Enough is enough: Sergeant declares war on holiday weight Published Jan. 8, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Sheri Kangas 1st SOW Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The holidays are over and it's time to get back to reality. My reality is that I ate excessively throughout the season, and now I'm paying for it in the form of extra weight. In order to lose those pounds plus the ones I was trying to get rid of before the holidays, I have decided to ramp up my exercise program and eat healthier. My first step is joining the Weight Loss Support Group offered at the Health and Wellness Center. Every Monday we meet at 11 a.m. in the HAWC classroom. Our weight loss guru Amanda Cox weighs us in and charts our progress. We have just started a new workbook program that deals with the emotional aspects of our relationship with food. We write down everything we eat to see how many calories we consume in one day, then with some magical formula we will cut a specific amount of calories from our daily meals. I have noticed I don't eat as much if I have to write everything down and how many calories it was. This is a bit troublesome though because sometimes it's hard to find the calories in a specific food, and other times, who really wants to write down they had a 600-calorie piece of cake? I guess by writing it down you are accountable for it, and it makes you more aware of what you are eating. My next step in this journey is to join the Weight Warriors program offered at the Riptide Fitness Center. It is based on the popular "Biggest Loser" reality television show. It costs $50 to join the 7-week program that was put together to add motivation and guidance in individual workout programs. The deadline to sign-up for Weight Warriors is Jan. 11 and the program begins Jan. 14. Those who join Weight Warriors are divided into teams and each person accumulates points for their team by working out, according to Karen Catalodo, manager of the Riptide Fitness Center. They will offer seven workout sessions daily for Weight Warrior participants and will have trainers on hand to help in anyway needed. At the end of the program, prizes (read: cash) will be awarded to the top three people having the highest percentage of weight loss. There will also be a prize awarded to the team with highest percent of weigh loss. Weight Warriors is offered to all Department of Defense cardholders. Also, don't let a profile scare you away, they will work with anyone on a profile. If you would like to join myself and others already signed up for the program, all you have to do is sign up by Jan. 11 and pay your $50. I will be writing weekly throughout the program to let you know how it's going. Wish me luck, and I hope that if you ate too much throughout the season, you will join me. What do you have to lose?