The first time I sat across the desk from nutritionist Heather Nakamura, I was more than a little nervous. Last winter, her phone number was near the top of my list of New Year's resolutions. Like many of us at that time of the year, I wanted to change the way I ate and I wanted to learn more about nutrition. Those thoughts quickly faded as I resumed my pre- holiday training regimen of Cinnabons and Guinness. Days passed. Then the weeks turned in to months and my weight began to climb. Again.

It took guts for me to call Heather to set up that initial appointment. With me as a customer, though, she's got quite a challenge ahead of her. Most of the people she's helped at her private nutrition practice needed to lose just a few extra pounds. Judging from their pictures in Northwest Runner, I'd guess that they were pretty fit by the time they called Heather. Not me. Far from it. I need a complete menu makeover to reach my goals. Compared to many runners, my goals are pretty modest: finish a pain-free 10K in an hour, and to work slowly down to 200 pounds while still eating and drinking what I enjoy.

I've heard the old saying, but it's true. I want to have my cake and eat it too. With Heather, I'm close, anyway: I'm having more fruits and vegetables than ever before. Paradoxically, I've lost weight and an inch from my waistline while eating more than ever before.

By the time this article reaches the pages of Northwest Runner, I'm pleased to say that I'll tip the scales at around 220 pounds. Earlier this year at the St. Patrick's Day Dash, I waddled around at about 230, a feat that I blame largely on the combination of two years' of plantar fasciitis and little exercise, not to mention those extra gooey Cinnabons and rich, thick pints of Guinness. In the 90s, I often ran 30 races per year, which kept my weight to a reasonable level, despite my eating habits.

Heather: getting the Body Fat Test from a 21st Century Woman.

I've always dreaded the body fat test. There's a very good reason, 'cause I won't win any beach body awards, except as the next "be bop beluga." All kidding aside, the fat test is an important measurement of any nutrition program as it gives the nutritionist information about lean body mass and fat.

While I wish the fat test had consisted of multiple choice or short essay questions on the taste of my Cinnabons, Heather instead unpacked her calipers and began measuring points on my back, thighs, and stomach.

Looking at Heather as she pinched generous samples of my anatomy, I thought that she was one of the fittest women I had ever met. A real 21st century woman's ideal figure: very fit, slimly muscled, and not at all like the emaciated women that grace the covers of fitness magazines like Shape, Muscle and Fitness, or FHM. At least with Northwest Runner, we have style and substance!

While it's taken me 25 years of up and down eating to get to Heather's office, she has taken less time to make health and fitness her profession through her Winning Nutrition practice and work in corporate wellness and research.

"I really became interested in nutrition when I was pre-med at Washington State University," she said. "I've always been drawn to health and fitness, and when I discovered that I could help people professionally, I focused my training and education on nutrition. I really enjoy helping people find a place that's healthy for them."

Heather's always been active, and she looks it. She was an early aerobics enthusiast, swimmer, and runner.

"After I graduated," she continued. "I worked a few years in the field, but returned to graduate school for my Master's in Exercise Physiology."

The Cougar worked back east in corporate wellness for Travelers, the worldwide finance and insurance company. Like it often does, the Pacific Northwest lured her back home in the late 1980's, when she began working locally in corporate wellness, starting her own private business, Winning Nutrition, in 1993. "I've got so much academic training in the field, and it is great to be able to share it, apply it, and see that it works."

In the fall, Heather bikes and swims and trains for triathlons. She also kayaks, and as the leaves turn color, she hikes. In the winter, she's a coach for Special Olympics in Telemark, cross-country and track skiing up in the mountains.

In addition to Winning Nutrition, she also works with cancer patients at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She has spent the last 15 years designing health and wellness programs for individual clients and corporations as well. Her resume reads like a "who's who" of Pacific Northwest businesses. She's worked with The Boeing Company, Valley Medical Center, Providence Medical Center, and The Seattle Club. She's a frequent guest on KPLZ radio and KIRO television, and works hard to promote fitness from a holistic perspective.

Heather's proven to be the opposite of two preconceived notions I've held about nutritionists: she's not the dreaded food police, nor does she nag to help her clients get results.

"I really enjoy helping people identify and achieve their goals," said Heather. "I try to help people chart out a course that is reasonable for the individual. I like to help people do the things that will give the most benefits--not 25 things that you need to do, but 5 things you need to change based on your eating habits and your life style. It is a real individualized approach. It all sounds good and fine when we are talking about it, but what are the obstacles (habits, family, schedule, etc.) that may keep you from your goals, and how can we address them."

