Determined To Succeed

Today is Thursday, it’s about 9:19 a.m. and I am just getting my nearly 40-year-old motor going for the day.  Part of that is due to yet another amazing martial arts workout from my sensei, martial arts and self-defense expert Doug Shaffer. I wonder sometimes if I would be better at this stuff if I were younger. Then it hits me, “nah. I just need to get my fat butt moving.”

So yesterday we did mainly mat work and leg work. I did lunging kicks, roundhouse kicks, exercises that can help get an attacker/opponent off you, a reverse push-up kick move and more. Plus we did my favorite exercise – those sweet but deadly reverse push-ups (actually, I think they’re called tricep dips). I swear to you guys I love these because they are great to do in your home – and I do.

While I was doing all these things I kept thinking to myself “I can do this. I just need to get my fat butt moving.” And I did. And while it’s not easy taking a body that used to be 400 pounds (with all of its still-persistent extra skin and flab) and make it faster and more coordinated, but I am doing my best and that is what matters. I sweat like a pig, but that’s good. I am tired as hell after, but that’s good. I roll out of bed today (late) with aches, but that’s good. I am getting my fat butt moving, and that’s good.

Today, I am going to do at least 20 of those reverse push-ups/tricep dips, if not more, to keep in practice. Also, have to practice other moves, too. Also, I am going to be working on cardio today with a good long walk or on the elliptical in the gym. Why, because I know I will be working hard tomorrow again. And even though this is only the second week I am already seeing results in my arms and I could swear (SWEAR) my love handles are looking a tad bit smaller. That may be my imagination but I like it.

So what are you guys going to do today to get your butts moving? I know it’s hard sometimes to either find the motivation, time or place but it can be done. Remember, you can do many types of exercises both at work or at home with minimal space/time requirements. You can always do some tummy crunches in your chairs (especially at work or while watching TV). You can always take a walk around your office or around the block at lunch.

As always I recommend you talk to your doctor before you try to do any exercise for the first time just to make sure you are able to do so, especially if you are starting from scratch and are of size. But I tell you, once you can get into a nifty exercise routine it’s like a drug. You will want to do it more, like my martial arts class, even if that regimen is just talking a regular walk around the block. You are working for you and making that time for you.

And to do a tricep dip you will need a chair that doesn’t have wheels on it, or another stationary surface higher than the ground. Stairs, for example. Position yourself with your back facing that chair or stairs. Grasp the front of the chair’s seat with your hands and fingers facing forward.  You can either plant your feet with your knees bent (as in this diagram) or extend your legs/hips forward with your heels supporting the lower body. Slowly bend your elbows, lowering your torso and butt so they are a few inches off the floor/ground. Then, push back up by slowly straightening your arms.

And while it may kick your butt, it gets your butt moving and that is how we are in this fight and losing weight together.

I know this is going to come as a shock to no one but eating is a very social thing. Conversely, weight loss goals are a very solitary thing. I never really thought about it in those terms before until just this morning.

You see, yesterday, after writing this hopefully-soon-to-be-award-winning, Hollywood-will-take-notice-and-make-a-movie-about-me-too-called-”Bill-&-Billia” blog I went to work out in the gym. After spending Friday at my second mixed martial arts lesson I was determined to get going to the gym and stuff so I did. I went, I did my half-hour on the elliptical, I did those incredibly hard but really cool reverse push-ups (which I do want to do every day to get used to them) and even practiced what is called a Turkish Get-Up (seated in a typical legs-crossed position, getting up by swinging a leg out and ending in a neutral stance). O.K. I know I’d have to show it to you for you to get it (hmmmmmm, maybe I will one day) but the point is I was working out and setting my mind to be all in a  “I’m going to be good today” mode.

That is the solitary part – and the part that sort-of flew out the window.

While I was mostly good with the food I ate for a “light” lunch, it was my dinner that killed me. And why? Because I was having a good time with good people and I went from solitary “I’m going to be good” Bill to “Oh, I’ll just have one or three more cookies” Bill.

