day.

I opted for walking in the heat of the day instead, which draw more than a few smiles from the locals and a number outright laughs too.

Anyway as we head into the Holiday season, I thought you might enjoy this -

http://www.minibite.com/christmas/fattening.htm

NOR' EASTER

This morning the weather was rough to say the least, so it was interesting to see who would show up at the WW groups. I discovered that these great people are a hardy and committed crowd, because even though the turnout was down a bit we still had good groups.

I try to finish up each meeting with a motivating story and today it was suggested that I should write them here too. So here's this morning's tale -

One day late in the 19th Century, a scientist in Sweden named Alfred Nobel was sitting reading the morning paper when he suddenly came across his own obituary written there. Still feeling very much alive, he immediately knew that since his elder brother had just died, the press had got some misinformation and was writing about the wrong Nobel.

The obituary referred to the fact that Alfred Nobel had developed dynamite which had become the means of killing hundreds of thousands of people. It also said that he had died rich.

Nobel was not too thrilled at being remembered for making a fortune by coming up with a way to kill people, so he set about altering his reputation by becoming the sponsor of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel said - "Everyone should have the opportunity at some time in their life to edit and rewrite their own obituary."

That's what happens at WW - people begin to re-write their own life stories.

It's ours to do ... a great opportunity and a privilege.

BAGEL LOVERS BEWARE

After our normal Monday morning visit to WW, my wife and I wandered along to the nearby bagel store for a late breakfast.

I had an egg whites omelette with turkey on a wheat roll - all core and three points for the roll.

My wife knew she was indulging herself a little, but decided to go for it anyway - after all the next weigh-in was seven days away. So she had a sesame bagel with low fat vegetable cream cheese. Sounds a little extravagent, but not too bad.

Or was it???

She scraped off most of the unbelievable amount of cream cheese on the bagel and out of interest, brought it home. She reckons she ate around 2oz and when she weighed the excess in our kitchen, it was a further 5oz.

That means there was seven ounces of innocent-sounding low fat cream cheese on that bagel, amounting to 11 points. Add six points for the bagel and that was a total of 17 points.

Buyer beware. Check what you're eating ... carefully!

GREAT INSIGHT

I read this by Rick Warren, author of the best-selling self-help book, The Purpose Driven Life. He has been actively assisting victims of the California wildfires during this past week and says this about his own family's wildfire experience in 2003 -

We could see the flames from our backyard. During that fire, our own family was told to evacuate. We were warned a couple of hours in advance, so we had a couple of hours to think about, "What will we take with us and what will we leave behind.?"

You know, we didn't even fill our car completely. We packed up pictures, and some papers, and our bibles, and some hard drives, but that was about it. We realized that most of it was very replaceable. It is just stuff, that in the bottom line The greatest things in life are not things..

When disasters come along, we realize that our value is not found in our valuables, and that our self-worth is not tied to our net worth. It is in times like these that we realize there's a whole lot more important in life than what’s material.. The spiritual and relational parts of life are far more important.

RECOVERY MODE

I love Saturdays, but I'll admit that they leave me exhausted. After I've spent six hours at Weight Watchers, I go home, change and then go out with our church's mobile soup kitchen delivering hot meals and pantry bags to men living in rooming houses in the area.

So by the time I get done with all that, I'm shot - but it's a contented kind of tired. It has been a good day.

This morning at WW I referred to a scene in the movie City Slickers where three friends on a Wild West experience vacation are chatting around a camp fire. One of them tells the others that his life is actually a mess. He slept with a checkout operator at the supermarket where he worked and his wife had left him. His father-in-law owned the store, so he had fired him. His conclusiuon was that his life was over.

I think it was Billy Crystal's character who interejected that it wasn't over. He talked about how when they were playing as kids, if someone hit a ball into a tree, other players would shout "Do over" and they'd retrieve the ball and start that play again. "Your life isn't over", he said, "it's a do-over."

He could start all over again.

That's what I did when I walked into WW almost three years ago and 133lb heavier and that's what everyone in our Saturday groups has done - started a do-over.

I enjoy encouraging them through this new begiinning!

MORE ICE CREAM

Just got home from the supermarket with some more of the fat-free, sugar-free vanilla bean ice cream by Turkey Hill that I discovered last week.

Someone at WW mentioned to me that there are a number of other flavors available, but from what I saw tonight, you really have to watch the nutrition facts. This was the only flavor I saw that would work out at 2 WW points per cup.

Some of their other products are not totally fat-free and most of them do not have the 5g of fiber per portion that are in the vanilla bean. So as with everything, it's always smart to read the label well.

This is good stuff - had a bowl with some baked apples.

Guilt-free ice cream is a wonderful thing!

DIET PILLS

Waiting to pick up my wife's prescription at the pharmacy today, I was looking at the display for the new high promising diet pill Alli.

I cynically thought that here is something else that will come and go and found myself hoping it won't cause too much damage in the process like Ephedra did.

In our quick-fix culture, I am sure that thousands of people will already have tried Alli - and they have probably discovered that the side-effects, that almost make the wearing of Depends mandatory, are more than they are willing to live with.

There are no shortcuts - diet and exercise over a consistent period lead to sustained weight loss, while retaining bowel control!

SATURDAY REFLECTIONS

I do enjoy my Saturday mornings at Weight Watchers. We seemed to have a good time there today, with some really positive things happening.

Two regulars achieved Lifetime membership today, having reached their goal weight and maintained it for six weeks. One interesting factor for both of them was that it had taken quite a while - full marks to them for perseverance in a field where everyone is hoping for the quick fix.

Another member achieved the 50lb weight loss milestone, which is a great achievement. I loved passing out those awards. The bottom line is, that's why I'm doing the gig - I want to see people succeed.

SPEAKING OF ICE CREAM

Okay, I know we weren't exactly speaking about it, but I must confess that ice cream is one of my favorite subjects - though the practical application is far more fulfilling than talking theory.

I have great news!

I ran into a lady from one of our Saturday WW groups this evening and she told me (this might be history to you, but it was a revelation for me) that Turkey Hill make a non-fat, no sugar added Vanilla Bean or Chocolate ice cream that is 2 Points for a cup.

You can't get that anywhere. Most of the double churned, light, fat-free, etc, etc, brands are 2 points for a half cup.

So with Turkey Hill you get twice as much!!!

I went straight to Waldbaums and looked for the pink container (it's 1.5 quarts, not a half gallon) and was delighted to find it's on sale for $2.49.

I imagine the sale ends tomorrow night, so figured I'd post the good news immediately. And now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for dessert!!!

APPLES GALORE

It's that time of year again when apples, in addition to being your friend, are dirt cheap too. I was very happy to see them for 39c per pound down the road at Best Yet, so never being one to pass up on a bargain, I came home with a substantial stack of them.

In all honesty, while I love to cook, baking is not my strong point so my apple repertoire is very limited. I sliced up quite a few, layered them in a dish with some Splenda and a little cinnamon (or is that cinammon - or even cinamon?), sprinkled some oatmeal on the top and baked them in the oven.

Should be a good and healthy dessert for this evening.

Core of course for you WW-types!

