It's the phone call that changed my life.

My ParentDish editor rang me late one day last summer to tell me that the site was launching something called the Healthy Families Challenge, and that I should consider getting involved as one of a quartet of writers/guinea pigs.

My response? Thanks, but no thanks.

The last thing I wanted to do was spend a year thinking, much less writing, about trying to live more healthfully, and the last thing America wanted to do, I imagined, was to read about it.

Two weeks later, she asked again, and this time I mentioned the offer to my wife, Lynn, who immediately said I should do it. After some debate with her, I realized I had no good answer to the obvious question: Why wouldn't you want to get some expert help to lose weight, and to get the kids more active? So I begrudgingly signed on.

Best decision I've made in years.

Farewell from Manhattan! Courtesy Gary Drevitch

I'd gradually fallen out of shape over the course of about nine years, but it turned out I really was ready to commit to undoing the damage. I took the advice of nutritionist Marissa Lippert of Nourish -- not a diet plan, but ideas for eating and snacking healthier every day -- and turned my workout over to New York Sports Clubs master trainer Victoria Gallagher. The result? Forty-eight pounds gone -- from 211 down to 163, a weight I last saw in 1986. A good seven inches came off my waistline as well.

Now the size 36 pants I bought in December when my old 38s became too large sit in the back of my closet, and I pull my belts to the final loop around my size 34 pants, which have been almost fully replaced by 32s.

Meanwhile, at the gym, lazy afternoons on the recumbent bike followed by a few barbell and dumbbell lifts have been replaced by dynamic workouts, starting with cardio on the rowing machine, a cross-trainer, or a flight of stairs before a mix of pec flies, seated rows, BOSU ball pushups, reverse crunches, jackknifes, pull-ups, chin-ups, Battle Rope routines, squats, walking lunges, or step-ups -- always pushing, always keeping the heart rate up. The sessions are exhausting and satisfying, and I know they're having an impact.

And now, people are asking me for weightloss advice and fitness tips. Mostly, though, they ask if I feel different. I do, but not in the ways you might think. It's the little things: Those small towels the gym provides in the locker room fit around my waist now, for example. I'm more comfortable roughhousing and squeezing into the backs of cabs with the kids. And I'm wearing my shirts tucked in a lot more often.

The Challenge has been exciting, validating and gratifying for me, and positive for the family all around. Lynn lost seven pounds and a dress size, and took advantage of some opportunities to learn new cooking techniques to make healthier versions of foods the kids already like, such as Indian meals. In her training sessions at the Jewish Community Center here in Manhattan, she picked up some lessons about moving beyond the treadmill and having a more balanced workout. She fell in love with a weekend boxing class there, and did her best to put into practice Marissa's advice for getting the children to eat healthier.

Ah, yes, the kids. Benjamin, 10, Natalie, 8, and Adam, 4, certainly feel that they met their primary collective Healthy Family Challenge goal -- that is, not letting Mom and Dad's lifestyle changes affect them. But, really, they did. The kids are all now much more engaged in sports or physical activity year round. Benjamin added winter basketball to spring and fall Little League. Natalie moved up into a twice-a-week gymnastics program at the New York Kids Club, and was chosen for her elementary-school's track team. And Adam has been taking sports classes all year long with the gifted children's coaches at the JCC.

None of the children idled during cold winter weeks, either, as they took part in a weekend skating program at Chelsea Piers, and spent their vacation barreling down the hills at Vermont's Stratton Mountain, while their alpine-challenged dad raced through the forest in snowshoes.

Do the kids eat healthier? Well, thanks to our lifestyle change, the snacks available to them are less fattening; their homemade meals include more fish and veggies (even if a disturbing portion still remain untouched); and, thanks to the forward-thinking administration at their public school, their school lunches underwent a major overhaul, ditching salty, fatty, starchy foods and replacing them with more whole grains and non-nuggetized chicken.