Later on in the day I went to someones house for a wonderful get-together. There were great people and, moreover, there was food. Lots and lots of food. Meatballs, pulled pork, pasta, potato salad, bread, chips, dips, hummus, pita, soda…the whole bit. I found myself loading up lots on my plate. And why? Because it was part of the social thing going on. It was part of the laughing, story telling and bonding, that almost blind eating-without-thinking part.  That is the social part of it.

You guys know me by now. I love me some food. I also avoid buffets not because I don’t like them but because I like them too much and eating at someone’s house can be just like that. Ugh. Why did I eat so much.

I know it was just one day and I will work it off (especially Wednesdays and Fridays in martial arts) but that’s not the point. I’m a bit miffed I decided to let the solitary go in favor of the social…the personal goal in favor of the food, folks and fun. It may be only one day but I really do have to be smarter than that. It really is mind over matter, sometimes, and while I laughed up a storm and enjoyed myself immensely getting on the scale this morning was no laughing matter.

OK, I won’t be too hard on myself but I need to be hard enough to know better. I might be hungry going into a situation like that but that’s no reason to attack food like I’m going to war.  I may be going to something cool and social but that’s no reason to forget what I say to myself in my solitary moments…

…that I will be better today, eat right and do my best.

Deep breath. Again. OK, I’m a little better now…

…and a new, hopefully better eating day begins.

Did any of you ever watch “Seinfeld?” The NBC show that ran for however-many seasons was famous, in part, for being the “show about nothing.” Jerry Seinfeld even said so. And it was. It was so popular because we enjoyed watching these neurotic New Yorkers getting into silly crap with no special overall meaning at all. Again, a show about nothing.

I fell like that’s what my blog is today. The “Seinfeld” of blogs. Even though I haven’t watched that show since it went off the air (and won’t now, even in reruns, because of the racist tirade of one of its stars, Michael Richards), I totally get why a show about nothing was so popular.  Ugh. This is one of those days where I don’t know what to write about. I’m sitting at my computer looking  out of the stop sign-shaped window next to me, staring wishfully at the sky as if the inspiration would fall from it. But alas it doesn’t and I sit here trying to rattle enough of my marbles (at least the ones I got left) trying to think of something. I guess I will update you guys on stuff going on. So let’s go to the diner, take our usual booth and kibbitz…

I’ve been eating OK, lately. Not great but OK. I know I eat out way too much. Even though I tend to get the healthier things on a menu I need to just buy stuff for myself and cook it. Not only would it be cheaper in the long run it would also help me calorie-wise. Maybe that’s why “Julie & Julia” has been on cable so much lately. Maybe it’s a sign or a gentle nudge from mom, “get your butt to the store and buy some groceries for this house.”

And it’s not that I don’t enjoy cooking. I do. I like cleaning off a space and putting all the ingredients on it, like I’m the host of a cooking show talking to the chairs in front of me telling them what I’m about to prepare. And while I am not the best cutter-upper I do love how things look all mixed up in a bowl or pan, especially when I know it’s going to make something yummy for my tummy. O.K., O.K. I’ll get my butt to the store. Especially ’cause that means I get to make that good chicken recipe I told you all about a while back. Cool! Or maybe I’ll make a soup so good the Soup Nazi will be jealous?

A bisque, perhaps?

Nah. He’d just look at me and say “no soup for you” and kick me out of his store. And was that the “bon bubble-pop bubble-pop bown bown) of the “Seinfeld” theme I just heard in the background? Weird.

Anyway, I am going to be starting a different kind of strength training and conditioning beginning next week, that’s when I start seeing martial arts and self-defense expert (and friend) Doug Shaffer who’s going to start whipping my butt into shape (at least I hope so). I am at this “battle of the final ten” (AGAIN!) and I so want to lose those ten. I think martial arts will be good for me. It will challenge my body in new ways to help me lose weight, be leaner and will expand my mind all at the same time. Of course I will let you guys know how it goes. I also need to get my butt to the gym, too. I am so feeling the need to do the elliptical today, and it helps that I go during the day when no one is there. Yeah, that will be good.