HALLOWEEN CANDY - THE DAMAGE

Here's how one here and one there will add up - the complete list of points values for Halloween candy. Well, pretty complete anyway. Okay, well it's probably the most complete one you've seen in a while -

HALLOWEEN CANDY # OF ITEMS POINT VALUE
3 Musketeers, 2 fun size bars 3 1/2
1000 Grand, 2 mini bars 4 1/2
Abazaba, mini, Each 1
ABC Fruit Chomps, 7 pieces 3
ANDES Creme de Menth Thin Mint , 8 pieces 5 1/2
Animal Crackers, 11 crackers 3
Almond Joy, 2 snack size bars 4
America1s Original Bubble Gum, 4 pieces 1 1/2
Atomic Fireballs, Each 1
Baby Ruth, 2 fun size bars 4
Big Hunk, mini, Each 1
Bit-O-Honey, 6 pieces 4
Blow Pops, Each 1.5
Bubble Gum, super, 2 pieces 1
Butterfinger, 2 fun size bars 4
Butternut Mini Bar, .75 oz 2
Candy Corn, 22 pieces 3
Caramello, 2 snack size bars 4
Crispy Caramel Fudge Bar, snack size, Each bar 2
Caramel & Peanut Butter Crispy Bars, snack size, 2
Chocolate Toffee Crisp Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Double Bubble Gum, 2 pieces 1
Heath Bar, 5 snack size bars 6
Hershey's Bar (plain), 2 snack size bars 5
Hershey's (almonds), 2 snack size bars 5
Hershey Kisses, 8 pieces 5
Hershey Kisses or Hugs, 3 pieces 2
Hershey Miniatures, 5 pieces 5
Hershey Tastations (any flavor), 3 pieces 1
Hershey Sweet Escapes 2
Hi C Juice Fillers, bag (5 candies) 2
Hot Tamales, Each snack box 1
Jolly Rancher, 3 pieces 1
Jolly Rancher Mini Stix, Each 1
Kit Kat, 3 (2 pc) snack bars 6
Kit Kat, Each mini 2
Lemonheads, Each box 2
Life Saver Five Flavor Candy, 4 1.5
Life Saver Gummi Savers, 2 rolls 2.5
Life Saver Pops, Each 1
M & M (plain), Each fun size pack 2
M & M (peanut), Each fun size pack 2
M & M Crispy, Each pkg 5
Mars, 2 fun size bars 4
Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, 6 pieces 3.5
Maynards Wine Gums, 1 roll (44 g), 3
Mike & Ikes, Each snack pkg 1
Milk Duds, 4 fun size boxes 4
Milky Way, 2 fun size bars 4
Milky Way Lite, minis, 5 pieces 3
Milky Way Lite, regular bar 3.5
Mounds, 2 snack size bars 4
Necco Wafers, Each roll 1
Nerds, Each box 1
Nestles PB Mallow, Each 3.5
Nestles Baby Ruth, Each 4.5
Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 4 bars 5
Now & Later, 3 mini bars 3
O'Henry, 2 fun size bars 5
Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cups, 4 pieces 6
Pumpkin Pop, Each sucker 1
Raisinettes, 3 snack size boxes 4
Red Hots, Each box 2
Reese's Crunchy Cookie Cups, 2 snacks 4
Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, 5 pieces 5
Reeses Peanut Butter Bites, 3 pkgs 5.5
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, 2 snack size 4
Reesesticks, 2 snack size 4
Skittles, small pack 3 pkgs 4
Skittles (regular), 2 packs 3
Smarties, 3 rolls 1
Smuckers Fruit Fillers, Each bag (5 candies) 2
Snackwells Nut Clusters, Each piece 1
Snickers, 2 fun size bars 4
Snickers, minis (4 pieces) or 2 fun size bars 4
Spree Candies, 8 pieces 1
Spree Twist, 2 rolls 1.5
Starburst, 3 fun size pkgs 4
Starburst Fruit Chews, 8 chews 3.5
Sugar Babies, 2 snack size pouches 4.5
Sugar Daddy Pops, 3 3.5
Sweethearts (Necco), Each (1 1/8 oz box) 2.5
Sweet Tarts, 2 rolls 1
Tootsie Hot Chocolate Pops, Each 1.5
Three Muskateers, 2 fun size 4
Tootsie Roll, 2 snack bars 2
Tootsie Roll Midgees, 6 pieces 3.5
Tootsie Roll Midgees - small, 11 pieces 2
Tootsie Roll Pop, Each pop 1
Triple Chocolate Wafer Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Twix, (mini size) Each 1
Twix, Each snack size bar 2
Twix, Regular Size, Each (2) pack 7
Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel Cherry Candy, 3 pieces 2.5
Twizzlers Strawbery Twists, 4 twists 2.5
Werther's Original, 3 pieces 1
Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, 2 snack size pouches 5
Wonka Nerds Gumballs, Each 1
Wonka Shock Tarts Gumball, Each 1
Wrigleys Chewing Gum, 5 pieces 1
York Peppermint Patties, 3 patties 3

DON'T QUIT

Here's a bit of culture - or something - from the WW staff site -

When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,
and you feel like the biggest failure in town.
When you want to give up just because you gave in,
and forgot about being healthy and thin.
So what! You went over your points a bit,
It's your next move that counts....So don't quit!
It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.
It's learning the skills to get back to your range.
It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."
It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.
You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But, often the strugglers, when losing their grip,
just throw in the towel and continue to slip.
And learn too late when the damage is done,
that the race wasn't over and they still could have won.
Life-style change can be awkward and slow,
but facing each challenge will help you to grow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint in the cloud of doubt.
When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit.
If you bite it, you write it.
But Don't You DARE Quit!

SATURDAYS

This has been my fourth Saturday of leading the Weight Watchers groups in Selden and I have to say that I'm loving it. It's an early start - I have to be there for 7.15 - and from then on it's non-stop with back-to-back meetings at 8.30, 9.30, 10.30 and 11.30, but man it's fun.

At this time of year we seem to be averaging 220-230 people in total each week, so as you might appreciate, it's taking me a while to get to know everyone. If you bear in mind that everyone is not there every single week, we could probably be talking about a pool of 300+ different individuals.

I know that I'm only one part of the jigsaw, a small cog in the whole machine, but if I can encourage and motivate some of these great folks toward their goal, then I will be more than happy.

I think we're getting beyond the stark contrast of having a new leader who is male instead of a brilliant woman who had been doing the job for years. I could never take Lynn's place, but hopefully I can build on the great work she did for so long.

What I do on Saturday mornings is quite different from what I'm about all week, but in some ways it's also very similar.

It's about enabling people to see their full potential, equipping them to move towards it and encouraging them to keep going.

Did I say I am loving doing it???

STEAK, EGGS, BACON, CHEESE & CREAM

Yes, you got it in one - the Atkins Diet.

Had lunch with a friend today at Applebee's - enjoyed a 5 Points meal from their WW menu. He had a good looking salad but discarded the croutons and the garlic bread. I recognized the signs and he later confirmed my thoughts - today he started the Atkins Diet.

As diets go, I think this is one of the best. I lost 50lb in three months a few years ago, eating steak, eggs, bacon, cheese and other high fat foods. I even followed his guidleines and poured heavy cream into my coffee and over jello for a dessert at night.

Lunchtimes were great with the crustless quiche made with half a dozen eggs, cheese, heavy cream and loads of bacon - and it worked.

I lost the weight and lowered my cholesterol.

But you can't live on Atkins. Like all good things, it comes to an end. And when it does people revert to their old bad habits and whack the pounds back on. I did - and some.

If you want a diet, I recommend Atkins - it's useless long term, but it's a fun way to lose weight before you regain it.

If you want a healthy lifestyle, no one can hold a candle to WW, which is not a diet, it's a way of life.

MORE FROM MICHELLE

Here's a tasty-sounding recipe Michelle told us about at last Saturday's WW meeting.

One pack reduced fat crescent rolls
One apple
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Spread out the pastry on a kitchen surface and cut the dough for each roll into two.
Dice the apple finely and mix into it the brown sugar and cinnamon.
Spoon a small amount of the apple mix into the center of each piece of pastry and fold the sides over the top.
Bake according to directions on pack.

1 Point each

ASPARAGUS

For the first time in ages, asparagus hit a semi-reasonable price at our local supermarket this week, which is a good thing.

Here's what we do with it - spray a pan generously with pam, throw in plenty of crushed garlic. Add the asparagus, sprinkle generously with garlic salt and fry until very well done.

This is not good for people who have to watch their sodium intake, or for those weighing in the next day (all the salt will help you retain way too much fluid!).

But for he rest of us - it's a delicious side dish!

FRIENDLY'S

There are some places I avoid because even what looks like a healthy choice on their menu really isn't. Friendly's is one of those places, but I ended up there for lunch today.

My grandson had fallen after church and hit his head hard on concrete - there was quite a lump and the poor kid was hurt and scared. To cheer him up I suggested we go eat at Friendly's, which I know he loves, so that was where I sat looking in desperation over the menu.

I tried, God knows I tried!

I thought their turkeymelt sandwich sounded half reasonable, especially as I declined the fries, but when the order eventually arrived I was dismayed to see the sandwich had been grilled, which back home in the UK we used to call what it actually is - fried!

