Hi. My name is...

Hi. My name is Jim and I am addicted to food. There, I said it. Yes, I was able to lose 115 lbs 2 years ago and keep it off for about 1 year. But in the 17 months since then, I have now officially added 31 lbs back on. At that pace, it would not take all that long to add the other 85 and then some more, so at this point, I need to make a life-or-death decision. At least, that's the way that I see it.

So, how did I put on 31 lbs in 17 months? Well, it's somewhat the same answer I used to give when people asked how did I lose 115 lbs. It's all about controlling what I put IN to my body. Sure, exercise is important, but I've proven that I can out-eat just about any workout I can dream up. I even gained 2 lbs the week after running a 1/2 marathon! I've always attributed the vast majority of my weight-loss to controlling intake, with a minimal contribution from my exercise.

For that reason, I cannot allow the several injuries I have suffered in the past year, limiting my exercise for long stretches of time, to be the excuse I use for my gain. It's ALL about how much I put in.

One of the things that I have noticed about myself is that, unlike MANY who go on Weight Watchers, my stomach, or more appropriately, my capacity to eat volumes of food, as in no way shrunk. Not even a little bit. Unfortunately, I can still pack away vast quantities of food, as I have proved all-too-often. What can I do about this? Well, I have to be FAR MORE DILIGENT with respect to both portion-control as well as recognizing my satisfaction levels.

Eating at night, after the family has gone to sleep, has been probably the single greatest contributor to my weight gain. Somehow I have gotten into the habit of what I call "grazing" through the kitchen. I go through the snack drawers and take one of these, one of those, a small handful of these and a bunch of those. All so that, individually, noone would notice anything "missing." But totaled up, as I have done in the aftermath of several grazing sessions, it can add up to over 40 points quite easily. OBVIOUSLY, this is not very conducive to losing or even maintaining a healthy weight.

So, what am I going to do about this life-or-death decision? I have committed to a 28-day contract. I even put it in writing and signed it, giving it to my wife. I agreed to the following:

• Stay within points (Daily, Weekly, Activity included).
• Journal EVERYTHING I eat.
• Exercise (5) days per week, 30-minutes or more.
• I will eat ONLY what I bring to work each day.
• I will eat NOTHING after 8:30 PM.

That is my commitment. I firmly believe that if I stick to the above agreement, I will significantly decrease my current 211 lb body at the end of the 4 weeks and I will reinvigorate my commitment to the Weight Watchers program.

I can do this. I WILL do this.