I’ve been gone for awhile, as I have begun a weight-loss program of healthy eating and regular cardio exercise and strength training. In two weeks I have lost 4.4 pounds, and although that is a small number, it’s just about right. My goal is to lose right around two pounds per week. I am using an online tracker to keep me honest. Daily I track all food and water (8 glasses a day) consumed, exercise, and weight.

I have a few things to say about all of this:

The scale each morning looks me in the eye.
I wonder whether I will smile or cry.
No longer do I order cherry pie,
but bread choice now is wheat or seeded rye.

I take my daily walk, enjoy the air.
This exercise has now become my fare.
I huff and puff. Sometimes I want to swear
at hills that laugh at me and mock. They dare

me with their grins of challenge. I refuse
to let them conquer me. My walking shoes
keep me on track, and I enjoy the views.
I like invigoration, not the blues.

More salad, vegetables and yummy fruit,
now yogurt, eggs and broccoli florets suit
me fine. Where is the chocolate? What a hoot –
all taste for it is gone. The point is moot:

I don’t need sweets to fill me up. The scale
shows numbers telling me: Succeed or Fail.
I now anticipate its morning mail
to tell me where I am on the weight-loss trail.