The slow climb up the large mountain

The math of this challenge is perhaps the most daunting part. When you see the nonsense on the internet/print/TV about people dropping 30, 50, 100 pounds in short periods of time, the more responsible of these mentions in some small print: "Results not typical."

Shocking, I know, but let's pause for a moment and consider what is typical. What's typical is that people "go on a diet" and engage in some haphazard plan to eat better, where "better" involves less. Sometimes, they plan to "exercise more" which means, um, usually more than zero.

Now here's a another "shocking" revelation: The more extreme the diet, the shorter it's going to last. So what we need is not some 2-week cure or a 72-hour cleanse. Those are useless and you can't possibly drop a meaningful amount of weight.

We want a plan that sets a long term goal that we can reach. And we want a plan that once we've reached the goal lets us maintain it for a long while. That's why it's sometimes good to look at the numbers, as ugly as they might be.

Normal humans can't stick to a program that's going to take off more than 1-2 pounds per week. Athletes can because they can work out intensely several hours a day. Celebrities can because their livelihood often depends on looking better than you. And even those folks can have a tough time maintaining their otherworldly appearance. Here's Jessica Simpson at arguably her hottest (more here). Lately, she looks more like a normal woman.

Which brings us back to us normal people and our 1-2 pounds a week. That's 500 to 1000 calories every single day of eating less or working out more. Now, it's an average, but when you look at those numbers, it's no wonder people don't lose weight. Altering your energy balance -- the amount you eat minus what your body uses, your "metabolism" -- by 500 to 1000 calories every day is no small feat. But it's one we can all pull off. I'm at about 2 weeks.

On the personal front, saw the dentist today, first time in way too long. Apparently, regular flossing and brushing does work, because I got a good checkup. But still, no excuses: the 6-month or so checkup/cleaning is part of an overall good-health regimen.