It’s been 3 months since I wrote my initial entry regarding my weight. I still weigh the same amount (groan!). But I haven’t given up.

To my credit, I have been able to successfully implement one important change in my lifestyle and eating habits. I’m now consistently eating breakfast, including some form of protein (most mornings!).

Remember that old adage about breakfast being the most important meal of the day? My mom believed it, and my Personal Trainer confirms it. I’m starting to.

I feel differently. By eating an egg or a piece of Canadian bacon, with some kind of fruit, I gain energy that sustains me through the morning. Many days, I’m not all that hungry until 12:30 or even 1pm.

This is a big change from the days when I had a bowl of cereal with banana, some low-fat milk, and a cup of coffee in the morning. Those days, I was often starving by 11 am and certainly by noon. I would go out and eat a big meal at lunchtime, to compensate. Now I tend to eat less at lunch. I also make it through most afternoons without a sugar dive and I am not as hungry when I get home around 6 pm.

So I view this shift toward a healthier breakfast as a change for the better.

Still, I don’t have the formula figured out yet, as my weight has not dropped. It makes me think that I’m still eating too much (too many calories, and too many from carbs and sugar). And I KNOW I’m not exercising as frequently and vigorously as I would like to.

Now that Spring is finally here, the days are longer and warmer. It gives me a renewed sense of hope. To get out and play more tennis. To take longer walks. And…maybe even get to the gym more often.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

I’ve reached the point in my life where it seems to be harder and harder to trim the extra pounds I carry around. Oh, I know I should lose weight. And I do exercise, via a morning walk with the dog every day plus a visit to the gym once or twice a week. But eating properly – that’s a tougher challenge. Simply put, I like to eat! So it’s a struggle for me. How about you?

Medically, I’m in the “overweight” category… at about 195 pounds when I’d like to be around 185 or so, for my 6′ height.

And by being “overweight,” I’m part of a huge group of Americans. The most recent statistic I’ve seen is that about 66% of Americans are either overweight or obese. To me, that’s scary – particularly when I think about the personal impact on my health status and possibly on my lifespan. And on the broader scale, what is the potential impact on our country’s character and national competitiveness?

I think about this issue when I see a policeman with a sagging belly. Could he really run after and catch a fleeing felon like the cops on TV shows do? I reflect on this issue when I see an obese executive try to squeeze himself into the confines of a typical airplane seat. And I wonder about the future when I see an overweight nurse’s aide try and hoist an overweight patient.

As a nation, we spend more per capita on healthcare than any other nation in the world (http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.php). Isn’t obesity a big reason for this? Obesity has been linked conclusively to a higher incidence of diabetes and heart disease, two deadly issues for us as a nation.

I’d prefer to be part of the minority, the one-third of Americans who are not overweight. But getting there is tough.

If you’re also overweight, are you having any success? What helps? And what holds you back? I’d really like to know.