And it’s the weekend. I haven’t been too worried about weekends in a while, especially since I am trying to be more Zen about things and not get so upset about an ounce here or there. I just know I have to watch what and how much (ESPECIALLY how much) I eat and I will be OK. I so plan to be down another pound by this time next week. And I will so do a dance of joy when I get back to that goal weight (but not like Elaine, who can’t dance to save her life).

Well, there you have it. I may not have their famed Superman appearance somewhere in every episode but it’s what I got today. There are XYZ number of stories in the naked city and today I’m one of ‘em. And while I am not trying to back into a parking space here or yada-yada something there I am doing my best to keep on this weight loss journey the best I can.

And that my friends is totally sponge-worthy.

My friends, good morning.

It’s been a whirlwind last couple of days to be sure. Remember when I told you I lost out on a contest opportunity, and how I was having a sort of down day because of it? Well, my luck turned around and I am now in the contest and a participant in the conference surrounding it. So, as you read this, I will be winging my way to Atlanta, Georgia.- home of greens, grits and wonderful southern fried chicken (God help me).

Yesterday, Saturday, I didn’t do all that well with eating to be honest. I was in the process of getting ready for my trip and I indulged in – wait for it – Beef Fried Rice and a couple of egg rolls, washed down by some diet orange pop (soda). For dinner (which I had late because I was sooooo full from lunch) I had a meatball sandwich from Wawa (which, believe me, is very good).

Now this would be the point in the blog where I would say “grrrrrrr,” and kind of slap myself around a bit feeling guilty and mad for the food I consumed. Well, not today. Today, as part of the new Zen me, I am taking a deep breath and being cool about it. Do I know I shouldn’t have eaten a large beef fried rice, egg rolls and several glasses of (yummy) orange pop? Of course. But will I get right back up and eat healthier today and the rest of my stay in Atlanta? Yes. Definitively, yes.

That is not to say, however, I won’t be having a sample of southern cuisine. I do want some of the afore-mentioned grits (with butter and salt is best) and good greens (with hot sauce sprinkled in – yum). The fried chicken on the other hand I might leave alone. After all, a leg leads to a wing. A wing leads to a breast. A breast leads to a thigh and before I know it I’ve eaten a whole half fried chicken (which I’ve done before at my fave friend chicken joints in Chicago, Harold’s Chicken).

And, please know I am taking my workout clothes with me on my trip so I can get up early before each day’s seminars, workshops and speeches to hit the gym to do some elliptical and/or treadmill, free weights and, hopefully, the steam room. Fat and calories don’t take days off and neither will I. And I will report all the culinary treats I try while in a city I’ve never been to before.

My first temptations, though, lie not with southern food in Atlanta but with hot dogs in Chicago. Yeah, I have to fly into Chicago to connect to Atlanta and you all know what that means…

…tasty, tempting and delicious Chicago-style hot dogs.

Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Wish me luck.

Happy Monday, my friends. Let’s start this week off with a basic refresher science lesson. I know, I know. “It’s too early in the week for physics and I haven’t had my coffee yet.” But stick with me. This one’s easy…

You guys have heard of Newton’s First Law of Motion, right? Newton’s First Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it, and a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.

The southern New Jersey and Philadelphia areas have had rain since yesterday, with more rain expected tomorrow. It’s cool (somewhere in the 40s) and the skies have a light grey look to them. Drops of rain gently hit puddles of collected water in the streets outside creating small ripples colliding with other competing small ripples and you can hear the wet rolling of the tires on cars as they drive by on the street.  In general, this is a blah day indeed, perfect for just kicking-back, finding a good old movie on TCM or some such channel and curling up on the couch.

It is such a struggle on days like today to get up and get moving. My body, which has pretty much just woken up, still feels “at rest” and would be more than happy to stay “at rest” and let today be spent watching those drops of rain hit puddles, stay under the covers or on the couch while listening to the wet car wheels roll by as I mentioned above. In other words, my body would be more than happy not to have an outside force (me getting up to exercise) cause it to lose its “at rest” status.

Because I am human, rainy days are perfect examples of when I fight the urge NOT get up and exercise.

It would be so easy to justify not getting up, putting on my gym clothes and working out on the elliptical. I’d blame it on the rain (oh, great! Now I’ve got a Milli Vanilli song going through my head!) and say to myself “I’ll just get up and workout doubly hard tomorrow.” Sound familiar? I know it does to me. I can’t tell you how many times in my fat life I’ve said those words. And I’m not saying I won’t ever say them again. I am human, after all. I just won’t say them today because on the good news front, thanks to some smart eating choices, cutting out soda (yes, including my beloved ice-cold Cokes) and exercising, I survived the weekend and am back to 236.5. Just eleven pounds to go before my goal weight is re-achieved.

With that in mind I am willing my body to be “in motion.” I am telling myself to get up and get moving. This weight ain’t gonna lose itself and even though it is a perfect, lazy rainy day I will get up and stay in motion at a constant velocity and will not be acted upon by the outside force of me wanting to be lazy and not workout today. I am going to get my workout “on” and will do my 4 miles on the elliptical, push-ups, sit-ups, weight machines and dumbbells. I will stay on my downward trend.

See, science and physics are not too terribly bad on a Monday, are they? Well, at least as reminders to get up and get moving to achieve a weight loss goal.

As part of my on-going writing gig I did an interview with Katie, a woman here in South Jersey who lost 130-pounds, which is awesome.  As part of that interview, I talked to Jorge, her personal trainer. He is the one who helped Katie lose weight and I thought it would be a neat idea to see it from her side – what it was like to have a trainer. So I talked to Jorge who invited me to come to his gym yesterday to my first-ever personal training session.

Hell, I am always looking for ways to burn fat and this was certainly going to be an education at the least. But when all was said and done, I  have to say it was really, really cool. I was also excited because of a symbolic reason: today was day-one of one of my new pair of New Balance gym shoes (what we in Chicago call sneakers). I thought it very fitting (all puns intended) to begin a new path on my weight loss journey in brand new (and very comfy) shoes .

By a quarter-to-twelve I arrived at Jorge’s gym. I didn’t know quite what to expect (except to sweat a lot) so I got there just to look the place over. I admittedly was a bit nervous. Coming from such a heavy 400-lb. background the old programming has the ability to take over and make me feel pretty intimidated by the machines and the people in a more professional gym. But I took a deep breath and began.

He had me start by doing cardio (about five minutes on the treadmill) just to loosen me up and get my heart rate going. Then, we jumped right into some good ab training. It was the first time I used a medicine ball like so:  I laid flat on my back and extended my arms over my head holding the medicine ball. Then, using my abs, I lifted my torso and threw him the 10-pound medicine ball. Damn, did I feel that immediately in my stomach.

After that we did reps of push-ups (always a weakness), crunches, exercise ball and then back to the medicine ball. After that series of exercises we went right into weight training. I did “shrugs” and I used barbells for the first time, too. I did hamstring stretches, different kinds of dumbbell lifts, more ab crunches, a Stairmaster and…and I sweated more in ten minutes than I usually do in my gym on the elliptical in half-an-hour.

I found out that fast-changing of machine exercises keeps the body guessing which helps it burn fat more and burn fat faster more so than cardio exercises do. Moreover, when you do exercises for extended periods of time your body gets used to them, therefore you burn less and less fat over time. By changing up exercises, especially those using weights and weight resistance, your body burns more fat.

After a fairly quick forty-five minutes I felt muscles in my upper arms, shoulders and abs I haven’t used in a long time – and it felt great. I was so excited to be learning new and different exercises to hopefully get the rest of these stubborn pounds off me and to tone-up a bit. I may not ever have the best, non-flabby body in the world but I sure as hell can try.

When it was over I was juiced. Those endorphins were released and I couldn’t wait to work out today. The second of two complimentary appointments happens on Friday and you bet your cross-trainers I will tell you about that session, too. But one of the things I made clear to Jorge was that I wanted to relay to you guys how to do the same types of exercises WITHOUT bigger pieces of gym equipment, using what you might have at home or in a gym not as well stocked with machines, medicine balls and barbells. The most important thing is just to be active, no matter what kinds of exercises you do. I am also going to share with you the food plan he shared with me once I find out more about how that is supposed to work and for how long and when.

