2. Desire to do something about it (Part II)

I left this one dangling on my previous post. Desire is a tough one. Some people have the desire, some don't. Some try to convince themselves that they have the desire, but they really don't.

How do you get the desire to lose weight? I had a couple of shocking moments that woke me up from a self-denial daze. I jumped on a scale and it showed a number I never thought I'd see. And, I noticed that people who were 5-6 inches taller than me weighed less than I did.

That was enough to light my fire of desire. And, it's stayed lit ever since. Some type of veil-lifting experience seems to be how many get the desire to lose weight.

Do any of these sound familiar?
"Life's too short to worry or obsess about what I eat."
"I enjoy my food more than I enjoy being skinny."
"I have no willpower."
"Food gives me the escape I need."

These are self-defeating statements and they become irrelevant when you have a heart attack or get diagnosed with type II diabetes or some other life altering and life threatening issue.

And, perhaps that's it. It's easy to say when your 25, 35 or even 45 that life's too short to worry about what you eat. And, while controlling your weight does improve your chances of avoiding ailments, it's not a sure thing. So, the payoff of good health simply isn't worth the immediate cost for many people.

However, I'm only 35 and I already know at least a half dozen people who were shocked into becoming very interested in their diet because of some medical treatment. A few of them were close to dying. They had their chest spread open, people were inside them working on them like they were a broken car. They had long and painful recoveries and plenty of time to think about all the damage they did to their bodies for all of those years.

You probably know someone like that too. If you do, have a chat with them. Ask them what it was like when they thought it was about to be over. The one's I know told me that they were scared like nothing before. They weren't ready to go. They felt foolish for being so pig-headed for years and not being smart enough to know that the day would come when it would all catch up to them. They weren't ready to go. They had grandkids that they wanted to watch grow up. They hadn't made it to the Grand Canyon yet. They had just retired and hadn't had the opportunity to find their new lives. They just wanted to feel like they still had some control over how long they're going to live.

I know several others that didn't get to experience the shock. They're gone.

Desire is a funny thing. I was lucky enough to get a major jolt to my desire long before I had an ailment do it for me. I know that I'm not 100% protected from from weight-related diseases and there are trade-offs and risks to my activities as well (e.g. just two weeks ago a woman was run over and killed on her bicycle 2 miles from my house), but I still find that it's worth it to try to stay healthy.

Of course, health isn't the only benefit that I receive. I enjoy the activities that I'm involved with. There's something about rising in the wee hourse of the morning a few times a year to get to an event that I like. When the alarms goes off, I often question what the heck I'm doing, but by the end of the day I'm satisfied. Eating well helps me enjoy those days even more.

I hope you'll find something about being healthy that'll inspire you as well and I certainly hope that you don't wait for the schock of fear to inspire you.

2. Desire to do something about it.

I've been stuck on this awhile trying to figure out how to write something that might motivate you to have a desire to do something about losing weight, but this is a tough one. This is probably the most important of all the steps, but it's also the least formulaic.

I watched Wynona Judd on Oprah make a pledge to America to kick her weight problem about two years ago. I could read it in her eyes on national TV that she really didn't have the desire to do it. I'm sure she thought that she had the desire. I'm sure she thought making the pledge to a national audience would be the cement that desire in her brain, but it didn't come through in her body language.

Oprah herself has battled weight loss and weight gain, as we all know (I do watch Oprah on the DVR often with my wife in case you're wondering). But, it seems apparent in her body language when she has the desire to keep the weight off and when she doesn't.

Desires come in all shapes and sizes. Some people desire riches, some desire fame, to be loved, to belong, to have a lake house, prestige, to hear from a friend and so forth.

Desire is strange. How much control do we have over our desires? It seems almost primal. You can see desire in the eyes of animals. One of my friends is a super-triathlete. He's a fast runner, a fast cyclist and fast swimmer. He runs marathons and has completed an Ironman distance triathlon. After knowing him for several years, he confided in me that he sometimes desires a cigarette. That surprised me.

His theory was that he smoked when he was 13-14 years old and he thought that perhaps that was a life long desire forming age. Interesting. I started thinking about it. I was riding a bicycle competitively at that age and now I really desire to ride a bike. I love running, which I didn't do a lot of when I was that age, but I don't love it as much as cycling. I'll have to research that to see if I can find anything to lend credence to his theory.

"By the pricking of my thumb, something wicked this way comes." I didn't read the book, but I've watched the movie many times. The dark carnival sweeps into town and grants people their deepest desires, for a price of course (their souls).

Last week a TV magazine show was featured three people who had strong desires to become amputees. Two of them actually froze their legs and damaging them to the extent where their legs had to be removed. One asked, "What the hell was I thinking?" Obviously these people are extreme cases. Even they admitted that their desire was not rational or normal. But, they mentioned that their obsession started in childhood. Hmmmmm.....I'll have to give some more thought to this. This is starting to intrigue me.

1. Recognition of Problem

It took me two years from the time I first calculated my BMI that showed I was overweight until I finally admitted or realized that I was overweight. I wasn't severely overweight, but according to the BMI, I was overweight nonetheless.

I tried to rationalize my BMI score as being an outlier. Since the BMI (Body Mass Index) is a statistical model based on a sample of humans, I figured all statistical models have outliers and I must be one of those outliers. Thinking that, though, didn't get rid of my love handles and stomach pudge.

Part of my problem was that I simply didn't want to admit that I was overweight and the other part of my problem was that I simply didn't understand the BMI. Admitting that I was overweight meant that I might have to do something about it. That meant that I might have to change my habits. That was scary.

However, had I understood the BMI, I might have had an easier time admitting I had a problem. I think the BMI turns off a lot of people because it has three basic ranges: "normal", "overweight" and "obese". Leading with those blunt categories creates a barrier for people, like myself, from understanding what it says.

I think it's because of our typical reaction to the "you are" vs. "I" communication techniques. People automatically become defensive when you tell them "you are not doing something right", in the BMI's case it's telling them that "you are fat". When we become defensive we tend to put up a barrier that protects our feelings from becoming mangled.

The "I" technique is supposed to be better. Leading constructive criticism with the "I feel bad when you react this way" softens the blow to our egos enough for us to consider our actions without putting up the barriers. If the BMI had an "I" communication, I think it would have caught my attention earlier.

The BMI's "I" communication could be: "As researchers we discovered that people with a BMI range of 25-30 have a higher risk of suffering from a weight-related illness such as Type II diabetes." That sounds better than "you are overweight (ie fat)."

Furthermore, "our studies show that the risk of suffering from a weight related illness substantially increases with a BMI score of 30 or above." That sounds much better than "you are obese (ie really fat)."

So, do you want to know your risk of suffering from a weight related illness? Then calculate your BMI. Here's how to do it (it's simple, but grab a calculator):

1. Start with your weight in pounds. Mine is 134 pounds (this morning).
2. Divide by your height in inches. Mine is 64 inches (yes, I'm short!).
3. Divide by your height in inches, again. Mine is 64 inches, again.
4. Now muliply by 703.

My BMI calculation looks like this: 134 pounds / 64 inches / 64 inches x 703 = 23.

My BMI this morning was 23.0. At my peak I was approaching 30 and for years before that I was hovering in the 25-28 range. Just for laughs, the difference between a BMI of 23 and 24 for my height is 6 pounds. So, if I weighed 139 pounds, my BMI would move up one point to 24.

What's your's?

If it is under 25, you're doing well. You have a low risk (but still some risk) of suffering from a weight related illness).

If your BMI is higher than 25 and less than 30, you have an elevated risk of suffering from a weight related illness at some point in your life (moreso while you are above 25).

If your BMI is 30 or higher, then you have an even higher risk of suffering from a weight related illness at some point in your life.

There. I made it through without saying that you are fat or really fat.

So, now you know your risk of suffering from a weight related illness. The next question is whether you have the desire to do anything about it.

Road Map to Weight Loss Success

1. Recognition of problem.
2. Desire to do something about it.
3. Commitment to goal.
4. Education.
5. Learning the tricks of the trade.
6. Change habits and mindset.
7. Measure progress.
8. Deal with setbacks.
9. Continue learning.
10. Keep goal as high priority.

As I've discussed weight loss with others, I've noticed that failure tends to come when people try to do some parts of the process I outlined above, but fail to consider other parts. Over the next few posts I'm going to explore why each step is important and how it links in with the other steps.

Bicycling magazine letter follow-up

Below is a reprint of the letter I wrote to Bicycling magazine (it's a year old) along with my annotations where I think it's necessary to provide some additional context for you since you don't have the benefit of the original articles that prompted my letter (though you could read those articles by picking up a copy of the September 2005 Bicycling issue).

July 28, 2005

Steve Madden, Editor
Bicycling Magazine
135 North Sixth Street
Emmaus, PA 18098

Steve Madden:

As a long-time avid cyclist and Lemond-inspired junior racer, I so look forward to reading your rag each month. But, “Who You Calling Fat?” (9/2005) missed the mark on the BMI and propagated poor advice supporting that our body types are preprogrammed.

It’s important to understand BMI in order to use it effectively. It is not, as Conrad Ernest suggests, a “predictor of fitness.” Rather it indicates the risk level of suffering from weight-related illnesses such as type II diabetes, based on the results of studying a sizeable population. An “overweight” BMI score of 25 – 29 simply indicates an elevated risk of suffering from a weight-related illness. The risk goes higher at the “obese” score of 30. Also, BMI formulators fudge these limits for bulky weightlifters, but not endurance athletes.

[Seth's Note: The following paragraph referenced a quote from an athlete named Tim Buese, who poo-poo'd BMI because he experienced lightheadedness at 184 pounds. I too experienced lightheadedness when I got down to a BMI of around 21-22. I solved it by adding a few pounds, but still remaining well within the normal BMI range for my height.]

Taking a closer look at Tim Buese’s numbers, at 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds he is only 8 pounds above the “normal” BMI range and 32 pounds shy of “obesity”. I imagine Tim could trim down to 195 – 200 pound range and improve his performance without the lightheadedness he had at 184 pounds (and a BMI of 23, which is on the low end of the normal range for men).

[Seth's Note: The following paragraph references a quote from Jim Glinn that perfectly embodied my attitude toward BMI before I understood and used it to my benefit.]

Also, I disagree with Jim Glinn’s notion that “body types are in many ways preprogrammed,” because it’s that exact thinking that kept me above normal on the BMI scale for years. However, once I understood BMI and a few other things I lowered my BMI below 25. I’ve maintained it at 23.5 for the past four years, without lightheadedness. Not bad, considering I once thought I was “preprogrammed” to be 10 pounds above the normal BMI range.

I wrote about my understanding of BMI and the other things I learned about healthy weight loss in a short book entitled, “A Few Bites a Day: My Weight Loss Success Story” (which is available on Amazon.com). I also write a blog at http://fewbites.blogspot.com . The unfortunate consequence of my book is that I’m not always the first up the hills on Saturday morning rides anymore.

I’ve enclosed two copies of my book, one for you and the other for Sam Wade (who was featured in the “XXXL Dreams” article). Hopefully, you’ll find it helpful. If you’d like more copies or would like for me to send directly to Sam, just drop me an e-mail at: smcmenemy@hotmail.com.

Sincerely,

Seth McMenemy
Author of “A Few Bites A Day: My Weight Loss Success Story”

20/20 on 6/23/2006

20/20 this evening featured the good doctors who wrote "You: The Owner's Manual". I'm still reading the book and learning new things daily. It's a great read. My only complaint is that it's too chock full of information. I hope somewhere near the end they summarize all of their recommendations into a 1-2 pager.

On 20/20 they discussed some of the myths that they dispel in their book, one of them being that exercising too much is not good on the body, which I wrote about in an early post. First Oprah, now 20/20 - the doctors are making their rounds. Hopefully people will listen.

Bicycling Magazine and the BMI

Last year Bicycling magazine dedicated one of it's issues to weight loss. In one short article, they discussed and "dissed" the BMI (body mass index). The author's take was that it wasn't realistic and he even quoted a physical therapist (if memory serves me) as saying that we all have "pre-programmed" weights.

This article was the perfect embodiment of how I use to think of the BMI - utter denial. For those of you who don't know, the BMI is a number that you can calculate from your height and weight to determine if your weight is normal for your height or not. I go into more detail on how I came to believe in the BMI in my book. Suffice it to say now, I think the BMI is a great tool for identifying your target weight.

I was digging through my files and I found the letter that I wrote to Bicycling's editor, Steve Madden. Unfortunately, it didn't get printed and I didn't get a response. That's too bad, because I expected a magazine that I've been reading off and on for over 20 years to be more responsible in its reporting.

I was hoping that even if my letter didn't get printed, that the argument I made for the BMI in it would at least prompt the editors to dig deeper on the BMI and retract the rubbish they printed. Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything of sort since.

But, that's not surprising. Now that I think of it, I got much of my diet advice from Bicycling as a teenage bike racer. Carbs, carbs & more carbs - which isn't very good advice for the waistline, unless you're a Tour de France rider.

In Steve Madden's letter from the editor column, he has complained about the few extra pounds that he carries around his waist and his desire to shed those. Perhaps he's just at his genetic preprogrammed weight.

In my next post, I'll recount the letter I wrote.

Parade Magazine; 6/11/2006

Dr. Michael O'Shea writes a "Better Fitness" column for Parade Magazine (the magazine insert that comes in most major Sunday newspapers). His column on June 11 is the first time that I can recall where someone agreed with one of my non-conventional tips - to weigh yourself often.

"Daily weigh-ins are key to keeping weight off, according to research of Brown University Medical School. By stepping on a scale every day, 61% of people in an 18-month study managed to gain back only 5 of the average 44 pounds each had lost. (Most dieters will gain back a third of their weight within a year)."

I'm a big proponent of getting in the habit of weighing yourself daily. I do. While many diet experts seem to recommend to pay attention to how well your clothes fit rather than the scale, I think that's bunk. You should pay attention to both.

Weighing yourself daily has several benefits. First, there's no escaping reality. When the needle doesn't tell me what I want it to tell me, I first check the scale calibration. If that doesn't work, I may try to run through a couple of excuses, but I usually end up where I should - realizing that I've been letting my eating get a little out of control.

Next, you learn more about how your body weight responds to certain things. I've learned that I usually pick up two pounds of water weight after enjoying one of my favorite Mexican meals due to the high sodium content. After a couple days, that weight seems to evaporate. Likewise, I found out that I could easily lose 3 - 5 pounds on a 100 mile bike ride. Because of this, I drink much more fluids and eat more often during rides in order to stay hydrated and energized. Now I feel better at the end and I rarely allow myself to lose so much weight on one back ride.

Finally, weighing yourself daily keeps your weight control on top of your mind. Avoiding the scale just makes it too easy to avoid the whole subject of weight loss.

It is a tough habit to start, but I do believe it's essential. In order to lose weight you have to be completely honest with yourself and the scale makes it that much tougher to delude yourself, unless, of course, you are better at calibrating the needle on scale than I.

"You: The Owners Manual" Part II

I'm finally reading "You: The Owner's Manual". It contains some interesting concepts indeed. Here's one interesting tidbit.

The good doctors speak in terms of Real Age and Calendar Age. They contend that our lifestyles make our bodies younger or older than our true calendar age. For example, the body of a 55 year old smoker is more like the body of a 65 year old non-smoker.

Regarding exercise, they contend that you receive the optimal age benefit from 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day and 1 hour (or 3 - 20 minute sessions) per week of vigorous exercise at 80% of your max heart rate (which is 80% of 220 - your calendar age).

They also contend that any more than one hour of vigorous exercise actually reduces the benefit of exercise on your Real Age. They said that a 55 year old man that followed their exercise routine would have a real age of 45. But, a 55 year old man that exercises more would have a real age of 52.

Interesting! Perhaps there is a such thing as too much exercise.

Over the years I've settled into an exercise routine that involves copious amounts of rest and moderate exercise. On average, I probably only get about 1 hour of high intensity exercise each week. I do take 2 days off a week. Perhaps I'll consider adding a short walk on those days to get in the 30 minutes of physical activity.

50 Weight Loss Tips

A friend sent me this link to Chris Pirillo's blog that contains 50 Weight Loss Tips. It contains some really nice tips, with the first one being the crux of my weight loss success.

Enjoy.

A Few Bites a Day

Every once in awhile I'm reminded why I named my book "A Few Bites a Day". People often discover that they're overweight after years and years, sometimes decades, of gradual weight gain. They can't seem to figure out how they got to that point. They don't feel like they are big overeaters and they're probably correct.

But doing the math tells a different story. You can eat 50 calories in 2-3 bites of calorie dense foods and maybe 5-7 bites of less calorie dense foods. Let's say you eat 50 more calories, on average, than you need to maintain your weight each day. That adds up to a calorie surplus of 18,000 in just one year.

A pound of fat contains about 3,500 calories, so the 18,000 calorie surplus translates into about 5 pounds per year of additional waistline or 50 pounds over the course of the decade. It's no wonder people can wake up after 2-3 decades of slight, barely detectable overeating to discover that they're overweight. The "wake-up" often happens when they look at their picture from years earlier and realize just how much bigger they are.

Also, based on these numbers, it's no wonder that a few bites a day can make the difference between losing, maintaining or gaining weight.

Yahoo! Answers

Lately I've been spending some time on the Diet & Fitness section of Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Answers is a new feature on Yahoo! where you post questions that you have on just about any subject and other users will answer you.

A very common question is "how do I lose weight?" I think most people realize that eating less and exercise is the best answer, but even that is too general for most. It's kind of like asking, "how do I get something to the moon?" The obvious answer is to put it on a rocket. But most people wouldn't even know where to begin in building and designing a rocket that could make it to the moon. Similarly, I believe most people don't know where to begin once they realize that "eating less and exercise" is the answer to losing weight.

The purpose of my book was to document how I ate less and exercised to lose thirty pounds. I first learned about calories - how much I burned and how much I ate. Then I learned to change my eating habits to balance out my calorie burn/intake equation. At the same time, I have a host of advice that I have found helpful in keeping my exercise from getting boring.

Much of this stuff is basic knowledge that I learned from a variety of sources and finally pieced it all together into a set of actions that worked for me. I think they should teach this stuff in school so that everyone will know the basics before they hit the real world.

Is it easy? Not always. It does require self-control. Once you know how to design and shoot the rocket to the moon, you actually have to go through the efort of building and launching it, which takes discipline and setting the right priorities.

"You: The Owner's Manual"

Oprah had a great show with Drs. Roizen and Oz. These guys seem to know their stuff. While I have had great success with the information in my book, these guys taught me a few things. I plan to get a copy of their book, "You: The Owner's Manual" soon.

For instance, they said that there's a chemical in diet soda that inhibits the "full" signal that your stomach sends to your brain. So, while you think that you're saving 100 calories, you might be stuffing an extra 100 calories because of the deadened "full" signal.

They highly recommended eating nuts such as almonds, as I do. Although, they said that roasting the nuts damages the good oils in the nuts and makes them not so good.

I recommend checking your local listings to see if you can't find this show. It's definitely worth an hour of your time. They are great at getting the point across.

Buy "You: The Owner's Manual" for $14.97 on Amazon.com by clicking here. Also, purchase my book, "A Few Bites a Day" for $5.99 and Dr. Barry Sears's book, "A Week in the Zone" for $7.50 and you should qualify for free shipping on Amazon.com. You'll have a great library of health and weight loss information for less than $30. Great deal!

"Genes Predict Body Shape and Fatness"

Click here for article.

Disturbing article. I'd like to see the evidence that they can tell how fat you are by analyzing your genes. I don't buy it.

We all have a set number of fat cells that doesn't change once you are through puberty unless you lipposuction the cells out of there. What does change is the size of those fat cells. If you eat more calories than you burn then your body will store the extra calories in the form of fat in those cells. As those cells expand like water balloons so does your waistline.

I can believe that they could tell what shape you might be based on your genes, since your genes hold the blueprint for how fat cells are distributed across your body. A lot of mine are in my gut and face. Some people have them in their hips or back of their legs. Women carry more fat in their breasts than men.

But, how fat we are is determined by one thing - how many excess calories we take in. I have a hard time believing that's a function of our genes. Admittedly certain aspects of our eating habits might be genetically determined. For example, people with a slow responding "fullness sensor" may be more likely to eat more than someone with fast sensor. And, some people may be genetically predisposed to prefer certain types of food. But, for the large majority of us, I believe that our fat destiny lies squarely within our own control.

Obesity may be handed down from generation to generation, but I'm betting that learned behavior is a bigger factor than genes.

For more on how fat cells work, click here:

"Diabetics misguided on healthy weight"

Here's an interesting article (click here) that has some parallels with the advice in my book. The article discusses how a survey of diabetics shows that they generally have misconceptions about what constitutes healthy body weight.

I think similar results could be found if the study were expanded beyond diabetics. I hear quite frequently that I need to gain weight because I just don't look healthy.

10. Keep a food diary for 2 weeks and then use my book to figure out how to calculate your food needs.

Well, we're a quarter of the way through the year and I'm finally finishing off my ten tips to stick with your New Year's Resolution. Hopefullly you're still going strong and I also hope that you have found these tips useful.

My final tip is to keep a food diary for two weeks and then use my book to figure out how to calculate your food needs. As I write this I realize that this is probably THE most important tip yet. Too bad I saved it for last. My bad.

For many people the weight problem isn't really lack of exercise, it's how much food they're putting in their mouths. While exercise helps counter overeating, keep metabolism pumping and allows you to eat a couple more bites a day it isn't as important as how much food you put in your mouth.

Most people (myself included) would really rather not know how many calories they eat. If I had a nickel for every time I've heard something like, "life's too short to worry about calories" I'd probably have about $20. But, I've learned that that attitude is simply denial. Just use that same argument on other things to see its folly. Let me try it.

Life's too short to...
...worry about saving money.
...look at the speedometer every once in awhile.
...visit the dentist.
...visit the doctor.
...worry about grades.
...worry about job performance.
...bother raising my children well.
...maintain my car.

Doesn't work, does it? Unfortunately, I know people with some of these attitudes and it hasn't paid off for them.

If you want to lose weight, you need to become intimate with your calorie intake. Does it take some of the fun out of eating? It hasn't for me. In fact, it's made eating more fun (more on that in a bit). Reality is reality. If you eat too many calories, then you eat too many calories whether you know it or not. I think it's much more useful to know than not know it.

So how has calorie counting made eating more fun, you ask? I rarely overindulge anymore and so I avoid the guilt and uncomfortable, overstuffed feeling that comes with it. I know aproximately how much food I can eat, so I savor my bites and stop when I'm supposed to. Also, stopping gives me quite a feeling of empowerment.

In order to become an expert calorie counter, I recommend simply writing down everything you eat for two weeks. There are plenty of resources available to give you the calorie counts. Just Google "calorie content" or "calorie counts" and you'll be sure to find something.

Usually, I can tell why someone is overweight by just reviewing a two day diary. The reason I recommend two weeks is that by the end of two weeks chances are high that you'll be able to make pretty good estimates of the calorie content of your food without writing it down and looking it up. Then calorie counting will be simply embedded in your brain circuitry. It'll become almost automatic.

I will warn you. If you are overweight, chances are that your calorie intake far exceeds your calorie needs if you were to just maintain a normal, healthy weight. Be prepard for a schock. I know I had one on my day or reckoning.

Finally, please buy a copy of my book (see the links to Amazon.com on the right). It'll teach you how to equate your calorie intake to your weight.

Good luck.

Follow up to the KC Star Magazine

I was very pleased to see my book featured in the Star Magazine and I've been pleased with the response. My hope is that those who discovered me will learn something useful.

For accuracy sake, I'd like to clear up two inaccuracies in the Star blurb. First, I didn't gain and lose weight for years. I only gained, until figured it out. Second, rather than starting with the Zone diet, I ended with it. The Zone was the last piece of the puzzle I needed to be successful because from it I learned how to optimize my calorie intake without getting terrible hunger pains (or is pangs?).

If you'd like to receive an e-mail each time I update this blog, please send an e-mail to smcmenemy@hotmail.com, subject: "few bites". Also, I promise not to share your information with anyone else.

Thanks again!

Kansas City Star Magazine

For those of you that learned about my book and blog in the Getting Started section of the Kansas City Star magazine - Welcome!

I try to post new entries once or twice a week (or whenever I have some worthy thoughts), so I hope that you will bookmark this site as a favorite and check back often. I also welcome you to post your comments and questions to my blog. If you send your e-mail address to smcmenemy@hotmail.com (Subject: "Few Bites") and I'll be happy to send you an e-mail whenever I've updated my blog.

Also, I hope that you will purchase my book. There's a link to the right that'll take you to Amazon.com where you can purchase it online. Buy it with other books and it will help you qualify for Amazon's free shipping program. If you are local to Kansas City, the book is also available at Rainy Day Books in Fairway, By the Book in Liberty and Biscari Brothers Bicycles in Liberty. These retailers will be happy to assist you. I'm also willing to mail you a copy. The details on ordering through the mail are in the Getting Started section.

My weight loss story isn't a new, revolutionary program that'll allow you to melt the pounds off while you eat nothing buy cake and ice cream. Rather, it's a collection of most of the information that allowed me to gain control over my weight. All this information is "out there", but it took me years to collect the pieces and to connect the dots to make it a success for me. Many times I heard or read something and it simply didn't register, until much later. For example, I'm now a big believer in the BMI (body-mass index). I knew about it for several years before I dropped the weight, but I refused to believe what it was telling me.

I'm still collecting pieces and I think it's important keep weight control top of mind, which are two reasons why I write this blog. I'd love it if what I've learned can help you figure it out too. Please join me.

-Seth McMenemy

9. Join groups that meet for recreational activities.

I've mentioned this tip several times throughout my blog. Joining or starting a group or groups that are built around some sort of exercise or activity is a great way to burn calories and keep your mind off of food.

I ride my bike on most Saturday mornings with a group of people. Over the course of the last few years, over 200 people have ridden with us at one time or another, but there's a core group of about 10 - 15 that come back week after week. I always look forward to catching up with everyone and having others to discuss cycling culture with (very few people in the general population know much it). As I've said, we meet on most Saturday mornings throughout the year - even during the winter. We also host a charity ride in May and participate with eachother in other events around the region including other organized events and weekend getaways. Not only do I derive great social benefit for having these people as my friends - as all are top-notch people that I've learned a lot from - but, it just makes it that much easier to get out and burn calories when you have friends that you want to spend time with and they just happen to share your passion for activity.

