Both sides of the story

I've talked so far about the good aspects of weight loss and weight maintenance. There are, of course, some downsides.

• You can't eat everything you want anymore -- at least not at once.

• You don't suddenly look like Christie Brinkley once the pounds come off.

• For some reason, when I used to shop for larger sizes, stores always seemed to be out of them. Now, when I shop for smaller sizes, they always seem to be out of those, too. I don't think this happens for people who are a size zero. But, let's face it, I'll never be a size zero.

• You have to spend money buying a new wardrobe -- which is a lot of fun! It's just that I already spent a lot of money on my old wardrobe.

What's to eat?

One of the delightful surprises about losing weight is that other people have said my success has helped to inspire them. This happened last summer, when I shed 28 pounds in three months, and one of my colleagues at work said she knew the program could work for her because it had worked for me and I was a "real person" (as opposed to an actress on TV). At the dentist's office yesterday, one of the assistants noticed my weight loss and asked me how I did it. I told her and she said she belonged to Weight Watchers, too, but hadn't been to a meeting in a while. But she promised to go that day and said she would update me on her progress at my next visit (at least I'll have a reason now to look forward to going to the dentist).

So, in that spirit of letting other people know my recipe for success, here's a typical day's menu. Keep in mind that it is impossible to lose weight -- and keep it off -- without exercising. I'm fortunate that a number of my friends are going to join me on my walks this fall and that the security guard at the gym asks me where I was if I miss a morning on the treadmill. Finding people who will look out for you, and keep you on track, is extremely important for success.

Breakfast: A bowl of Trader Joe's high-fiber cereal (preferably topped with fresh berries; otherwise, it's a little bland)
Vitamins

Mid-morning snack: 94 percent fat-free popcorn

Lunch: Four slices of turkey and a piece of sugar-free chocolate
OR a 6-inch Veggie Delite sub on wheat bread from Subway
OR a small salad with a piece of fish on top

Mid-afternoon snack: Fresh fruit or edamame
OR a special treat like a tall, light Strawberries and Creme frap from Starbucks or a soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone from McDonald's (the frap and ice cream have about 150 calories each)

Dinner: Fish, baked or grilled (a good spice rack helps liven it up)
OR chicken, baked or grilled
OR lean meat
OR whole-wheat pasta spritzed with olive oil
Vegetables are good, too

Dessert: Fat-free plain yogurt topped with fresh berries

And, to drink, Diet Sunkist or Diet Coke. I used to hate the taste of Diet Coke and swear I would never, ever drink it. But I think my taste buds have changed, and now I'm a devotee. You simply cannot lose weight and keep it off drinking caloried soda. (Of course, I have the occasional glass (or two) of wine and the occasional margarita/Cosmo/White Russian/hard cider/beer, too, because life is too short to not enjoy them. But occasional is the key word.)

Mark your calendars!

OK, another non-walking post ...

Be sure to mark your calendars for The Hill's Sixth Annual Political Book Fair, coming up on Oct. 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Trover Shop on Capitol Hill. I don't want to give away the names of authors who are scheduled to appear until they are announced in The Hill, but I can say that it's going to be another good line-up this year. And, of course, if you have suggestions for authors to include, please let me know -- I still have a few slots to fill.

A good cause

This doesn't have to do with walking, but it does have to do with a good cause!

Street Sense, the twice-monthly newspaper about homelessness in Washington, is conducting its second annual silent auction on Sept. 27 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. downtown. Tickets start at just $25. I do some volunteer proofreading for Street Sense -- it's a great organization that focuses attention on the often-overlooked homeless community, and gives homeless men and women a chance to write and to get off the streets by selling copies of the paper.

For more information, and to purchase a ticket, check out www.streetsense.org.

Getting serious about training

After getting a little too excited last week about getting back to walking (and wearing some cheap tennis shoes during my walks), I had to take a few days off to recover from some painful shin splints. I'm feeling better now, but am also going to approach my training for walks this fall more strategically.