It's somewhat overwhelming to consider how much has changed for us over the past several months. Thanks to all of you who have come along for the ride as readers. I've tried to keep the goal of the program in mind -- to share with other families the things we've learned on our journey. I hope we've passed on some good ideas here.

And to anyone out there who is truly ready for a lifestyle change, for themselves and their kids, just know that if you commit yourself to it, there's no reason you can't do what we did.

And I'm fairly confident you'll be as happy as we are for having done it.

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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The Battle Rope is exhausting, but kind of fun, too. Credit: Victoria Gallagher, YouTube

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Our school's chess players reveled in their victories -- and hamburgers. Photo by Mark Gurevich

Travel is a challenge to any diet. But some trips are more dangerous than others.

I recently flew to Dallas with my 10-year-old son, Benjamin, for the U.S. Chess Federation's National Elementary Championships. The chess team at our school, P.S. 166 of Manhattan, is one of the strongest in the country, and sent 32 players to the event, including my fellow, who competed this year against the nation's best elementary-school players.

The nationals -- this was Benjamin's fourth -- is an exciting time, but nerve-wracking for parents and players alike. The demands of the four-day tournament give families scant opportunity to leave the convention-center hotel and explore the host cities. Parents typically roam the hotel lobby, waiting for our kids to return from matches that can run as long as four hours. We tend to discuss one thing above all -- where to find decent, reasonably priced food.

As we took off from New York, I was concerned that event pressure, not to mention the airport and hotel time, would torpedo my weight-loss progress. I'd plateaued at 47 pounds below my Healthy Families Challenge starting weight, and that was fine, but I didn't want to regress.

Benjamin? He was just hoping to find a lot of Texas-sized hamburgers.

Despite eating at places like this, it was a healthy weekend in Dallas. Credit: Gary Drevitch

Here's how it went:

Thursday. We left home early for our flight. I had a bagel ready to toast for Benjamin, but he vetoed it, preferring airport snacks. As we waited for our delayed flight, we found a breakfast bar where he ordered waffles and eggs. He ate just the waffles. This will become a trend.

I'd packed snacks for the trip, including an oversized bag of raisins, which I munched on in the air, along with miniscule packs of airline peanuts. Those raisins would last me most of the long weekend. At our connecting airport, Benjamin got a hamburger, but I passed, seeing nothing I'd feel good about eating. That night, after the national blitz (speed chess) championship -- Benjamin's team finished second -- we joined friends for dinner in the hotel's upscale restaurant. Benjamin had another hamburger. I went for salmon and green beans.

How is the Drevitch family doing? Check in on their progress!

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Have lunchboxes, will eat healthy. Credit: Gary Drevitch

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Chef Stefanie with special guest celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman. Credit: Courtesy Stefanie Devic

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One aspect of my family's eating routines I have not discussed in much detail here before is that, as observant Jews, our home is kosher -- meaning, in a nutshell, that dairy is never eaten with meat; that there is no pork or shellfish; and that we use separate dairy and meat pans and dishes to prepare and eat our meals.

Keeping a kosher home also means that for the holiday of Passover, an eight-day event ending April 26th, we don't eat (and in fact, we empty our cabinets of) all forms of "chametz" -- bread, pasta, cereal, legumes, rice and miscellaneous prohibited items.

The holiday commemorates the Biblical tale of the Israelites' departure from slavery in Egypt, and the reason we don't eat bread and the like is, to make a long story short, because the Bible tells of how the former slaves left Egypt in such a rush that they did not even have time to let the bread they'd been preparing leaven, or rise. What they were left with was a flat cracker we call matzoh.

Whether it reflects historical fact or not, the exodus from Egypt is quite a story (ABC still airs The Ten Commandments every year), but thanks to its mention of the unleavened bread, we are left with a tradition of eight days of a matzoh-based diet. And that poses a particular dilemma for those of us involved in the Healthy Families Challenge.

Our Passover pantry, dominated by matzoh and matzoh-based products. Photo: Gary Drevitch

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The kids and their favorite dinner ingredients. Credit: Gary Drevitch

Our kids are funny eaters.

