It started with the "Freshman 15."

My freshman year of high school, that is. And it feels like I've added 15 more pounds at each major juncture of my life. (I need to pay a royalty to Cathy Guisewite for this intro.)

Spring is here and, if I'm going to squeeze into that Speedo™, I'd better get cracking. I'm going to make a game of it and be as public as I can. I will either inspire others or make a fool of myself. OK, both really.

I want to see how many pounds I drop, if any, by the end of June. You can follow my progress on Twitter. Feel free to direct message me there as well.

There's no fad dieting here. No starvation. Just some social networking.

Here's my plan. (I'm not a doctor. I'm just the subject of my own experiment. Don't try this at home.)

1. Weigh in daily.

This means stepping on the scale every day, looking at where I'm at and thinking about where I'd prefer to be weight-wise. (Junk science alert: It's my way of reassuring my body's fat-storage mechanisms that they don't need to store fat more efficiently should I start losing weight.)

2. Eat a little better.

Eating a lot better is out of the question. It's also why most attempts at weight loss fail. I'm going to eat just a little better. No starving. And no cucumber salads. Ick.

For me, this means not eating out. If it comes from my house, it's fair game. No cookies from co-workers. No trips to the sushi cart. Even if the food from the external source is better than the peanut butter sandwich from my own kitchen, it's off limits.

I suspect that item number 5, below, will affect consumption more than calorie/carb counting.

That's it.

3. Drink 64 ounces of water a day.

Two quarts. My plan is to carry a quart water bottle around with me.

4. Make a daily appearance at the gym. Even if I just stand on the treadmill and watch The Simpsons™, I'll be there. (Hopefully I'll do more, but the minimum is to show up.)

And finally,

5. Go public.

Making a commitment openly and publicly makes it harder to back down. A little social pressure and support can make a big a difference.

No matter where I'm at, I'm going to twit the results of my weigh in, everything I eat (before it goes into my mouth), whether I made my water quota, and when I made it to the gym.

All this twittering may annoy the people who follow me. But, hopefully, they'll understand that I'm doing it for science.

Wish me luck!