Dan Nied's Fortress of Weight Loss: Day 76

I am looking to the future.

That's really all there is to say. But, of course, since you are reading this (even if it is for free), you probably want a little more explanation to go along with your morning coffee.

You might even want something inspiring. Well, I can do that.

The last few weeks I have been obsessed with hitting the 100 pounds mark. I even made up a name for it: "The Assault on 270." Well, if you read Friday's post, you'll know that I both assaulted and battered 270. I am 100 pounds lighter than I was two years ago. It is a nice milestone, almost nice enough to get caught up in and lose focus of the true goal of getting to 240.

I let myself have a weekend to think about 100 pounds and what it means to me. By Monday, I was kind of done with all that. The Assault on 270 was complete, and there was a new leg of the journey to begin.

So Monday, I am proud to say, I began the Assault on 260. And it will probably ring true if I predict that every 10 pound increment from here on out will be known as the Assault on 250 and, finally, the Assault on 240. And yes, the "A" will be capitalized.

That's my plan to begin looking forward. I feel that I can keep up my current eating habits and, largely, my current exercise plan (with one major change that I will detail below), and get to 240 in a reasonable amount of time. So I don't see any need to drastically alter the diet. I do, however, see a need for a new gimmick to keep myself focused.

When the Assault on 270 began, I was 275.4 pounds. I turned in 10 great days and hit my goal with 1.2 pounds to spare. I stopped thinking about 240 pounds as the ultimate goal, and focused only on 270. I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible instead of letting it hang around and stress over it a little bit more.

Monday, it occurred to me. Why not "Assault" every round number that's left?

That is exactly what I am going to do. Now, my focus is on 260 rather than 240. And I want to take 260 by storm, breezing through this portion of the Fortress, and bum rushing the last third of this journey with momentum, tunnel vision and maybe a little bit of venom.

It's safe to say that, by design, this is the most important goal in my life right now. I look at myself naked every day, and I still see a bulging gut and fistfuls of fat. I look in the mirror and still see a double chin. I know these things won't go away simply through weight loss, but they can be minimized, and then dealt with entirely.

The Assault on 260 has begun. Monday, I ate only 1,250 calories (though I had originally planned for more), and went to the gym after taking it easy for the last five days.

My gym routine shifted to another level on Monday. I began lifting in addition to 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. For now, my lifting routine is fairly simple (chest, back, biceps, triceps, shoulders), but I will work in some abs as I go along, and possibly some more advanced lifts. I am using low weights and doing three sets of 20, a routine taught to me by an old friend, Bryan Shepherd, who is a baseball coach and trainer at the esteemed Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. Shep worked with me a little bit for the 100 Days blog, and I heeded his advice with noticeable results.

It seems like a natural time to start lifting weights. I've always known that this has to be about reshaping my body as much as it is about reducing it.

Here I am, beginning the new leg of this hike. From here on out, you won't have to read about 100 pounds or 270. You'll only read about the future and how I plan to make it count.