Why, part two: the start and the goal.

So the second reason for this 'pointless' blog is as a fitness and diet journal (hence the title). I have learned that the very act of keeping a diet journal is amazingly helpful in losing weight.

The basic idea, I guess, is that if I know I'm going to have to write down somewhere that I ate a bag of chips or a chocolate bar, I'm less likely to actually do that. In other words, it's a willpower booster.

By an astounding coincidence, I'm looking to lose weight. A month and a half ago I was at 200 lbs. Now I'm at 190 lbs (which isn't quite as good as it sounds, since last week I was 188). My goal is a fit and healthy 170 lbs. Once I reach that goal, I'll take a good look at my BFI percentage, and maybe decide to go down to 160. But I suspect that 170 will be healthy enough that I won't go lower.

So, I'm going to try to make daily entries of really mundane stuff, like how much I ate and how much I exercised. And maybe even how I felt about both the eating and the exercise. And there will be occasional statements about how much success I'm having toward my goal of 170 lbs.