Setting an achievable goal

I'm tired of being 27 and out of shape. I'm 5'11" and about 225lbs (my personal ideal weight is 175lbs). The beer and flat out lazyness has caught up to me. I have always been athletic but in the past few years since I've gotten married and settled into my adult life, I have put on way to many pounds. In order to combat this and increase my quality of life, I have decide to train for a sprint-triathlon. By coincidence, the triathlon falls on my birthday, April 15th, so I've got plenty of time to get ready. I think making a goal like this is better than sitting around going, "Damn I'm fat. I need to lose weight." Now I can work on the weight issue and have a goal to acheive while doing it.