Rick Lubbers column: The time is right to fulfill a vow, not... - Duluth News Tribune

Decades later, I've made a new vow: to drop below 200 pounds and stay there. The community-wide competition Duluze was just the motivation I needed to renew my battle with the bulge.

And few of us at the DNT have formed teams for the Duluze challenge and play for bragging rights, since we can't be eligible for prizes. Hey, a little peer pressure can't be a bad thing, right?

My strategy isn't rocket science or the latest celebrity diet. Consume fewer calories and burn a bunch off through exercise; it's a tried-and-true formula.

Nor have I gone cold turkey or exchanged my meat-eating ways for veganism. (Not that anything's wrong with that. My daughter embraces being a vegan, but I need a steak or slab of chicken every once in a while.)

No more drinking calories. No longer do I start my day with a Coke and a smile. Smiles are calorie-free; Coke's are not. Light beer, anyone?

Three square meals per day, for me, used to mean hitting McDonald's, KFC and Taco John's. Now I try to avoid fast food like the plague ... or eat a lot less of it when I have a weak moment and find my car sneaking through the drive-thru.

More protein, fewer carbs.

More vegetables, fewer potato chips.

Less snacking between meals.

Basically not feeding my face whenever and with whatever I want to.

It hasn't been easy. Hunger pangs are never fun — though that has gotten easier in the past few days. I have dreamt about food, and writing this column alone is making me hungry, but the early returns on this challenge have been rewarding.

I started at 217 at the Duluze weigh-in and lost nearly 7 pounds in my first week. I know that I'm not going to lose 7 pounds every week, but it's always nice to jump on a scale and see a lower number pop up from the last time you stepped on it.

My belly has receded a bit, and my shirts and pants feel a bit looser than usual.

In a little less than three months, I and the other Duluze contestants will step on the scales again. It will be interesting to see how many collective pounds the 500 or so participants will have lost by the middle of April.

Best of luck to all of you.

Contact News Tribune editor Rick Lubbers at rlubbers@duluthnews.com or (218) 723-5301. Follow him @ricklubbersdnt on Twitter.

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