I am a 47 year old happily-married man with a son in college and a daughter in high school.

I recently realized that continuing my current lifestyle (eat whatever I want and exercise very little) is basically the equivalent of slowly poisoning myself.

I stumbled onto fatsecret.com when looking for a calorie counter app for my blackberry. I had idea that it was way more than just a simple calorie counter. I cant think of many apps or websites that have been such a pleasant surprise as this one.

So far, so good... but I am only a week in!
I have been on a few "diets" before and one constant among every diet that has ever worked for me is the idea of writing down every morsel of food and every sip of drink that goes into my mouth. To have the ability to save that info digitally- on my phone or my computer- with just a few mouseclicks is awesome.

Some folks might feel that recording eating habits is a short term gimmick. But I believe that using doing this is essential to me being able to follow a healthy lifestyle. And I am convinced that the difference between a healthy lifestyle and and my current unhealthy ways could change my life expectancy by 20-30 years. Not to mention the fact that being healthier makes me feel good... both physically and mentally.

So, my game plan is to lose 75 lbs. I weighed 253 on 1/27/2011 and have a final goal of 178 lbs. I think 253 is pretty much my all-time high. 178 is the upper end of "normal" for a 6 ft tall male and is roughly what I weighed in my 20's.

I dont have an exact timetable for losing 75 lbs. I guess I would like to lose it within a year, but if it takes 2 or 3 years... thats okay... as long as I am working at it.

And, just as important, I need to develop an eating and exercise plan that is sustainable for years and years. And I really believe that a key part of that plan (for me) is recording my eating habits like my life depends on it, even after I reach my goal weight.