I was hungry, so I went with it and decided to just go very careful for the rest of the day. My grandson left happier, so vigilance in eating for the next twelve hours was a small price to pay, I guess.

And I was reminded to steer clear of Friendly's!

EVENING GOODIES

There is something to be said for leaving a few points hanging for the end of the day, because you never know what the evening will bring.

This evening it was some friends with home-made English-style scones - complete with chocolate chips. She reckoned they were 3 or 3.5 points and when I checked on http://www.dwlz.com/, I found she was dead right. I rounded it up to 4 points, but then again I could do that as I had more than that left from my daily allowance.

A big mug of coffee with plenty of Skim Plus, the best scone I have tasted in years and am I glad I didn't blow it all earlier in the day.

Always keep something in reserve just in case scones arrive for the evening!

PRO PORTIONS

Gill ate a good lunch today with some ladies from the gym, so she announced she didn't really want dinner. Since it was all ready anyway, I suggested we leave it for tomorrow and I go down the road to ProPortions to get myself something.

I don't know if ProPortions is local to this part of Long Island or nationwide - I suspect the former - but I do know it's very convenient to have one right next to our WW location less than five minutes from where we live.

It's great to walk into a place that has everything on the menu pointed out and of course they're very friendly people too.

I took their broccoli and cheddar quiche and a huge side salad. The whole thing was only five points and trust me, there was nothing wimpy about the quiche - they give you quite the serving.

While I don't eat dinner from there too often - though I'm a regular when Gill is out of town - I eat one of their apple raisin muffins every evening with a cup of coffee. Four points for the lot, including a generous amount of milk in my coffee.

I love ProPortions. I wish they were a chain as it would make life a whole lot easier.

MICHELLE'S MAGIC

I got this simple yet delicious dessert recipe from a great person I'm getting to know in one of my Saturday morning Weight Watchers groups. It's ideal for people like me who would rather skip the main course and have two desserts instead.

Ingredients:
I 16oz container of fat free sour cream
I can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, drained
I packet fat free, sugar free vanilla pudding mix

Method:
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, pour into four dessert bowls and refrigerate

Consumption:
Remove one from fridge and eat

Damage:
WW - Core or three points per serving

It is outstanding!

EXERCISE

There have been a load of interruptions to my regular routine lately, but this looks like being a good week with very few interruptions.

Now that I'm leading the Saturday morning Weight Watchers groups, I'm switching my regular day off from the gym to a Saturday, as I'd have to be there at some unearthly hour if I wanted to do my workout, get home and shower and still be at the center for 7.15. A smart move methinks!

So I'll run Tuesdays instead.

I try to do five mornings a week and Sunday afternoons, logging a minimum total of 42 miles, which sounds weird for someone who was seriously out of breath just climbing the stairs.

SCAREY STATISTICS

58 million Americans are overweight
40 million are obese
3 million are morbidly obese

That's 101 million people if math isn't your strong point. But there's more -

Eight out of ten over 25's are overweight
78% do not meet basic activity level requirements
25% are completely sedentary
Type II Diabetes in adults 30-40 years old has increased by 76% since 1990

There's a train wreck comin' folks!

STRUGGLING

This morning it was really hard going at the gym and I don't for the life of me know why. I took my usual Tuesday off from exercise yesterday, but had run 8.25 miles on Monday morning without any major difficulty.

Today I was struggling after the first mile - go figure.

I'm sure there is some scientific reason why my legs were complaing, I felt breathless and I was sweating like a pig, but I have no idea what it is.

So I was kind to myself and just did 4.25 miles, promising the gods of the treadmill that I owe them when I get back there (which will be Friday as I have an early breakfast appointment tomorrow).

DAY ONE

Okay, I'll admit it - I was shot by the time I left WW in Selden shortly after 1.15 this afternoon. That was six hours after I had arrived there and 200 plus people later too (numbers were down a bit because of the Jewish holiday).

I had a pretty good time with my four back-to-back meetings and had some encouraging feedback from the members who were making a huge readjustment after losing an outstanding leader and being landed with me in her place.

Saturdays just got very interesting!

MUFFINS

Gill found this great recipe on an All Bran box for raisin muffins - and they are delicious. At just two points each, they're substantial, tasty and filling.

Monday I had one straight out of the oven as part of my lunch; yesterday it was a breakfast muffin and I downed one with a cup of coffee for a late afternoon snack today. I think I'm addicted!

She adjusted the recipe on the side of the packet by sweetening with Splenda instead of sugar and substituting apple sauce for oil. I have no idea where she put the recipe, but since All Bran is a key ingredient, you'll need your own box anyway and you'll find it there.

THE RACE

It was a chilly, damp morning in Northport as we prepared for the 30th running of the Great Cow Harbor Race.

There was a team of eight runners from our church and we all did well, improving on last year's times. Congratulations to all, especially Rich Boes who led the way for us with an insane time of 46 minutes 20 seconds.

I did 73 minutes and change in 2006 and my ultimate goal would be to bring that down under one hour. Today's time was 69 minutes 54 seconds, so I broke 70 minutes, which is a step in the right direction.

It was fulfilling, but to say it was fun would be stretching the truth!!!

LOSERS

I didn't get to see the series premier of The Biggest Loser on Tuesday night, but I did record it to watch at my own leisure with the added bonus of being able to fast forward all the commercials.

I've seen it and I'm hooked!

Of course a huge part of the reason for that is I can easily identify with the contestants. There's an interesting mix again this time around, with the added interest of identical twins from Long Island who are part of the "secret" black team.

The most incredible part of the opener was that the 62 year old captain of the blue team lost 32lb in his first week. Of course they don't show you exactly what he put himself through to achieve that. Maybe NBC should run a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen like weight loss programs do, informing viewers that weight losses portrayed are not typical.

We did get a better glimpse into the workout before the weigh-in, where the policy is clearly to sweat as much as possible so you are as dehydrated as you can be in preparation for the scales.

Anyway, I like the show.

But I was disappointed to hear that last year's winner had regained most of his weight.

THIS IS MEANT TO BE SECRET

Since I doubt that anyone currently involved is remotely likely to be a reader of this blog, I'll satisfy the curiosity of those who are.

With effect from Saturday September 22nd, I will be leading the WeightWatchers meetings at 8.30, 9.30, 10.30 and 11.30 at their Selden Center in Selden Plaza on Middle Country Road.

This is huge for a number of reasons -

1. Up to 300 members in total attend those groups, making it the busiest center in the county.

2. The leader who is leaving has been a fixture there since 1993 and she is brilliant. Following her is a daunting task.

3. As a rookie leader, with only three meetings under my belt, it's unthinkable that they should offer this to me.

But they have and I've accepted. Great chance to meet and encourage far more people than I ever imagined!

ON ASSIGNMENT

I completed WeightWatchers' leaders' training program in July and then did four meetings with a mentor, so a couple of weeks ago I was officially cleared to be let loose on an unsuspecting public.

I've subbed a couple of times for leaders, but today I was given a regular leader's position at one of their centers.

It's a dream position, following one of the most capable communicators I have ever seen outside of a church context. It's a challenge, it's exciting aznd it's a huge opportunity.

Can't say when and where yet, but I'll pass on full details before I start there in two weeks.

GETTING BETTER

Today I ran the 6.1 miles course again that I mapped out around the neighborhood. I was very happy to cut 5 minutes off my previous best and did it all with a $4 stop watch from Wal-Mart.

Yesterday I drove around the circuit and noted where each mile marker was. Then today I had target times I had set myself to be at each of those spots. Of course it meant pushing myself harder than before and my legs were pushing back at me - my lungs weren't delighted about it either!

But the accumulated benefit of setting myself small goals and meeting them was that considerable overall progress was made.

Small goals lead to big results.

I could preach a sermon about that!

RUNNING

While I run at he gym every morning - well, around five times a week nowadays - I wouldn't like it to be thought that this is one of my favorite pastimes.

Sitting down with a few pastors last week, the subject of hobbies came up and one of the guys suggested mine was obvious, I run. I guess he deduced that from the fact that I trailed my running gear all the way to SC and had been up and out on the road that day long before the rest of the crew had even surfaced.

