Still Wining and Dining

 

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After

Before Name Marc Age 43 Height 6'0" Was 218 lbs  Lost 37 lbs*  Weight 181 lbs  As of 3/17/2008 *People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. "When I first signed up, my goal was to push my weight down below 200 pounds. Remarkably, that happened after about 10 weeks*, and I found it very easy."

A lot of San Franciscans refer to themselves as foodies, and that's a category I definitely fall into. We spend a lot of time eating, talking about food and drinking wine. Before I started tracking my POINTS® values, I would frequently eat foods like duck confit or really heavy cheeses. When it came to steaks, I ate a lot more rib eyes and hanger steaks than lean filets.

One day, about a year ago, ironically on my way to lunch, I literally felt my sides jiggle as I was walking. The idea that there was enough of me to move involuntarily made me very uncomfortable. I was 218 pounds; that was the heaviest I'd ever been in my life. That's when I decided to sign up for Weight Watchers Online.

Man on the Run
My job has me on the move constantly. I'm a lawyer for a multinational healthcare company with offices all over the world, and when my clients need help navigating through murky legal waters, I meet with them face-to-face wherever they're located. I have day trips about 12 times a year, three-day trips six times a year and week-long trips two or three times a year.

I chose to start following the plan at a time when I knew I didn't have any business trips coming up for about a month, which is an unusually long stretch of home time for me. Every day at work I'd enter my breakfast in the POINTS Tracker as soon as I sat down at my desk. I'd leave WeightWatchers.com open in a browser window all day, so whenever I ate anything, I could track it right away. I tracked everything I ate for lunch. If I grabbed a chocolate candy off my secretary's desk, I would track that too.

I tracked my food and activity every day of that first week, and I lost 2 pounds. Right away I knew the plan was working. Slowly but surely, I was able to move one more notch over on my belt and fit into a pair of pants I hadn't worn in years.

Staying a Gourmet
I'm a wine and cheese lover, and I often entertain guests, which means lots of hors d'oeuvres and cheese plates. We have an abundance of local cheese in California, especially in Marin County. My particular favorites are Red Hawk and Mount Tam, and there's the sinful Brillat-Savarin, which is a triple-crème goodie from France. Of course none of these are "healthy cheeses," but instead of serving all three at a gathering, these days I'll just serve one and monitor how many bites I have.

I still enjoy cheese and wine, but I enjoy them in addition to a healthy snack. For example, I love making WeightWatchers.com's Garlicky White Bean Dip recipe to go with cut vegetables. Sticking with the cheese theme, feta and bleu cheese sprinkled over sliced tomato (fresh from my garden, no less) is amazing; frankly, I think that added saltiness makes it taste better than the traditional mozzarella.

Being in wine country, I enjoy the local varieties. There are simply too many terrific wines for me to list all of my favorites, so I'll just single out Kistler Chardonnays, Williams Selyem Pinot Noir and anything from Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma, where I have a house.

I knew I had a potential obstacle in front of me to find healthy ways to imbibe. When you consume alcohol, your body is naturally going to crave sustenance, and you're likely to overindulge in unhealthy foods. I began to alternate with glasses of water, and that worked out quite well. It's also a smart way to cleanse your palate before sampling something different.

Becoming a Fitness Buff
When I started following Weight Watchers Online, I knew that exercise would have to become part of my routine. The first day I went to a trainer, he took pictures, which I justifiably dreaded looking at. He also did his intake assessment, and it was rather mortifying. I couldn't do many push-ups, and I couldn't do one pull-up. It was really bad; I had to stop in the middle because I thought I was going to pass out. This needed to change; the only way for that to happen for me was to get dogged about fitness.

I committed to working out with my trainer three times a week. On the off days, I wasn't content to rest. I bought a home-workout DVD, and set aside 30 minutes on each of those off days. It was all about momentum; I didn't want to "lose" any of the hard work I'd put in during the sessions with my trainer. Naturally, I was concerned about what would happen when I started traveling again, but thankfully he gave me a list of exercises I could do in a hotel room if there wasn't a gym available.

I'm fortunate to live near places where it's easy to get outdoors and do a 10-mile hike. Hiking in Napa Valley makes me feel great. The hike in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park combines uphill trails and paved roads, and I go hiking there practically every weekend. Recently, I started running some of these trails, which I find much more exciting than running on pavement or a treadmill. With trail running, you really have to be on your toes, watching out for rocks, roots and tree limbs; it's a very engaging experience that keeps your mind focused while you're exercising. There even came a point when the hikes weren't enough exercise for me, so I started throwing in sets of 30 or 50 push-ups using the picnic tables that are scattered throughout the park.

New Goals, New Attitude
My original goal was to push my weight down below 200 pounds. Remarkably, that happened after about 10 weeks*, and I found it very easy! According to my BMI, my goal weight was supposed to be 175, which seemed ridiculous at first, so I set myself a goal of 182. After my success continued, I realized that 175 wasn't so ridiculous after all. Since August of 2006, I've been maintaining between 173 and 176.

When I was overweight, I'd get up to brush my teeth in the morning, and I would avoid looking at myself in the bathroom mirror. That's not a depressing experience for me anymore. I feel great when I think about my transformation. I've gone from not being able to do one pull-up, to routinely doing three sets of 12. I'm in the best physical shape I've been since I graduated from college, and I feel great.