Back to that fat test. While I might not have liked our initial baseline findings, I had to face it: my current fat percentage of 38% is truly the outside of the envelope. The American Council on Exercise tells us that folks who have 14 to 17% body fat are fit and that 18 to 25% fat is acceptable. The Council probably wouldn't see my percentage as doubly-fit, they have a harsher term: obese. Ouch. Well, that was why I was here.

Keeping track

In the short time since that test I've followed Heather's advice, it's worked for me more than all the diets and fitness programs that I've tried - combined! Remember Dick Gregory's Slim-Safe Bahamian Diet? Tried it. Grapefruit diets, egg-based diets, Shaklee and Amway distributors' product lines, Nutrisystems, Jenny Craig, or even the U.S. Army Fitness Program? Been there, done them, often twice, with the same results: after an initial quick-fix weight loss, I'd always have to go out an extra belt notch. Less than one month from my first meeting with Heather, I was able to go the other direction on my belt! To be honest, through, it has not been easy.

One of the hardest parts of modifying my diet has been keeping track of my progress, an important part of working with Heather. I'm not one to measure things; in fact, I'll go to great lengths to avoid writing down stuff, including my times on the track, at Greenlake, or at a 5K fun run.

"Just think of it as doing research on yourself," said Heather. "How can you track your progress without writing it down? You probably already write things down for work and keep other lists. Keeping track of your progress will help you see your results. Just start off by keeping a food diary for a week, and include everything if you can. You'll be surprised at how and when you eat affects how you feel."

No freakin' kidding. I often had four to six hours between meals. For many years, I thought it was natural to arrive at the dinner table ravenously hungry. After a quick lunch that often consisted of a Snickers candy bar and Diet Coke, I'd go back to my desk and not eat until dinner. Big mistake. By the time I'd get home, I'd want to eat the dinner table, too. As I'd prepare a pasta meal for my family, I'd often eat a half a loaf of garlic bread with extra butter. Before dinner. Bigger mistake. Same thing would happen between breakfast and lunch at the office. After a breakfast that consisted largely of a double-tall latte and a Cinnabon, I'd work all morning without any snacks. At lunchtime, I'd be ready for the extra-big extra cheese burrito platter at the Mexican restaurant down the block from my office in downtown Seattle.

With those types of fueling habits, no wonder I'd get predictably drowsy. Unfortunately, I saw that as normal. Not so, thanks to the advice I've received from Heather.

It's hard to change habits that I've developed over 25 years of periodically healthy eating. Notice I didn't say "unhealthy." I don't think that my Cinnabon abstinence or switch to Amstel Light or Kaliber non-alcoholic brew will affect their stock performance any, but I've learned to see food as fuel. "It's important to look at what you are eating, but it's also important to look at when you are eating," Heather said. "Your body uses food as fuel. Think about it: if you have a snack in the middle of the afternoon, try to include one with some protein in it, like yogurt. If you include some string cheese or lowfat yogurt in your afternoon snack, it's like putting a log on the fire. If you have only carbohydrates, it's like feeding the fire with newspaper."

The small changes that I have made in my diet have given me remarkable results in a short period of time. I now need to a little more planning the night before, but I pack a morning snack (fruit, light popcorn, a bagel or a corn tortilla) and an afternoon snack (fruit, yogurt, string cheese) each day. I no longer feel groggy at three in the afternoon as my blood sugars crash and burn. Perhaps more importantly, I can prepare a more reasonable dinner, as I am not consumed by hunger as I make dinner for my family. I'll eat garlic bread, but in regular portions with the meal instead of devouring it almost whole while stirring the pasta sauce.

When it comes to helping people reach their goals, Heather's explanations are like that. Simple, direct, and easily understandable. She cuts through my emotional attachment to food, including those frequent cravings for Chicago-style pizza, with a sense of humor and insight that's positively infectious.

The road down to 200 will have some bumps, like some family birthday celebrations, my wedding anniversary, and Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals. Working with Heather, I feel that I can make more informed choices as I take more control of my relationship with food, instead of simply reacting out of hunger at mealtimes.

Whether I'm on the road, planning my daily diet (something I had never done as consistently before), or catching a blues show in Pioneer Square, I try to ask myself: "will this help my next 5K? How will this help me cross the finish line?" or, "what would Heather do?"

One thing I've noticed, though: it's been a difficult road these last two months. As I train for the Gran Pacifico Maraton 10K, I tell myself that these changes will be well worth it when I cross the 10K finish line this December Mazatlan as close to 60 minutes as I can get!