COPD & Chubbiness

Hi there, I recently attended a routine pre-op assessment only to be told that for time in my 56 years, I have high blood pressure and I should reduce it before they will operate. Prior to this, I had also been told that I have COPD, early stages, through years of lung abuse by nicotine. Fortunately, I gave up the naughty sticks a couple of years ago so in my mind, I ain't too badly off. Trouble is my weight went up by 2 stones over the last 12 months. The combination of COPD and High Blood Pressure has persuaded me that I must lose weight. I have tried before but to no success but since finding myfitnesspal it's made a great difference. I know that all the spreadsheets and software tools in the world wont make any difference to weight loss, but just the very act of logging my exercise and diet is disciplining myself on a day by day basis. I've only be going three days but genuinely feel positive and hopeful. I've also set myself a challenge of riding 280 miles over a weekend in the summer of 2011. With lungs at 49% effectiveness, I feel this will be a real challenge. I'll be mapping my progress via my blog site at http://podgethepuffer.co.uk/my-challenge/ for anybody that's interested.