NOVEMBER 1, 2007
Michaelle Last night, I could almost hear the funeral march being played as I unwrapped my Big Mac for the last time. My “last supper,” as it were, went down just as smoothly as it always does—which, I guess, is part of the problem. But this morning, I awoke with a firm resolve to follow the pact I made with myself: Remain strict and conscious of your choices for six days a week with the promise of a guilt-free guilty pleasure on day 7.
Stephen My wife’s tip is, if you don’t want to eat it, don’t bring it into the house. Well, what happens when you leave the safe confines of your home? There are temptations around every corner, including my office, which is like a smorgasbord of bad food: cinnamon buns, chocolate, pizza, cheese buns. My main priority is to develop some restraint, stick to my diet and count the hours until the first free day: day 7.

NOVEMBER 5
Stephen I’ve actually found resisting junk food a lot easier than I anticipated. With the Body-for-LIFE diet I’m following, I eat small portions six times a day—every two or three hours—so when that urge hits, I remember that there’s a small meal or snack just around the corner. The hardest part is packing the quantity of meals or snacks for each day.

NOVEMBER 8
Michaelle My body is in a state of defiance: It thumbs its nose at my intentions and takes pleasure in exuding pain. I guess after years of abuse, it’s asserting its right to rebel. As much as I’ve been trying to put it off, yesterday I started the war on my little-used abdominals, and the slightest clearing of my throat sends searing pain through my flabby midsection. I plead with you, tender ab muscles to be, please cut momma a little slack.

NOVEMBER 13
Michaelle I’ve been hitting the gym at least three times a week for maximum-capacity workouts. I’m already cursing the fitness gods, wondering why it takes me 30 seconds to consume a chocolate cupcake but 30 minutes of blood, sweat and tears on the treadmill to burn the calories that come from it.

NOVEMBER 15
Michaelle Has my bladder shrunk? Or is it drowning from the glass after glass of water that I’ve been told to drink?

NOVEMBER 17 
Stephen You know when the contestants don’t eat much for weeks on Survivor and then have a food challenge, end up gorging themselves on junk food and spend the rest of the day in the bushes with upset stomachs? Well, we had lots of pizza for dinner tonight on our free day, and my stomach couldn’t handle the grease after all that healthy eating. I think I read an entire Entertainment Weekly while I was on the toilet.

NOVEMBER 19  
Michaelle Last night, I snuck downstairs, quietly grabbed a spoon, gently opened the freezer drawer and dove into some frozen cookie dough. I have been so good up until now—even (mostly) enjoying the calorie-, sugar- and fat-reduced diet. I will not let this little cheat derail my overall resolve.

NOVEMBER 20
Stephen There’s this weird sector of the population that gets up early to go to the gym at 6 a.m. Today I joined them. I decided that if I wanted to get to the gym but still have time to play with my six-month-old son every night, I would need to go before work. And you know what? The early-morning workout energized
me for the entire day.

NOVEMBER 24  
Michaelle Today was our free day—our one day a week where we exorcise our diet demons by indulging in sweet and greasy edibles. But my body didn’t take to the late-morning McDonald’s excursion or the buttery movie-theatre popcorn later in the day. The junk food seemed to physically weigh me down, making me feel sluggish and tired. My body is starting to reject this kind of food.

NOVEMBER 27 
Stephen One week into my morning-workout regimen and I decided to try something new: spin class. After a series of sprints, hill climbs, mountains and recoveries—all set to a heart-pumping soundtrack—I was dripping with sweat like never before. It’s my new favourite thing to do at the gym.

NOVEMBER 30
Michaelle First weigh-in day. Very nervous. I stepped on the scale, let it adjust and just stared. 204. I had lost 11 pounds?! I was ecstatic. I jumped off and jumped back on and the number stayed the same. Only 44 more to go!
Stephen I stripped down, sat on the end of the tub and had a conversation with the scale. I told it that, though I hadn’t been at my best and had slacked off here and there, I was taking this seriously and hoped that I would see some results. Sure enough, when I stepped on it, I was down to 208 pounds—that means I’ve lost 10 pounds this month!

DECEMBER 1
Michaelle After my first Bodyattack class at the gym, I think it’s safe to say that I am not now—nor ever will be—Bruce Lee. I waxed on and off with utmost effort, but this is just not the class for me.

DECEMBER 3
Michaelle After a free day yesterday—oh, delicious fish and chips and caramel ice cream sundae!—it’s back to limited sugar and fat and pretty much everything healthy. Having that one free day limits cheating and falling off the wagon because it gives us something to look forward to.

DECEMBER 8
Stephen I have an Abercrombie & Fitch shirt that I got a couple of years back. It’s a “muscle fit” and, to be honest, it never really fit—it was always tight around the abs. Well, I wore that shirt for the first time today as proof that my stomach is definitely shrinking, along with my portion sizes.

