Weight Loss: Fight Weight Gain

A buddy of mine called me a couple of months ago, sounding pretty dejected. Now, in many respects, this is a guy who seems to have life licked. He's a successful attorney in a big-city firm; he's active in politics and his community; he has a beautiful wife (one who takes no guff from him); and together they're raising four gorgeous, rambunctious, healthy kids.

The problem? Well, my friend woke up one morning and suddenly realized that while he'd been paying attention to those parts of his life--career, neighbors, family--he'd been ignoring something else that was important: his body. His athletic frame--the one that let him set school javelin and triple-jump records when we were in high school together a couple of decades ago--was now 20 pounds overweight, and his cholesterol numbers seemed to have more in common with the Dow Jones industrial average than with what his doctor said was healthy.

He didn't come out and say it, but I could hear it in his voice the whole time we talked: Did somebody give me a different body while I wasn't looking?

We understand at this magazine that no one sets out to be overweight. A lot of times you hardly even notice the weight gain until it's already happened; other times you see it coming--but feel powerless to do much about it. Our goal here isn't to look backwards. It's to look forward and help you out in two ways: first, by giving you some strategies for getting back to your fighting weight (whether that's 5 pounds or 50 pounds away); second, by giving you a little bit of encouragement and camaraderie while you're getting there.

As for my buddy, he seems to be on the path back to leanness. He called me again the other day, and as we talked I could hear him munching on something. The Coke and Twinkies he used to devour every afternoon? "No, carrot sticks," he said, before hanging up and getting back to his busy life.

 

Tom McGrath

Editor

1. Prev:Weight Loss: Table of Contents April 2005  
2. Next:Lose Weight With 6 Meals a Day