End of Month 1

Day 0: 303.6
End of Month 1: 294.2
Lost 9.4 lbs

Soooo... I picked up nine pounds today.  I think that something weird happened with the scale yesterday.  Twelve pounds in a week was a little too good, as I mentioned last night.  Three pounds during Week 4 seems a lot more reasonable.

Anyway, nine pounds in September!  Yay for nine pounds!  I don't see any change yet in the before and after shots, but I suppose that will just take some more time.  Maybe there will be some visible change next month.  Who knows?

Day 29

What I did:

• 20 minutes on the stationary bike for 7.5 miles

I'm thinking that yesterday was a fluke, because the scale today says 295 lbs.  I really doubt that I've gained 10 lbs in one day.  Maybe I wasn't standing on the scale properly yesterday, or it wasn't flat or zeroed out or I don't know.  It's okay, though.  I'm still losing weight.

End of Week 4

Day 0: 303.6
End of Week 3: 297.0
End of Week 4: 285.2
Lost 18.4 lbs

Eighteen pounds?!?  That's--I'm--I mean--wow!  I really don't know what to say to this.  And it was almost twelve pounds just in this last week!  Where'd it go?  When did it go?  Yay, it's gone, but why?  Sorry, that's the programmer in me.  The worst bugs in software are the ones that go away by themselves, and you have no idea why 'cause you're not sure if they're going to reappear.

Ah, well.  I guess I'm doing something right.

Day 28

What I did:

• 1200 steps (!) in about 18 minutes on the stepper thingy

Day 27

What I did:

• Sunday is rest day
• Finish the main story to Final Fantasy Dimensions, which is an RPG for mobile devices.  Don't let that fool you, though.  It's a very deep and engrossing game.  It took me over fifty hours of play to complete (and that was actual story progression, not level grinding!).  Anyway, I highly recommend it.

Day 26

What I did:

• 7 miles on the stationary bike in about 18 mins.  I tried to keep it steady at 100 RPM (approx 21-22 MPH) the whole time.  Legs. So. Dead.  Very much looking forward to tomorrow's rest day.
• Took the kids to see The BoxTrolls.  It was... all right.  It wasn't bad, but *shrug*
• Took the kids to Panda Express for dinner.  Turns out that a serving of the chow mein has 22g of total fat in it.  That was a shocker.  I mean, it's just noodles, right?  Once again, *shrug*

Day 25

What I did:

• 2 sets of 20 leg lifts
• 900 steps on the stepper thingy in 17 minutes

Day 24

What I did:

• Had a cheeseburger for lunch.  It actually was only "okay".

Day 23

What I did:

• 20 minutes on the stationary bike thingy that my wife's cousin gave to us (thanks, wife's cousin!).  It claimed that I "rode" 6.00 miles.  Accurate?  I dunno.  It was 20 minutes, though.

Day 22

What I did:

• 700 steps on the stepper thingy in 12:30 minutes
• 3 sets of 30 seconds of planking
• 3 sets of 15 seconds of side-planking

End of Week 3

Day 0: 303.6
End of Week 2: 300.0
End of Week 3: 297.0
Lost 6.6 lbs

Three more pounds down!  It's exciting, but I'm afraid that I'm just shedding water weight right now, and I'm going to hit a plateau where nothing happens.  Yes, I'm paranoid.  No, I don't know how to fix it.  However, if/when that happens, I'm just gonna stick to it.  Yessirreebob.

Day 21

What I did:

• 500 steps on the stepper thingy in 9:45 minutes
• 2 sets of 50 seconds of planking
• 2 sets of 25 seconds of side-planking

Day 20

What I did:

• Took a rest day

Day 19

What I did:

• Walked 0.86 1.0 miles in 14 minutes (more details).  I did some jogging in there, too, probably about 0.25 miles or so in total.
• 2 sets of 45 seconds of planking
• 2 sets of 25 seconds of side-planking
• Came in 3-1 at the Magic: the Gathering Khans of Tarkir pre-release

Day 18

What I did:

• 2 sets of 40 seconds of planking (10 seconds longer than yesterday!)
• 2 sets of 20 seconds of side-planking (5 seconds longer than yestderay!)

What I didn't:

• This.  That.  The other.

Day 17

What I did:

• Rode my bike for 3.75 miles in 23 minutes (more details)
• 2 sets of 30 seconds of planking
• 2 sets of 15 seconds of side-planking on each side

What I didn't:

• Snuggle with a flatulent ferret

Day 16

What I did:

• 8 minutes on the mini-stepper thingy
• 20 side crunches
• Thought about doing sit-ups.  It's a start, right?

