I cannot believe that it is almost over. The journey has been amazing, and our entire Transformation Team is a gift. I learned so much, and realized that Amy and I can do it; living well fits into living.

How do I feel about being down to the wire? I had a blast! I had to ransack my closet to find belts that fit me. My jeans are baggy, not in the cool hip-hoppy way. I wore a shirt that has not fit me since the fall.

I ran a mile in under 7:48

There is an Aerosmith song with the line' "Life's a journey, not a destination." I guess Steven Tyler would not be the exact role model for healthy transformation but it is how I fell about the past 7 weeks.

I loved the work. I will miss the challenge.

I want more.

I started the first week or two knowing that transformations, health, looking better belong to ther people, not me. I did what I had to, well and the best I could. What happened then happened.

What can I do now that I believe?

I want more. It has not impacted time with family, work, personal time. It feels and tastes great.

So what happened Week 6? My Saturday numbers were solid, pretty much what I wanted-loss in size in abdomen and waist, gained a little size on arms and chest. The scale was the scale; no changes, really, but not an issue.

My routines went very well, I really enjoyed the run.

What really happened though? Well, on Monday the 13th, I had a routine meeting with my physician, the first of many pre-retirement physicals (yay).

My cholesterol was HALF of what it was last year, my BP was down as well, by a lot. And that was after a long, busy, stressful weekend away. I would love to see what my bloods look like after 6 weeks of Transformation! That is what happened, and all that happened-longer, healthier life. oh, and my Doc noticed Body Mass loss. Amazing was the description.

Weeks 7&8 will be strong, Amy and I want to come in beyond solid weeks. I know, I know-light at end of tunnel, etc. I'm starting to plan what to do on the other side of the tunnel. This new opportunity cannot go to waste.

"Change is the only constant" "The more things change, the more they stay the same" "Hope and Change" "Spare some change?" I get it, Change is synonymous with Transformation. The past four weeks have been a change. Changes in how I see diet, nutrition, exercise, life.

Week four was a kick into a higher gear, and my numbers regarding size and weight moved in the right direction. A solid week, if not a milestone. After how I felt about week 3, solid was its own milestone. I can do this, I can have the health, the look, the energy that I currently pursue

I have a handle on food. I guess that I am fortunate in the fact that I never had "food issues", but my perceptions have been , well inaccurate. Week 4 has given me the way forward to choose health meals in total, rather than simply what to avoid. I got the no dairy, sugar, donuts, yada yada. Now I get what TO eat; what IS good; how to balance {which is a synonym for moderation}.

I am stronger, but a lot of heavy lifting is a weight that I would not have tried. Not doing a mile under 8 minutes yet, but I feel better on my runs. Here is my revelation, though. I may not get to 7:50 or whatever by end of the month. I will, however, have a blast getting there by end of March-I now know how to get there. I now know that my 50 year old body can get there without pain or injury.

Change has come. I am used to transformation now; it is how I live now. There are no intentions of going back. I miss the buzz, the vibe, that thing the French call "a certain I don't know what" how do I get that back? Up the ante.

• Eat better than well.
• Walk more than more.
• Run faster.
• Plank until I break in half.
• Lift until I can only do 10 reps, 10 reps, and 6 reps.

Okay, I guess that, "I don't wanna talk about it." is not part of the deal. Numbers-My waist went up, which is my biggest area of concern. To me, that is all that happened all week. Food-Calorie count was a bit low, I don't think that I maintained a break even that week. I ate a lot more "side" kinds of things, such as eggs, fruit, bacon as opposed to lean meats and fish. I guess the lesson is that eating too much of one kind of food, even on the "approved" list may not help. My energy level is still good, though.

Exercise/Training-did all of my routines, and am pretty happy with my 1 mile time (8:10). i caveat that with the fact that it is a treadmill time, but I was able to get a decent number, and have juice for the body weight routines. Only one long, slow, heart rate day last week-I hate when life gets in the way. My theme is, "When going through hell, keep going." Maybe I'll write a country song about that....

Not a lot this week. It just seems that I am doing my transformation thing, not seeing any great changes in my life from last week. But I guess that's the way, isn't it. Drastic is not conducive to long term good habits, modifications a bit at a time are.

Food: Not a problem. I know that we are eating different things, and have cut out a lot. Cut out stuff and replaced them with fresher options, much richer flavors, and I would be dishonest if I said that i was not LOVING meat, fish, and fresh produce all the time.

Now, on to portion control-not that I have been bad, but I know that I can improve there. My cravings are all but gone, and I now have the strength to dismiss them very quickly.

Exercise: ow, ow, ow. The routines are all a challenge, and I look forward to every one. Most importantly, I was very succesful in making the time to do something every day. Now, I want to fit in something else aerobic each day as well.

Dimensions: Lost no weight, gained no weight. Is that bad? No. My belt is too big at the smallest loop. Is that good? Yes.

Let's see how week 3 goes with that.

Fitness - I did all of the workouts as prescribed, and felt good inside and out. The friday weight training was a "comfort zone" for me, and I need to resist the temptation to default to lifting stuff. I wish my gym had kettlebells...

I am now in the habit of doing an hour of low and slow - I also get to read and watch the news while i am doing that as well. Had a ball doing the saturday group workout. My planks are lame, so I guess core work may become a focus. Gee, a chubby 50 year old with a weak core-whodathunkit! That changes now.

Nutrition - One Paleo meal at a time. My cravings are short term and very limited in scope - half-and-half for coffee, maybe some Pearl couscous with steak. The past week has seen a spike in my energy level, and my BP is down a lot.

Overall, I felt zero confidence in my first week, I just did my food and exercise as told. At 3:00 PM on Saturday, I became a believer. Now the challenge begins to keep that momentum. My quote for Week 2 is: The only easy day was yesterday.

Michael's Recap

Okay, Monday's orientation was intense. Roger's program, explanations, his getting us into the gate so we can run at the start really felt logical and natural. What i signed up for was uncomfortable and humbling. Weight, measurements, and Oh Boy-pictures. I have gotten very good at standing in front of a mirror, and still not looking at myself.

The exercises were awesome, but manageable for Zero Week. Tuesday, I did 60 minutes of cardio, and my pushups. Wednesday had me doing the routines and another 50. Thursday, I went long and slow again, more PU, planks, crunches. Missed Saturday's workout due to job travel.

Now, what did I eat. I did not count ounces meticulously, but each meal was a lot smaller than usual. Lots of steak, grilled chicken, shrimp; great stuff. I actually had a handful of radishes for "brunch"on Friday-and I enjoyed it and felt fine. Was good on my trip, 6 oz beef and broccoli. I learned to love black coffee again, as long as it's the good stuff.

Okay, Time for Week 1, enough scrimmage. Bring The Rain.