"What do you want for yourself (WDYWFY)?" I used to hear that acronym all the time. It was a favorite of one of our wholesalers, who'd use it constantly in an effort to motivate us to move his product. It bubbled to the surface again the other day as I was thinking about motivation and like so many other brain farts, I just had to let it out. So, I think it's a good thing for me to ask myself, "WDIWFY?" Today's answer, "I want to be 'just right'".

I picked a hell of a day to report my "progress". Not that there is any real significance associated with this particular day- other than being another day closer to my goal date. It's just that I was a pound lighter yesterday. Reporting yesterday would have been much cooler. That's the thing though, if this journey has taught me nothing else, it's taught me that-

#16 - My Weight Fluctuates Daily

While I maintain that weight gain or loss can be predicted based on a simple equation of calories consumed minus calories burned, the fact is, there is a heck of a lot more that can affect body weight when you measure it more often. Some people even think that it is counter-productive to weigh yourself more than once a week- though it probably doesn't matter. Speaking of things that body weight,

#17 - Cut Back On The Sodium

Although it is one of those elements necessary for survival, it is oh so easy to get too much in my diet. Store-bought, prepared foods and restaurant stuff is typically loaded with it. I don't need to be sprinkling any more of it on my food. Some of it is outrageously over-doped. There's this local restaurant that, I swear, just chips off chunks from a salt-lick and covers it in brine before paper-mache'ing it into whatever you thought you ordered. The next day, I feel like I'm a water balloon- or a Butterball turkey.

#18 - Pack A Snack

I make it a point to consume small meals on a very regular basis- a food schedule of sorts. There are times when I'm caught away from healthier choices of food and the temptation to drive-thru one of the convenient burger joints becomes- shall we say a "logical alternative to starvation". I started carrying snacks (primarily protein bars and almonds) in my laptop case and car to stave off hunger until I can get something better to eat.

The gym was blissfully underpopulated this morning and that was freakin' awesome compared to this past Saturday. I walked in and went right to work. I didn't even feel the anxiety-driven need to sneak onto the scale for a weigh-in; I just walked over and stepped right up- didn't feel anyone eyeballing me or anything. Bonus! Down enough to call another pound.

My tips today:

#19 - Chew Gum

Preferably something sugar-free and Trident-like. This type of calorie-free chewing helps offset the calorie-rich pastry chewing of days bygone.

#20 - Eat Enough

Skipping meals puts my body in "storage mode". Better to eat enough of the right kind of nutrition throughout the day than skip and binge.

#21 - "No" Means No And It's A Perfectly Suitable Response

It's totally OK to take the potatoes and and continue passing without dropping a dollop on my plate. And a polite "No thank you," hurts only my mother's feelings when a plate of goodies is jammed in front of my face.

#22 - Sleep Sans TV

The bedroom is for sleeping and... um... sleep inducing activities- and that doesn't mean watching C-Span. It should be a quiet, peaceful refuge from distraction that promotes deep, restful log-sawing. If the log-sawing becomes a distraction, get it fixed.

The gym experience bordered on aggravating this morning. The exernazi had her class packed into the tiny weight-room and kitten-herded them through the stations pachinko-style. It was a weird-assed frenzy of getting in one another's way until I relented and walked out. I did get thirty minutes in at my core exercises and no one got hurt- so it's all good. I guess I was becoming a little spoiled by the solitude I've enjoyed at the gym for so long. Here's my "relevant" tip:

#23 - Be My Own Coach/Trainer

A hired professional trainer will stay for as long as I'm willing to pay them; my carcass is around for a mortal eternity. Paying some pro to kick my carcass around forever just isn't appealing.

#24 - Motivation Is An Internal Organ

Inspiration can come from anywhere but lasting motivation comes from within. The cool thing is that the "motivation organ" can be conditioned to function in the absence of inspiration.

#25 - Why Ask Why?

When I first started this journey almost a year ago, I considered myself child-like in knowledge and ability. I really didn't know how I was going to "fix" myself, I only knew that I had to do something. I had plenty of reasons why I had to make a change and that was enough to get me off my can and do something. Now that I'm a toddler (knowledge-wise) and have some positive experience behind me I realize that the reasons why I do what I do are a heck of a lot more powerful than the way I am doing what I'm doing. Also, when I first started out, a lot of what I did to drop weight I really didn't fully understand and had to just do it because my resources said it was the right thing to do.

