Great responses, advice and encouragement. It is much appreciated.
I feel like this is the one part of my life I have not "conquered" so to speak. I have an amazing wife and 5 wonderful children, have a great career and am blessed with great friends, family and church. This weight thing has always hung over my head. I actually carry the weight "well", if there is such a thing and most people cant believe I weigh that much. I have been able to maintain an active lifestyle with work, riding, etc. , and my BP, resting HR and chloresteral numbers are all good. But, I know that it will catch up with me sooner than later and I dont want to get injured (usually backs go out due to overweight and weak abs) or worse have lasting health problems resulting from being overweight.
One thing that has been quite a negative influence is lack of sleep. As a firefighter at a busy station, in a major city, I get very interrupted sleep patterns 1/3 of my life. I definitely suffer from sleep deprivation, like many fire fighters, and it can result in poor eating habits. I do notice that the days off I am very tired, I eat more poorly. Not sure why, but I need to get a handle on that and they say if you work out first thing in the morning after getting off a bad shift of interrupted sleep, it helps with eating and energy.
Lots of great input that I will most certainly incorporate: No carbs after 2 pm, Weight Watchers or Calorie Counter App for my phone, warm up and cool downs, 500 less calories a day (guy I work with has lost 25 lbs since first of year by simply cutting 500 calories a day and burning 500 calories a day on treadmill), riding more often (tough, but I am going to try).
I am also considering signing up for a Yoga class once a week. I know this can be a little "granola" and I would fit the stereotype of a typical Portlandia, but I have heard great things from fellow firefighters and I would promise not to buy a Subaru Forrester or shop at Whole Foods
It is encouraging to hear other's stories and experiences and I usually dont post this kind of stuff on a website, but this seems like a safe place with great folks, so I thought "what the heck", I'll lay it out there.