Weight

Right now I weigh a little more than 208 pounds. That's far less than the 240 I weighed in 2005, but far more than the 189 I weighed in 2006. With the trip to do some hiking in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons coming up in August, I really need to get some more of this lard off my ass. Hiking in these parks will be a lot different from hiking here in the east. Here, there are only a handful of peaks above 6,000 feet. Out there I'll never be under 6,000 feet! Here I don't have to worry about altitude sickness or shortness of breath from dealing with higher elevations. But out there I will need to make sure that I am fully acclimatized to those altitudes as I begin to try to bag some peaks.

2006: Backbone Rock Falls, Tennessee--about 190 pounds.

But I also need to lose some weight. I've known that for the past few months, but I dearly love to eat the very foods that make it the hardest to lose weight. Jove preserve my will power if I encounter cheesecake, beer, brioche, chocolate, beef, etc. I generally forget all about losing weight when I meet up with a slice of pecan pie or a dish of ice cream.

February 2010, Hollywood CA--210 pounds (Oink!)

So I finally decided that time is too short between now and August, so I've started by cutting out the kinds of foods that are worst for my waistline. I really want to lose at least fifteen pounds before we board the jet to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I have a bit more than four months to get the fat off, and a little more than that to finish my new novel, THE CLAN. Hopefully, I'll get both done in time.

The past few days have been okay. I've resisted all kinds of cakes an cookies. Tomorrow I've been told my mother-in-law will be serving Key lime pie. We'll see how that goes.