Column: Timmy's 10 lb. weight loss plan

I have a rather annoying habit whenever I visit a certain group of friends. They're the only people I know who have a scale in their bathroom.

So every time I show up, I take my wallet and phone out of my pockets and remove my shoes and see what the scale has to say.

You can imagine my surprise when I, a lazy, unmotivated slob, discovered that every time I stepped up to the scale, I weighed less.

Holy South Beach Diet, Batman!

In all honesty, though, there's been no diet. When my mom accused me at the end of August of spending the entire summer on my rear, I dedicated myself to losing some weight and getting in shape. I didn't have a plan, though. I just figured it would work itself out. Fortunately, it did.

For the benefit of my readers, I've decided to use my keen skills of deductive reasoning (or is it inductive? Let's call it "umm-ductive") to determine how I managed to lose about 10 pounds since the start of the semester. I dub it "The Tim Czerwienski Diet." It's a series of small steps anyone can take, almost without even thinking about it.

(1) Watch what you drink. I can hear it already. "But Tim, doesn't a diet mean you're supposed to watch what you eat?" Of course, but that's way too hard. I prefer to watch what I drink, since there are far fewer options than there are for food.

When you're thirsty, consider drinking water instead of juice or soda. Cutting soda, at least partially, out of your diet can have a big effect. Unless you have an intense craving for a Dr. Pepper, a glass of water will quench your thirst quite nicely. Also, try to get accustomed to drinking skim milk instead of 2 percent or whole. It's worked for me.

(2) It's all about the wheat bread. As a small child raised on Wonder Bread, I figured I would be the last person to jump on the white bread backlash bandwagon and yet here we are.

I make my grilled cheese sandwiches with wheat bread now. It looks healthier, it smells healthier, it tastes healthier, and it's got less carbs than white bread.

(3) Eat more fruit. When you're hungry between meals, there can be a big temptation to grab a Snickers bar or a bag of chips. Think about having an apple or a pear instead.

Fruit has a lot going for it in terms of weight loss: It doesn't have a ton of calories, it has a lot of fiber, and, most importantly for the hungry, it'll fill you up. Just be honest with yourself; you don't want that Snickers bar. You just don't want to be hungry any more. Go bananas!

(4) Breakfast, anyone? This might be the hardest part of the diet to follow. It's really tough to eat breakfast when you wake up at 8:45 for a 9 a.m. class. It's worth it, though.

Even a really quick bowl of cereal sets the tone for the rest of your eating day. If you've got food in your stomach early, you won't be persuaded to absolutely gorge yourself at lunch.

(5) Take the stairs. Forget what I said before. This is actually the hardest part of the diet to follow, because it doesn't involve eating at all.

When I got back to school at the start of the semester, I sat myself down and said, "Tim, you're not going to take the elevator. Walking up the Higgins steps is good for you."

After a frank and earnest discussion of ideals, I finally agreed. Every day, up and down, I walk the stairs, and I think it's worked out well. Maybe if I supplemented my stair-walking with a trip or two to the Plex, I could actually get myself into shape. Not likely, though.