How much do I have to lose?

I currently weigh 196 lbs. Unfortunately, this isn't the most I've ever weighed. About a year ago, I tipped the scales at about 203lbs. I've made very small changes to drop a few pounds since then, but I need to get serious about my weight.

At my current weight, my BMI is 29.8 which makes me "overweight" BUT is only 0.1 away from being obese! Unacceptable!

To figure out my ideal body weight, I'm aiming for a BMI that is in the middle of "normal." This goal weight is 155lbs, which gives me a BMI of 23.6.

I'm not a perfect being and therefore, rather than overshooting and being totally unrealistic, I'm not setting out (at least at this point in time) to lose all 41 lbs.

I want to lose 29 lbs. Here's how I calculated that weight loss:

I need to lose 41 lbs. That would be roughly 2lbs a week for 20 weeks. That assumes I will lose 2 lbs EVERY week and NEVER gain any weight. This assumption is unreasonable. Instead of achieving 100% success, I figure I can realistically hit the 70% mark. This means I have 29 lbs to lose (70% of 41 is 29).

Interestingly enough, in 20 weeks (mid-October) I'll turn 30 years old. What a great way to ring in the next decade of my life!

This averages out to 1.5lbs/week. This is VERY reasonable, right?

I'm currently on vacation and I've spent a good chunk of time studying weight loss, reading others' success stories, stalking catching up on old high school friends blogs/facebook that have lost weight, and developing my weight loss plan.

I have several motivations, goals, and strategies I will employ. Those will follow once I can hijack another wifi signal shortly.

Stay tuned!