The weight-loss journey was not an easy one. A plateau was realized around May 18 when it was difficult to bust through the 210-pound level.

The DietPower program was studied over a couple days and the problem was realized and solved. Calories needed to be reduced and this program allows the dieter to easily study the situation. The food categories adding the most calories each day were fish and meat.

My diet was reduced to only rice and vegetables. This worked and the weight loss began again around June 9.

This program also keeps track of the nutrients in all the food eaten. At one point being low on potassium was indicated. One cup of cooked lentils provides 730 mg of potassium and I enjoy these beans.

One cup of cooked lentils was added to the rice mixture on most days. The combination was delicious. However, another plateau became apparent in late June and into early July. One cup of lentils provided 228 calories, so the lentils were dropped.

The weight loss stopped and actually began an upward trend on July 16, which was not only troubling, but put me into panic mode. There was no other food to drop, but there was a sure solution to nudge the weight into a downward trend again. It was the E word, exercise, so on July 26 the front door was opened at 5 a.m. and the W word was started, walking.

The trouble with walking is the pace was too slow, so after a few days, the R word was used, running. I would run until tired and then walk until refreshed and then run again. Now I run more than walk, with two miles my usual distance so far.

One day I passed a young boy and his father seated on their porch.

"Dad, what's that running on our sidewalk?"

"Son, that's a whale trying to become a guppy."

"What kind of whale is it, Dad?"

"It's a blubber whale, Son"

And the laughter was heard for the next two blocks, but I get the last laugh.

My size 40 jeans are now in the shed and I'm wearing size 38 with the transition to size 36 coming soon. My shirts can be easily tucked into my pants.

Dennis' dieting tips

Never did I think this column would be offering diet tips, but let me offer some suggestions which have been of help to me. When someone asks me what food I eat, I tell them, "Anything I want." You see, it is up to me to stay on the diet.

When my food of brown rice, peas, corn, carrots and a host of other vegetables seems a bit bland, I add some mustard mixed with apple cider vinegar for flavor and/or a dash or two of hot sauce.

I usually order the house salad when eating lunch or dinner at a restaurant. A photo of the salad is used to record the food, which is used to estimate what kinds and the amount of vegetables eaten.

Garnet has suggested ordering an entire meal, such as when eating at Olive Garden, eating only the salad and bringing the rest of the food home for her to eat as leftovers.

A family reunion was attended recently in Rainier, OR. It is tradition for the family to eat breakfast at the Cornerstone Café. I ordered chicken fried steak and ate only the two eggs and a bite or two of the hash browns. The meat was brought home and placed in the freezer for future use.

It is cucumber season. Keep a container of them in the refrigerator. Eat a few if you get hungry between meals. The same goes for orange segments or other fruits. The decision about what to eat depends upon the calories involved.

Again the DietPower program was consulted: three ounces of cucumber equals 11 calories, the same amount of orange segments is 41, three ounces of apple slices is 43 and three ounces of banana is 75 calories. I'm sticking with the cucumbers.

The brown rice mixture is made in the morning and serves as my main food for the day. If we eat lunch at a restaurant, a sizeable amount of the mixture is eaten before we leave the house. If we have an event at Fairchild AFB where heavy appetizers will be served, I take a bowel of the mixture with us in a cooler and eat some before we go into the building.

After losing five pounds, set a five-pound sack of flour where it can be easily seen. If you don't feel as if you have lost any weight, put the sack of flour in a backpack and carry it around for a few hours. I would need to load four, 10-pound sacks of flour into the backpack at this point.

"How do you plan to maintain when you reach your goal," my doctor asked during a recent visit.

I haven't thought about this aspect of the diet. I'm now at 200 pounds, but now 190 pounds looks attainable, so why not go for it? Eventually a study of how many calories it will take to maintain the new weight will need to be conducted.

When you realize it is time to lose some weight, simply eat what you want, but realize the calories of each item eaten. Good luck.