Hi all,

A bit about me and why I am here: I am an academic so I spend almost all of my time sitting, and over the last few years adding weight little by little. In addition to being sedentary most of the time, two of my favorite things are good food and wine. These things are great, but they don't do much for the waistline.

I have decided it is time to finally do something proactive before I have to buy all new clothes. The final straw came last week when I had to buy a pair of fat pants in order to sit at my desk comfortably. I have worn a 32 waist for as long as I can remember. In high school I was skinny (120 lbs), but baggy was in. By the time I was in my 20's a 32 fit just right. Now in my early 30's, not so much.

I don't really remember it happening but somehow I got to 185. Actually, I have vivid memories of the steaks, happy hours, bottles of scotch and nachobell grandes that got me here. Now I just hope I can go in reverse as adeptly. I am going to try to do it with better eating, less alcohol, and regular trips to the gym. We shall see how it goes. I am going to try to switch off between cardio and weight lifting. I used to love lifting but I was never much for cardio. My screen name is sarcastic! But i am going to try the running thing anyway.