I wasn't doing that because I love it. I was doing it because one of the essential equations in life is that if calories burned exceed calories taken in, there will be no weight gain.

I guess I ran a couple of races this summer just because I can - well, sort of - and that's why I'm getting ready for the Great Cow Harbor Race on September 15th.

Anothe reason I'm dragging my tail the 6.2 gruelling miles around hilly Norhtport early one Saturday is that I'm looking to raise money through sponsorship to help buy a new van for our church's food pantry and mobile soup kitchen.

It's a great cause and if you want to get behind it - and me - feel free to mail me a check made payable to Grace Care.

Thanks!

FAT PEOPLE

This morning I was reading some statistics on obesity and it seems the national average is now 32% of the population are obese. I fear it could be more.

I was sitting in Applebees this evening - French Onion soup and teryaki shrimp off their WW menu is just 8 points! - watching people and got scared.

I could not believe how many seriously big old people I saw coming into the restaurant in the short time I was there and all of them appeared to have trouble moving.

I do not want that to be me at 65 or 70, but the trouble is by the time it comes back to bite you it's too late - then you can't exercise, you can't get in shape.

The best time to change is now.

Obviously I don't know any of their stories or situations, but I do know myself and God forbid that should be me. Decisions I make today will definitley affect the quality of my life in the future.

EXPO

So Saturday morning I fly down to Baltimore, am met there by a limo and end up in a fancy looking restaurant where the final stage of preparation is almost done for a Health & Fitness Expo.

There were fitness demos, talks from doctors, music, video presentations and yours truly was the emcee. I was asked to share a bit of my story during the afternoon too.

It's still very strange to find myself talking about health and fitness. I guess part of that is because I don't see what has happened over the past two years to be that remarkable.

Anway, I'm more of an authority on how to overeat, abuse your body and be disappointed with yourself because after all, that's what I did for around 50 years.

This health kick is new - but you get to meet some cool people!!!!

COW'S COMING

The Great Cow Harbor Race is rapidly approaching and I must admit to being a little apprehensive. The 10K (6.2 miles) run that draws a field of around 3,500 runners was my first ever excursion into the world of amateur athletics last fall.

The trouble with this year is that I know what's ahead.

Cow Harbor is looked upon as being one of the toughest races in NY, probably because of the hills that make up the course. The huge gradient about 1.2 miles into the race didn't bother me last year - I just walked it! What killed me was the long, slow climbing road between miles four and five.

So, Im starting to run more on the road now than on my usual treadmill and my goal is that on the day I can knock a few minutes off last years's time.

Of course I'd love to break one hour, but that won't happen this year - maybe next???

CAN ONLY GET BETTER

I just got back from leading my first WeightWatchers group. While in reality I still have to do two meetings with a mentor before going solo, I got a call this afternoon that the Territory Manager had cleared me to substitute for a leader today if I was available.

I was free, so took the gig - in sunny Miller Place.

It could have gone better. I think the lack of preparation time didn't help and the very small group meant there was little interaction.

But I gave it a whirl and those there seemed pretty content. It was probably just me who had an issue with what I did, because I know I can do a heck of a lot better.

ROUTINE

I've been way off lately when it comes to exercise, but I was back to the gym this morning. It's amazing how easily you can move away from your routine.

Last month I decided to give myself a couple of days off when I went to Jersey for the WW Leaders' Training. From there I went straight to Texas where I fell on the hotel treadmill and hurt my knees. No running in Texas or for the next few days. I ran a couple of times after that, but decided to sleep later several mornings last week when we had our grandchildren with us, as the noise of me leaving early in the morning would have wakened the whole house.

That all adds up to little exercise in more than three weeks.

But I'm back to it now, realizing how easy it is for days to slide into weeks and for good patterns to be disrupted.

INTERESTING INVITATION

I have been asked to fill the Master of Ceremonies role at a Health & Fitness Expo in Baltimore at the end of the month.

Should be interesting - whodda thunk it???

http://www.freedomconsultingllc.com/expo.htm

RUNNING IN THE RAIN

There was a terrific storm yesterday afternoon that delayed the start of the 4 Mile Race I had registered for. When it came time to hit the road, most of the moisture had passed, but there was still the odd spot or two as we made our way around the course.

I must admit that I did wonder in between gasps for air, what deficinecy in my makeup meant that I had to do this to prove something for myself.

I asked mys elf several times why I was doing this and the best answer I could come up with was that I was doing it because I could.

As I've said before, the though of me running anywhere would have been absurd a couple of years ago - but times have changed!

Now I was no threat to any of the serious runners. In fact since most of the casual competitors seem to have opted for staying where it was dry, the end of the field of competitors was only fifteen minutes or so behind me.

But I did the run, clocked 45 minutes and change and was cheered on by my terrific family. I think I'll put some more roadwork in over the next few weeks in preparation for the big one in September - the 10K (6.2 miles) Cow Harbor Race.

SOMETIMES I WONDER

I've always said that I don't enjoy exercise and hate the running I do around five days a week. I make it clear that I never got the high that some amateur athletes talk about.

But I'm wondering about that now.

A couple of weeks ago I heard about a 4-mile race in Sayville tomorrow and although I had no intention of running it then, as the time has drawn close, I've got more and more eager to do it. As I've said before, running on the road is far tougher for me than on the treadmill, which is my norm. It's also pretty hot and humid around here right now. Add to that, I didn't exactly excel in the 5K race I did a few weeks ago.

So why am I doing it???

Good question!

Could it be that those endorphins are beckoning after all?

WEIRD

This has not been a good spell for me.

Firstly I went to a three days leadership training seminar with Weight Watchers - and gained weight! So did most of the other participants I talked to. The main problem seems to have been the snack room that was available at all times - and while all the goodies were healthy like WW own snack foods, fruit, etc., they all add up if you head there every break time.

Then I went to Houston straight after that, fell on the hotel's treadmill and hurt my knees, so I have not been able to exercise.

Not a good ten days - but tomorrow I'm going to try walking and I'll get back on track.

REMEMBERING

The top one is the photo I talked about yesterday, when I suggested remembering where we have come from helps us to move forward - bottom of course is present day.

Weighed in 0.6 above goal this morning - that's tolerable!

WILL POWER

With all the advice, coaching and health foods that are out there, there's one thing that cannot be bought or manufactured and yet none of us can get or stay healthy without it - will power.

What makes you refuse the bacon cheeseburger deluxe and go for a greek salad instead? How do you manage to say no to dessert when everyone else in the party is digging into strawberry cheesecake a la mode?

Truth is, none of us knows how you get it or where it comes from. If I did, I'd bottle it and put WW, Jenny Craig, LA Weightloss and every other program out of business. Yet whatever these companies and many others offer, this essential component is brought to the table by the customer alone.

While I don't know what's behind will power, here are a couple of random thoughts on what fuels it -

+ Success. Nothing succeeds like success. That's why it's important to celebrate victories, like the first 10lb of weight loss, 10% of your bodyweight, etc.

+ Companionship. It's a fact that in WW people who attend weekly meetings are three times more succesful than those who follow the program without going to meetings.

+ Focus. Keeping an eye on the goal helps us to maintain positive momentum.

+ Recall. Remembering where we have come from and what we do not need to go back to can propel us forward. I found a scarey photo this week, showing me almost 135lb heavier than I am now. I never realized I was that big. It's insane - I definitely don't plan to go back there.

STINKING

Just cooked some shrimp because I've had it sitting in the refrigerator since Friday and haven't got around to using it.

It's making the whole house stink.

But shrimp is my friend - 2oz is just one point!

I'm going to make a curry with it later, which is a very tasty, low point dinner.

BELLPORT CLIPPER

Earlier this evening I ran the Bellport Clipper 5K Race - that's 3.1 miles in English. I didn't do as well as I had hoped, because although I'm always a lot slower on the road than on a treadmill, I had expected to be able to come in under 30 minutes.

I'll blame it on the heat and humidity, because I only managed 33 minutes 32 seconds. I should probably have pushed myself a bit harder, but I didn't so it is what it is.

