Today I turn 50

Wow. I never thought I'd say this but, today I'm turning 50.

I'm half of a centenarian. I'm beyond 'middle age' and firmly on the downhill slide to old age.

I don't feel old. Well, not any longer. My forties were tough, in the sense that I became lazy. Lazy in my eating and exercise habits. I'm not on any medications, though I do take a multi-vitamin and calcium tablets. I'm doing a heck of a lot better than the majority of others that are my same age.

This last June, I decided that I didn't like the way my birthday suit fit. It was padded, flabby, and just overall gross, plus white. White fat is much grosser than tan fat. Trust me on this.

So I joined Weight Watchers and started walking six days a week. I'm not at my ideal weight for my height, but I have managed to lose 20 lbs so far. And best of all, I feel better about myself--plus all this walking is giving me some wonderful story ideas, helps me figure out plot problems, and I feel rejuvenated afterwards.

I think I needed the structure of WW to help me jump-start my metabolism. It wasn't a very tough transition, which tells me that I was ready to take this step. If you want to do something about your weight, but aren't able to afford the meeting costs, then here are a few tips.

• Measure and write down EVERYTHING. Yes, even the stupid scoop of peanut butter, the three M&Ms, the noodles you sampled from a friend's dish-Everything. Those nibbles add up.
• Get moving. You don't have to join a gym, simply park your car in the North Forty parking lot and walk a little farther every day. If you feel a snack urge taking hold of you, walk around the block or your apartment floor.
• Drink plenty of water. Water NOT SODA or even Diet Soda. Studies have shown that even diet drinks tend to cause an insulin surge, tricking your body into thinking that you have introduced sugar into your system. Add a squirt of lemon or lime for flavor. In winter, don't drink just coffee or tea, warm up some water and add lemon. Trust me, it's very refreshing.
• Cut out refined sugar and flour. If my niece, the nutritionist reads this, she'll have my head, but notice I say 'refined'? Eat whole grains and not over-processed bleached flour.  I've learned to say NO to bread at restaurants about 90% of the time. When I do eat bread, I'll only have one serving.
• Portion control.  The meals that you order in an American restaurant are two to three times the size you should eat. Cut it in half and take the rest home for another meal. And the steak that you ordered? A serving size is 3 ounces, people. The size of a deck of cards, not a dictionary!
• Eat your veggies first. Why? They will fill you up quicker AND they take longer to chew segueing nicely to the next hint.
• Eat Slowly. The slower you eat, the quicker you realize that you've eaten to fullness, NOT the bloated, "Oh, I can't believe I ate all that" feeling.
• Spray oils are your friends. A couple squirts of canned olive oil covers a cooking pan more efficiently than one measly teaspoon of oil.

Those are a few suggestions. I'll probably come up with more later. Or better yet, why don't you add your helpful hints?

And if you really, really want some birthday cake or dessert, split it with your loving family.

Later!