How to Lose a Pound a Day

 

 

I’m addicted to food.  Good food, that is.  I’m addicted to wine, also.  Good wine, especially when it’s on sale.

 

Your body weight isn’t just a number.

Well, it is a number — but what really matters is how you interpret it.

Since I’ve been on a so-called “health kick” the last three years, I’ve never had an actual target goal in mind when it comes to weight.  As I said, your weight is merely a number.  What truly matters is being healthier, feeling better, and getting into shape.

I’ve pretty much accomplished becoming fit, although not without some primavera peaks and vermicelli valleys.  It’s also just as important to keep off the pounds as to lose them.  Trouble is — I’m addicted to food.  Good food, that is.  I’m addicted to wine, also.  Good wine, especially when it’s on sale.

I don’t diet.  I don’t cut back.  But I do carefully watch the kinds of things I eat.  I think those habits have served me well.  Running three miles a day helps, too.

Yesterday was a huge personal milestone.  That milestone was a number —  “220.”

The reason why 220 was special was that I haven’t reached a bodyweight that low in almost two years.  I’ve held steady at between 225 and 230 since shedding lard that once had me up to 262.  But no matter what I do now, the weight just won’t drop an ounce below that mark.  Of course, I could cut back on the foods I enjoy, run longer distances, or even quit drinking.  Then again, I could also turn into a Baptist and get rocked to sleep by Jesus every night.

Not happening.

So, I was pretty much resigned to the fact I’d be shackled to this weight for the rest of my life.  A 225-pound albatross.  Sure, it would be great to lose ten more pounds, or maybe even a little more.  But I’m not going to ruin one of the greatest pleasures so life just to transform myself into some middle-aged waif.  For what?  Besides, then all my clothes wouldn’t fit me.  Wait, they don’t fit me now.  Nevermind.

Anyway…..

Yesterday was indeed a personal milestone and a powerful motivator.

It began with waking up at 8 am, writing a quick article, drinking a cup of coffee with milk, running three miles, eating two bananas on the drive to work, and then arriving at the Rio for what would be a 16-hour workday.

Jessica Welman and I taped our pre-game show for the live stream at WSOP.com at 11 am.  Then, I wrote some more at my desk.  That was followed by scripting the gold bracelet ceremony which happened at 2:15, then heading over to catch the two final tables. including the epic Razz match with Phil Hellmuth going for a record 14th gold bracelet.

By mid-afternoon, I’d had two bananas and a few coffees all day long, and that was it.  At the WSOP, this is a common pattern.

Around 4 pm or so, an odd thing happened.  Jeffrey Lisandro spent at least 30-40 minutes with me talking about food and diet.  He’s probably mid-50s and now looks to be in the best shape of his life.  He shared a lot of things he does in order to lose weight and keep it off.  He also talked about how getting more fit really helped his poker game, meaning he thinks more clearly and makes better strategic decisions.  I believe that.

Lisandro and I share more than a few characteristics, one being an addiction to pasta dishes.  Trouble is, they’re often bad for you (generally) because they have glutton.  So. Lisandro and I lamented our fates.  We agreed to let pasta be our one dietary vice.  One other thing Lisandro told me was bad — and that’s café lattes, which I drink all the time.  I guess they’re packed with calories of the wrong kind.  A short time after Lisandro and I did our own private “Dr. Oz” show, he then went out into the hallway and got into a scuffle with Brandon Cantu.  Gotta’ love Lisandro-the-bull’s fighting spirit.

I did more webcast color commentary than usual on Sunday.  The reason was, no one wanted to join ironman David Tuchman in the broadcast booth and get stuck calling Razz play-by-play.  So, I was inside the broadcast booth more than usual that day.  The broadcast booth is hot because AC isn’t allowed inside as it interferes with audio.  So, the booth is actually a mini-sauna.  No wonder Tuckman comes out of there losing 10 pounds every year.

Dinner took place at 6:30 pm at Buzio’s seafood restaurant none other than Wendeen Eolis, the most powerful behind-the-scenes force in all of poker.  She’s a legend for sure, and I was glad to spend a two-hour dinner with her that turned into three-and-a-half hours that ended up leaving empty wine bottles, several bandy snifters, and other assorted glassware on the battle-scarred tabletop after we left  Let’s also say that Wendeen’s secrets will stay with me, although it was interesting to hear for the first time that she used to be bounced on the knee of her “Uncle Tony” Salerno, otherwise known as “Fat Tony” Salerno.  I figure I can get away with telling that one.

I wolfed down my typical fare — frozen fresh rainbow trout, two helpings of buttered green beans, a salad, and a massive slice of New York cheesecake with berries.  This is my “fuck it” supper, which I do every night.  But I also had the full bottle of Pellegrino (no calories).  Then, there were two more cups of coffee.

Finally, it was time to go back to work.  Covering the final hours of Ted Forrest defeating Phil Hellmuth heads-up was a true delight.  But for me, two of the highlights of my day took place a short time earlier when longtime pal Greg Pappas, who I used to play a lot with back on the East Coast and ride up with on the way to Foxwoods, managed to take third place in that event, right behind Forrest and Hellmuth.  The other highlight was seeing Alex Bolotin get his first gold bracelet after a long time of grinding away.  I remember when Alex won the 2009 Ante Up for Africa charity event and gave a considerable portion of the prize money to the charity.  He’s a good guy who deserved to win.  Later today, we’re going to his official gold bracelet ceremony, along with Ted Forrest.

Watching the final stages of Forrest defeating Hellmuth was intriguing for many reasons.  One of the things that really stood out from that match was seeing Hellmuth react somewhat differently to the defeat, something he doesn’t usually take well.  Rather than storming around in a tirade and getting upset, Hellmuth quietly sat on the side of the stage and seemed to meditate.  I think a lot of this “Zen” attitude we saw had a lot to do with Hellmuth realizing there’s no shame in losing heads-up to Ted Forrest.  Either way, this match was destined to end with mutual respect and a handshake.

After interviewing Forrest and doing a bit more writing, the workday was finally done.  I headed home.  I was in bed by 3:30 am.

The following morning, I stepped on the scale before my daily run.

It read “219.”

And that’s how you lose a pound in a day.

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