I now understand a little more about what works for me and what doesn't. You might say that I've matured a little, or you might say I'm full of crap. Either way, I very close to my goal both in time and achievement and am looking forward to maturing into a know-it-all teenager.

Johnisfit.com, one of my favorite reads, is giving away a bike to some lucky winner. I wish everyone who enters the very best of luck and a reminder that I have a birthday coming up...

Ah! What is it about the open road that beckons me to saddle-up the ol' Schwinn and grunt down the driveway? Is it the wind in what's left of my hair, the bugs in my teeth, or the fact that each excursion becomes more kamikaze-like than the last?

I think it's the combination of two activities that represent both the old me and the new me; sitting and exercising. The old me did a lot of sitting but not a lot of exercising, while the new me strives for a life weighted more heavily in physical exertion. My alternate trips (run/ride) to the gym are a ridiculous trip down memory lane.

#26 - Ride A Bike

Hey, it's great exercise and a little easier on my old joints than running.

#27 - Walk This Way

And every which way. Walking is the premier low impact mildly aerobic exercise- and requires no special equipment.

#28 - Take The Stairs

There is something seriously wrong with taking the elevator to the food court on the second floor of our local shopping mall. I would never, ever, never do something so lazy- again.

I spent my workout pumping iron in the midst of a mental spank-fest. The scale, you see, is my friend. Not the kind of sycophantic friend that tells me look great even when I have a booger on my chin and spinach in my teeth but the kind of friend that smacks me upside the head when I mix prints with plaid and flat out tells me, "No, it's not the jeans that makes your ass look fat- it's your ass."

This morning my friend the scale reminded me that slacking-off doesn't shed pounds and brownies aren't health food. I'm grateful for the scale no matter how grim the news- it's an early warning device, letting me know what's happening before something a little less friendly chides in... the mirror.

#29 - Weigh In Regularly

Not necessarily every day but often enough to change course if what I'm doing isn't working.

#30 - I Ask Again, "Do These Pants Make My Ass Look Fat?"

No, eating too many brownies makes my ass look fat. True-dat! Note to Steve: "Cut back on the brownies."

#31 - Fast Food? Fuhgeddaboudit!

We Americans have the best fast food in the world- and that ain't just my patriotism showing. Empires and an obesity epidemic have been built on it and testify to its' world supremacy. Salute foreigners, we rock! Now I'm not saying that fast food barons of capitalism are to blame for making my ass measurable in axe handles (we all know that fast food doesn't make people fat; eating too much fast food makes people fat), what I'm saying is that for me, I'm better off staying away from it entirely.

#32 - Speed Kills Weight Loss

We all know that fast food is generally jammed full of fat, carbs, and Sodium. Wolfing it down like some kind of Velociraptor adds insult to the dietary injury. Eating slowly lets the body convince the brain that it's being fed. The result- I feel full even though I've eaten less. Who knows, it could have saved the dinosaurs.

#33 - Reducing Intake Is More Effective Than Increasing Activity In The Short Term

OK, decision time. I'm at the order counter of my favorite fast food place deciding whether or not to spring for the 59-cent super-size upgrade. What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?

Walk away! There's no way I going to do enough reps at the gym to balance out the equation. It's exponentially easier to exercise freedom of choice and avoid a 1,000 calorie mistake than try to work it off in the gym.

It's biochemistry, physics, neuroscience, genetics, and a whole host of bio-science sub-specialities mixed with equal parts voodoo-logic.

Now if I were a thinking man (a little late for me to start now) I might be tempted to lock myself up in a lab somewhere and analyze the bejeebus out of what EXACTLY is the mechanism for weight loss. Instead (and I'll borrow this from a bygone ad for the PacBell Yellow Pages) I let my fingers do the walking and other, more intelligent folks do the heavy thinking and clickity-clack my way through the internet to find out just what I need to know to shed the extra pounds from my aging carcass.

Say what?

#34 - Find Out What Others Are Doing

The blogosphere is a most excellent place to witness what's working and what isn't for people fighting similar battles. I'll be reviewing a few as the days wear on to examine just what can be gleaned.

Please let me know if there is a site out there that you think is a good source for weight loss info- I'd love to take a look at it. I'll start posting links as soon as I get the bugs worked out of my template.

I working my way through a new design. I appreciate your kindness, patience, and support. Oh yeah, and I'm down a pound!