Now to begin: this was the toughest part. I knew what I had to do, but documenting how far I had slipped, was frankly embarrassing. At 230.9 pounds on New Year's Day, I was the heaviest I had ever been. I looked fat. All my clothes were too tight.

At this point I wasn't sure that I could turn things around, although I was determined to try.

I began with the diet I outlined but knew that to make weight loss work I'd have to add a concerted exercise program, not only doing what I enjoyed, but reshaping my body, restoring strength, stamina and flexibility, a key part of any anti-aging program.

When I was a teenager, I had begun strength training, but never really liked doing it and had only lifted weights sporadically since. In January, I started doing Nautilus 3 times a week better than free weights because of its fixed range of motion. I added it to swimming a couple of times a week along with my usual fun from bike riding and tennis. I even resumed running again, one of my least favorite exercises. By jogging on the sand at low tide, I could minimize the pounding to my middle-aged body.

I had been meditating for years, a practice I continued every morning for stress relief. Since I was no longer going to rely on food as a psychological crutch, the meditation started to take on greater importance.

Although I had always enjoyed getting physical, I soon saw how much exercise also relieved stress. By the end of a harried day I was eagerly looking forward to a sunset bike ride with the same anticipation I had brought to a happy hour cocktail. In the first six weeks of my plan, I only skipped one day of exercise, making up for it the next. Once a week, I allowed myself to rest, doing nothing more than a twenty minute walk to the end of the Venice Pier and back.