Truth is, running a race of any kind is so far removed from how I have been most of my life, that I'm honestly pretty pleased with myself for being able to even participate.

I was hungry when it was finished and a bit tired too, so on the way home I stopped at KFC. Standing on line and looking at the menu, I started wondering why on earth I was even there - so I left without ordering.

No need to undo the good work as quickly as that!

KEEPIN' IT REAL

I had a great time at a joint graduation/birthday party yesterday and the food was outrageous, especially the desserts.

Everything on the dessert table was homemade by some of the most amazing bakers I have ever known. It didn't take me long to decide what to do.

I ate a piece of everything (and not some tiny little sliver either).

I only see desserts like that once in a blue moon, so not being Mother Theresa, I decided to enjoy them while I could.

Today is another day and I'm back on program, but let's be real - there are a few rare occasions too good to let pass.

EXERCISE

The dreaded E word!

For more than two years now, I've got out of bed at least five mornings a week and headed straight to the gym. Do I enjoy it? - Not particularly! Yet I do miss it if I don't go for a few days.

All of my working out has been aerobic, which for the uninitiated means walking, running, or using the elyptical in my case. I'm pretty happy today because I achieved a personal best, running six miles in under 50 minutes for the first time - 49 minutes 28 seconds to be exact. While I was trying to stay focused on the treadmill this morning, I was waxing philosophical about the importance of working out.

Here's my accumulated wisdom on the subject -

1. If you push yourself too hard at the start, you probably won't keep it up.

2. You musn't be intimidated by the muscle-bound misfits around you.

3. Start by doing just what you can do.
When I was over 330lb, I walked one mile at 3mph - that was all I could do!!!

4. Keep pushing yourself a little more - at decent intervals.
I increased distance first, working up to walking for 60 minutes at 3.2mph. Then I started gradually increasing the pace and the incline until I was doing 4mph for an hour. I am talking about one year after I first started - that's how gradual it was.

5. You don't have to kill yourself to make it happen, you just have to be consistent.

6. Be sure to have something that distracts you from watching the time.
I love my IPOD, especially at the gym when I can spend 70-80 minutes listening to good music and sermons I've downloaded.

7. You need to have decent sneakers if you're going to work out seriously.
I hear that for runners, sneakers are dead after 300 miles. They may still look good, but the bounce has definitely gone. So splurge - you're worth it!

Exercise is an essential part of getting fit and staying healthy, but a sensible approach to it is necessary too.

SCAREY

Last night I caught a bit of a scarey program on The Learning Channel about a father and son surgeon duo who are doing gastric bypass operations.

I saw another episode of this a few weeks ago and was staggered at how huge some of the people featured were, yet they rolled out some even bigger patients for the show this week.

I thought about a gastric bypass operation myself a couple of years ago, until I heard a surgeon say this -

There are two ways to lose weight - diet and exercise or surgery, diet and exercise.

Up to then I thought surgery was a magical cure-all, but I came to realize it was still only one part of the equation. Since diet and exercise are componenets whatever way you go, I decided to let the surgeon keep his knife in its sheath and bypassed the operating theater.

Surgery is always risky and while I know those for whom a gastric bypass has been positively lifechanging, I know others who have experienced horrendous side-effects.

Diet and exercise do work!

BETTER WEEK

It has been a more focused week, probably helped by the fact that we were in Montauk for three days, spending much of it at the beach. I must confess I had a tough time several afternoons when I went for coffee at the Baker's Shop and saw his amazing display of cakes - but I survived.

I planned my exercise in advance as well as my diet. On arrival I set my odometer and discovered that it was exactly 3.1 miles from Hither Hills National Park to where we were staying. So that gave me a 6.2 miles (10K) course for my morning runs. There were a lot of hills and running on the road is tougher than on a treadmill, so I worked out pretty well - before relaxing on the sand with a book.

Planning is important - but I said that before ... and before ... and before!

PLANNING

I've said this before, but it bears repetition - planning ahead is the key to survival.

We're heading out for a few days and a good deal of thought has gone into what we'll eat while we're out in sunny Montauk. It's important to have the right things at hand, so we've thought through virtually every meal during those four days (considering Montauk prices, we're only allowing ourselves the indulgence of eating dinner out one night).

Not only will preparation time be minimal, but the food will be healthy too.

Being away from home is often an excuse to binge, but since I binge whilst at home far more often than is good for me, I'm planning to stay on program as we enjoy a brief break.

If you're going to succeed, you gotta plan - otherwise you'll just eat whatever junk is within reach.

DIET PILLS

Today a new light dawned for the hopes of our quick-fix society, 60% of which are obese, as the first ever over the counter diet drug went on sale. The pharmaceutical company responsible for ALLI, as it is known, will be laughing all the way to the bank.

The stuff flew off shelves as people rushed to scoop up the latest miracle drug, following a long tradition of snake oils and other remedies too good to be true.

If I get it right, ALLI blocks the body absorbing 25% of the fat a person consumes. Of course the fat then has to do something else, so it exits the body in the form of loose stools and other potentially embarassing bowel events.

So the bottom line is, you pay a small fortune to swallow something that plays havoc with your insides. Wow, that's smart!

Here's a better idea. Hold on to your money and reduce your fat intake by 25% all by yourself.

That way you'll save cash, lose weight and need less changes of underwear in the process.

CUTTING MYSELF SOME SLACK

The blunt facts are these -

My goal weight is 200lb

The maximum weight WW wants me is 202lb

My lowest weight is 199lb

My current weight is 200.6lb

There isn't a lot of flexibility there, so here's what I've decided, I'm going to go back into weight loss mode rather than maintenance, with a view to making 195lb my bottom line. That gives me a little more room for movement, which may not be a bad thing.

So thats's the plan!

THE GAP

I've had to totally replace my wardrobe several times over the past two years, but although I once loathed it, I like clothes shopping nowadays so it has been no great hardship.

I used to go into a store and embark on an often fruitless search to see if they had anything whatever in my size. When 3X tends to be tight on you, there's generally not a lot on the racks that you could wear. Thankfully things have changed.

It's no secret that I like wandering around Kohls now. You can get some great bargains there - but although they don't have an outstanding selection overall, I like to buy jeans in the GAP. They do something few other stores have picked up on - they sell pants in odd sizes.

Since I've about finished losing weight, I thought I was stuck in an awkward situation where 36 was too big and 34 was generally tight. Enter the GAP and their 35-inch waists.

I love the GAP!

GETTING THERE

Monday means Weight Watchers and weighing in.

Time to see how I had fared in my pursuit of a return to an acceptable weight after a couple of weeks off track that netted me a whopping seven pounds gain. I lost 3.4lb of that in one week and was looking to shed the remaining 3.6lb over the past seven days.

It wasn't a routine week, with one day of binging, a lot of meals out and less exercise than normal, so I was fairly content when the scale showed that I had dropped 2.2lb. That puts me back within the acceptable range and leaves me just 0.8lb above my target weight.

I can lose the rest this week. The secret is focus!!!

MAKING IT WORK

Sometimes it's harder to stay on track than others. Planning is the key when your routine is disturbed.

I've had a couple of early starts this week and therefore did not run in the mornings. So knowing I had to be out early today too, I decided to run a bit on the road instead of heading to the gym. I save around 15 miniutes travel time that way and although I only had time for 3.2 miles today, as they say back in the county of my son's birth, Yorkshire, Owt's better than nowt. Which loosely translates into anything's better than nothing.

Ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants yesterday, but that can be done without going nuts. Breakfast was half a small melon in a diner, lunch was sushi (just 3 points) and though I have no idea whatever of the points value of dinner in an Indian restaurant, I took what I considered to be as reasonable an option as possible - Dhosa.

Dhosa for the uninitiated is a large pancake made from lentils, filled with potato and other vegetables - plus more than a few tasty spices of course! It's generally breakfast in India, but I enjoyed it in the evening in Stony Brook.

It takes some doing, but you can make it all work if you really want to. It's wanting to that's the problem!!!

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT

Okay, we're writing yesterday off.

It all started with a slice of pizza at my grandson's birthday celebration (pizza is totally acceptable on WW's program) and after that I ate everything in sight for the evening.

