The number ‘21’ can mean many different things. It’s 7 x 3 or 15 + 6. It’s the name of a card game (aka Blackjack). It’s the minimum legal age to drink alcoholic beverages in some places. It’s the name of an exclusive restaurant here in New York, and it’s also the title of a 1991 film starring the English actress Patsy Kensit.

The ‘21’ that I’m writing about now is none of those. It’s about pounds. No, not Sterling, the currency used in Great Britain, but the measure of weight – and the 21 pounds I’m writing about is how much weight I’ve now lost since I decided to slim down a few months ago. When I began in April or May, I tipped the scale at 190 lbs. This morning, I weighed in at 169. I haven’t weighed this little in a long time.

Actually, it wasn’t too long ago (or so it seems) that my weight wasn’t that bad, but I must have let things get out of control as I needed to go to a pants size two inches bigger a few years ago. I had tried to cut down a few times (trying to eat more veggies, etc), but it never really got me anywhere.

So, how have I managed it this time? Very simple: by eating less. When I was diagnosed with a stomach problem several months ago, I decided that it was finally time to take losing weight seriously, and as previous attempts went nowhere, I decided that simply eating less would be the best way to do it. When I saw the comedian David Brenner in Las Vegas a few years ago, he joked that if people wanted to lose weight, they should have their friends spit on half of their food when they go out to eat. (You've heard of the Low Fat Diet? I call mine the Low Food Diet.)

Another thing that helps is that I’ve pretty much cut out noshing (i.e. snacking). My doctor has advised me to not eat anything within at least three hours of going to bed (to allow food to be fully digested, I guess), so late night snacks are a thing of the past. Just last week, while watching the ball game on TV, I was tempted to sit down in front of the tube with a big bowl of ice cream (as I used to do) to watch the Mets try close out the ninth inning and win it. Well, I sat down and watched – but the ice cream stayed safely in the freezer.

Earlier this year, my friend Dave Levingston posted some photos of himself before and after he’d gotten a haircut. I didn’t take any photos before starting my diet to use as in a before/after comparison, but I did take some photos when I was wired to a heart monitor in April. I’ve decided to use one of those for the comparison you see here. Sure, I’m sucking in my gut in the After photo, but I was doing the same thing in the Before photo, too!

Ultimately, I think I’d like to go down to 165 lbs., which is what had been for a long time years ago, but I’m not in a hurry. As I said when I began this quest, I just want to fit into my old pants the way I used to – and now I pretty much think that I can.

(By the way, the photo at the top is of Candace Nirvana – someone who definitely does not need to lose any weight.)

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