Day by day

To start things off, I lost a pound last week, which isn't bad. It isn't good, but it isn't bad. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted all weekend, so I can't complain. I've been better this week, but I started Monday off badly. It really doesn't help that my fiance eats so much junk. Still, I shouldn't use him as an excuse. I should be stronger. I was at 217 at the beginning of the week and I hope to be at 215 Monday.

But burgers are so tasty! And so is apple pie and ice cream. Hmm, I'm getting kind of hungry ... OK, now I know I need to shape up. I want to be healthy already. On the bright side, doing 50 bazillion (or so it feels like) squats no longer cripples me so much I can't walk, so there's improvement. I've found that the one area where I can keep up with everyone else at CrossFit is the strength training, so that gives me some confidence. Although, I think that just comes with being overweight. I naturally have more weight to carry around on a daily basis. (I have no scientific data to back that up; it's just the world according to Julie.)

A couple of weeks ago I got to interview a man who recently made the decision to change his lifestyle. Javier Guerra started out at 470 pounds in early June and lost 13 in the first few weeks. He says he has had a weight problem all of his life and has tried diets like Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, pills and shots. He's tired of being unhealthy and wants to shape up. I love his newfound determination. He's completely making his life over and his family supports him 100 percent.

This Sunday's Salud section will feature a story I wrote on Javier. It's the first of many. We hope to catch up with him every month and track his progress. I can't wait to see how Javier's story unfolds!