We've arrived at the end of this summer experiment, hoping to lose a few pounds and gain some insights into maintaining a healthy weight. While we're ending this weekly feature, don't be surprised to see it pop up every now and then: one thing I've learned is that maintaining one's weight isn't a now-and-again proposition. Sure, when I was younger, losing the extra pounds was pretty easy—a few weeks of exercise or skipping the weekly pizza dinner pretty much did the trick. Now, pizza's pretty much off the diet completely (along with a host of other things I've come to love) and it's clear …

Since it's taken so long to show any results from all of the exercising I've been doing, I realized something must be really amiss in my dieting. After thinking about it, I realized that while I'm not eating much during the day, I have been too often hitting the fruit late at night. I'm not sure, but I think I could be adding a few hundred calories there. But what I think has really been an issue has been my yoyo-ing with intake—something I realized earlier this week. Monday was a truly outstanding dieting day for me, no snacks, moderation in all things...I felt great. Tuesday, I was drained …

The good news is I haven't gained any weight. The bad news is I didn't lose any, either. I never knew it would be this tough. I maintained my activity level this week, with a slight modification: instead of running almost everyday, I'm not running longer about every other day. This seems to be working better, as daily, or near daily, running often left me feeling weak. So now I'm trying to run 3-4 times per week for at least 40 minutes. It's made me feel better in between, and I suspect, my knees will be eternally grateful. I enjoyed an afternoon of swimming on Sunday, a round of golf …

After a month, I've established a routine for exercising, which has been very beneficial ... for my health, I'm sure. As for losing weight—not so much. Despite running 25-30 minutes five or six days each week, and hitting a gym once or twice, I've only seen meager changes in the scale. Until this week, my total weight loss since starting was —6 pounds ... go figure. Feeling a bit daunted, I decided last week to reach out for some extra help, and consulted with Fountain of Vitality Health Foods owner Farooq Chaudary and Life Coach and nutritionist Carla Hugo (you may have seen her at the …

After three weeks of running and exercising, something is amiss in my program: I've gained weight when the objective is to lose it. Maybe it's time for a change up. Don't worry, I'm not going backwards and giving up all I've learned and accomplished—I may not have lost weight, but I feel great and probably look healthier (Cue Billy Crystal's Fernando: "It's better to look good than to feel good, darling."). And on the bright side, I haven't added any more pounds. So, I ran (including some short sprints on the high school track), I returned for a workout at Fresh Start Exercise, I incorporated…

They say it's not unusual for it to take a little time for one to begin losing weight after starting a new exercise program, so I'm holding fast to my dream. Last week, encouraged by Fresh Start Exercise trainer Gary Conger, I set a totally reasonable goal of dropping eight pounds this summer. Then, I gained two pounds ... and added some more this week. Maybe I'm building brawn, packing on the muscles, converting fat to fit...or not. After a long weekend lounging about (could that be the problem?), I ran every day, adding another 115 minutes to my time. I had a particularly healthy 45-minute …

After a slow start last week, I promised myself to be more aggressive about my fitness plan this week—and lived to tell about it. I've enjoyed running almost every day this week, with one afternoon spent on the high school track (the rubberized surface felt good but there was a lot of heat coming off the black surface). All told, I ran a total of 98 minutes, and an estimated 5.25 miles ... yes, I know. On Monday, I just didn't quite have the juice and walked intermittently; Tuesday was worse and ended up being more walk than run. Wednesday and Thursday were good invigorating 1.5-2 mile runs. …

This week launched our summer series aimed at losing weight and getting healthier, and overall, it seems a good start. I've been running a few miles irregularly in the last few months, but stuck to a better schedule this week. After loggin in about 50 minutes and 4 miles Monday and Wednesday, I looked out the window and felt a bit like Winnie the Pooh: "Tut, tut, looks like rain." I didn't want to waste the time ... and have to report doing nothing ... so I turned to my trusty Wii Fit. I know it's not much of a substitute for the calorie-burning, heart-pumping runs, but it's proven good for …

Being a Patch editor is a pretty sweet gig: lounging about most of the day, swilling frappacinos and chatting with people. Ocasionally, we'll get up and move around, but it's usually just to get to a different WiFi hotspot for better reception. Then, it's back to our typing, typing, typing .... four to six hours per day on a computer, sometimes. Funny thing, though, it turns out these activities are not helpful for maintaining one's health; many of us Patch editors have noticed a decidedly downhill trend in many health indicators and a definite uphill trend in weight. But we're quick to …