What I didn't:

• Act on the thought about doing sit-ups.

Day 15

What I did:

• 7 minutes on a mini-stepper thingy for a total about 300 steps
• 20 side crunches
• 40 seconds of planking

What I didn't:

• Put something down here--dang it.

End of Week 2

Day 0: 303.6
End of Week 1: 306.4
End of Week 2: 300.0
Lost 3.6 lbs

Woo!  Three pounds!  I think that last week was probably a fluke or something.  Maybe I was overstuffed with whatever it was that I ate for dinner last Monday.  I dunno.  Anyway, I'm feeling pretty happy about my progress.  Now, if I could just get used to my stomach growling after I eat.

Day 14

What I did:

• Walked 0.7 miles in about 16 minutes (more details).  Once again, my GPS gave up three-quarters of the way through the walk.  I really walked for a whole mile.
• 20 side crunches

What I didn't:

• Um...  I dunno.  I'm running out of things to say here...

Day 13

What I did:

• Stuck with the calorie counter thingy

What I didn't:

• Exercise.  I've decided that the Day of Rest should be a rest day.

Not a very interesting post today, I'm sure.  I'm posting it mostly to stay in the habit.

Day 12

What I did:

• Walked 2 miles in 30 minutes (more details)
• Um...  that's about it, I think

What I didn't:

• Forget to post today.  I almost did...

Day 11

What I did:

• Walked 1.25 miles in 25 minutes (more details).  I call bologna on this one, actually.  I was walking for 25 minutes, but I'm sure it was more than 1.25 miles.  The map doesn't start and end at the same spot.
• 30 seconds of planking
• 20 side crunches
• Started using a calorie counter thingy called MyFitnessPal.  We'll see.  *shrug*

What I didn't:

• Follow the fat goal on the calorie counter thingy.  I was okay until I got home, and there was a supreme pizza (my favorite!) sitting on the counter.  As I said, we'll see.

Day 10

What I did:

• 30 seconds of planking
• 20 side crunches

What I didn't:

• Walk.  <insert clever explanation here>

And that's all I have to say about that.  Sorry about the short post.  I'm feeling pretty bleh tonight.

Day 9

What I did:

• Walked 2 miles in about 32 minutes (more details).  I've decided to go for duration, rather than speed.  If I walk a little slower, then I can walk for longer.
• 30 seconds of planking
• 20 side crunches

What I didn't:

• Take the elevator at work.  This is kind of cheating because I never take the elevator.  I'm only on the second floor, and the elevator is ridiculously slow.  I can easily beat it by taking the stairs, going up or down.

Day 8

What I did:

• Walked 2 miles in about 34 minutes (more details).  I took it a little slower tonight, but went farther.
• 25 push ups throughout the day.  My shoulder has started hurting while I do push ups, so I'm going to lay off of them for a while
• 20 side-crunches
• 20 seconds of planking

What I didn't:

• Get chips and a soda with my sandwich (Reuben at Jersey Mike's (without sauerkraut, though, 'cause they were out))
• Eat until I was full.  I had one "normal"-sized bowl of Cheerios this morning and one serving of the shells and brats for dinner.  I didn't quite feel satisfied, but I managed to avoid all of the free snacks at work.
• Give up after yesterday's disheartening weigh-in.  I almost didn't go out for the walk, but I decided to go, anyway.  I tried to justify myself with saying stuff like "Ya know, the more you don't want to go, the more you should go," but the fact of the matter is that I didn't want to report that I didn't go walking the day after the weigh-in.  And that is precisely why I decided to make this whole process public.

End of Week 1

Day 0: 303.6
End of Week 1: 306.4
Gained 2.8 lbs

Kind of disappointed, but not entirely surprised.  I don't count calories or fat content.  I did cut out sodas, though, so I thought that something good would have happened.  What really shocks me are the intermediate weigh-ins that were sub-300.

Oh, well.  The important thing is to not get discouraged.  I need to just keep going.  Hopefully, I'll have a better report next week.

Day 7

What I did:

• Walked 1 mile in about 15 minutes (more details)
• 31 push ups throughout the day
• 20 side crunches
• 20 seconds of planking

What I didn't:

• Have a problem with all the flooding that happened in Phoenix.  I was driving in the southeastern part of the metro area which, apparently, didn't get hit nearly as hard.

Day 6

What I did:

• Took a rest day.  Not just from the physical activity, but mentally, too.  I needed to just decompress.
• I did the 20 side crunches while brushing the teeth, though

What I didn't:

• Much of anything.  I realized yesterday that I could fill this section up with all kinds of things.  For example:
• Get in a fight
• Rob a bank
• Surprise a weasel with a whoopie cushion
• Taste a can of mauve paint
• Take a bath in yogurt and tennis balls

Day 5

What I did:

• Walked 0.94 miles in about 14 minutes (more details)
• 27 push ups throughout the day
• 20 side crunches
• Hung out with my brother who's in the Air Force.  For the past year, he's been stationed in the Honduras.  He's been back for a couple of weeks, and he and his family are headed out to Germany next week for the next three years.  They stopped by my house for a few hours.  It was a really nice visit.  It was great to see them again.

What I didn't:

• Take a nap this afternoon.  I did sleep in until 9 am, though.  My wife is totally awesome and wrangled the kids while I was incapacitated.  I don't know if that was because of the sleep apnea or because I was up past 1 am playing Diablo III with my sister.
• Ride my bike.  I tried to pump up the tire, but I think the pump's broken.  I'd pump up the tire and hear air hissing out of the pump.  Not the tire, but the pump.  My son insists that it's not broken, so I'll enlist his help tomorrow.

Day 4

What I did:

• 12 push ups
• 20 side crunches

What I didn't:

• Walk.  Well, I walked to the sandwich shop for lunch.  Probably about 0.75 miles, but it wasn't a brisk pace or anything that would be more than just a stroll in the sunshine.  I had a salad with my sandwich, though.  That's good, right?

I skipped the walk today, mostly unintentionally.  When I got home from work, I laid down on the bed to play a game on my phone for a little while (Final Fantasy Dimensions, in case you were wondering).  Next thing I knew, the kids were ready for bed.  "A little while" turned into about an hour and a half of oblivion.  I'm not asleep any more, in case you couldn't tell, but I don't feel rested.  So, no walk today.

Tomorrow, I think I'll try taking my bike out for a spin.  I would have done it on Day 2, but the front tire was flat.  It'll be a nice change, I'm hoping.

Day 3

What I did:

• Walked 1.00 miles in about 15 minutes (more details).  No jogging this time.  I just set myself a brisk pace and walked.  Slow and steady and all that.  I almost didn't go.  The sky has looked like it wanted to dump on us since this afternoon.  Then, I remembered a very important detail.  This is Arizona.  It doesn't rain.  So I went out.  And it didn't rain.  Of course.
• Cleaned out the refrigerator.  That was scary...  Some of those leftovers looked downright terrifying.  They say that leftovers make you feel good twice.  When you put them away, you feel really intelligent: "I'm saving food!"  Then, six months later, just before it evolves into something sentient, you throw it away and feel really intelligent: "I'm saving my life!"
• 20 of those side crunches while brushing my teeth

What I didn't:

• Push ups.  I just kept forgetting.  Maybe I'll do better tomorrow.
• Fall asleep at work.  There was some danger of it at about 3pm, but I got up, went to the break room, and munched on some pretzels until I felt better.

Day 2

What I did:

• Walked 1.12 miles in under 15 minutes (more details)
• 10 push-ups
• 20 side crunches (10 per side) (easy to do while brushing your teeth!)

What I didn't:

• Stay at work the whole day...  I felt exhausted.  My brain couldn't concentrate, so I left at about noon.  I figured that I'd be wasting both my time and the company's by staying.  I got home and went straight to bed.

I'm really questioning my plan to walk in the mornings.  I already have trouble sleeping, so it doesn't seem to make much sense to get up even earlier to physically tire myself further.

What do you think?  Am I being too ambitious?  Any recommendations on something else I could do?  My amazing wife suggested that I walk in the evenings, but I won't be able to go until after 8 pm or so.  I'm not sure if I'll be willing to do it by then, after a long day of work and all.

Anyway, I'll think that I'll give it a try tomorrow evening.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Day 1

What I did:

• Walked over a mile in under 15 minutes (more details)
• 16 push-ups throughout the day
• 20 side crunches (10 per side)

What I didn't:

• Drink a Dr. Pepper with my lunch, though I'm not sure that the pink lemonade that replaced it was much better...

Day 0

I've finally decided to take my life back. I'm going to make the process public, hoping that will help motivate me to keep going. I could wax on about my health and potential sleep apnea, the snores and spaces of time during which I'm not actually breathing while I sleep, but who wants to read that? I'm bored by it already, and I haven't even written it.

The short version is, well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words: