30 Pounds--I did it; you can do it.

Having reached my target weight (well, almost...) of 185, I have successfully shed 30 pounds since December, 2008. I will provide my conclusions and insights for those interested in losing weight.

1. Get serious. For years I played around with weight loss--losing a little, gaining back more, and deluding myself that I was basically in good shape and that some day soon I would lose it. Finally, I looked at myself realistically, didn't like what I saw, and asked myself: If not now, when? Time for a life change. For us middle-aged folks, I think it's important to realize that weight loss requires dramatic changes and deadly serious commitment.

2. Calories in, calories out. This is the best advice I ever read. It's really simple: if the calories you burn exceed the calories you take in, you will lose weight. The fat, protein, carb calculations are fine if you're into that, but I'm not, and you don't need to be. But you MUST count calories--what you eat and what you burn. If you don't, you will not lose weight. The good news is that counting calories is easier than ever. Iphone apps like "Tap and Track" provide excellent tools for tracking your calories. If you don't track your calories, you will underestimate what you eat and drink, and overestimate what you burn at the gym.

3. Eating right. I eat 2 eggs (fried or soft-boiled) and 2 slices of turkey bacon every morning for breakfast after returning from the gym. Delicious, very healthy, and a total of 230 calories. For lunch, I eat a 6 inch Subway sandwich--roast beef is one of the best and least calories--for about 350 calories. Alternately I have a Lean Cuisine (anywhere from 200 to 350 calories.) So far, so good. I can do breakfast and lunch easy. My problem is dinner and evening. I have had to learn discipline--not to take more than one helping. (I occasionally fail at this and take 3.) Then comes the hard part: stop eating at night! I like to watch a movie with Zanne and snack and drink wine. This is a diet killer. Learn the power of not eating after six each night. Eat absolutely NOTHING. Drink only water or seltzer. Go to bed slightly hungry. You will lose weight overnight. It's painful, but it's necessary if you are serious about weight loss.

4. Working out. Join a family-friendly gym. I have good fitness equipment at home, and I use it often, but I finally got over the hump by joining our local Gold's Gym with Zanne. We have gone to the gym every morning without fail six days a week for the past several months, and it works. I remember reading a long time ago some fitness guy saying that you can't build muscle while you are losing weight. This is totally false. The exact opposite is true. You MUST build muscle, because it boosts your weight loss. As I dropped my 30 pounds, I gained muscle and strength big time. Now my belly is gone, and my arms are iron. When you go to the gym, start by working out with weights/machines. I work a different body part every day: chest, back, shoulders, arms, legs. I do abs twice a week. If you don't know how to work out, then invest in a personal trainer and learn. After exhausting yourself, then it's time for aerobics. If you're out of shape, you'll have to build up. Your goal should be to push yourself further, faster, and longer everytime, and soon you will become addicted to it. My daily routine now is to run or use the arc-trainer for 40 minutes on a high level. I burn 700 calories that way, plus what I burn with the weights (about 250).

5. Some other stuff. Don't deny yourself anything. Those chocolate donuts or pizza or fried chicken. If you deny yourself, you will become obsessed with what you can't have...like Eve in the garden. Instead of denying yourself, simply DELAY. I tell myself all the time: I can have a chocolate glazed donut anytime I want. Furthermore, I'm sure that I will have one at some point. But...not right now. Not today. Why? Because I don't want it right now. I'll have one later. You'd be amazed at how powerful that is.

6. When you screw up or gain back some weight, discipline yourself not to let it de-rail you. Just do what you know is right: calories in, calories out. Keep at it. Over the past two years, I've had sudden, dramatic weight loss followed by months of plateaus. It was almost always because I lost control eating or drinking. I just rededicated myself and went back at it.

7. Aerobic machines: don't lean on them or even touch them with your hands at all. One of the biggest wastes of time I see every day at the gym is people on treadmills or stair-steppers leaning their entire upper body on the machine! Or holding on to the machine. This is self-delusion. If you rest your body weight on the machine, you are not achieving the burn you think you are. Further, you are missing the opportunity to strengthen your core. Hands off!

8. Learn to avoid injury, but don't wimp out. If you're like me, your temptation is to work out with too much weight and bad form, resulting in injury. Stop it! When you reach middle-age, you have to become an expert in not hurting yourself. Injuries are for the young. At the same time, too many people (especially women) don't push themselves hard enough. Don't ever tell yourself that you can't do something. Yes, you can. It's painful to push yourself, but you need to get used to that pain if you're going to achieve weight loss. I don't mean pain in your joints, tendons, or muscles. I mean the pain of moving your butt when you feel like stopping. Get some good music for your aerobic exercise. Makes all the difference in the world. Suddenly, you find yourself running, but it feels more like dancing.

9. Think of yourself as an athlete. Tell yourself that you are an athlete, because you are. If you go to the gym and later feel depressed because the weight isn't coming off as fast as you wish, remind yourself of this: there are two kinds of people in the world--those who worked out today, and those who didn't. You did. You're an athlete. When you're on the treadmill running, and your tired old body is telling you that it's too hard, tell yourself: I'm an athlete. It's normal for me to be running. It doesn't hurt. I'm fine.

10. Finally...physical exercise profits little! So says the apostle Paul. Don't take weight loss so seriously that you lose perspective. Your spiritual health is far more important and long-lasting than anything your can achieve at the gym. Paul didn't mean that physical exercise is worthless. In fact, when he wrote that to the Corinthians, he was using irony. In the context of ancient Greece, physical exercise was VERY profitable. Olympic champions won great rewards, including exemption from taxes and public honors. But what Paul was saying was that compared to the riches we find in Christ, those physical rewards are nothing. After all, some day soon I will have a slim, powerful, good-looking resurrection body (with knees of steel!). In the mean time, weight loss here on earth is just a fun thing to do. Enjoy!