(Day 461 / -153 lbs.) The Weight Loss Tool Kit

Happy Obscure Reference Tuesday!

"Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it."
- Jeff Spicoli, Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Now there's a recipe for disaster; a stoner with television repair tools trying to fix a wrecked car. As you may remember from the movie, he never did use his father's tools and ultimately "fixed" the situation by making the car even worse and then blamed the whole mess on someone else. There are some really obvious lessons to learn here.

1. Don't make stupid choices in the first place. Taking drugs and getting behind the wheel of an aggressive jock's prized set of wheels is a high-risk/low-reward scenario that will most likely end up with someone getting hurt. Regularly sitting on the couch in front of the television with a super-sized order of grease & carbs from your local fast-food joint will ultimately put me in the hospital- or Guinness' Book of World Records.

2. Don't blame someone else for my own mistakes. Ridgemont may have won the football game but Charles Jefferson was still out one sweet ride- and a whole lot of anger was vented on an innocent party. Good times, indeed! C'mon, it was just wrong.

3. Use the right tools for the job. I don't care how stoned you are, you're never going to straighten the frame and take the dents out of a wrecked car with a pair of needle-nose pliers and a voltmeter. Restoring the human body requires the proper tools as well. That's what I'm going cover over the next several installments; the right tools for achieving and maintaining proper weight and good health.

The first two lessons are something I should have learned from the cuts, bruises, and embarrassment of childhood. The third is something I'm continuously learning during my return from obese to fit. There are some really great tools available that have increased my overall awareness and have hastened my restoration. I would say that I probably might never have lost any weight at all without them.

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to push a little harder and increase my focus and resolve. My goal is to lose ten (10) pounds by September 30th. That's five (5) weeks from today. That may not seem like a lot for a guy who's already lost 153 pounds but I can tell you that while it is simple, it's not easy.

It's all about attitude and applying the right tools, so for this task I'm going to leave the needle-nose pliers and the voltmeter in the garage and bring out some truly appropriate and effective tools for the job. I'll be introducing them with each entry on my website; why they're chosen and how they're used. Stay tuned!

Right now I'm curious about what it is that you can't live without-- those things that have improved your life or helped you achieve your goals. Please let me know, I may need to add a few items to my kit.