Deerfield's biggest loser

I’m 63 years old today and weigh 224 pounds. I can’t do anything about the first number, but I’m going to alter the second.

While I haven’t watched the “Biggest Loser” shows on TV and have never been a member of Weight Watchers, I understand the premise behind both endeavors is to declare your weight publicly and then go about changing it. So, to all my thousands of readers . . . OK, hundreds . . . OK, dozens . . . I have declared my weight and here’s what I’m going to do.

Every Saturday for two months I’m going to weigh myself and report. Friday, September 18th, will be my last weight report. I promise not to fudge the numbers. (I shouldn’t say “fudge.” Make that “cheat.”)

My weight issue come from eating between meals. I always eat three healthy meals a day, but I’ve been known devour a full sleeve of saltines and peanut butter at night without even thinking about it. I never pass by the kitchen without grabbing a handful of something. It’s more habit than hunger.

Ironically, I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in since I trained for a 10K in 1999. My stamina is such that I can walk behind a mower for 6 hours or cut firewood for several hours without stopping. But I know my weight is taking a toll on my mangled knees and arthritic ankles, so it’s coming off.

From experience I know that I will see a huge loss on the scales the first week, and then it will level off. So, don’t be alarmed by the first week’s number. I won't waste away, which reminds me of a 4-XXL T-shirt I saw. It read: "I beat anorexia."

I struggled with whether or not I should make this post because I try to keep personal items out of Deerfield Diary, but then I reasoned that frequently I write about the tools I use at Deerfield, and a healthy body is just one more tool.

So, pass the scales and hide the peanut butter.