Fat belly to flat belly redux

When last I left my fat belly, I had started a journey of diet and exercise to a flat belly.

The most current tale of the tape shows me at 162 pounds, a loss so far of 23 pounds and close to my goal of 25.

It wasn't that I looked too bad when I started back in March. Being a little round around the middle is what you get in middle age, right? The Baby Boomer boom of the gut, right? No.

At 185 pounds I was overweight, according to the body mass index specs for my height of 5-foot-8.

You're considered overweight if your BMI gets above 25. I was at 28.1. With a BMI of 30 or greater you're considered obese. I didn't like the upward arc I was on. I didn't like the image I had of myself.

I wasn't looking to regain my youth -- that boat sailed long ago. With age, hair turns gray, hair falls out, hair grows in places it doesn't belong. I accept I can't turn back the clock. I wanted to get back on path of better health.

Too many bad things come from being overweight. It's been enough to deal with my inherited cholesterol issues. I didn't need overweight issues -- heart disease, diabetes -- on top of that.

My redirected path started with my purchase in March of the "Flat Belly Diet: For Men."

It made me think differently about eating. It made me think differently about food shopping. It made me think differently about exercise.

My eating and shopping mantra became: Reduced fat, no fat, reduced salt, no salt.

I've become a label reader, something I never was before. I became a calorie counter, something I never was before.

And I became a MUFA eater -- mono-unsaturated fatty acids. Olive oil, nuts, avocados, olives. I boosted my metabolism by eating a little heat (red pepper, jalapenos, hot banana peppers) with a lot of my meals.

Mostly, though, I changed my brain.

I don't think or worry about the things I don't eat or drink. I think about the long-term benefits about the things I don't eat or drink.

I'm not a diet Nazi. I still over-indulge at parties, at family gatherings, at restaurants. But not all the time.

My BMI target of 24.3 (160 pounds) is a goal. After that it'll be a way of life, a fixed number to carry just like my Social Security number or date of birth.

For this Baby Boomer, the issues associated with aging are challenging enough. It's better to confront and deal with some of them while I still have the will and motivation.