I'm a green design/builder, project advocate and manager, and that sort of thing. I've reached an age where I'm having to turn the labor over to younger folks and "just play boss." Of course, that means I've got to watch what I eat more than I have in the past. Physical labor is -- well, hard work. So while I've always been stocky, most of that was muscle not fat. (Like a lot of athletes, I'll always be "overweight" according to the BMI.)

I did the Atkins diet many years ago when I was in the military; and a form it we simply called "carb controlled" a few years ago. It works well. But I've discovered the problem is not losing the weight. Losing weight is easy. Keeping the weight off, however, is more problematic. Our eating habits, our desire for the foods we love, for the foods we reach for when we're happy or sad -- those are all pretty deeply ingrained.

So this time I'm taking what I've learned about myself over the last 30 years, and what I've learned about nutrition and diet both from famous diet books and the not so famous ones, and am putting it all together. I'm not so much "dieting" as I am adjusting portions, so that I consume less (especially in carbs) of the same things I've come to like cooking and eating. That way there are no dramatic shifts -- either on the way down or after I get there. Just a gentle slide to an easy stop.

Okay, you can wake up now.