Clubs exist for all kinds of activities. They can be as informal as the group of people I ride with on Saturday mornings or much more organized and/or geared more toward competition. I know of clubs for running, road cycling, mountain biking, triathlons, kayaking, basketball, soccer, volleyball, rock climbing, skiing and so forth. And within each of these general categories there always seems to be several variations. For example, within my area of expertise - cycling - there are about a half a dozen competitive teams in my area, two major cycling clubs and numerous off-shoots of those clubs that have smaller numbers of people that are located closer together geographically.

All it takes is a little effort from you to find these out. I recommend surfing local athletic websites to find out about the clubs, meeting times and any requirements. Also ask around in your local retail establishments that specialize in your activity for such groups. They can usually point you in a good direction for your level of experience. Finally, don't forget to ask co-workers and friends. They can be founts of knowledge.

If you're still having trouble finding a group that meets your needs, start one up. Maybe you enjoy running, but there isn't a group that close enough to you to make it convenient. Just post a flyer at the local community center, ask stores to post flyers and see if you can get an announcement in the local newspaper. Set a regular time and place to meet to start your activity. Keep at it and soon others will join you. But, chances are there is already some sort of group in your area of interest already nearby. You just have to find it.

Remember, the group activity gives you extra motivation to get out and burn calories and at the same time absorbs some of the time that you may have been absorbing extra, unwanted calories, which is a double bonus for your waistline.

8. Try one or two new activities to discover something you may not have known that you'd enjoy.

Two years ago I saw a flyer for a paddle expo to be held on a lake near my home. It sounded fun so I went and tried out an array of flat water (not whitewater) kayaks. I had such a good time that I bought one and haven't regretted it one bit. I named her Selma. Get it? Selma Kayak.

In the last two years Selma and I have been on 12-15 expeditions on nearby lakes. Not as much as I'd like, but still enough to provide much needed breaks from my typical workouts. And it gives me something else to look forward to as I dream about my summer activities in the cold (or lately - warm) of winter.

About five years ago, I decided that I was going to learn to mountain bike. For 12 weeks, I hauled my mountain bike (which had previously been used primarily on a college campus) to the trails. The first 2-3 weeks were rough, but soon I was surprising myself at the ease I rolled over difficult terrain.

If you're anything like me, then doing the same old workout routine over and over becomes boring. That's why I like to mix it up and try new things, in hopes I'll find an activity that'll give me another outlet to keep my exercise fresh.

Sometimes even slight variations to your typical routine can make a big difference. Last November I ran in my first cross country running race and had a blast. I've run many road races, but never ran cross country. I just ran my second last weekend and hope to do more.

Don't be afraid to try something new. You're bound to find something that you'll love too. Within every sport, there seems to be microcosms of variation. I'm intimately familiar with cycling. There's all sorts of cycling. For example, just within road cycling you can race, time trial, ride up moutainsides, ride across the country (see adventurecycling.com), ride across a state, go on weekly group rides, raise money for charity (mssociety.org), you can do ultra marathons (100-200 miles) brevets (an unsupported 100-300 miles), rondo's (300 - 500 miles), weekend tours, vacation tours, self-supported tours or simply ride around the same 20 mile circuit 2-3 times a week. And what's more, there are numerous events throughout spring, fall and summer in my region to keep me busy - and I don't even live in an area where cycling is remotely close to being mainstream.

Remember, whenever you try anything new, don't be turned off by snobby insiders. Every sport or activity has their share of these people. Just be patient and persistent and you'll be an insider others are coming to for advice before you know it. And, best of all, you'll have another physical activity in your toolkit to keep burning calories more than a mind-numbing daily ritual.