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Putting myself through the paces of my workout. Photo courtesy Gary Drevitch

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Benjamin and Natalie visit Washington, DC, birthplace of the healthy-eating guidelines. Courtesy Gary Drevitch

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Our little gymnast, happy at last. Photo: Gary Drevitch

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Benjamin and Natalie like to show they're fit, but don't much care if their parents are. Credit: Gary Drevitch

Since I decided to take part in the Healthy Families Challenge, a series of remarkable things have occurred.

I've lost 41 pounds. I've dropped at least seven inches from my waist. The Wii Fit Plus, that notorious BMI hardliner, told me I was "healthy." But, most amazingly, for someone who was until recently about nine years removed from being in any kind of shape, people -- multiple, real people -- have started asking me for weight-loss advice. Me!

I'd been deflecting the questions, but as I've thought about it more, I've realized that maybe I do have some tips on how to do this, if not suggested daily calorie counts.

So, here goes -- 8 weight-loss tips from someone who's been at this for six months:

1. START WHEN YOU ARE READY. If your doctor tells you tomorrow that you need to drop 50 pounds, well, you should get to work. But, otherwise, gauge whether, deep inside, you're ready to really make a change. I was at my old weight for a few years, but I don't think I was ready to do what I've just done, say, 18 or 24 months ago. Spouses, friends, even kids can tell you it's time, but only you know when you've had enough of being heavy to finally do something about it.

2. CAN'T KEEP TO A PLAN? DON'T TRY. If I had to count calories or tally food points every day, I'd go crazy. I know it works for lots of people, but if you're like me and can't imagine anything less fun that keeping a food diary, don't set yourself up for failure by starting one. Just learn enough about what diet plans are all about to apply their key points to your personal plan. (Spoiler alert: It's fewer carbs, more fruits and veggies, steady protein and smaller portions.)

3. EMBRACE CHANGE. You may be a twice-a-day meat-and-potatoes guy, or a bread-with-every-meal gal, and just can't envision life with a different menu. But you have to, because this doesn't work without a core change in what you eat. I replaced bagels with bran flakes, dropped chips for raisins, and replaced chocolate with nuts and berries. I didn't think it could ever stick, but it has.

4. STOP NEGOTIATING WITH YOURSELF. When it was time to give up my daily eggs-on-a-bagel breakfast, my regular overstuffed lunchtime wrap sandwich, my late-afternoon sweet treat and my double-starch-portion dinner, I gave them up. I didn't make Friday exceptions, or give myself greasy rewards for good behavior. Taking a hard line with yourself, at least in the early stages of your diet, is easier than having daily internal debates.

5. DON'T GIVE UP UNTIL YOU SEE RESULTS. This may sound like a zen koan, but positive reinforcement is the best motivator you'll ever have, and that's why you should stick with your lifestyle change until you see a couple of pounds come off the scale. Because once that happens, you won't want to go back.

6. SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS. I weigh myself regularly, but only if I can do so under these conditions -- soon after I wake up, before I eat or drink anything, and after I ... evacuate. If I can't meet those conditions, I don't get on the scale. It's a small thing, but it keeps my measurements consistent and gives me the best chance of seeing progress on any given day.

7. BELIEVE IN YOUR BODY. At my last checkup, just a couple of weeks before I started the Challenge, my doctor noted that my weight was creeping into an unhealthy section of his chart, but, he said, You've got a big build. Your body can probably carry the weight. It was a nice gesture, but wrongheaded. If I've learned anything, it's that bodies can be remade. Looking in the mirror at the things I'm doing in the gym cracks me up, it's so far from what I could do a year ago. People tell me I look taller and younger now, too, but of course I'm neither. Short of any medical issues you may face, your body can do what you want it to do, if you put in the work.

8. DO IT FOR YOUR KIDS, BUT DON'T EXPECT THEM TO CHEER YOU ON. My children -- Benjamin, 10; Natalie, 8; and Adam, 4 -- remain pretty much the only people in my life who haven't made mention of my weight loss. They claim they don't notice, beyond the fact that I'm leaving more cookies and bagels untouched for them. I've decided it means they'd love me no matter what size I was -- and not that they've already stopped paying attention to me altogether ....

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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Benjamin and Natalie at the top of Stratton Mountain. Photo courtesy Gary Drevitch

Our February ski vacation was a showcase for the kids' healthy and unhealthy habits.

Benjamin, 10, and Natalie, 8, have been skiing for a few years now, and they've gotten really good. This is not my opinion. As a non-skier, I don't get to watch them, although on the last day of our week at Vermont's Stratton Mountain, I did catch a glimpse of the duo barreling down the bottom of a "terrain park," a slope manicured to accommodate jumps, and it was honestly thrilling to watch Benjamin leap and land like a junior X-Games competitor.

The two kids, skiing together all week, were promoted through three levels of the Stratton ski school, and my wife, Lynn, and my brother-in-law, who skied with the kids after their lessons each afternoon, told me not only how skilled they were, but how responsible and safety-conscious they were.

However, at the risk of drawing a frowny-face on what really was a fun vacation, I should note that as great as the kids' skiing was, that was about the extent of their healthy activity. Consider:

• As soon as they hit the lodge after each day of skiing, they immediately and loudly demanded multiple snacks, preferably the resort's freshly-made chocolate-covered waffles ($4.50 each!). In their defense, each hour of skiing for kids their size burns almost 300 calories, so they were legitimately hungry, and I didn't stand in their way; if I did, I might have been trampled. But they sure weren't racing for the basket of apples.
• When the kids got back to our rented house each night after snarfing those snacks, they complained about, or outright refused to eat, healthy foods like bananas and tomatoes. I appreciate that kids prefer to see vacation as a break not just from school but from all other trappings of civilization, like table manners, balanced meals, and tooth-brushing. But we parents disagree.
• Instead of passing out each night, as you'd expect them to do after hours of exhausting black-diamond-level skiing, they shocked us by staying up as late as they could. OK, they were sharing rooms with their cousins, and they were having fun, but several nights, we had to confiscate their Nintendo GameBoys and iPod Shuffles well after bedtime. (We do give them some credit for watching very little TV throughout the week, though.) We don't quite know how they kept their eyes open, but they paid the price with several grumpy mornings as they returned to school after our trip.
• And then there's Adam, 4. He spent a full week in ski school, learning basic turns and maneuvers. But when he returned to his pre-K class and all the children reported what they had done all week, he simply said, "I went to my vacation house and I played some games. And then I went outside and then I played a little bit more." Now, this is not technically "unhealthy," but -- especially given the cost -- it was a little disappointing to us that he didn't even mention skiing. Still, he had fun, and one of the week's highlights was watching him ski down the bunny slope with Benjamin, big brother being mightily impressed by his protege's progress.

We've been home for several days now, facing typical post-vacation challenges. A week of limited TV has made the kids hungry for screen time, and they've been sneaking away from homework to turn on the set almost every time we turn our backs. They've fallen out of whatever healthy-eating habits we'd been working on, continuing to avoid fruits and negotiating for the smallest possible servings of veggies at dinner.

We know things will get better. It takes time for the effects of a week away to wear off. But as proud as we are of their accomplishments at the top of the mountain, most of life is spent down here at the bottom, and we need to make it as healthy as possible.

We also wouldn't mind if they stopped calling everything that they like "sick" and "stupid," a habit they seem to have picked up from one of their ski coaches. Although I got a good laugh when I reviewed Natalie's homework the other day and told her she was "stupid smart"!

I guess you never know just what you'll bring back from vacation.

