The first family road trip is in the books, and I’m calling it a triumph. The four of us—myself, my wife, Nicki, and our children, Joshua and Alexis, flew from Oklahoma City back to West Palm Beach today after a successful speaking event at Victory Christian Church over the weekend.

I spoke at four services on Sunday—the 9 o’clock, the 10:30, the noon, and the 6 p.m. services—and handed out around 2,500 Perfect Weight America books, or one per family. I think about 4,000 attended the four services, which was gratifying to see.

My talks centered around the Perfect Weight America message of good health and an invitation to attend a PWA Weekend Seminar that will be held at Victory Christian next month on Friday, February 22, and Saturday, February 23. I tied my message to the “Million Pound Challenge” issued by Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, who’s challenging local residents to shed 1 million pounds during 2008. The mayor announced his desire to put the city on a diet on January 4, right at the beginning of the New Year, a time when many people begin exercise programs after feasting on too many of the wrong foods during the holidays. The mayor’s declaration garnered all sorts of national attention after an Associated Press story hit the newswires.
Not to point any fingers, but I’m afraid too many folks in Oklahoma City could use a program like Perfect Weight America to lose some weight. Oklahoma City was ranked 15th in a 2007 survey of America’s fattest cities conducted by Men's Fitness magazine. The survey examined lifestyle factors in each city, including fast-food restaurants per capita and availability of city parks, gyms, and bike paths.

There are a million residents, give or take a few, who live in Oklahoma City, so if everyone lost a pound, Mayor Cornett could take a bow. That won’t happen, of course, but if 10 percent of the population, or 100,000, jumped on the Million Pound bandwagon and lost an average of 10 pounds each, the city would take a huge step toward their perfect weight.

“Wouldn’t it be great if this church, which has around 5,000 members, could lead the charge and lose 100,000 pounds for Oklahoma City?” I asked the congregation during each service. That would mean the church would have to lose an average of 20 pounds per member, which probably isn’t realistic but still a worthy goal. I know one thing: anyone who loses 20 pounds in striving toward his or her perfect weight will be taking a major step toward living longer and higher-quality lives.

I had a mayor in the audience during the first (or second) service, but it wasn’t the Oklahoma City’s top elected official. Marietta Tardibono, the mayor of Warr Acres, sat next to me in the front row. I noticed that she clapped when I urged the church members to lead the way in the Oklahoma City “Million Pound Challenge.”

You may be scratching your head with the reference to Warr Acres. No, that’s not a misspelling. Warr Acres, a suburban city that’s part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area, was established after World War II by C.B. Warr, a businessman and commercial developer. The population was 9,426 at the 2006 census estimate.

I hope that Mayor Tardibono can motivate the good people in Warr Acres to reach their perfect weight in the coming year. Meanwhile, I checked Mayor Cornett’s web site, www.thiscityisgoingonadiet.com, to see how they were doing. As of this week, 13,847 residents have signed up, and the total weight lost is 20,752 pounds, or an average of 1.5 pound per person. Not a bad start for the first month, but here’s an aside to any OKC resident reading this blog: if you’re looking for a plan that will give you a greater chance of reaching your perfect weight, then log on to my web site at www.PerfectWeightAmerica.com.