The ticker at the bottom of the page

The ticker represents my success so far in losing weight. I don't know for sure what my start weight was, in the fall of 2005, but I know it was at least 255. So, I've come a long way.

I chose a turtle because of the fable The Tortoise and the Hare. If you are not familiar with the fable, here it is:

There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch.

Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?"

Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax."

Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line.

The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare.

Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line.

After that, Hare always reminded himself, "Don't brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!" [borrowed from http://www.storyarts.org/library/aesops/stories/tortoise.html]

I included my BMI because that is a significant indicator of good health. I chose 124 as my goal weight because that is the top of the range for a healthy BMI for my height. I may go lower than that, we'll see, but for now, my goal is to be a healthy weight.

My next intermittent goal is 160. That is when I can remove the word "obese" from my weight description. You can watch the ticker, but I'll also make a special announcement, and we can all have a "virtual" party to celebrate.

In future posts, I'll describe the various plans I used along the way to weight loss success, and pass along some well-learned lessons and some insightful websites.