I am 49 years old, and I’m feeling every single minute of it. So I’m joining the usual “time to get in shape!” brigade that forms with the dawn of every new year.

So far, I’ve hooked up the FitBit I got for Christmas and haven’t eaten any fast food today. (Hey, it’s a start, at least.) Once I get my eating habits straightened out and get through next week’s follow-up appointment with my oncologist (Cancer surviving. There’s a likely blog topic if ever there was one.), I’m going to increase my physical activity.

My goal is to get down to 200 pounds by September (from 252 today) and to get in decent walking-around shape. I’m chaperoning a high school band trip to Chicago in April, and leading a trip to a Boy Scout conference in Michigan in August, so I just can’t afford the knee and lower back pain that tends to accompany every day spent hoofing it around the mall or IKEA or what have you.

Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.