I have taken another inch off my waist since my previous entry on this point a month ago. I would say that's good progress, given that Christmas and other opportunities for gluttony also occupied that same time span. My weight is about the same, 194 pounds, though it did shoot up during the holiday excesses. On the other hand, my weight has been steady for the past 12 months. But I've probably turned a lot of fat into muscle during that time, but have not reached my weight goal. I've come to the realization that I am going to have to pay more attention to what I eat because taking pounds off is a lot harder than putting them on. If I were really strict, I should be aiming to get my weight down to 165 pounds, what I weighed back when I got married. It would make my yoga practice a lot easier.

I am reading You on a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz, as well as Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating by Walter C. Willet and Patrick J. Skerret. The latter is a rigorous, science-based examination of U.S. nutrition and eating habits. You on a Diet is equally science-based, but it's more practically oriented, geared to popularizing the message of healthy eating and written with a light, humorous style that some people may find distracting -- drawings of cute elves running around your digestive track. Roizen and Oz mine the Harvard studies on nutrition for a lot of their recommendations. These complementary books were Christmas gifts from my daughter, Stephanie, and her boyfriend, Ron. It's nice to know that they want me to take care of myself.