Obsession with Weight

Too many people in America are obsessed with weight. In the Younger Next Year program, however, the weight will take of itself if, as authors Chris Crowley and Dr. Harry Lodge say, you exercise hard six days a week and stop eating crap. Crowley mentions losing 40 pounds on the program, a terrific accomplishment, and keeping it off year after year. As the authors say, it is not a diet. It is a lifestyle.

Since my top weight of 240 pounds, I've lost more than 60 pounds. That's one-quarter of my body. Not all of this occurred while I was on the Younger Next Year program, starting in earnest in August of 2009. I probably weighed about 210 pounds at that point. I weigh 178 now.

But the weight has melted off without me stepping on a scale more than once a week, or even thinking about it much. The secret? Making exercise six days a week, an hour a day a habit. And getting out of the grocery store with almost all good stuff — the complex carbohydrates, proteins and good fats.

Sure, I still indulge myself occasionally with ice cream and pizza. Sometimes I still have chips. But not often. And I know enough to feel just a little guilty with these pleasures.

Now my big challenge is not having beer at home. Dr. Lodge advises never to have a sugar pop again as long as we live. Beer is different. One a day for women and two a day for men might actually help people live longer. Any more than that can be a problem. As the authors say in "Younger Next Year," a lot more than that can be a big problem. The calories quickly accumulate. Weight builds.

I like to think of it this way. Each beer is equal to eating one more Twinkie. I even have a laminated card in my wallet that tells the toll of binge drinking. It's a long list: dehydration, fatty acids on and cirrhosis of the liver, increased weight, impaired cognitive function, diabetes, increased cancer risk, high blood pressure, stroke, moodiness, sleeplessness, motor skill decline, interpersonal problems and last, but certainly not least, shrunken brain.

Worst of all, binge drinking — that is, having three or more beers at one time more than once a month — can take six years off a person's life. Those years would be a shame to lose since the Younger Next Year program can give you quality years, if you're lucky, well into your 80s and possibly your 90s.

However long you live, you will continue to have nutrition challenges. That's a given. One difficult thing, as the endlessly virtuous Dr. Lodge advises, is to try to avoid snacking and having seconds. But in those times when we open the refrigerator or pantry, the snacking becomes less destructive.

The secret is to exercise six days a week and not eat or drink crap. Easy, almost peezy.