WATCHING POUNDS DROP MAKES CHANGE WORTH IT

EDITOR'S NOTE: Staff writer Heidi Nieland has volunteered to go through a diet plan new to the Cape Girardeau. She is sharing her successes and failure in a weekly series that will end on Saturday's health page.

Until last spring, I was gaining about 5 pounds a month.

In late 1994, my weight was about 200 pounds, which wasn't great but was acceptable for my height. Six months later, it was 230. Another six months, it was 260 and so on, and so on, and so on.

It maxed out at 295 pounds in the spring, when my doctor ordered two thyroid tests. This may be hard to believe, but I wanted the tests to come out positive. My mother had severe thyroid problems, I reasoned, so maybe I would have the same disorder and something to blame for my flabby thighs.

Both tests came back negative. A brief experience with diet pills followed, a couple of the lost pounds crept back on and then I got professional help.

This series of articles shouldn't be considered an advertisement for any one diet plan. Biometrics, offered at St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital, is working well for me. But the articles are to show that anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can lose weight.

As of Friday, I've lost 18 pounds in five weeks. That number isn't incredible -- people on pills and diet shakes have lost more total weight faster. But I'm weightlifting, so I'm gaining calorie-burning muscle at the same time I'm losing useless fat.

People tell me I look thinner, but I'm not seeing it. My buddy Don, a photographer here at the newspaper, recently took a picture of me doing an interview. My three chins are still there and my hips are still noticeably wider than my shoulders. At least I was wearing sleeves -- another friend of mine has a picture where my arms look about twice the width of my head.

But there are other benefits of weight loss that I can see. A couple months ago, my feet hurt so bad in the morning I could barely stand. It was their way of saying they were sick of carrying around an extra 100 pounds all day.

My jeans are getting really baggy, and I usually don't even cinch them up with a belt. It's nice to feel them hang around my hips. Just last year, I couldn't bend over to tie my shoes once my pants were zipped up.

People ask me if this is hard, or if I feel like I'm suffering. The answer is yes and no. It isn't easy to give up years of calling Domino's at 11 p.m. and substitute the pizza with an apple. But the more I do it, the easier it is. It's just a matter of making a lifestyle change and asking myself what feels better -- getting thinner or having cheesecake in my mouth.

For those of you who are interested in this kind of thing -- thanks for stopping me to offer encouragement. It meant a lot.

On this Saturday's health page, my final measurements and last article about Biometrics will run. I also plan to look into some other new, popular weight-loss method, particularly the Atkins diet.

HEIDI'S STATISTICS

Height

6 feet, 3 inches

Weight

265-1/4 (down 18-1/4 pounds)

Goals

To reduce body fat and gain muscle.