There are possibly deep psychological reasons for that kind of binge, but let's not even bother going there right now!!!

The main thing is this - that was yesterday and this is today.

Today, although I didn't get to the gym this morning because I had an early breakfast appointment (and didn't fancy running on a treadmill at 5.30am), I did stay on program with my food. Ate good and plenty, but kept to my 26 points.

Tomorrow I'm out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I have a plan!

I'll let you know how it goes.

UH OH

Bad day - Binge day!

Thankfully there's tomorrow!!!

DAY TWO

There was a searching start to the second day of my focused week during which I need to lose 3.4 pounds. You see, I usually give myself Tuesdays off from the gymn and sleep a bit longer instead. But I figured since I have a couple of early morning appointments later in the week, I'd better go exercise while I can. Well, at least that was my conclusion, but it did involve a little personal battle while sleep was still beckoning.

I don't enjoy working out. I've said that before. But I have to do it. Weird thing is, I miss it when I don't go.

Ran four miles on the treadmill and then did two miles on the elyptical. Mixing it up a bit helps, as did listening to the podcast of a friend of mine preaching last Sunday.

Only eaten 18 points so far, so there's plenty left for munching on this evening!!!

26

That's Day One just about done and I've kept to the WW program that gives me 26 food points. The biggest challenge has been to pass on buying coffee while I was out this afternoon and this evening.

There's nothing wrong in coffee itself - I simply do not subscribe to the school of thought that says caffeine is bad for you. Humbug! (Unless you have a medical condition of course). I don't drink too much of the lovely stuff because I take it with a lot of milk and even though I drink skimmed, it all adds up.

I passed on carbs at dinner time and had extra veg instead - figured a bagel this morning covered the carb spot for the day. That left me with plenty of points for a snack tonight.

So there we go. Day One of clawing my way back has gone well.

SEVEN DAYS FROM NORMAL

Okay, it's Monday and I followed my normal routine for the day after Sunday. Went to the gym and did 7.2 miles between the treadmill and the elyptical - most of it on the treadmill - and then off to Weight Watchers.

So here's the official verdict - I'm still 3.4lbs up on where I was three weeks ago. That puts me 1lb over the maximum I can be as a lifetime member (that figure is 2lb over goal). Confused yet?

So the plan is to drop that 3.4lb this week and I figured I'd detail that journey here, just because I like writing and I'm egotistical enough to think there might well be at least one person in the world who could care less about how I get on with this.

This morning's workout was a good start to the day and I now have a 26 points food allowance that I must not exceed for the day. It's lunch time and 12 of them have gone already, which is unusual, but we did stop at the nearby bagel store after WW today.

A bagel is not usually a good choice. It costs 6 points, which is the equivalent to six slices of high fibre bread, but let's face it, now and again a bagel tastes good. The whole point about what I am doing when it comes to food is I'm trying to balance my eating and not simply cut out everything but rabbit food and water. So a bagel's quite okay - so long as you count it.

Back later!

MAINTAINING PERSPECTIVE

Earlier this week I mentioned that the scales showed me a whopping seven pounds up after two weeks of too much wandering from healthy eating.

As I suspected, much of that was fluid and it dissipated over the course of a couple of days (I bet you needed to know that!), but there's still two or three extra pounds around that are really troubling me.

I know that I'm not alone in this, but here's the problem - in my mind it's almost like I have put back on all the 133lbs that I lost. I'd swear my clothes are all tight, I look much fatter and I feel disgusted with myself.

So I have to keep telling myself that it's just a couple of stinking pounds and not the whole lot. I have to remember that one good focused week will see me back where I want to be, so I just need to stay on program - and that's what I'm doing.

MORE FOOD THOUGHTS

I just had a tasty, healthy, filling, one point lunch.

Curious?

Here's the deal - fry some garlic in spray oil stuff; slice a good size onion and sautee that too; dice a couple of tomatoes and throw them in; roughly chop a bag of spinach and add to the pan with a bit of salt.

The secret ingredient is what they call Masala in India, which is where I got it, but over here we'd probably call curry powder. Stir well, cook gently for about five minutes.

It's a whole plateful of food, with absolutely zero points. (You could add whatever you want for added flavor of course if curry doesn't do it for you.)

The one point I mentioned was the WW English muffin I ate with it.

Bon appetit!

SHRIMP IS YOUR FRIEND

Hunger is not my friend. Never has been and never will be.

One of the things I love about the WW program is that I have seldom gone to bed hungry, but that does mean that smart decisions are necessary.

With 26 points to juggle every day, if I ate bacon, two eggs and a buttered bagel for breakfast, all washed down with coffe and half and half, I would certainly run the risk of having no scope for anything substantial for the rest of the day.

Which is why I love shrimp -

4oz of beef is 8 points

4oz of pork is 6 points

4oz of chicken is 4 points

But wait for it ...

4oz of shrimp is a mere 2 points!

That means I could eat a whole pound of shrimp or a quarter pound of beef - You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out which I'm eating for dinner tonight!

I seldom eat red meat nowadays. It's not that I don't like it - it's just not worth it!

TAKING IT STEADY

We've had friends staying with us for the past two weeks and so our routine has been very disrupted (in the nicest possible way!).

Add to that the fact they're from India and have cooked several Indian meals for us - this happens to be my favorite cuisine and seems to invariably involve the use of a lot of oil, butter, etc.

So I've gained a rapid seven pounds - that's right, seven!

Time to reign things in and start going steady - it will probably take another two weeks to get this off!

WEIRD FEELINGS

Having spent the last couple of days in DC with friends, doing the tourist thing, I must confess to having done very little exercise - apart from what has been involved in walking around various places of interest.

Strolling back to our Dupont Circle hotel from the Metro last night, a number of joggers passed me - and I wished I was out running too.

As someone who has never found great pleasure in my daily running regimen, I wonder if what I experienced yesterday means subconsciously I actually enjoy it???

Weird, huh?

PLANNING

I'm looking forward to a big event tonight, a banquet in a beautiful setting that will be focusing on some of the humanitarian projects our church is involved in.

I know what's on the menu because I helped decide what would be served to all the guests, so of course I picked some stuff I love. I won't eat it, but it'll be good to see it there and I hope those at the event will enjoy it.

I'm going to eat something before I go so that I don't arrive hungry and will have already had something substantial that is also healthy. Then I'll push some salad aaround my plate al evening.

Forward planning is a key part of eating well. You need to have a supply of healthy eats in the fridge or you'll pick up junk. You need to plan meals ahead so you have the ingredients or you're likely to fall back on mac and cheese. And when you're going out, you really need to have a strategy.

Planning is a vital element in my lifestyle. I generally think ahead at least 24 hours and let's face it, when you're eating far less than you have most of your life, you want to make each meal count!

TRAINING

Still going through the process of learning the ropes at WW. Not sure when I'll be doing their leaders' course, but am finding out what it's like to be on the other side of things. That's why I was to be found in the Selden center before 8.00 yesterday morning, with members already arriving for the packed 8.30 meeting.

Yesterday, in addition to weighing in an endless stream of people, I shared with some of the groups the fact that on my way to shedding 133 pounds I actually lost a total of 208 pounds, because there were gains as well as losses during those two years.

Seems that helped a lot of folks as they were relieved you can be less than the perfect Weight Watcher and still succeed in the end.

It's keeping going that matters in any area.

I'm less than a perfect Christian too, but I'm still heading in the right direction and I'm doing better with that than I was a year ago too!

KEEPING IT REAL

We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory today to celebrate Mother's Day. Okay I know it's a bit late, but we reckoned that on Sunday every restaurant rips you off and apart from that, because we weigh in on Mondays, we wouldn't be eating much the day before anyway.

So today we went somewhere special and we ate!

No salad - didn't pass on dessert - left feeling stuffed.

But that was it, it's over and I'm back on program now. You have to break out now and again or it wouldn't be normal. No one can live without the odd binge!!!

LIFETIME

Okay, it's official - today was my sixth week on maintenance and having stayed withing two pound of my goal weight (slightly under actually), I am now a lifetime member of Weight Watchers.

What does this mean?