Last week, I bought a book, "The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer," by David A. Whitsett, Forrest A. Dolgener and Tanjala Mabon Kole. The book is based on a course taught at the University of Northern Iowa unofficially called "the marathon class." Following the program in the book, all but one of a few hundred students who took the class ran a marathon by the end of the semester. The book focuses not just on physical training, but on mentally preparing yourself, too (such as saying "but it doesn't matter" if you come up with excuses, such as lousy weather or feeling lethargic, about why you just can't exercise that day). I have to admit that thinking about the psychological aspect of finishing a marathon wasn't really something I had put much thought into. I was taking more of a simplistic, Forrest Gump-style approach: I'll just start walking, have some bouncy music playing in the background and keep going until it's over. The book talks about the importance of visualizing yourself finishing the race and says positive attitude is just as important as physical ability.

As far as training, the book adopts an approach I also hadn't considered before: doing some short walks, a medium walk and a long walk each week (the book is aimed at people who want to run marathons, but for my purposes, I'll say walks). After doing the same number of miles on the treadmill each day for several months last fall and winter, I hadn't thought about varying my routine. I simply thought more was better, and felt guilty if I couldn't walk the same distance one day as I had the day before. So today I did a short walk, tomorrow I'll do a medium one, Wednesday I'll do short again, Thursday medium, Friday off, long walk Saturday and Sunday off. The book suggests doing only four walks a week, but it's also based on a 16-week program and I have just 8 weeks, so I'm adding in an extra walk per week. It also suggests taking the day off before and after a long walk to give your body time to rest. Again, I have to fight my feelings of guilt that I'm not doing as much exercise those days, but having experienced shin splints this weekend, I now see the logic in not pushing yourself too hard. After all, the goal is to finish, not to sit on the sidelines, injured! Of course, I should point out that the marathon I'm doing isn't really a marathon in the classic sense. It's 27 miles over 10 hours, so endurance, rather than speed, really will be the key.

"After" Photo: February 2007

"Before" Photo: Christmas 2005

Back to Basics

Phew! After several long months, I have finally stopped the creep up in my weight, dropping 5.2 pounds since July (when I had to pay Weight Watchers a fee, since I was slightly more than 2 pounds above my goal weight). The loss comes despite having a scandalously bad eating weekend in Minneapolis, where I indulged in dark chocolate zinfandel ice cream, beer-battered green beans, ridiculously rich chocolate cake and more. The key: exercise. I've been making regular trips to the gym, walking 6 miles this morning; I also walked 2.5 miles home from work.

I have a bunch of walks coming up this fall, including:

-- National Press Club 5K on Sept. 8 (Washington)

-- Four Seasons Sprint for the Cure 5K on Sept. 15 (Washington)

-- Marymount University 5K on Sept. 29 (Arlington)

-- Baltimore Running Festival (Half-Marathon) on Oct. 13

-- Freedom Walk (27 miles the first day, 13 the second) on Oct. 20 and 21 (Arlington)

-- Help the Homeless Walkathon on Nov. 17 (Washington)

Here is a list of the top 25 songs on my iPod that are helping to get me back to the gym (and yes, I know, there's no accounting for taste with some of these choices):

1) Into the Groove by Madonna
2) Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C&C Music Factory
3) City of Blinding Lights by U2
4) A Little Respect by Erasure
5) I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston
6) Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
7) Break It Down Again by Tears for Fears
8) Remember the Name by Fort Minor
9) I Will Love Again by Lara Fabian
10) Crazy in Love by Beyonce
11) MMMBop by Hanson
12) Yeah! by Usher
13) Wherever You Will Go by The Calling
14) Sweet Child o'Mine by Guns N' Roses
15) Don't Let Me Get Me by Pink
16) Just Like a Pill by Pink
17) Take the Lead (Wanna Ride) by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
18) Coming Around Again by Carly Simon
19) Gloria by Laura Branigan
20) Get the Party Started by Pink
21) Respect by Aretha Franklin
22) Break It On Down by Flii Stylz & Tenashus
23) Come Clean by Hilary Duff
24) Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson
25) Where'd You Go by Fort Minor

Any suggestions for other catchy/motivating tunes are welcome!

And, once I figure out how to make the technology work, I'll post "before" and "after" weight loss pictures I'm using to stay motivated. For now, though, losing the 5.2 pounds is definitely a boost.