Today was really good. Working out felt really good. Most of all, working on me felt really good. As I head into my gym tomorrow I will use that same basic rapid-fire machine-to-machine technique to help me burn fat and hopefully keep burning it. I still have visions of having a great body someday and having some of these tricks of the trade will help me get there – especially with summer just around the corner.

Sometimes the best things come in simple packages.

I am asked all the time, “Bill. What’s your secret? How did you lose all that weight?” Each question asked like the answer is going to be like the wave of a magic wand – quick and easy. When I give the answer you can almost see the person deflate, as if I had just told her she or he would never be happy again.

“Watching what I eat and exercise.”

Bah! Who wants to hear that? But it get’s better. The next question I’m asked is the one that really separates the adults from the children.

Q: “Bill, how long did it take?”

If you follow my blog (and I hope you do kind of like the old Prell commercials. I’d love for you to tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on…) then you’ll know there is no magic pill. There is no “oh you can do this by next week (or even next month). My answer is simple:

A: “It took me three-and-a-half years.”

Again, if the person wasn’t deflating before this really put the pin in the balloon.

Q: “You mean to tell me I actually have to exercise and it might take that long?”

A: “Yup.”

Response: “Sigh.”

I get these questions a lot and I really do not mind answering them at all. I have always been a person who tries to set an expectation so that anyone else attempting what I did isn’t going into it with blinders on. But I heard a question yesterday I hadn’t heard before and the simple yet beautiful answer shocked even me.

I was talking to a new weight loss buddy of mine and she shared with me the story of her conversation with a personal trainer. I can’t remember whether it was she who asked this question or the trainer relayed it to her as part of an overall answer but the question was justified and the answer simply incredible.

Q: “What is the best exercise to do if you want to lose weight?”

A: “The one you will keep doing for the rest of your life.”

For some reason that hit me like a ton of dumbbells. I was expecting something like “Well, you could do 100 abdominal crunches followed by 25 ABC and then 25 XYZ.” But no, the answer was simply “whatever you’ll do for the rest of your life.” And that is so true.

It took me a while to find out what exercises I like doing. The elliptical intimidate dthe crap out of me the first time I even looked at the bloody thing. I had heard such stories about it. “Oh man, that thing kicked my ass.” Or “I can only do ten minutes on it before I’m ready to fall over.” But I ended up loving the elliptical and now I can do half-an-hour on it (maybe more) each time. And today, I am visiting a personal trainer for the first of two trial sessions to try to learn new exercises to further break up my exercise routine, tone up and lose the last 12 pounds I need to lose to reach my goal weight. And you bet your butt I’ll be blogging about that tomorrow.

So as you get ready to start (or even continue exercising) do the exercises that excite you. Do the exercises you get into and want to keep doing. That you miss when you don’t do them. The exercises that kick your butt but in a good way. Everyone’s exercise m.o. will be different but you really should enjoy exercising or else you won’t be able to keep it up as part of a lifestyle for the rest of your life.

The answer to that question really put the classic “good things come in small packages” spin on the age-old question. Except this time the phrase should be “the best answers come in simple packages.”

Q: “Do I really believe that?”

A: “Yup.”

I don’t know about you but I get excited when I see packages. In my old movie publicity and promotion days I used to share a phrase with my co-workers, “today is package day.”  “Package days” were days when big brown boxes would appear from Fedex or UPS filled with God knows what kind of fun, interesting and cool movie promotional goodies to be shared, passed around and enjoyed (in the movie business you get all kinds of groovy stuff).

I had been looking forward to yesterday for quite some time. You see, I had shared my weight loss journey with New Balance (yep, the shoe and athletic wear company) and the very nice folks there took a kind ear and liking to my story and sent me some apparel and new shoes. It was again “Package Day” and who doesn’t enjoy getting packages, especially packages filled with a pair of brand new shoes.

As a kid I loved (I mean LOVED) getting new tennis shoes (or as we called them in Chicago gym shoes) so I could be the one  jumping higher (presumably), running faster (arguably) and being cooler (definitely) on the playground or basketball court of school. But getting these new shoes on “package day” means I have to replace my old trainers. Yeppers, it is retirement city for my second trusty old pair of New Balance shoes who had seen their fair share of wear and tear since I got them more than – oh – over a year and a half ago. Your feet get “used” to a shoe and I’m kind of sad to permanently be retiring them but shoes should be replaced no later than one year after purchase because of wear and tear and overall foot comfort (but more on that later).

Most of you don’t know this but I can honestly say I have worn only New Balance shoes during my entire 175-pound weight loss journey. Because of that I thought about my shoes in a brand new way. I thought about my shoes not in terms of durability or performance but in terms of miles, and how many miles two pairs of shoes from this one particular brand of sneaker had traveled with me in my quest to lose weight.

When I thought about it and put pen to paper I figured my New Balance shoes and I have traveled approximately 4,320 miles (estimating walking, treadmill and elliptical distances averaging four miles per day x an average of 20 days a month x 12 months a year x 4.5 years since beginning my weight loss journey). That’s approximately 4,320 miles on my two retired pairs of running shoes. This would be about the same mileage as me going from Boston (New Balance’s home town) to Los Angeles (home of all things movie biz) and back to Chicago (my wonderful and beloved home town).

That’s a lot of mileage for two pairs of shoes.

Have you ever heard the phrase “walk a mile in my shoes?” You could either take that phrase either literally or figuratively. Yesterday, I talked about the very beginning of a weight loss journey, that first step we all take that begins the journey of a thousand miles. I had been reminded of what it was like to take that intrepid first scary step on that journey and took a trip down memory lane, walking a mile in the shoes of someone just as scared just starting their own weight loss. And along that journey there have been many ups and downs, tears and smiles on a road that hasn’t always been the smoothest road to travel. But when I stumbled I got back up and kept on going. When I cried I dried my tears. When I re-gained, I re-lost. Today, as I slip on a new pair of shoes I reset my odometer knowing I will add more mileage to my own weight loss journey. Mileage that you can count on me counting so I keep track of not only how far I’ve traveled in miles but how far I’ve come in that experience.

Being introduced to New Balance was the best thing that happened to me in terms of workout gear. Is this a shameless product endorsement? Yep, it is. I believe in their product and their store staff actually do fit you with the right shoes for your feet – dreadfully important when it comes to fit and comfort – as opposed to your standard shoe store run by teenagers who don’t know really how shoes should fit (who knew I even needed a corrective orthodic because of my tendency to walk on the outsides of my feet). But no matter what brand of shoe you wear make damned sure they are a good fit for your feet. You are going to be putting serious mileage on the only two feet you have.

Every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single, scary step. And as much as you deserve the rewards of such a long and hard journey you deserve to splurge and have your feet feel as good as they possibly can on that journey, too. If your feet hurt you won’t want to walk or run, or stand on an elliptical for half-an-hour. Most of all, though, it is these shoes you will have to put on to get your butt moving and motivated to lose weight. They will be with you no matter what, logging the same miles you do, feeling the same pain as you do. When you put foot to pavement or place foot in gym remember the journey you’re undertaking will take time, patience, forgiveness and understanding of yourself. It may not always be an easy road (hell, I am proof of that). But as Tom Hanks said in “A League of Their Own,” “it’s supposed to be hard. It’s the hard that makes it great.”

And you my friends will be ever so great.

So I’m lacing up my shoes and heading out to start my weekend. Ah, I love the feel of a good pair of new shoes. I also love the feel of knowing I will be adding more miles to my weight loss journey. I love to travel and traveling this road, especially with you guys, is awesome.

Now if the weather would get just a bit warmer and I could travel this road outside walking…

So Mark McGuire admits to using steroids.

There’s a big shocker.

Since the great home run race of 1998 when he went bat-to-bat with Sammy Sosa of my beloved Chicago Cubs for the “Home Run King of Baseball” crown, his body has deflated like a balloon left behind the sofa for days after the party. I mean he literally deflated. Friends of mine and I used to joke about it. Hell, at least Jose Canseco can now say “see, I told you so” when all he did was tell the truth.

Which is why, my friends, I have an admission of my own to make. As the paparazzi surround me I want to say that last night I snacked my ass off. I don’t know why I did it I just did. I had slices of processed cheese (which might even contain steroids, who knows), my spicy black bean salsa and baked chips (at least they were baked), a couple of 60-calorie Jello pudding snacks (the dark chocolate ones are amazing) and, last but not least my kryptonite – an ice-cold Coca-Cola.

Why did I snack like that? I have no freaking idea. I was sitting on my couch watching my DVR’d episode of NBC’s “Chuck” and I just wanted to – scratch that, had to – snack. And in the end what did it get me? Not much I can tell you that. I just felt blah.

Did I get up this morning to work out on the elliptical? Yes.  Am I the same weight I was yesterday? Yes, but that’s bad. If I had eaten better I might not be. And I need to eat better. I should eat better. Grrrrrr.

I am just mad at myself for snacking so much. It can be such an automatic thing sometimes. We get into a good TV show or movie and we, like automatons, shovel things into our mouths. Almost like robots refueling or something. I have to be smarter than that especially since I have to be and look my best for an interview I’m doing next week for the Philadelphia ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV.

Sigh. I know I’ve said two things since starting this whole thing: I will always share with you the good and the bad along my weight loss journey and I will eat what I want. I know one night of snacking won’t derail me. I am just frustrated with myself. And that’s a great sign. It does prove I (and we) can change the way we think of and perceive “innocent” snack binges as we shift into a new paradigm of life.

Snacks are treats, not dinner. And I will double my efforts to stay strong at the event I’m attending tonight…at a bar…with delicious bar foods.  I just have to remember that eating better, and healthier is far more delicious than any basket of fries, tray of ultimate nachos or stupid slices of processed cheese could ever be.

As I was working out today a few random thoughts came to my head. And not the standard question of the “did I leave the iron on” variety. No, I mean things like…

…ok, I am really sick and tired of the equipment not being repaired in a timely fashion at the gym. I am so sick and tired of having only one elliptical and one treadmill working and wondering 1) when are those going to break down 2) why do I have to pay for equipment that’s broken and 3) when the hell are they going to be fixed.

…hmmmm. These new airport body scanners. I agree we need them for a good long time to come (maybe even more) until we can determine with as close to 100% assurance we are safe in the skies. And no matter whether it happens to me or not, or whether I get pulled over for additional random search, at least it’s happening to others and that makes me feel safer.

…why is “Avatar” making so much money? I guess I don’t see the big deal in this movie but others think it is amazing. It is on a technical level but break it down for story and it leaves me cold. Also, I hope it doesn’t beat “Titanic” at the box office.

…CNN is reporting on a guy who affixes cameras to animals to see things from their point of view and that is getting press. SIgh. I know I’m in PR but sometimes they report on the craziest crap. And how do I get that attention for my website? Do I need to make a viral YouTube video of me doing something nutty while wearing my website t-shirt? And what would that be? Working out on the elliptical outdoors in sub-freezing temps in nothing but basketball shorts and my t-shirt while singing “Empire State of Mind” at the top of my lungs?

Why tell you all of this? Why give you this sneak peak into my mind? Because it’s thoughts like these that help pass the time during a workout. I love it when my mind chews on something so much I don’t think about my exercise goal. I just think about other stuff. Then, before I know it, I’m almost done with (or further past) my goal for the day. I don’t feel winded, or overworked, mentally or physically. I just feel great.

I’ve always said you need some good tunes on your ipod to help give you good motivation during a workout. But no matter whether you use a TV, ipod, book (although I do not know how some people read on a treadmill or other equipment), etc., whatever helps motivate you is cool.

What do you use to help get you going? Do you use certain songs? Or watch a particular TV show? Sometimes I even use negative feelings to fuel a workout. That’s OK, too. It’s better than using them to shove food into my mouth. Take a survey of those around you today. Ask people what things motivate them to action, even an action like simply tapping their feet. It’s interesting, no? I think so anyway.

As we embrace week two of 2010 strive to make (or begin) your weight loss journey something that doesn’t feel like work. Instead try to make it feel like a journey, and there is no better way to start or continue a journey than with company of some sort.