was calm in the area of the five-day protests, all week long. and back here in the united states, in chicago, teacher community leaders arrest rallying at union park, protesting what they say is an assault on teachers. protesters kept 350,000 students out of school. both sides agreed on a framework deal and it could be final this weekend. >> all right, that will do it for me, i'm fredricka whitfield. keep it right here, for sanjay gupta, live from sunny california. hello from the west coast, well, the race is here. i'm in california to race the nautica malibu triathlon, along with seven cnn viewers. they have been training all year long, right along with me. i can tell you that the sport of

triathlon is growing, in fact the number has increased ten-fold in the last ten years. one of the all-time greats will be along to share tips about keeping your head in the game. they will explain something you will love. how anyone can get more fit, lose more weight, while in fact working out less. before we get to all of that, there is a big story we have been following along for sometime out of new york. you may have heard about this. mayor michael bloomberg launched the crusade to ban sugary drinks, including sodas in city restaurants and delis. and thursday, he got what he wanted on the large drink, 16 ounces or more. i spoke with mayor bloomberg earlier from new york. all right, mr. mayor, thank you so much for joining us. i wondered, a lot of people are talking about what is happening in new york city obviously. i wonder if you could sort of take me back to the beginning for you. when did this become something you were thinking about seriously?

>> well, over the last few years, obesity has become a bigger and bigger problem, not just in the united states, but around the world. i think this is the first year in the history of the world where more people will die from the effectings of too much food than from starving. and it is fascinating, it is also, we think, the first disease in the history of the world that has gone from being a rich person's disease to a poor person's disease. >> it is pretty shocking as you may know, mayor, we have been reporting on this issue for sometime. was there a personal story for you? i mean, did you have issues either with the chronic effects of obesity in your own family, yourself? >> no, but i can tell you, and i think i speak for almost everybody, if it is in front of me. i eat it. i love cheese-its. if you put a bowl, two pound box in front of me, i would probably eat them all.

that is not very good for you. but if you eat anything in moderation, or almost anything, there is no harm. so if you put a sll bowl in front of me, that is fine. we all do the same thing. all we're trying to do with the sugary drinks is to have a smaller portion in front of you. if you want to take another portion, you can do it, as a matter of fact, you can buy two 16-ounce cups or four of them. any time you want. and take them back to your seat or table. >> when you sat down with your team and thought about the future, at the beginning again, of all of this, what was the biggest obstacle to getting this done, that you believed? >> well, i actually think it is relatively simple. i think when people think back on what happened with smoking, smoking was very controversial to ban it in public places. but when -- if you -- go around now, and say well who was against the smoking ban back then? you can't find anybody.

everybody remembers that they were for it. the big difference between smoking and obesity is that if you smoke and i'm in the same room, i get hurt. if you and i are in the same room and i'm obese, i don't get hurt, short term. but i do eventually have to pay your medical bills because that is actually what happens. >> so you make the argument that this is a public health issue, in addition to being a personal health issue? you know, it strikes me, mayor, listening to you talk. you are obviously a man who has great wealth and resources. and you could have chosen to try to address these issues in many different ways. but as a mayor, what you're doing, i can sense the satisfaction in your voice as your getting things done. >> and somebody said to me, what legacy would you like to have, three yes improvement, a life rate -- certainly the smoking ban got copied all in western europe. they're smoke-free, big chunks

in latin america, other countries, china, where the governments own the tobacco companies. the 150 million people moving to the middle class are focusing on it. so a lot of lives will be saved. and maybe that is a pretty good legacy to have. >> not a bad one at all. mr. mayor, thank you for joining us, i really do want to keep on top of the story. thank you. >> thank you. >> and i should note the ban does not take place until march. and what we'll wait to see is in fact if this move makes new york city any healthier. meanwhile, here in malibu, our lucky seven. they have already made the commitment to get fit. how about you? up next we'll get advice from possibly one of the greatest endurance athletes of all time. plus, the world challenger, the nasa astronaut, deciding to rate me from 250 miles high up in the sky. we'll explain.

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. sunrise happening right now as the two astronauts there, sunny williams on the left, they're about to head over parts of columbia and venezuela. >> and there is my friend, the nasa astronaut, sunit a williams, walking like a pro outside of the international space station. but she has another challenge this weekend, as well. she will race the nautica malibu triathlon from space. she decided to challenge me. and i spoke with sunny earlier from on board, and i asked how she would manage the bike ride. >> sure, i was talking about the bike when you were visiting us before, because luckily here in space, we don't need a seat. all we do is put our feet in the pedals, and i'll demonstrate here. so we also have a computer here that we can dial in the resistance and speed.

and then we also for health purposes take our heart rate as we are writing. and so this is how i'm going to simulate the bike ride. so for the hills, i can increase my resistance to match the route that you will take. because i would assume that malibu is not flat, like houston, right? >> not flat at all. she is absolutely right about that. now, about the course out here. i want to give you a sense of what we are up against. so we'll have a look with the cnn producer, kate hagan. >> reporter: i mean look at the waves, the choppy water, this is where we'll begin our race this weekend. we'll swim here in the ocean. it is the first time of the history of the triathlon challenge that we have ever done a race in the ocean. i'm talking freezing waters.

we'll swim half a mile down here, very difficult. because it is 18 miles of rolling hills along the pacific coast highway. some of the areas are pretty steep. we'll try to make it up to the hills behind me, on our bikes, on the way to the next transition area. so after the challenging bike ride, unfortunately, there is no rest for the tired legs. because now it is on to the run, four miles along the pacific coast highway, and we'll make it to the zuma beach, where we get other fitness medals. so as i say that, i realize i need to get training in because i am racing this weekend. but sanjay, i'll be there at the start line. >> i'll be there, caitlin, i promise you, and one of the champs, chrissie wellington, you probably know her. she has written a book, "life

without limits" the book took her from a casual runner, and a traveling backpacker, to being one of the greatest endurance runners of all time. >> reporter: you're looking at the world's greatest female endurance athletes, chrissie wellington, who took the world by storm when she won the 2007 championsh championships, her second race ever. she raced the local races to stay active. and it was not until she started to win that she thought about going pro. >> chrissie wellington. >> reporter: despite her success, wellington says she has made plenty of mistakes. and there are lessons for everyone to learn from her journey. and chrissie wellington is here with me now. thank you so much for joining us. i love watching the images of you. it is quite a moniker to be one of the best endurance athletes.

one thing you talked about, training your brain. it is mental as much as physical, what do you mean by that? >> yeah, i firmly believe, to be a good athlete, professional or otherwise, you have to be physically strong, but mentally strong. you have to have a mind that is able to overcome the down times, the hard times and the discomfort. and i believe that there are tools and strategies that you can use as an athlete. and that you can actually develop. so whether it is visualization or having family and friends or pizza at the finish line, you really have to have a positive mental outlook. and that has helped me to become a champion. >> i find there is a point at the race for everybody, you just don't think you can dig any deeper. that is where the mental kicks in. a lot of people said this seems like a fringe sport, a dangerous

sport, potentially. you say it is probably safer than a lot of endurance sports. >> well, when i got into the sport at first, i had never even ridden a race bike. and that was in 2004. and i said you have to be absolutely crazy to do an ironman. i think triathlon is open to anybody, regardless of their background or physical ability. i didn't grow up with a platform of sporting excellence. you know, i was a casual runner. and i found that triathlon, i found it was something i was good at. what the team has shown me is that you can come from all backgrounds and go through the sporting journey and go on to achieve your goal. >> thank you so much for helping our team along. as you know, none of them have done a triathlon before. and very quickly, you also say rest is important.

that makes sense, but in order to grow stronger, you have to rest. >> absolutely, of course you need to do the physical training, the swim biking and running. but it is not that training that makes you stronger, it is recovering from that. so i had to learn that as i had to mature as an athlete. you do need to recover, have a massage occasionally, focus on your nutrition. >> i love that, people think it is intentional t-- intense, all the time. but it can be. how many championships have you won? >> i have won four. >> thank you for joining us, great to have you here. and also, fitness magazine calls him one of the fittest guys in the world. how he turned his life around after 40. stay with us. i was teaching a martial arts class and having a heart attack. my brother doesn't look like a heart attack patient.

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five years ago, a california lawyer turned himself into one of the fittest men on the planet. he is an inspiration for everyone, i'll tell you, especially dads like myself who want to improve our diets and all-around help. he also wrote a book, became one of the world's fittest men. to earn the title, you have to beat other competitors in a six-mile swim, followed by a bike run and 53-mile run. he is one of them. >> i could probably put these on

over my jeans. >> reporter: but it was not always so. this is rich four years ago, 50 pounds overweight. >> you know i had a moment on these stairs where i was like i had to stop and take a break before i could get to the top of the stairs. i was winded. >> reporter: that night, he committed to change, and his change to ultraman began. >> i couldn't imagine it. it was not possible, i didn't think it was anything on my mind. we were sitting on the couch, watching television, eating pizza, a lot of dairy. >> reporter: the bad food? well, that was one of the first things to go. >> this was a big part of your change, i mean in the kitchen? >> this is the cockpit, that is the cockpit. >> this is the hq. >> reporter: today he fuels his body on a completely planned based vegan diet, eating foods as close to their natural base as possible. no eggs, dairy. >> when you train hard it has to

be immense, you feel it can california what you need? >> oh, i know it can, it has. >> reporter: he exercises on average about two hours a day. he credits the performance and vitality to the diet. >> after the training session, the most important thing to help you recover is to get electrolytes, replace your glyocin storage. >> the typical breakfast, apple juice, pumpkin seeds, kale. >> and they make grand promises on the foods, you're proof it can be done. it actually happens. >> i can say i never felt better, my body never performed better. as an athlete, as a father and as a human being. cheers. >> and rich joins me now -- it is incredible to watch the images, and congratulations, everything, the book, your

accomplishments. i get a question a lot about being a vegan, people say you can still be wildly unhealthy, lack energy and not be able to do what you do. >> yeah, that is my story, too, just because you're on any number of diets doesn't necessarily mean it is healthy. you can be a junk food vegan, and drink coca-cola, and eat chips all day long. not necessarily healthy. so for me it has been a journey to discover the plant-based f d foods, get rid of too much sugar -- >> that is a big point, beer and potato chips could be on that diet. thanks for all of your help with the lucky seven, congratulations. and still ahead, i'm going to tell you how to work out less, lose more weight, who doesn't want that? we have much more from malibu, in just a moment. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

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you know, each year, viewers from all over the country have been sending us videos, wanting to join our fitness team, because they're ready to make a 180-degree change in their lives. i will tell you, it is not always about weight loss, but mental and physical fitness, as well. these people have been

transformed. >> my name is nancy, i'm sending you this video on a chilly night here in minnesota. >> it was nancy's mental health that made her send in the video. recently separated, she sent in a video. >> i found it hard to get through the day, get regular exercise. >> eight months later, nancy is at the front of the pack. she has lost 20 pounds and re-gained her confidence and hopes to finish the race in two hours and 17 minutes. when this pastor, glenn keller, sent in a video, he was 350 pounds. >> i am at least 100 pounds overweight, the first thing i need to do is make a difference in my life. >> now, he is under 265, and feels better since his military d days.

>> denise castelli wants to take back her life by force, swimming, biking, running, even making an appearance on a u.s. open court. radio host jeff dauler said he was tired of being the fat, funny guy. >> i realized one of the only thing that any of us can control in our lives is our bodies, what we put in them, how we take care of them. >> reporter: down 25 pounds now, jeff says he still has one major problem, fitting his big head, he says, into a swim cap. but he is doing great. carlos solis is among them. >> i want to be able to -- to show my students that if you have diabetes, or that if somebody in your family has diabetes, you can break that chain of ever getting it. >> reporter: now he is down 80 pounds and is off almost all of his diabetes medications, and

launched a run club at his school. more than 100 students are taking part. rick morris is a web designer. >> after my career in the army, i started to smoke, i quit exercising. i don't want to die young from controllable circumstances. i want to live. >> reporter: he crushed his last cigarette on our show in february, and he has been smoke-free ever since. and adrienne lagier is determined to get in shape. >> we start our life of fitness and health. >> reporter: two weeks later, now a vegan, adrienne and chris got married, with pastor glenn doing the ceremony. i told you, you would be inspired. and congratulations to all of you. are you ready for the race? >> yes. >> and if you monitor your heart rate it can make things