Hey Man, What's the Plan? What was that you said?

There are many approaches to weight loss. There is no one method that works for everybody. I have tried many of these methods over the course of 40 or so years. They ranged from pills to prepackaged, pre-portioned meals to full on gastric bypass surgery. Each has had varying degrees of success. I mentioned in a previous post that a couple of times I've managed to lose over 100 pounds. The most recent of those was gastric bypass surgery. This surgery has a failure rate of 20 to 35%. Ah, what fun is it being in the majority anyway?

Many years ago, a company that now is on TV and the Internet had actual brick and mortar weight loss centers. Nutrisystem is the other really successful plan that I've been on. As I recall, the food was horrible and there was never enough. I believe the reason I was successful there was my motivation for losing weight at that time. There was a job that I really wanted and I thought I would have for the rest of my days and I needed to lose the weight to get it.

That job was building submarines in Groton, Connecticut. It was a great job right up until the Cold War ended. Then they sent all us Texans back home again. Oh well. Of course, when I no longer had eight to 10 hours of daily activity, and still had the same appetite - back came the weight.

So what will it be this time? As I've mentioned, I've been picking and choosing different bits and pieces from various plans in hopes that I might hit on something that will work for me. The food portion of the plan will be a version of what's been called the supermarket diet. Now, I realize that most diets have ingredients that come from the supermarket. Please keep in mind that I did not name this diet plan. Basically, it consists of frozen entrées. You've seen them. They're all over the place. Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice.

Some taste better than others. Some are healthier than others. Some are outrageously expensive. Kashi will not be on the list very often. Mostly, the entrées will be Healthy Choice, the ones in the green box, because the word “healthy” actually has a meaning defined by the FDA. There are limits on total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. You can slap Lean or Smart on just about anything you want without running afoul of government guidelines. Certainly those other two products will be included in my overall plan they will just require a little more label scrutiny.

Another element of any successful lifestyle change/weight loss plan has to do with physical activity. Yes, I am going to have to get my fat ass up off the couch and moving. Okay, in truth, I basically have no ass at all, but you get my drift. According to all the medical experts, I'd be better off if I did have a big fat ass rather than having the extra girth around my midsection. Junk in the trunk beats a beer belly.

I've co-opted some ideas for exercise from the 5-factor diet. As I understand it, this may be similar to the routine at Curves. Basically, it will be a five minute high intensity cardio warm-up to get my heart rate in the target range, followed by working with dumbbells on a couple of different muscle groups each day and briefly concentrating on core exercises. This will be followed by a five to 30 minute long cardio cool-down such as walking the dog or going for a bike ride.

My medical practitioner doesn't really approve, but he's all for me doing something. He's of the opinion that the long walk/run/swim/bike ride is the way to go. My thoughts are with the folks who think that this shorter, more intense workout, which actually builds more muscle, will promote a higher metabolism rate throughout the day and be a better option. Of course, my opinion is subject to change the first time I pull a muscle or drop a dumbbell on my foot. And I'd be happy to get my exercise by swimming. If anybody out there has a pool they are willing to share, please e-mail.