The 20-mile mark

Lawrence Toppman

If I think of this weight-loss project as a marathon, where am I now? Somewhere between mile markers 19 and 20, three-quarters of the way through the year. Or a little more than three-quarters: I take at least a week of vacation at Christmas, so my last blog entry will come before I leave work. (There's no point in risking weight gain when we drop in on my sister-in-law, whose cooking tempts overindulgence. It's a Dickensian Christmas feast.)

So where am I? I've lost and kept off 12 pounds as of this morning, which is 80 percent of my initial goal (15 pounds) but 60 per cent of my revised goal (20 pounds). I'm willing to let the revised goal drag on into the next year -- this is a life-changing run, not a sprint -- but I'd like to get closer before Thanksgiving, which I think of as the big hill that seems to rise near the end of every marathon, before the runners finish on the straightaway.

I do notice that I have more stamina, that I feel a bit lighter on my feet, that my singing is freer and easier. (It's a myth that you have to be Pavarotti-fat to produce a large, resonant sound. It's NOT a myth that, if you are Pavarotti-fat, your back and knees will crumple in old age, as his began to do. And he died a little before his time.)

So the big push to the finish started today, with a treadmill session and a bowl of cereal made up of ancient grains (spelt, quinoa, etc.) and not the smallest cookie as a reward. See you along the way....