Since we talked last month, on the NetNews, I shed seven pounds. By all the literature I researched that seems to be normal weight loss for the first month on any diet. And a hectic month it has been! Learning how to push away from the table, at just the right time, was a daunting task and getting together an exercise regime that was comfortable for me was a killer effort. Reducing my food intake was a gradual effort that didn't leave me in denial but establishing a sensible exercise program that I can live with and do on my own, in my own time, has left me confused.

Do I do calesthetics, the exercise bike, run, walk, or? I even thought about rope skipping but I rejected that fast for fear that the first session would kill me. So my choice was five minutes of calesthetics with a ten minute, slow walk around my neighborhood, three times a week, before I went to the office, a combination that has been comfortable for me, so far. I had decided to reject a running regimen as that type of exercise burns up only twenty-six more calories per mile than walking does. Running, I've found, produces dehydration that promotes my appetite and results in a sweat equity that has no value for me.

At first, five minutes of slow walking left me out of breath but, day by day, my breathing improved. Within the first week, I learned that breathing in and out with each step was optimum instead of breathing at will, which put me out of sinc leaving me wondering whether walking was going to help me. In a brochure I spotted a blurb; walking will not help you to lose weight! What it does is put you in a better frame of mind to deal with yourself as an obese person, give you the self-confidence to continue on dieting, tone up your skin and muscles so that the loss of body weight doesn't leave your body in devastatingly poor condition. There is no cure for dry, wrinkled skin and sagging muscles!

Did you know that three of our most famous presidents were dedicated, avid walkers for most of their lives? They were Jefferson, Lincoln and Truman. While J.F. Kennedy himself didn't walk, he got America walking and running, a feat that lives on to this day. So, walk, don't run for your health. If, during that process, you lose a pound here and there, consider it a boon. Nothing more profound than eating the right foods, reducing your calorie and fat intake, eating at more frequent intervals, in smaller quantities than you did before, will bring you the successful weight loss that you desire.

It is working for me so far. My obesity has plagued me most of my life, giving me a lot of stress, so I can only take this silent, new adventure day by day. Dieting, I have found, is a secret endeavor. While they support you wholehardedly, no one around you, wants to deal with it or the hard work you must go through achieving even a significant amount of weight loss. Let's face it -- losing body weight and maintaining good physical health, while doing that, is a full time job. And so, dear reader, we will secrete this effort between us and see how it all washes out.

Speaking of stress, next month we will discuss how stress causes that terrible habit of overeating.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Please direct any questions or comments you might have for Big Al to the Editor.