A key ingredient for weight less success is without a doubt portion control. In North America we have completely lost sight of proper portion control, especially when we dine out.

That’s why frozen dinners make so much sense for dieters, especially ones specifically designed for those watching calorie intake or following specific diet plans such as Weight Watchers.

Unfortunately, there are so many drawbacks to these pre-packaged meals that can often lead to the opposite results you desire. Over the years, I have tried to incorporate frozen dinners into my regime with the hopes it would get my portions under control, but it’s never worked. Even when I combined frozen dinners with a salad appetizer the frozen dinner strategy always fizzled out.

For me, the main challenge is variety. While there is plenty of choice in the frozen dinner section of any grocery store, I found few that actually had any real flavour; PC Blue Menu fares better than most brands, and I’ve found a few favorites among the Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones brands. However, I quickly get bored of frozen dinners to a point where I fall off the diet wagon really hard.
In addition, I don’t find them filling. Even if I combine frozen dinners with a large salad, I find myself hungry a few hours later and hankering for a late night snack before bed.

Because of my personal experience with frozen dinners as a diet strategy, I’ve come to the conclusion they ultimately have the reverse effect. I’m less satisfied and more likely to snack when I shouldn’t. This is probably for the best – these frozen dinners, even if they claim to be high in fibre and full of vegetables, are essentially processed foods and full of artificial ingredients to varying degree.

It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally realized frozen dinners aren’t a quick fix for reducing my calorie intake. While they are a great reminder of the importance of portion control, low fat frozen dinners aren’t the holy grail of weight loss.

When I decided to join a gym I didn’t do a lot of research on chains or ask around for recommendations. There was a GoodLife Fitness across the street, so given that I’m lazy, that was the gym for me.

Fortunately, it’s worked out well. In addition to proximity, there’s lots of eye candy among the female clientelle. That may sound crass, but it’s also very motivating – my trainer agrees!

Speaking of trainers, I got lucky when I opted for a personal training trial package. My trainer used to be a chef for many years, and left that vocation because of weight and lifestyle concerns. As a result, he knew where I was coming from and understood my concerns, such as “Don’t make me too buff or people will expect me to help them move.”

As for price, it’s about average for personal training. And since I’ve not stepped into another gym aside from the little ones in hi-rise apartments, I can’t compare it to other GoodLife locations or competitors. All I can say is it’s working for me.

However, if you’re right now in a position where you’re evaluating gyms to join, here are a few basic pointers:

Price: As I said, I did no comparison shopping. The monthly membership fee was in my budget and if I could spend that much on cable television, why not my health? Also bear in mind what it offers in terms of equipment and facilities for the money.

Equipment: Further to the above, make sure it has the equipment you want. If you want to swim regularly as part of your new regime, you’ll obviously want a pool. When it comes to machines such as bikes and treadmills, find out how busy it gets at peak hours so you’ll know if they’re adequately equipped with enough machines.

Location, location, location: Pick a gym near your home or work. I work out three mornings a week with my trainer at 7 a.m., so I can crawl out of bed, pull on workout clothes and have my pre-workout snack while crossing the street. Close to your workplace is a good option too. If you have to travel far to work out you’ll likely fall of the wagon.

Hours of operation: Make sure the gym is open when you can go, whether that means early in the morning, into the evening or on weekends.

Quality of people, facility: Again, I had nothing to compare it to, but the tour proved to me that the facility was kept clean and all of the trainer’s bios and certifications were posted on the bulletin board.

Classes: If you’re interested in something such as a spinning class, check the gym’s schedule to make sure the classes you want fit your schedule.

Most gyms will offer some trial package, and if they don’t, be wary. If you want a bargain, don’t walk in January 2. I joined in late November, which is a slow time of year for GoodLife, so I got a few discounts.

One last piece of advice: While all of these above factors are important, don’t get so analytical that it becomes an excuse not to select a gym. If you’re struggling, Google the gym for reviews or find a friend or colleague at work who’s gym savvy to help you.

And no, you won’t catch fire when you cross the threshold.

Obesity sneaks up on you. At least it did on me.

My extra weight had already creeped back during my college years. A significant contributing factor was the bonding that happened among journalism students, or more importantly, where it happened. Late nights putting out the college newspaper meant dinner breaks at the Good Times Cafe behind Algonquin College and often beers late at night after the paper was put to bed.

That beer could contribute to my waistline was not something I was worried about at age 20. After, it wasn’t food, was it?

Healthy eating was also an abstract concept. My morning meal was often a coffee and cigarette, and perhaps something from a vending machine (I quit smoking six years ago, but that’s a whole other story).

Even after two years of these habits, I hadn’t put on significant weight, although I might have lost that argument in court given that I never bothered to consult a scale. And when I discovered the pub on Elgin Street one block over from my first downtown Ottawa apartment, my fate, I think, was unknowingly sealed – I was destined to become a barfly.

Going for a beer after work, even by myself, was typical. Friday nights I would close down the pub, sleep in and end up at the pub for a late brunch. I was by no means an alcoholic, but the pub was my social hub. The owners had gone to high school with one of my office colleagues and other friends who lived in the area, who I had met through other means, turned out to already frequent the establishment.

All of these intertwined factors set my course for the next decade. When I moved to Edmonton, I found a local pub a block away from my apartment (where I worked from home) and Vancouver (again, working from home and only five blocks away from a cafe that had $2.99 micro-brew specials every night).

One day, after a couple of years living in Vancouver, I caught my reflection in a storefront while out on Granville St. with some friends. That’s when it hit me.

I was fat.

If you see me in a gym, then I’m probably lost.

For years this was my favorite one-liner, usually said while seated in a pub with a pint of Guinness in front of me. Being active had simply never been a part of my lifestyle, unless you counted walking to the pub and walking home from the pub.

By sixth grade, I had given up on making any of the school sports teams or being picked to play baseball or soccer at recess. For whatever reason I’d never really got the hang of any of the traditional sports that young boys played, even though my Dad had encouraged both myself and younger brother, and we were never lacking the right equipment.

At this young age, I was already a little heavy and I’d much rather read a book than try to get involved in a group activity where I was clearly not wanted. By high school I dreaded the one semester of gym I had to endure, not only because I couldn’t hope to compete, but also because I was deeply embarrassed when I ended up on the skins team and was taunted to no end. I lost track of how many days I faked sick just to avoid gym class.

The only upside of being overweight as a teenager is the weight is much easier to lose. When I was sixteen, I was able to drop almost 30 lbs by walking after school and staying away from snacks (my mother could hear the fridge door open even when she was upstairs, I swear). The weight loss order came from the family doctor and was facilitated both by vigilant mother and the owner of the small general store where I worked after school – a heavy man who shared his healthy dinners when I arrived to start my shift.

Nearly twenty years later, losing just a couple of pounds seems like a monumental achievement, and some days, even impossible. And it took that long for me to get lost in a gym on purpose – I walked into the GoodLife Fitness across from my apartment and signed up on the spot, all the while worrying I would catch fire like a heathen in a church.

This is my big shift.