It begins

I've been half-heartedly looking into various diets and exercise plans for a few weeks, with the goal of making a New Year's Resolution to lose some gut. None of them looked all that promising, until I saw a few coworkers calculating their Weight Watchers "points" when we were out to lunch one day.

I asked about it, and looked into it, and I liked what I saw. The idea that you can still eat pretty much anything you like appeals to me - you just have to moderate it. The points system makes sense - well, it does once you can figure out how many points a given food item has, and that gets easier with experience. And the fact that you have weekly "bonus points" allowing you to splurge once in awhile makes me happy. Much easier to follow than Dr. Ian Smith telling me I can't eat anything but fruits and vegetables (and only certain vegetables) for a month. And I've always been dubious about the "eat all the fatty red meat you want, just stay away from that pesky bread" diet. Plus, WW has been around, like, forever - they have to be doing something right.

So, I signed up last night. Current weight: 214. Goal weight: 192 (for now). That's their recommended "10 percent" goal. I'll see how I look and feel if when I hit that goal.

Short term goal? Lose 10 pounds by April 1st - going to Disney with my family that week. Gotta look good for the ladies on Pleasure Island!

I'll be updating my progress here as often as I can. Public shame is a good motivator. Might even work up the courage to post a "Biggest Loser"-style "before" picture... we'll see.