One Month Later…

I’ve been heading to the gym and working out in the early morning hours for a month now. Here are a few things that are different, and a few that arent:

• I have more energy through the day
• I get up early every day, not just gym days
• I enjoy getting up early and exercising
• I want to do more exercise
• My weight hasn’t dropped a whole lot
• My back still hurts a bit
• My overall fitness level is better, albeit not as good as it was a year-and-a-half ago
• I get hungry after my workouts
• I still feel a little weird after playing basketball (like I’m low on sugar)

Overall, while I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t lost weight, but at the same time, I have a few suspicions that I have gained some muscle at the same time.  One thing that really messed up the schedule was that half way into the month, I came down with a nasty sinus problem and was unable to exercise for a whole week.  But, the eagerness inside me made it easy to get back into the gym as soon as I was ready.

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Project: 3 Pictures a Day

I’ve seen several photography projects on the web with the One Picture per Day theme. The idea is to use your camera on a regular basis. Now, I’m not trying to out-do those ideas with this 3 pictures/day project. I really just want to have my own variation on it. Here’s my motivation:

After seeing those projects, I thought what could I photograph every day that would be interesting. Part of the idea of a photo a day is to take a picture of something new. My primary subjects have always been my kids. I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of my younger daughter every day and see her grow. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for sure. Then I thought, why not get my other daughter involved, so that would be two pictures a day for the next year at least.  Then I thought, why not have a picture with both of them together (doing sometime different each time, perhaps).  That’s 3 pictures per day, and with a 3 year old and a one year old, that’s also a lot of work.  We’ll see how this project goes.

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Update: Project Me

It’s been a couple weeks since I started going to the gym and exercising on a regular basis again. Here are a few things that I have noticed:

I’ve lost only 2 pounds (currently at 195).  That’s about a pound per week.  That rate is ok, because the weight will stay off longer if I ever have a year like last year. Also, I feel I have more energy than before. It’s nice to be able to no be so tired when I get home so I can play with the kids.

While I’ve only lost 2 pounds, I feel much more firm.  I believe that my body fat percentage is dropping more than my weight. I’ll take that over just pure weightloss, but it does make tracking such a measure that much more difficult as most measuring devices are not accurate enough for tracking daily progress.

That initial stigma of being a hampster on a wheel (or on a treadmill) is mostly gone. I try not to think of it like that anymore. Also a lot of that was just due to the start of a new routine where things just feel weird.  It feels weird no more

Since I have to get up at 5am to exercise nowadays, getting up early isn’t that hard anymore.  I’m a little tired when I wake up, but after that first 5 minute warm-up, I’ve been good to go for the rest of the day.

The workouts from podfitness.com have been a good way to have the workout set for you, however, they have a definate pattern, and seem a little predictable.  Some exercises vary, but I loved the initial feeling of a new workout everytime. I think I need to tweek some settings to get that randomness back.

I’ve tried to track workouts in a couple of places. First, is the Discovery Channel Body Challenge web site. I only put stuff here becuase it offers the chance of a million dollar prize when you enter your info there. When that promotion stops in March, I’ll just keep only one “journal” at a site called traineo.com. The thing I really like about this site is that you don’t enter too many numbers (you can track as much or as little as you want).  But reallu the best part is when you sign up, you submit a list of people whom you want to hold you accountable for losing weight. This site will send them emails on your progress. Its up to these motivators to help keep you on track. I think people can do a better job of motivating than a single website can.

So, overall, it’s only been 3 weeks, but things are going well.  At this rate, I will lose the weight I want by April or May. Not bad.  I just have to remember now to eat smaller…

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