I would like to lose weight and get in shape but past efforts in this direction have always backfired on me (weight lost seems to come back with interest the following year).

My wife wouldn't approve of me getting a date (unless it was with her :-)

I don't see myself becoming an UberProgrammer although I would like to be a good programmer

I figured that the best choice for me was to get a new job (preferably with less work :-) as I have been in my current job for more than 11 years.