1. Weight Watchers will get no more money out of me as I no longer need to pay to attend meetings (don't get too confused here, I am currently still attending a weekly meeting while training to lead one myself!).

2. Lifetime membership is a reminder that for the rest of my life I need to continue to take care of my health by monitoring my eating and exercising. It isn't the end of the road, it's the continuation of a journey that has to continue every single day.

WW has worked well for me - I thoroughloy recommend it, but you probably worked that out already!

BASEBALL AND ICE CREAM

Went to my six year old grandson's baseball game tonight. It's hilarious watching them - clearly most of the players have little to no idea what they're meant to do, but the coach made sure they all had a good time and was a great example of positive reinforcement throughout the game. This guy is brilliant at building kids up.

Anyway, our team won and my boy batted 1000, 4-4.

So I took him off to Friendly's after so he could get some ice cream. I toyed with the idea of just drinking diet soda, but when I discovered they do a fat-free soft-serve ice cream, I had some. It was pretty good. But then I faced a major issue ...

The waitress mentioned they have a sugar-free hot fudge sauce and I thanked her for the information. A few minutes later she brought me another cup of ice cream, with the sauce on it. What to do???

I really did not want to eat it, but I didn't want to appear ungrateful either. So I did the polite thing and reminded myself that it was all still within my points plan for the day.

Sometimes you just can't do the right thing however much you want to! So you suck it up and remember that all the excess weight did not come from half a cup of ice cream in the first place, so half a cup won't put it all back on.

WHEN'S THE CLASS?

It's weird, but people I hardly know are asking me when I'll be teaching a WW class, as either they want to join it themselves or they want to recommend that a friend or family member comes along.

Problem is, since I can't do the training course next week due to a full personal schedule, I'm not too sure when I'll actually be able to get started.

My current membership is the fourth time I recall joining WW. I have always lost some weight on their program, but never continued all the way through to reach my goal.

On reflection, the main thing that has been different this time is that when I joined I made the commitment to always stay for the weekly meeting, rather than simply weighing in and leaving as I had generally done before.

The meeting has been a great help. The weekly motivation has reaped dividends.

Let's hope when I get to lead a group I can give something back, or rather pass it on to others!

SECRETS FROM INSIDE WW

Seems that I am now officially an employee of Weight Watchers (for a whole 90 minutes a week!) and having worked through some of their training manual and done a couple of hours of hands-on at the Selden center, I am beginning to get some interesting insider information.

So here we go with my expose of this multinational corporation.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHT WATCHERS #1

You don't lose weight at Weight Watchers meetings.

That is the official word. It is well documented and comes as a startling revelation to all except a handful of retired postal workers in Milwaukee who sat outside a Weight Watchers Center for six weeks monitoring the sizes of hundreds of people arriving at and leaving weekly meetings.

No one is saying that Weight Watchers don't lose weight. But you don't lose it at the meetings. Here's when you lose it -

+ When you order your toast dry in a restaurant
+ When you put skimmed milk in your coffee instead of half and half
+ When you pass on dessert
+ When you drag your tail out of bed in the morning to exercise
+ When you keep going at the gym though your body is screaming that it wants to go home now

At the meetings you'll get motivation, support and menu ideas, but the actual work is done in the other 6 days and 23 1/2 hours of the week. You see the results at the meeting, but the real work is done when no one else is watching. It's about taking control of your own future.

TRAINING DAY

Tomorrow I start my training to become a WW group leader. Doesn't sound like they'll overwhelm me on day one as I'm scheduled to be in Selden for one hour to observe registrations and weigh-ins.

There's a four day training seminar later this month, but it won't fit into my calendar, so I'll try to work the next one into my schedule, whenever that will be.

I am really looking forward to leading a group. The opportunity for interaction with a whole group of people I don't know pumps me up. That day may still be a few months away, but in the morning we'll start moving towards it.

WORKING OUT

When you're out of your routine, everything becomes a challenge. It isn't just trying to make wise choices in restaurants, there's the whole issue of trying to fit exercise into a different timetable.

I didn't do too well while we were away over the weekend.

No exercise Saturday as we left home early and were traveling.

Sunday, managed to fit in a 2 1/2 miles run.

Monday, fairly pathetic and brief walk on the beach.

Tuesday, ran 5 1/2 miles - road running really takes a bigger toll on you than a treadmill does.

Wednesday, no exercise as we left early, traveled half the day, I caught up in the office this afternoon and have a meeting tonight.

Sure there was a treadmill in the hotel, but I have this weird thing about treadmills - there are few that I like. They really do all have a different feel. There are at least 25 of them in my gym and while I haven't tried them all, I've been on quite a few and there are only two that I am totally comfortable on.

It really messes up my morning if I walk in and find both of them occupied!!

Anyway, one good thing about being home is tomorrow I can get back into my routine.

TRYING

It's tough to know what's a good choice sometimes when you're eating out. I've commented here before that Applebees does have a WW section on their menu and we had a good dinner there last night. With several other chains you can go to their website and check on the nutritional content of the items they offer, which is very helpful.

But when you're meeting friends for breakfast at a local diner called - Eat And Get The Hell Out - it can be a challenge to know what's best to have.

My plan was to go for cereal and just in case they didn't have skimmed milk, I purloined my own little carton of 2% from the continental breakfast buffet offered by our hotel and took it with me. The waitress was new. She knew they didn't have fat-free milk but wasn't sure about cereal. Fruit Loops or Frosted Flakes was the choice. I opted for neither.

An egg whites omelette with some veggies in it is generally safe - but not down here in redneck country! I was invited several times to have cheese in it too, but declined. Yet it seems in the kitchen they are incapable of making breakfast cuisine without it. Whatever style any of us at the table ordered, every omelette contained cheese - mine included - and they were fried in enough grease to keep a car engine running throughout the Daytona 500.

Anyway, I had declined homefries or grits and had gone for wholewheat toast - dry. Yes, you guessed it, they can't serve dry toast in the south either!

So I tried, God knows I tried! But the rest of the day I'll be making amends for all that I unwittingly found on my plate before I got the hell out!

CHOP SUEY FOR BREAKFAST

We left home pretty early yesterday, headed for Norfolk, VA and from there on down to the Outer Banks. In the interest of economy, we flew with Southwest, which involved a layover of two and a half hours in Baltimore.

Since we arrived there at 8.30am, I reckoned we could find something in beautiful Maryland for breakfast, as my appetite was not exactly at its best when I got up at 5.30.

Here's an interesting game you can play next time you're bored in an airport - it's called Try To Find Something Healthy To Eat.

In the end Gill and I opted to share a bagel and that was it.

I could have had Mexican food, pizza, McDonalds, or could even have joined a line (yes folks a line at 8.30am) for Chinese cuisine.

Try getting some cereal or some fruit and you'd fall flat on your face. But there was no end of breakfast burritos, et. etc. etc.

I'd love to open a food place there serving real food to real people, but I fear I'd go broke as it may well be that the whole country now eats crap - period!

HEALTHY BARGAINS

Just got back from a quick visit to Waldbaum's Supermarket while I was out doing a few other things. I loaded the freezer with shrimp.

Here's the scoop - you'll see it at http://www.waldbaums.com

+ For three days only, Friday through Sunday they are selling 2lb bags of frozen extra large raw shrimp for $9.98. That's a savings of $20! Here's the follow-up, because shrimp has no fat, you can eat 6oz of it for a mere 3 WW Points!

+ While you're there, pick up Dannon Light & Fit yogurt (1 Point) at 12 for $3.96

+ Just to prove summer is coming, they have fresh corn (2 Points) at 10 for $1.99

So there are the weekend shopping tips! The yogurt and corn are available all week.

PRO-PORTIONS

While I was out this afternoon I stopped by Pro-Portions to pick up my regular supply of their muffins. I tried the Weight Watchers muffins, but the truth is while they are tasty, they're pretty fluffy so by the time you finish one you could still eat the rest of the box.

Pro-Portions on the other hand do a very filling 3-point muffin that has become a favorite evening snack, eaten alongside one very large mug of coffee.

Now I know all the nonsense about caffeine being bad for you etc., but let me put it this way - I no longer eat french fries, big macs, tortilla chips, full fat ice cream (except for when I'm cheating!), real eggs, bacon, sausage, cheesecake, crumb cake, donuts, buttered rolls, to name but a few.

