I’ve been noticing how often I walk into the kitchen and open the refrigerator. Like once an hour. (shaking my head) I’ve been home since the first of July, so that’s a lot of time looking in the fridge. Too much — and it probably explains a lot about my inflatable body.

There are a lot of elements involved in achieving successful weight loss. Of course, the traditional (and still true) “eat fewer calories than you burn” & “exercise, exercise, exercise” are at the top of the list. But, motivation is wound around each of those elements. And getting started trumps them all.

To get started, I used to immerse myself in a stack of diet books – especially the first couple of chapters – building enthusiasm by reading the inspirational messages. And that (if you’re feeling discouraged and helpless) is a useful thing to do.

But the best thing to do (this will shock you) is just do it.

Go the the bathroom and weigh yourself. Right now. And write down the number (It’s probably not as bad as you think). Or go to your closet and pull on that pair of jeans you haven’t worn since the weather got hot. Does it zip up? Can you snap it together? Last week I went out to lunch with family and I had to put on my industrial strength underwear to get in my slacks. THAT was a wake-up call.

And that did it for me.

So, yesterday I still started toward the kitchen a million times. But as I reached for the handle my hand shook just a little. And (almost every time) my hand dropped away. Oh, I opened the door a few times; once even picking up a bag of sour dough bread. But, that number (my weight: written down) and a picture of my tummy poking out of the gap in my jeans pulled me up short before I actually broke my promise:

Just 4 Today, I’ll drink my fiber supplement twice, drink 2 liters of water , walk 2 miles (yesterday I walked 6.42 miles), NOT eat between meals & NOT take seconds.

Meanwhile?