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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Benjamin, embarking on another climb up the sledding hill. Photo courtesy Gary Drevitch

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The boys are ready to get their skate on at Chelsea Piers. Photo: Gary Drevitch

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Remnants of a baked-goods invasion. Photo: Gary Drevitch

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Wearing my wedding tux again is suddenly not so far-fetched. Courtesy: Gary Drevitch

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Goodbye, old pants. Courtesy Gary Drevitch

OK, I'll admit it: On the list of dilemmas one could have, this is a good one.

Still, as I've dropped the pounds over the last few months, the question has gnawed at me: How do you stop dieting? For that matter, do you ever stop dieting? If you never want to go back to where you were, then once you've reached your weight-loss goal, what comes next?

For some answers, I called our nutritionist, Marissa Lippert of Nourish. Without doing an in-depth analysis of my BMI charts, she estimated that for someone of my height, I might expect to reach a "plateau" after losing another six or seven pounds, which would leave me about 40 pounds below from where I started on Labor Day.

(Later, I went online to check the actual federal body mass index guidelines for my size, and found out that my "healthy" weight was probably another 12 to 15 pounds below that. Want to make yourself miserable? Try it out yourself.)

Marissa said that as I approached this plateau, I should expect slower weight loss. Check! And check! I'm down 33 pounds now, and while I'm eating the same way I have been throughout the Healthy Families Challenge, the pounds are not melting away at the pace they were, say, six weeks ago.

But that's just score-keeping. Assuming I do eventually reach that plateau, then what? Maintenance, Marissa says, and it starts with managing portion size. Becoming used to smaller portions since starting the Challenge is my "biggest secret weapon," she advised. "You probably won't be able physically to eat the quantity of food you have in the past." And, should I see my weight start to creep up, I now know what a healthy portion looks like and can lean on that knowledge to get things back under control.

Another way to avoid calorie creep is to think about quality, not just quantity. If I'm not having bagels all the time anymore, then when I do, it should not be some random dough ring shipped in for a business meeting. "If it's not the best bagel in the world," Marissa asked, "why even have it?"

While Marissa said I can certainly think about restoring to my diet some of the things that have been virtually absent for the past few months, like bagels, pasta, and ice cream, I need to be mindful (there's that word again) about how often I go to the old standbys. We didn't write out a plan -- I take pride in the fact that my weight loss has come without following any particular "program" or book -- but we talked about continuing to weigh myself and check the fit of my clothes, to make sure I haven't gotten too comfortable. Maybe my new watchword will be vigilance.

I still wanted to know something, though: So many people lose weight through a diet, but then put the pounds back on. How, after such ego-boosting success, do we go wrong?

Marissa said that ego boost is actually the problem, as dieters reach what she calls the "getting cocky period," when they become so confident in their ability to lose weight that they convince themselves that they can have that extra pancake, order of fries or piece of cake. And once someone lets that happen every day, they're in trouble.

Maybe, I think, when you've had success losing weight over a long period of time, you can forget the mental effort it took to start. I put off losing weight for years, to paraphrase JFK, not because dieting was easy, but because it was hard. Who would want to go through that grueling mindset change again if it could be avoided?

The reality is that hunger is part of life, and, as Marissa says, "you should be hungry at mealtimes." But when you get hungry between meals and grab something, you need to think about what you're grabbing for. If it's a handful of peanuts or a glass of low-fat milk, fine. If it's four handfuls of peanuts, or a pint of ice cream, you've got a problem.

So, what do you do when you've lost weight and you want to keep it off? Remember what got you there. "A healthy foundation allowed you to lose the weight," Marissa said, "and that's what will allow you to keep it off."

In other words, I can't let the old normal ever become the new normal again. In the weeks ahead, it's all about vigilance.

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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Adam and Coach Duane, who makes Thursday "Sports Day." Credit: Gary Drevitch

I know what you're going to say.

Why does a 4-year-old need a sports class? Isn't he too young to learn real skills? Can't he just play outside and throw a ball around somewhere without professional coaches instructing him?

Well, you may have a point. We hear similar questions when we tell people what we pay for nursery school in New York City. The common refrain? "They're just playing with blocks, aren't they? How can it cost so much?"

On the other hand, there's a reason some of us trample each other to get seats in certain nursery schools, or race to sign up for certain after-school classes. It's because the pros do really know what they're doing, and they push lessons way beyond blocks.

Adam, our 4-year-old, is enrolled in the afternoon "Getting in the Game" class at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. He's loved it from the start. Every morning, he counts off the days of the school week until Thursday, or "Sports Day."

Why does he love it so much? I sat in on a recent class to find out.

The staff was in place before the seven boys and two girls arrived. When the kids were all lined up along the front of the gym, the coaches introduced each other.

"That's Coach Spaghetti!" said one, and the other responded, "And that's Coach Meatball!"

Corny? Sure. First time they'd used that joke? Doubtful. But did the kids crack up? Oh, yeah.

And then the 4-year-olds ran a few laps as the coaches yelled, "On your mark! Get set! Blueberries!" Then they did a couple of more laps, walking backward.

After they'd burned off that energy, Duane Castleberry, the JCC's athletics director, but "Coach Meatball" on this day, reviewed what they had previously learned about football, including identifying the laces and nose of the ball and the proper way to toss it -- "Hold, step and throw!"

Each child then got his or her own ball to practice throwing. After each throw, the kids retrieved their balls and ran them back to the starting line to throw again. Eventually, Duane announced, "Two more throws!" to help the kids prepare for the transition to what was next -- a core nursery-school concept.

Next the coaches prepared an obstacle course -- a very junior version of the drills you see NFL players run in practice -- requiring running, turning, balance and jumping. They told the class, "Now we're going to put all our skills together," and one of them ran through the course himself, calling out each step along the way as the kids tracked his moves. They then took their own turns, each child running the course several times, and improving with each lap.

When the kids stopped for a water break, Darren Michel, the JCC's senior director of athletics, joined the group. Darren is a beloved neighborhood figure, and Adam immediately ran over to him, calling, "Hug! Hug!" The kids love these coaches, and they behave for them.

Duane brought his charges back together for more football action. "What do you call the team trying to score?"

"The offense!"

"And what do you call the team trying to stop them from scoring?"

"The DEE-fense!"

The group divided into two teams for one-on-one, offense-versus-defense drills, one child running with the ball to the opposite end of he gym, the other trying to tag him or her. (Duane made sure everyone knew where to tag -- the arms or shoulders, never the head.)

These nine preschoolers, who before and after the class roamed about like unherded cats, were focused, having fun and taking it seriously, guided by the nonstop chatter of Duane and his team. And they were pretty good running backs, too, faking and juking and really playing the game. Coach Meatball was no joke. And when the game was done, everyone lined up to shake hands as Duane declared "a good game from both sides."

Now I knew why Adam comes home each week and tells me he's "the best one," although I now know that, well, he isn't. It's because Duane makes every kid feel like they're the best one.

After some more football drills, it was time for ... rubber-chicken relay races! (Or as the education theorists would call it, "building socialization skills.") And, finally, a review of what everyone had learned, and, of course, hand stamps. (There are always hand stamps when preschoolers leave an activity. I don't know why, but they always are.)

So, why is Adam's class worth it? It's well-managed and skills-focused, it encourages teamwork and sportsmanship, it builds confidence and the energy is relentlessly positive.

"Sports Day" works.

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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Bundled up for an early-morning workout. Courtesy Gary Drevitch

My experiment really started on Sunday, when I went to the gym at midday as I do each week. That night before bedtime, I packed my gym bag, put my gym card on the counter and left my sneakers by the front door. I woke up with the alarm at about 5:45 a.m., had a bowl of cereal, dressed and headed out. Intending to shower and change when I got back home, I left my apartment in shorts.

Did I mention it's the middle of winter here? It was about 22 degrees out, so I covered the eight blocks to the gym really briskly. The streets were dark and empty but I was not alone. No, there were joggers out. So right off the bat, I knew I wasn't the craziest fitness nut out there.

Arriving at the gym about 6:15 to make a 6:30 spinning class, I found it only somewhat less busy than on weekend mornings. I entered the spinning room, where a group of regulars had already claimed their favorite spots. The first 10 or 15 minutes were slow going -- hey, I just woke up -- but then I got into the rhythm. When I got home, the kids were just emerging from their rooms and I felt great.

The next day, I did it again, stepping into the pre-dawn dark, already feeling like it was a routine. I did a regular workout -- cross-trainer, chin-up machine, crunches, push-ups and weights -- and when I left the gym, it was already light out. That night, feeling both the early mornings and a rare three days in a row of working out, I was exhausted, but the good exhausted, you know?

I gave myself Wednesday morning off, but was back at it on Thursday. When I arrived at the club on Friday, I was planning to do another spin class, but to my shock, the room was full. The instructor asked, had I made a reservation? (The club allows members to preschedule spin classes.) No, I said, resisting the urge to add, It's a 6:30 a.m. class. I need a reservation?! I put the time in on the cross-trainer instead.

When I saw my personal trainer, Victoria, a few days later, I related the story and she laughed. Oh, yeah, she told me. For most 6:30 classes, people book their spots as soon as the club allows -- at 6 a.m. the day before.

Well, OK, then. I have to admit that my week of pre-dawn exercise felt great (and it helped me drop another two pounds, reaching 31 lost since September). I plan to add an occasional top-of-the-morning workout to my repertoire.

I still have a way to go to compete with the true gym crazies, but I now see their routine as more aspirational than asinine.

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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Meet our guest correspondents. Credit: Natalie Drevitch

But enough about me.

This week, I turn the keyboard over to my wife, Lynn, who you may recall from earlier columns, is our family's healthiest eater -- and, therefore, also our most frustrated chef -- along with our best biker, skier, swimmer and jogger. She is, in addition, our family's biggest cheerleader (although she hopes that none of our children ever pursues that as a career). Along with encouraging the rest of us to take part, and to do our part, in the Healthy Families Challenge, she's been putting in sweat equity herself to get in (even better) shape. I asked her to weigh in on her progress three months in.

Here's what she had to say:

I'm delighted! I have not lost nearly as much weight as my dear husband. [GARY: If I may interrupt, 31 pounds as of this week!] But the three pounds I've lost since September have put me at my skinniest in more than a decade -- a decade ago being when we had our first child, Benjamin. And I've dropped a size, so I've bought a bunch of new clothes! (Although I still have to iron them and purchase new matching shirts, accessories, etc.) But really, it all just brings me back to my old regular, not-so-skinny weight, so I'm hoping I can keep it off and lose a few more pounds.

My major difficulty continues to be ... regular life. I have no problem eating light most of the time, but whenever I go out to lunch or dinner (or go to someone's home, or host a dinner party), I eat too much, or at least too much to lose any weight.

I get to the gym regularly. I've been going at least twice a week this winter -- sometimes three times. But now that my set of personal-training sessions with Jamar Grimball at the Jewish Community Center here in Manhattan have ended, I've fallen back into my old workout habit: just running on the treadmill and doing a few push-ups. Abs? I can't bring myself to work on them voluntarily.

I feel like I've fallen into a bit of a cooking rut with the kids. I need to re-energize, and not become too disappointed (or angry) when they refuse to even taste the delicious soup or ratatouille I've made, or try the persimmons or mangoes, pears or grapes, clementines or grapefruit I've bought.

Since we're opening the column to special guests this week, I also asked Adam, our 4-year-old, to weigh in on what he's learning about living healthier. I caught up with him after a tough session on the Wii Fit Plus and its Balance Board. The game had just told him that his Wii Fit Age was 23, not 4, as he'd hoped, and he said:

"I went to 23 because I didn't eat so much healthy stuff."

We've all felt the same way at some point, little guy.

Who's the rest of the competition? Check out all the challengers' latest updates here.

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