Day 2

Yep. I feel the burn.

I went to the gym again today. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and then did about 20 minutes of weight lifting focusing mainly on my legs and arms. I really want to get the muscles in my left leg (atrophied due to recovering from a medial meniscus repair) strengthened by the spring so I can get back into running more.

I love hearing ads for weight loss solutions. Today I heard one that could trim up to 10 inches from your waste-line using a laser. That actually sounds terrifying. But the truth of the matter is that there is no easy solution (at least a long term one) to eliminate excess weight. Actually, I take that back, the solution is simple; get off your bum and stop eating so much crappy food. Simple in theory, not so simple to execute.

Speaking of putting down the crappy food, I am trying to make an honest effort to eat better. I recently discovered fruit. Ok, ok, kidding, but I am trying to add more fresh fruits and vegetables to my diet. Also, I have been reading food labels and recording my caloric intake in the Lose It app.

To be honest, I'm not trying to crash diet, or eliminate all things tasty. In fact, I had a bit of chocolate at lunch. I'm simply trying to pay more attention to what I put into my body and to exercise a greater sense of control and moderation.

I know my methods are successful. I've done it all before. Between sophomore year in high school and freshman year of undergrad I lost 80 pounds, going from 260 pounds to a respectable 180. Then, during the couple years of college I gained 40 pounds back. (Freshman 15? Shew, I wish!). During the summer before my senior year of undergrad and throughout my senior year I lost most of the aforementioned 40 pounds, slimming back down to 185 pounds. Then my weight loss scheme got a little off track resulting from knee surgery that left me on crutches for 6 weeks and in an immobilizing knee brace for two months. Even after being able to toss the crutches and the brace, my options for physical activity were limited and slowly but surely I began to pick weight back up, which brings us to the present and the aforementioned goals in yesterday's post.

I am not trying to look super buff or incredibly skinny; I just want to be healthy. I want to take care of the body I have been given and work on establishing a life style that will help me to treat my body right. Of course, I feel that I will look and feel better once I lose some weight, but I don't plan to stop trying to eat healthily and working out once I reach my goals; I'm in this for the long haul!

Oh, I hopped on the scale today, just out of curiosity. I know you aren't supposed to weigh yourself every day, but I did, so get over it. At any rate, my weight had decreased by 1.5 pounds, down to 196. Probably not all that accurate, but it gave me a nice boost! :)

I just gotta keep on keepin' on!