Calorie count

Losing weight when you're older is not an easy proposition -- no way around it.

All my life, I could eat like a garbage disposal and not gain weight. When I was a teenager visiting my grandparents at the lake one weekend, my PawPaw said, "Boy, you only eat one meal a day, don't you -- all day long." 

Time has a way of changing things, and sometime in my 50s, the ol' metabolism started slowing down, and the pounds slowly started adding up. Now, in my 60s, it's really tough to drop that tonnage. I've lost around 30 pounds over the past 10 months or so. Dropped a couple of pant sizes, and some of my friends have remarked at the difference in my appearance.

I've still got another 20-25 pounds to go, and it is slow going, folks. Hell, this morning I weighed six pounds more than I did last week. Up, down; up, down; up, down.

A friend of mine who has been an athlete all his life tells me about a thing called "weight set point." This is basically the mechanism by which our body naturally seeks to maintain itself. This is why people who go on crash diets and lose weight quickly so often regain what they lost -- and sometimes more.

One of the ways to fight this natural phenomenon is to lose weight slowly. A few pounds per month is ideal, and a lot healthier. And to do that, the program is fairly simple -- move more; eat less. Cut back on your food intake by about 400-500 calories a day. Do that, and you could lose about a pound a week, give or take.

Here are some tips from www.health.com: don't eat in front of the TV; use smaller plates (salad plates, for example); limit high-calorie salad toppings; go easy on the chips and crackers; cut down on pasta; don't clean  your plate (stop eating when you feel full); don't drink sodas; get more sleep.

Do your research on nutrition -- calorie counts for various types of foods -- and practice counting your calories for a while. Keep a little food log. Jot down what you eat every day and add up the calories you consume.

Move more; eat less. Basically, that's the way to go. Watch what you eat, and go for a long walk.

And if you think you might like to try the services of a personal trainer, you know where to find me.