Take away my coffee and Beam me up Jesus! So just leave me alone with that one luxury.

My evening drink and that huge muffin set me up for the night.

If you're near Stonybrook or Selden, it's worth visiting the store and trying one. BTW, you need to nuke it for 35 seconds as they're far better warm. But whatever you do, resist the temptation to then put butter it!

STAYING ON TRACK

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that this maintaining business is easier said than done.

I think it was a lot more straightforward when I knew that I needed to lose weekly, than it has been this past three weeks of trying to stay within two pounds of my goal.

I guess it's not the way I should be going, but for the past couple of weeks my pattern has been pigging out one day (or two) and staying on program for the rest of the week. Yesterday was the pigging out day. I'd be embarassed to share here what I threw down my throat. I'd be mortified if I gave it all a points value and totalled that up.

I'm still confident that come next Monday I will not have shown a significant gain (if any) - thankfully however hard you try, you can't put 133lb back on in twelve hours - but I need to get a more balanced approach to this and I'm working on that.

One messed up day doesn't sabotage the whole process, so today has been a brand new day.

I love that!

DAY OF RECKONING

Monday's my weigh-in day of course, so I was off to WW this morning. Lost 0.6lb, which brings me back under my goal weight. Three more weeks of this and I become a lifetime member, which means I don't pay a weekly fee any more!

GOT ENERGY?

It seems that the majority of people I chat to about the journey of this past couple of years immediately expect me to feel a whole lot better and to have discovered amazing energy.

To be honest, I felt fine before I dropped the weight and my energy levels seem no better as I fall into bed, battling to stay awake anywhere after 11.00.

But the truth is, I think I do have more energy - I just use it!

Consider today ...

Gill and I got a bite to eat after church and then I spent the afternoon watching the Mets being embarassed by the Braves. Nothing different there for me than bygone years - but there was.

When I weighed 133 pounds more than I do today, I was exhausted after church and was battling to stay awake through lunch. I would watch the ball game in a horizontal position and would seldom be awake for the ninth inning.

I saw the whole disappointing game today and not from a sofa. I watched a little of it at home and then drove to the gym where I saw the second half of the fixture on a TV monitor on my treadmill. I ran over six miles as I watched the game and then switched to an elyptical, racking up a total of eight miles on the two machines combined.

I guess I do have more energy. I couldn't have done that before.

But I use the energy - so now I'm shot!!!

THE 'S' WORD

The question has arisen as to whether I was suggesting yesterday that being overweight is sin. Let me clarify, to the preacher who publicly declares that smoking, watching TV, dancing and listening to secular music is sin (yes folks they do still exist!), his eating habits probably fall into that category too.

Of course I'm not that kind of preacher to start with. I have no problem telling things the way they are, but I am only too aware of the fact that we are all a work in progress and we all walk our own unique walk with God.

Much of my own sudden interest in health stemmed from the realization that I need to be relatively fit to do what God has called me to do. I also suddenly became aware of the fact that I couldn't outrun all the risks of morbid obesity for the rest of my life.

So I changed course so that as much as I have control of things, I won't be hindered in doing what I love doing by things that I personally could have averted.

So, let's take the "s" word off the table and simply say for people who believe their lives have a God-given purpose, we should be doing all we can in every way to commit ourselves to his plan for us.

GOTCHA

Okay, the joke's on me!

Re-thinking my previous post, I took a more detailed look at the website that carried the story and it turns out it's a satyrical site.

The whole point they're making I guess is that while pastors call all kinds of things sin, the majority of them are overweight and seem to think that's okay.

Good point - had me fuming!!!

FAT PREACHER WHO'S A DISGRACE

A friend sent me this link today. If you need my help to explain why this guy is off the wall, something's up. If you're in his church - leave. This is one leader you don't want to follow!


Pastor Makes 1 Timothy 4:8a His "Theme Verse"

YOUNGSTON, GEORGIA

Rev. Charles "Chuck" Dewease, pastor of the First Pentecostal Church of Youngston, is not ashamed to tell anyone his weight."I'm a little over 415 pounds and proud of it."

He says.About ten years ago while reading the book of 1 Timothy, Dewease came under "intense conviction" when he read 1 Timothy 4:8a which says, "For bodily exercise profiteth little." Since that day Dewease has made it a point to avoid any and all manner of exercise, intentionally gaining a tremendous amount of weight to show his "conviction."

"I've never been what you might call a 'small man.'" Said Dewease. "But ten years ago my life changed. It was a liberating and freeing experience when I read that verse in 1 Timothy. I never much cared for diet and exercise, but when I read those words my heart just leaped for joy! I knew that I didn't have to worry about it anymore."

Now, Dewease no longer concerns himself about what he eats. His breakfast often consists of a large six-egg omelet with cheese, ham and sausage, four or five biscuits with gravy, a large serving of grits, and 8 strips of bacon. During the day he usually keeps a large stash of snack foods and soft drinks in his office.

For lunch he normally eats out."I love fried chicken." He said. "There's a local place just down the road called "Claire's Cafe" that makes the best you'll ever eat, and I go there just about every day. They all know me. I just walk in and say 'I'll have the usual' and they bring me my ten-piece family meal with baked beans and potato salad."

Dewease does not concern himself with how people might look at him but rather refers to his obesity as his "testimony to godliness," claiming that the larger he gets, the more he displays himself as one who is not concerned with bodily exercise."What I'm doing is found right there on the pages of the Bible." He said. "This is how we are all supposed to be living our lives, not spending time at the gym. I don't have time for that. With so much sinning going on in this world, with so much alcohol and tobacco use in my own community, I've got my work cut out for me. This is a holy pursuit."

Despite Dewease's passion for "holy pursuits" some members of his own congregation are concerned about his weight."I just think he needs to slow down a bit." Said one member who wished to remain anonymous. "He's going to keel over with a heart attack one day."

But despite the criticism Dewease is unwaivering."I don't care what anybody says." Said Dewease. "They can mock me, ridicule me, and scoff, but it is better to obey the Bible rather than men."

TO CARDIO OR NOT TO CARDIO

Monday morning when I was sweating like a pig on the elyptical, I saw a guy appearing on Good Morning America who was touting his latest book, an informed tome entitled - The Cardio Free Diet.

By this stage I had already run six miles on a treadmill and was well into my second mile on this next instrument of torture, so about the last thing I needed to hear was some wiseguy telling me I was wasting my time.

His logic followed two main lines -

1. Cardio does lasting damage to your joints as your knees absorb the impact of jogging or whatever.

2. Cardio makes you hungrier so you eat more.

IMHO, I don't know where he got his facts from for #2, but that has not been my personal experience.

As for #1, carrying around surplus pounds does a number on your knees too, to say nothing of the heart and who knows what else.

I guess this guy will sell books, but he said nothing whatever to convince me that my morning ritual is indeed hindering my health.

As they used to say when I lived in Yorkshire, England, Owt's better than nowt. Which roughly translated means - Something is better than nothing.

So I'll just keep doing my something. It may not be pretty and it may not be pleasurable, but it sure beats sitting around in TV studios criticizing millions of Americans who have become proactive about their health.

THE TEMPTATION IS GONE

Good news, the remains of that half gallon of Turkey Hill ice cream I mentioned recently will never trouble me again. It is gone, finished, done with, out of here, exiled, totally eliminated.

The down side of all that is I got rid of it by eating it last night!

But before I did so, I did some basic math. I worked out that the remaining contents of the container were the equivalent of 28 WW points. Since I get 35 flexible points a week, I reasoned that enjoying the ice cream would not be too much of a diversion from my path, provided I remembered that most of my extra points were already used up.

So I ate it!

It reminds me of something I said while I was teaching in church on Sunday - before people fall into sin, they rationalize it to try to get peace of mind about what they are about to do.

Now I'm not saying ice cream is sin - I think it comes from heaven - but I see the same process in action and tend to agree with a definition of rationalizing I heard recently ... rationing out lies!!!

So I did it, I enjoyed it and I'll take it into consideration as I plan my diet throughout the week.

The temptation is gone!