Feb 24, 2007 4 min read

Our Biggest Winner, Phil Michael, has been hard at work for seven weeks, trying to lose weight and become more heart-healthy. Phil is probably one of literally millions of Americans who makes a resolution each new year to either lose weight and/or to become more physically active.

Having known Phil before he/we started on this journey, working out never appeared to be an issue with him. He was observed working out all the time.

Thus, Phil’s’ issue appeared to be the same one that many Americans have — we love to eat and drink too much.

Please understand that drinking too much doesn’t necessarily mean alcohol. Drinking a lot of pop or juice (sugar) can quickly put on pounds, and Phil liked his pop.

The Coach has mentored (perhaps lectured) many of his students regarding the issues associated with pop and juice. He even has a few success stories he could offer, but that’s another column.

The Coach has no choice but to acknowledge that eating is absolutely one of life’s greatest pleasures. The Coach even enjoys eating some good (bad) stuff himself. However, he has had the “discipline” (key word) to take care of business and address any weight issues — or he’d be a little plump himself.

The Coach recently spoke at a wellness fair, recalling how he was the second-heaviest boy in his first-grade class.

Not many can imagine the Coach being heavy, but he had some health issues in kindergarten and missed 94 days that year.

Activity was curtailed for an extended time, and, toward the end of first grade, the Coach’s father took him to the old YMCA and bought a year’s membership for a meager $6.

From that point on, fitness has been a major priority in the Coach’s life; and, actually, it’s been a lot of “fun,” in many ways.

Where’s all this going? Prior to Jan. 1, Phil was doing very well with the fitness part, but he wasn’t doing so well with nutritional eating and having smaller portions. He needed to also make that a priority, which he now has.

As you may recall, Phil weighed 386 pounds on Jan. 1. He has a done a great job losing 6, 2, 4, 3, 4, 2 and 6 pounds during the last seven weeks. All in all, he has lost 27 pounds and now weighs 359.

That’s very, very good, and Phil is to be commended.

The Coach has been asked a number of times recently about how Phil was doing with all of this.

Simply put, Phil says he feels good, and that he has cut back on what he eats and works out at a pace that he can sustain over time.

The Coach fully supports that philosophy.

Now that we have given Phil some love, in an attempt at humor (with a message), we must gently knock him down a notch. Because Phil has done so well to date, the Coach cannot put Phil on probation for a lack of weight loss or effort.

However, the two of us had dinner at a recent charity event, and Phil ate very responsibly, for the most part — but, then, the dessert came calling.

He asked the Coach about having it (guessing 800-900 calories), and the Coach said, “Go ahead,” by all means. This was a special occasion, and even the Coach will go outside his normal “eating zone” when dining out.

However, when Phil went for seconds on the dessert, he was told that he would be reprimanded.

It was important for the Coach to communicate that it was okay to have that first dessert as a treat. However, going for seconds was a no-no.

The point here is that it is okay to eat “bad” things in moderation every so often, but overindulging on a consistent basis is not good.

And to be fair, what Phil did this one time was not really that bad if it was an isolated incident.

But if this typical, then it’s no good.

Enjoy one of life’s greatest pleasures, but be reasonable. Then, work out a little more to make things right.

The Coach came down hard on Phil, and all he did was respond by losing six pounds.

Guess he showed the Coach who’s the boss. Take that, Coach!

Great job, Phil. You’re an inspiration to us all.

Coach’s Comments: It’s not always about what we know, but rather what we are willing to learn.

Thanks for making the Coach a part of your day. Have a safe weekend.

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You can contact the coach via email at askthecoach2003@yahoo.com.