247. 200. The numbers that matter.

The weight is 247. Pounds, that is. That's what I registered on my doctor's scale this afternoon.

200 is the number of days from today until my goal, which is to dump 1 pound every 10 days. That would be a loss down to 227, which isn't quite what I'm after; I'm hoping that with some aggressive action on this front, particularly in the beginning when much of what I can lose is easy flab and water, I'll be able to go lower --- 215 seems nice. That's probably still a touch heavy for my height and build, but to be at 215 would be a pleasure that I haven't felt in a long, long time. The effect on my knees, my wind, and my overall health would be significant. And 1 pound every 10 days is something I ought to be able to do.

I'm going to be transparent about this, which is why I'm reactivating this blog that I never quite got going in the first place. (It was probably ambitious to start blogging only a few months after starting a new, information-intense job, do you think?) The title of the whole blog could yield some interesting guesses as to the original nature of my plans, but those have changed. If I can keep this going, though, you'll get some of the flavor of the commentary I'd originally envisioned for it, as well as general musings, links (oh, yeah, gotta serve up those links) and maybe even a podcast -- I do those in my work and would love to put one together myself.

First things first, though. Back to the transparency: Blogging has been one tool that people have found to work when undertaking a health regimen. It tracks progress and may do well to force some in slack times, it can draw comments and suggestions, and it creates a support system. I can certainly use that last. So grab an RSS reader if you don't already use one -- Sage for Firefox is handy, or something like SharpReader for Windows or NetNewsWire for the Mac would do the trick too -- and follow along.

First target: 2 pounds down by April 22......