So here it begins.

My friend Athalos has been talking about putting together a fitness blog for a while now. I've thought the idea over, and finally decided to just do it.

The best place to start is with a bit of history about me.

Way back in high school was a skinny kid. About 160 pounds, no hint of muscle. Through university I gained about 20 pounds, but still no muscle.

I got married, got a job, and then went for 6 months on contract by myself in the USA. There's where my troubles began. Though I've got a pretty high metabolism, it was no match for 3 fast food meals a day, and nothing but cola to drink. I gained about 60 pounds or so, going up to somewhere over 240. I didn't even notice it until it was pointed out to me.

I decided to make some changes in my life. I swapped out cola for diet cola, I started eating regular food again, and I added in some fitness. Within a year or two, just from those changes, I got down to about 220. I was happy enough with that.

For a while.

My weight wobbled about between 210 and 230, and I was ok with it. But eventually I grew dissatisfied with being that heavy. I wanted to be more fit. I wanted to look better, and be more physically capable.

So, I started to do a bit more exercise. I cut down on cola, and changed my eating habits. I made an effort.

And it worked. I lost weight again. Down to 200. More changes, down to 180. This took another few years to do. At my lowest, I got down to about 175. A weight I like.

But, it didn't last. I didn't keep up with the exercise. I didn't keep up with eating right and watching just what it is I am eating. So, I've gained. And gained.

As of today, I stand at 198.4 pounds. I'm 5'10", so that means that the weight doesn't look BAD on me, but it also doesn't look GOOD.

Over the years, I've done a lot of reading about how to get fit, and how to lose weight. Everything out there distills to the same general message, and it's as simple as you can get.

1. Eat a variety of things in reasonable amounts.

2. Do something physically active.

I've applied both of these principals before - even going so far as to call them my "stop eating so damn much" diet plan and my "get off your ass" workout plan. They're effective if applied consistently. I'm a firm believer that it doesn't matter what you do for physical activity, as long as it gets you moving.

Through everything, my biggest issues with getting and staying fit have been with motivation, and also with consistency. I feel those are both keys for me to finding fitness.

This blog is one way to help with my motivation. A public space where people I know can take a look at what I'm doing - or not doing. With luck, daily posts will also keep me consistent.

Right now, I've got a single goal for my fitness. Weight loss. My desired weight is about 175 pounds. That's a 23.4 pound loss from where I am currently. I've lost it before, I can lose it again.

I know that a reasonable rate of loss is around 2 pounds per week. Rounding up, 23.4 pounds is 12 weeks of consistent loss. That puts me into July sometime if I start today (and I am starting today). I feel that's a good amount of time as a starter.

So, that's the long and short of it. 24 pounds, by the end of July. Post every day that I can.

The journey starts now.