Setting two personal goals...

I'm setting out to make some healthy changes.

In July 2008, I stepped onto the scale and saw the highest weight I had ever been: 303 pounds. I'm 6'5", so I don't look very overweight; with clever wardrobe choices, I can mask the extra pounds fairly well. (The double chins are another matter!) But I set out then to do something about it. Marcie and I had done Weight Watchers before, so I started "counting points" and worked hard at it for a few months.

By late October, I was down to 273-- very encouraging progress. I had begun to stall, though, and needed to increase my exercise. I also wasn't getting enough water, and that was slowing the progress substantially.

Then we had Abbey and Caroline, and the holidays were just around the corner. My commitment to any sort of diet, exercise, or other effort ceased completely. I saw my weight slowly start to crawl back up.

I'm now at 287. Still far from where I was at 303, but I need to get back to it. And I need to do it very publicly, so that I have the accountability of everyone's expectations.

I'm starting back onto counting points. I'm also going to start exercising-- I've missed running terribly ever since high school, and hopefully I can get going with that. I'll try the "Couch to 5K" plan and see if my knees can stand it. If not, I'll at least get back on my bike (I miss that from high school, too!).

I have two personal goals in my efforts: to get my weight down to the mid-240s, and to run a 5K by late spring. (An alternative to the 5K goal, if my knees can't take it, is to do a Quarter-Century by myself by early spring on the bike.)