DECEMBER 10
Michaelle December is a euphemism for anguish. The barrage of Christmas goodies is calling out to me, and I’m afraid of falling off the wagon into the nether regions of sugary hell. Everywhere I turn, it’s candy cane this, chocolate that. So far, I think I’ve been winning the battle. Hitting the gym four days a week is key, even if it is tough to schedule sometimes. A demanding baby beckons—I’ve used him as an excuse more than once!—but I’m committed to the cause.

DECEMBER 15
Michaelle I would like to take this opportunity to declare that God is most definitely a man that likes to parlay his power into cruel jokes against womankind. Shrink my behind, my thighs, my calves, my tummy—but leave my disappearing breasts alone!

DECEMBER 17
Michaelle I have to rev it up a notch because I feel like I’m plateauing. I think I’ll increase the intensity of my cardio by a couple of levels on the treadmill and elliptical trainer and increase my weight amounts during weight training. I have also discovered a new class—step class—which is fun and energetic and a killer cardio workout.

DECEMBER 23
Michaelle I’m never slurping down a Starbucks white chocolate mocha again (430 calories for a grande!). Next time, my caffeine fix will come from a tall skinny vanilla latte (only 90 calories).

DECEMBER 26
Stephen Christmas was a real whirlwind: so many good things to drink; so many cookies and chocolates and nuts. On the whole, I think I did pretty well. I enjoyed myself, but I didn’t go overboard. I didn’t feel like I had to sit down, undo my pants and take quick breaths because it hurt so bad.

DECEMBER 30
Stephen Today, we went to the mall to do our Boxing Week shopping and I was able to buy a pair of size 34 pants. I haven’t been a size 34 in years—elation.

DECEMBER 31
Michaelle Weigh-in day. I was hoping that, despite the cookies and alcohol and cranberry almond crumbles of Christmas merriment, I had lost at least five pounds. Well, I just stepped on the scale and, I have to say, my heart dropped: I lost only two pounds all month. While disappointed, I’m armed with a steel resolve for January!
Stephen When I stepped on the scale today, it showed 204 pounds—down from 208 at the end of November. Not too bad considering all the Christmas temptations.

JANUARY 3, 2008
Michaelle Today, I hit the sales racks and, low and behold, kept alternating between a size 12 and size 14 in jeans. While the ultimate endgame is a size 8, I’m thrilled that I no longer have to reach for size 16!

JANUARY 5
Stephen On days when I can’t go to spin class, I’ve started running on the treadmill. I had always shied away from it because, well, it’s really hard. But that’s the point: Nothing gets your heart going like running. I can go for about 22 minutes non-stop now, which is a huge accomplishment for me.

JANUARY 7
Michaelle “Your ass is shrinking,” my mom said to me. Her words were like music to my ears. Hitting the stage where everyone else starts to notice your weight loss is sweet and acts as an even greater motivator for the pounds yet to come off.

JANUARY 10
Michaelle The instructor on the ab-workout DVD just smiled and talked through the entire workout without breaking a sweat while I huffed and puffed so loud that Wesley stared widely at me from his exersaucer.

JANUARY 14
Michaelle Mid-month weigh-in. Today is a landmark day for me: 199 pounds—the first time I have dipped below 200 in nearly four years. I’ve now shed 16 pounds in total, so I’m satisfied with that.

JANUARY 15
Stephen I’m down to 200 pounds, so I’ve dropped 18 pounds so far! Almost all of my pants are too big, and my stomach has shrunk considerably, which means limited belly embarrassment. I am still only halfway to my goal and want to get down to 180 pounds and keep it there.

JANUARY 22
Michaelle I hate lunges and push-ups, and I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with the “burn” they cause. But according to a trainer at my gym, I need to up my resistance training—along with high-intensity cardio—to keep losing weight. No pain, no gain, right?

JANUARY 30
Stephen It has been three months, and I’ve officially lost 22 pounds through hard work and diet. My body mass index is down to 28.1—just a few notches from what’s considered “normal.” Shirts and jackets that have been tight on me for some time now fit perfectly and, in some cases, are even a little loose. All my pants need replacing because the inches off my belly are melting away. My goal is to drop another 16 pounds—to get to 180—and re-evaluate where I’m at. For now, it’s the same regimen, same eating habits, same 6 a.m. gym classes. A good friend of ours once said that no food tastes as good as slim feels. To that I say amen—at least, until the next free day arrives!

JANUARY 31
Michaelle 195 pounds and counting! The scale has officially become my friend. I’ve lost 20 pounds since starting in November and I can’t lie: It feels good. I feel better, sleep better and look better. And I’m no longer considered obese. My body mass index is down to 29.6, which is getting me closer to where it should be: in the 18.5 to 24.9 “normal” range. Some days it’s still a struggle, but I keep reminding myself that there’s no chocolate more satisfying than the knowledge that my body is a well-tuned, healthy machine capable of anything. I have my father-in-law’s wedding coming up on August 30 and I’ll be buying my dress in a size 8. Wish me luck on losing the last 35 pounds!