Last week: 386 lbs.

Start (Dec. 17): 470 lbs.

Total lost: 82 lbs.

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It’s hard to put a weight-loss journey in perspective when others are struggling financially to feed themselves.

While most of us are either thinking about food in a gluttonous way this week or crafting Thanksgiving menus to overfeed an extended family — because there’s nothing better than leftovers — hundreds of families in our communities are thankful to simply receive a box of essential food items for their holiday meals.

On Monday, Nov. 24, the Lake Placid Ecumenical Charity distributed almost 400 Thanksgiving meal boxes to families in need. In the basement of the St. Agnes Catholic Church, dozens of volunteers took time out of their busy holiday schedules to fill boxes with a variety of items.

“That’s what it’s all about, the human part,” said Lake Placid Ecumenical Charity coordinator Linda Young. “It’s a ministry, and you’re giving them hope.”

Last year, the program gave out 381 Thanksgiving meal boxes, and the food pantry assisted 208 families, consisting of 366 adults and 100 children, with food for the month of November. This year, demand is still high, possibly higher, Young said. Last Friday, the food pantry was swamped with 45 families in need. As of press time, it was uncertain how many meal boxes were distributed on Monday, but Young was prepared for a slight bump in demand.

“I ordered 400 turkeys,” she said.

The preparation actually began Sunday with high school students setting up so volunteers could walk in Monday morning and start their assembly-line-style meal box operation. In all, there were about 60 volunteers, including Lake Placid teenager Jesse Izzo.

“I’m homeschooled and getting confirmed this year (in the Catholic Church), so I need service hours,” he said. “And it’s fun.”

Izzo walked me through the process. After grabbing a box in the back of the line, he began filling it with food: a can of gravy, a can of green beans, chicken stock, a box of stuffing, a stalk of fresh celery, a can of corn, a can of cranberry sauce, a can of peaches or applesauce, a small brown bag of fresh carrots and onions and a loaf of bread. On their way out, families could choose warm clothing such as winter jackets. Upstairs in the driveway, they were given potatoes, a pie (apple or pumpkin) and a turkey, handed out from the back of a truck.

Young said she’s thankful to all the volunteers and businesses who helped with the Thanksgiving boxes this year, especially the owner of the local Subway who donated food for the volunteer lunch and has been doing so for years.

List of thanks

I’m not pretending when I say I know what some of these families are going through. While I was between jobs in early 1994, I was on food stamps. It only lasted a month or so, but for that short period, I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from. My mother was living in New Paltz at the time, so I didn’t have a refrigerator to raid. I was thankful to have the assistance to buy food. Financially, it started out as the worst year of my life, and I worked hard to pick myself up. In November 1994, I started a job as the Saranac Lake reporter for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, where there were plenty of free sweets on the kitchen table during the holiday season. I would never need food assistance again, and I will never forget the help I received.

This year, I’m grateful to all the people and organizations who helped me get healthier on the Lake Placid Diet. It was truly a community effort, and I could not have done it on my own.

¯Family: Thanks to my wife Dawn, mother Michele, twin brother Steve and Aunt Madaline and Uncle Joe for their support. Steve traveled from Colorado to walk with me during the Lake Placid Half-Marathon in June. Dawn deserves more credit than anybody because she has to live with the highs and lows of this emotional roller coaster and now has to ask “Can you eat this?” a lot more. God bless her.

¯Friends: There are too many friends to count, mainly because I’m making more every day while on this journey, including faithful Lake Placid Diet readers, Facebook friends, Fitness Revolution friends and the Lake Placid athletic community. Special thanks to Dan Roy, who walked with Steve and me during the Lake Placid Half-Marathon; Mike and Robin Miller and Merry Barney, who hiked mountains with me this past summer; and the crew who walked with me during the Lake Placid Classic 10k, Alison Haas, Cherie Ferguson, Robin Miller and Jeff Letson.

¯Fitness Revolution: Special thanks to owner Hal Schmidt, general manager Jason McComber, trainers Janis Atkinson and Seth Lang, and the rest of the staff and members for their ongoing support and for giving me an opportunity to get healthy at this world-class gym. Moreover, the Take It Off weight-loss challenge group has changed my life and given me a solid foundation of strength, education and fellowship to continue my journey. These guys and gals should really be listed under the “family” heading because they are family.

¯Green Goddess Natural Market: Nutrition consultant Wynde Kate Reese has been a key component of my success this year, as she’s listened to my ramblings and given me sage advice about healthy food options.

¯Work: I’ve always had supportive co-workers. When my boss Cathy said “yes” to the idea of publishing the Lake Placid Diet in the newspaper every week, she allowed me to begin my public journey, and she’s been very supportive throughout the process. The entire Lake Placid News and Adirondack Daily Enterprise staff has been with me the whole way, sharing their weight-loss struggles and food tips and lifting my spirits when needed. Special thanks to Dan Cash and Morgan Ryan, who joined me to form the Lake Placid News Papermen team for the final High Peaks Cyclery mini-triathlon of the season in August. They helped me achieve my biggest goal of the summer. Also, thanks to all the people I’ve interviewed for the Lake Placid Diet this year. You are all my heroes.

¯Community: I can’t go anywhere in this village without running into someone who is giving me encouragement along the way. To all of you, thanks for your support.

Lake Placid seems to be designed to help people like me. Venues such as the North Elba Show Grounds, Olympic Center’s 1980 Rink and Mirror Lake give me opportunities to get exercise by walking. Thanks to the town of North Elba, the state Olympic Regional Development Authority and the village of Lake Placid for making these free options available.

Businesses such as Fitness Revolution, Green Goddess, Adirondack Nutrition Consulting, Fallen Arch, High Peaks Cyclery, Placid Planet Bicycles and Adirondack Health are on the front lines of helping people get healthy and stay healthy.

Restaurants are offering more health-friendly options, especially the Scape Cafe at Green Goddess and the Good Bite Kitchen on Main Street.

Events such as the Lake Placid Marathon and Half, Lake Placid Classic Half-Marathon and 10k, and High Peaks Cyclery Mini-Triathlon series give people an opportunity to compete and achieve personal fitness goals. Thanks to all of these organizers for giving me the chance to get healthier while participating in these events.

It seems everyone struggles with something, whether it’s weight loss, addiction, finances or something else, and I’ve found that there is no shortage of people who are willing to go out of their way to help someone in need. Linda Young and her crew do it every week at the food pantry.

I only hope that by taking this weight-loss journey in a public way, I have inspired others to begin their own journeys. If I have done that, even with one person, this painful struggle has been worthwhile and I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward.