So, it is often the small decisions which are the hardest to make and which have the most significance. This morning, I showed up at the office to find this delicious dish if banana pudding.

I assume it was delicious, because I resisted.

…for now…

I’m tired of waking up every day and thinking “this is the day that I get back on track.” A cheeseburger here, skip an opportunity to exercise there… and another day, another chance to improve my health, has passed me by.

But a confluence of actions have brought me back here today. Each one, in it’s own way, helped to tear down an armor of denial I have been building up since that half marathon I ran almost two years ago. When you’ve done something like that, torturing your body through 13.1 miles of road torture, you think you can do it whenever you want. It’s like flipping a switch. “Run in a half-marathon? Yeah. Been there, done that. Got the t-shirt. I could do it again, no problem.”

Memory is a funny thing. I remember that the run, well, wasn’t that bad, really. I trained properly for it, and was ready to tackle the challenge. I wasn’t fast, but I accomplished the goal. In fact, it almost seems easy… in retrospect. But the reality is, it was hard. Very hard. I got up every morning to do my training runs. I ran in New York City in late October in 30 degree weather so I didn’t miss training. I ate right at virtually every meal. That’s what’s hard. That’s what deceives you. The run is easy because the preparation is hard.

The first attack on my armor came a few months back when I was introduced to “Trainer” Joe Fulir. Joe is  a personal trainer in Jacksonville, and has inspired some coworkers to really transform themselves over the past few months. I was talking to Joe about doing some consulting for the EmPower Magazine (formerly Power of Prevention) at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. In the conversation, we talked about having a Boot Camp for staff members at AACE. A group of others quickly signed up, and our group was born. I’ve been working out with this awesome group for a couple of months now. I can already tell that my muscle groups are becoming stronger. [chink in the armor] But I’ve still been slacking on my eating habits and cardio workouts.

Lucille is a coworker at AACE and one of the individuals that has been transformed by Joe. Maybe one day I will (with her permission) share some pictures of Lucille just a year ago and then today. She is so excited about her new lifestyle, and she has been a cheerleader for the rest of the staff to get on board. One day, we were talking about the weight that I had lost, and the fact that I’m working out now, but not eating right. She asked me what was different, and I said it was this blog. When I was blogging every day, I was accountable to it, to you, and ultimately to myself. She told me that I needed to start blogging again, immediately. [chink]

At a Board of Directors Meeting just two weeks ago, the President of my Association, who has taken a strong interest in my personal health, asked me what happened to all of the weight that I lost. Many would take this as offensive, but I believe that we mollycoddle too much with people’s weight. When you lose it, everyone is excited to tell you how good you look. It’s incentive to keep going. But when you start gaining weight, no one tell you that you are going the other direction. you don’t regain the weight overnight, and I’m convinced that this type of negative reinforcement could help people catch themselves before they get too far gone.

But I digress…

So, when I told the doctor that I’m in the Boot Camp, he asked when would he see the results. Knowing that I will see him again in October, we made a gentleman’s bet that I would make visible progress before the October meeting [chink].

The final step to bring me back here, and hopefully officially on the path to better health, happened in an elevator. I was checking my Facebook on my phone while riding to my office. I saw a post from Shonali Burke with a post-Boot Camp picture. I knew that I would be going to Boot Camp later in the day and commented on her photo. What happened next was a perfect example of the viral nature of social media, and the tenacity of Shonali. [Chink]

Within hours, a Facebook group was formed for individuals taking part in Boot Camps. [Chink!] Members were already sharing inspiration and goals with each other.

Understanding from my PR roots that goals must be measurable, I decided to share mine:

1. Run a half marathon on Thanksgiving Day
2. Lose 30 pounds by January 1 (Currently 270)
3. Blog at least one time per week

Garbage for lunch (Italian Sub) and Dinner (Fried Chicken).

But did an hour on the elliptical machine this morning, and protein shake for breakfast. 2 pounds in one day is a start.

But it’s only one day.

It looks pretty good, right?

So, I am actively looking for recipes that I can use to ensure that I can have some flavor in my diet as I try to lose weight. I stumbled across this recipe for Strawberry Shortcake with Balsamic.

Can this possibly be good? I like angel food cake… and I agree grill marks make anything better. But it just sounds so odd. Below is the recipe that I got directly from the Men’s Health Website. It’s actually pretty cool. The article is “15 Best Recipes for Weight Loss” and comes from the book “Eat This, Not That.”

You’ll Need:
2 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Pinch of freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp butter (optional)
4 wedges angel food cake, each
1″ thick Whipped cream

How to Make It:
* Mix the strawberries, vinegar, and pepper and marinate for 10 to 15 minutes.

* Heat a grill, stovetop grill pan, or nonstick saute pan until hot. (If using the pan, add the butter; if grilling, omit the butter entirely.) Add the cake slices and cook until caramelized and toasted. Transfer to 4 dessert plates. Top with the strawberries, their liquid, and a spoonful of whipped cream.

That’s a pound and a half down from yesterday. Not much, and certainly nowhere close to where I need to be. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, right?

So as I posted here, I started the ball off right last night having a meal of a salad with tomatoes and cucumber, and a grilled chicken with simply salt and pepper for seasoning. I did have some bleu cheese dressing on my salad, however. And some beer.

But, most importantly, I managed portion control and simple, healthy (for the most part) foods. Combined with an uptake in water consumption yesterday, that led to the first step… a pound and a half loss.

Unfortunately, I did not get out of bed in time to work out this morning. However, I did get back into my routine of a protein shake for breakfast, and plan to have one for lunch as well. That keeps me on pace for a 1200 calorie day if I keep dinner under control.

The only caveat is that I may be going to an Arena Football Game tonight. So that will be a real test for me to see if I can keep my consumption in check at a sporting event.

The first picture shows that I did well. Plain grilled chicken and a nice big green salad.

However, that beverage in the second picture… I don’t think that’s a water.

Drew Carey -80 Pounds

People Magazine has written a story about comedian Drew Carey and his amazing 80 pound weight loss. You can find it here: http://bit.ly/9bINHU

Drew has done it the right way: exercise, low calorie diet, virtually no carbs, and dedication. I wish him the best of luck!

Sadly, weight loss is only permanent through persistence and continued dedication. I can personally attest to that, having lost 70 pounds, and then gained 40 of it back. Starr Jones, Oprah Winfrey and many other celebrities have lost weight, only to gain even more back.

Let’s all send our best to Mr. Carey as sometimes maintaining weight loss can be as difficult as losing the weight in the first place.