A good sore...

Last night it was time for Legs & Back. I was still a bit sore from the band moves from Back & Biceps on Tuesday, but it felt great to get into those moves again. It does, however, make me wonder what tomorrow will be like.

My flexibility still isn't all that great, but I think it's improving at least a little bit. I also noticed last night that my quads have a lot more definition when flexed. It's encouraging to be getting stronger and I'm quite certain this will only be a positive thing for my running.

I have today off, so I'm going to have to discipline myself to get to the gym tonight and get my last run of the week. Until then, hopefully I can stay busy and productive.

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Did you wonder where I was?

So I've been a little lax with posting lately. I guess that's kinda okay since I was a little lax with exercising last week, too. I managed to get in two runs last week (4.79 and 4.87 miles), but that was it. Sometimes it's rough trying to get to the gym when I have a day off, which is why I didn't get my third run in.

This week, I got things started back up a little more the way I like it. Sunday night I did my Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps workout from P90X, and I think it's probably my least favorite upper body routine because of the various push-ups included (slow, fast and slow, one-arm, clapping/plyometric).

I got a run in Monday night, 4.88 miles, and was pretty tired at the end, so we'll see what happens tonight after work. Up until the last couple of runs, I'd been using 4.0 mph as my walking pace for warm-ups, cooldowns, and walking intervals. Now I've been using 4.2 mph as my interval speed, and I think that has helped my transitions. Tonight I'm going to try getting 5.7 mph on all of my runs (7 minutes each) and then 5.8 mph on Friday.

I was quite tired last night when I got home and opted to do P90X this morning. Today's routine was Back & Biceps, which I think is my absolute favorite upper body workout in the program. There was only one exercise I really didn't care for, the Superman, where you lie on your stomach with your arms stretched out, then you raise your arms and legs and hold for 10 seconds. I only got through it twice before the tweaking down my left leg got the better of me. Methinks it's time to get to the chiropractor again and see if I can get some of that taken care of.

So that's the news for now. Check back later this week for further updates.

A lot to catch up on here...

Happy Saturday (or Sunday, in an hour and a half)! I've been busy the last couple of days, and it's time to share with you what I've been doing.

Thursday night after work I hit the treadmill to get in the second run of the week. I struggled a bit, but pushed through and successfully completed it, racking up 3.94 miles. I was able to leave work at 9 PM on Friday and hit the treadmill for my third run, a distance of 4.06 miles. That brought my total mileage this week to 11.89. Next week I jump up to six 6-minute jogging intervals with six 60-second walk for a total of 50 minutes each time. It even works out that I only have Thursday off for Thanksgiving, so I'll be able to run on schedule Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. I'm guessing I'll hit close to 4.25 miles each night, which is pretty exciting!

Today was the Ugly Sweater Run. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as nice as I'd hoped. It was about 10 degrees when we left home at 10:30 and the high was only 19 or so. Lukas thankfully fell asleep at one point so we were able to put the blanket over his head before we had to walk straight into a frigid north wind. The bright sunshine really didn't do anything to take the edge off, and I was glad to walk the six blocks or so to the indoor farmer's market where my in-laws had a booth to warm up before coming home.

Then, if all that wasn't enough, I just now finished Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X. I feel great, but I'm sure I'm going to pay for it, especially in the thighs, tomorrow and Monday. It's all good, though. Recovery just means getting stronger, and getting stronger in the legs equates to running faster. A couple of bonuses tonight: I was able to go considerably longer on the wall squats (probably my least favorite exercise in the entire Legs & Back routine) and I was able to do at least a few reps for all 11 of the Ab Ripper X moves.

I had the opportunity to exchange some text messages with a good friend of mine today, too, and found out that he is a month into the Insanity program. He said it's a lot like the Plyometrics workout from P90X, which is definitely the hardest workout for me. However, he's also dropped to a 34-inch waist, something I haven't seen since I was in high school. A bonus to Insanity, the workouts are only 40 minutes long, which would make them easier to complete in the morning here at home. I'm saving up for a Garmin GPS watch for my half-marathon training (actually, I have the funds now, but I don't want to wipe my fun money down to zero), and depending on what other funding I'm able to come across in the next few weeks, I might go ahead and order Insanity so it's here by the time I'm done with P90X and getting started on the half-marathon training. Since Insanity is only 60 days, I'm thinking I could start the program the same week I start training for the half-marathon and be done before the mileage gets super high. Since I want to drop at least 20 pounds (and ideally 40) by May, this could be a great way to get me there. I'll let you know if I decide to go this route, and of course you'll be getting updates throughout if that's my decision.

Tomorrow I'm going to do X Stretch and get started on using P90X Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights like I mentioned previously. It'll be great to have Saturday evenings off so I can get to bed earlier for church, not to mention getting a run in the night after Legs & Back to help loosen things up more quickly.

I hope you've been able to make good use of your day today. It'd be great if you can take tomorrow to rest and reflect on God and what He has done for you through Jesus Christ (if you haven't received Jesus as your Savior, it'd be even better to look into that). God bless, and I'll see you soon.

Don't you hate it when...

So last night after work I was all pumped up about going for a run. When I went to change into my workout clothes, though, I discovered that I'd forgotten to pack them in my gym bag. Boogers! Then, because it was slightly below 40 degrees, my car didn't want to start on the first try, so I didn't get home until almost 1 AM. After getting about five hours of sleep Tuesday night, I decided that sleep was a higher priority.

This morning, then, I did my Shoulders & Arms routine from P90X. I upped the weight on several exercises compared to last week and finally hit a groove where I felt the effort. Unfortunately I won't see this workout until 6 weeks from now. Oh well, I'm excited about what I'll be able to do next time.

Again, Ab Ripper X was too difficult for me to finish, but I believe I'm making progress. Just have to keep at it.

I've decided to adjust my P90X schedule a bit, too. Instead of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights, I'm going to do Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights. This is a great time to switch because Saturday I should get in my Legs & Back session and next week I'm doing X Stretch (and maybe Yoga X, if I feel super ambitious). This will just make things easier because otherwise I'm hitting the treadmill Friday night after work and doing Legs & Back with maybe an 18-hour break. Plus, running within 24 hours of Legs & Back should go a long way to overall reducing any lasting soreness.

Check back tomorrow when I should have an update about my upcoming run tonight. Happy trails!

Two more for the price of one...

Hello, faithful readers!

So it seems I've developed the unfortunate habit of only posting every other day. It hasn't been intentional, but it is difficult to come home from the gym or finish a workout at home and pop onto the computer when it's really time to be getting to bed. Then, in the mornings, it's difficult to sit down and write with a little one crawling all over and wanting nothing more than to touch the keys on the laptop.

Monday night after work I hit the treadmill for F210K Week 3. This week the workout consists of six 5-minute jogs followed by 90-second walks. I found it easier to hit my stride this time around, and I noticed my thighs loosening up more quickly, too. I definitely want to capitalize on that and increase the flexibility in my legs; other exercises show me just how far I have to go in this respect. I covered 3.89 miles, and with my planned speed increases for the second and third workouts this week, I should be closing in on 12.25 or even 12.5 total miles. Add to that a planned 5K for Saturday, and we could be seeing a great week!

Last night I came home and got going on P90X Chest & Back. I can tell that there have been some improvements when I flex my arms, which is encouraging. However, I still need to get my nutrition more fully under control if I want to see the fat burned off and muscle built up. Ab Ripper X is still tough, and a lot of it is from too-tight hamstrings and lower back, it seems.

Hopefully I'll be reporting in the next day or two to let you know how things progress. Until then, stay active!

One of these days...

Hi there, friends! I have to apologize yet again for doubling up on my blog post. When I got home Thursday night I was pretty wiped out and opted for going to bed instead of working out. It's probably good that I did because my son woke me up at 8 AM. I was able to sleep again from about 9:30-11:30 and did my Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X routines at that point. Shoulders & Arms went very well (despite the scratched and skipping DVD requiring me to stop my workout and bring the laptop upstairs to watch my backup files) with increased weight on several moves and a plan to increase again next week. Ab Ripper X is still challenging because of some muscle tightness/tweakiness in my left leg. I will hopefully get in to see my chiropractor sometime next week to see if I can't get some of that under control.

Last night I hit the treadmill at work for the third run of the week. Like last Friday, I started my first interval at 5.6 mph and increased my speed by 0.1 mph for each subsequent interval. Doing so allowed me to rack up 3.48 miles, bringing my weekly total to 10.2 miles. Crazy to think that in a few months 10 miles will only cover my Saturday run!

Next week's runs (Week Three) will be six intervals of 5-minute jogs and 90-second walks, a total of 47 minutes after the warm-up and cooldown are added in. Weeks 7-10 will all be 68 minutes long...it's going to be interesting to see how those extra 20 minutes make me feel!

On the agenda for today: spend time with my wife and son, possibly do a little thrift store shopping (we need ugly Christmas sweaters for our 5K on November 23rd), watch the extended version of "The Hobbit," and get my Legs & Back routine in as well as another round of Ab Ripper X. I was so sore Monday from last Saturday's Legs & Back that I'm going to be sure to get a walk or something in on Sunday to keep things loosened up.

Enjoy your weekend, be sure to be a little active, but also take time to rest. Your body will thank you for it.

Catch-up post...

Sorry I missed posting yesterday, gang! I had a bit of an adventure getting in my Tuesday night workout. With sleep-training my son and moving him into his big crib in the second bedroom, we've put him in what had been my exercising room. He was already in the crib and sleeping by the time I got home from work, so I didn't want to wake him. I started moving my gear downstairs and found out that my chin-up bar doesn't fit in the living room coat closet. Grr! So I moved everything back upstairs but into the master bedroom. Then the DVD player wouldn't play my DVD, so I gave up and went to bed.

Never fear! I did complete my Chest & Back workout, but I did it shortly after waking Wednesday morning. I was mercifully free of stiffness and soreness and really enjoyed the workout at least until almost the end when I started feeling sick, probably from not having had anything to eat for a good 12 hours. Reinforcement that I should be exercising after work when it's only been about 4 hours since I last ate.

I struggled during the ab routine and had to cut it way short because of some tweakiness in my left leg, and that was disappointing. There's still some muscle tightness to cope with there, hopefully I can get that taken care of sooner rather than later.

Last night, then, I hit the treadmill after work for the Week 2 Day 2 of the F210K program. It was a great run, with all of my jogging intervals taken at 5.6 mph. I logged 3.38 miles. I'm excited about Friday's run when I will do the incremental setup I did last Friday. Since there are six jogging intervals this week instead of five, I'll start at 5.6 mph and finish at 6.1 mph. Completing the workouts is more important than adding distance, but I'm pretty sure I should be able to clear 3.5 miles and I find that amazing!

Have a great day, and be sure to make time to be a little active yourself.

Rippin' it up!

You might be thinking to yourself, "Whoa! Two blog posts on the same day? What is this madness?" No, I haven't gone crazy (just ask my psychiatrist). It's Saturday, and that means church in the morning. That also means I really don't want to be getting to bed at 2 AM like the rest of the week, so I put my strength-training workout in this evening.

Tonight's routine was Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X. Let's talk about Legs & Back a little bit. First, oh my goodness! Running in no way has prepared me for this particular session. Probably my least favorite exercises were the wall squat and single leg wall squat. I was never good at wall squats growing up, and they've come back to haunt me in new and terrible ways. I'm not going to give in, though. Eventually I will conquer the beasts and be able to maintain for the full time period.

Second, I'm glad this was modified after being put to the test group to include back exercises and give the legs a break. Granted, all of the back exercises were pull-ups in one form or another and I don't have the upper body strength to do the real deal, so I'm using the resistance band looped over the door-frame pull-up bar for now. I also don't have an ideal set-up for using this bar (it's currently in the closet door frame and I would have to be in the closet to use it). Pull-ups are something else I was never able to perform, so I'm looking forward to overcoming that someday. Strengthening my upper body and losing weight at the same time will go a very long way to accomplishing that goal.

Something you'll hear over and over throughout P90X is to set goals for yourself. Maybe today you only did 5 reps for one exercise; next time shoot for 6. Or maybe your goal was 10 and you only did 8. Don't beat yourself up over it and push to do better next time. I've put it to people this way: It took me 32 years to get my body into its current condition, so I can't expect it'll take a month to reverse my bad decisions. No matter your ultimate goal, be it reducing body fat, increasing muscle mass, seeing a specific strength gain, or what have you, you can't shortcut the process. Stick with it, have someone hold you accountable, pick yourself up when you fall down, and you'll see results.

That's it for my pep talk tonight. Have a great day tomorrow, and be sure to thank a Vet for his or her service to this great nation of ours.

Bring it!

What better way to cap off a shift at work than to come home and hit the Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X workouts? Nothing else comes to mind. RAWR!

Since I'm only in the first week of hitting these weights and exercises, not to mention the length of the workouts, I'm experimenting with how much to lift. Therefore, tonight was a little light overall, though I did figure out that I was trying to lift too much for the shoulder fly exercises and will drop a couple pounds for next week.

Tonight's run through Ab Ripper X went much better than Monday. There are 11 total moves, and Monday I only put in reps on the first four. Tonight I worked through eight of them. They're doing 25 reps each on the DVD, and I'm managing 10 or so, but hey, progress is progress.

Overall, I am satisfied with tonight's routine. Next week I'll adjust my weights and feel a lot more burn. And who knows, I might even develop sculpted arms that don't require flexing to show off!

I hope you've taken or will take time to put in some exercise of your own. Your body will thank you for it.

Pumping up...

I got home from work last night and was surprised to see my little one waiting for me. Once in a while he does this, and fun as it is to see him awake and interactive as soon as I get home, it also usually means a somewhat later night. He finally conked out around 1:45 and slept until about 11, though he apparently woke several times throughout the night.

A little before 1 AM I put him in the crib to which we hope to have him transitioned soon and started the first strength training session of P90X, the Chest & Back regimen. It had been a couple of months since I last did any strength training, so I made sure to keep my weights low. Tomorrow I will probably feel the effects of the workout, but this morning I feel great. I'm looking forward to seeing how the combination of this strength training series, running, and better nutrition affects my body composition. From past experience I know that I could see some rapid results (2-3 weeks), particularly in dropped pounds and a tightened midsection.

The ab routine is the hardest for me and probably will continue to be so for a while. My core is one of the weakest areas of my body. I managed 10 reps in the first four exercises and decided to stop there. Part of this is because of tightness in various areas of my legs and back and some extra discomfort in trying to do the moves (past experience also tells me that I will increase flexibility if I keep up with everything).

A side-note for those of you who run outdoors. Have you heard of Road ID? It's a laser-engraved metal plate that you wear on your wrist, shoe, or a chain around your neck that includes your emergency contact information should you be injured and unable to communicate while on a run. I haven't needed mine, thankfully, but I'm glad to have it just in case. There's a sale going on at their website until midnight or so on Thursday, November 7th, up to 75% off on select products. I heartily recommend their products! You can purchase them through this link http://RoadID.com/invite/3HMD9 (note, this is a referral link and I will receive a $10 credit for every order placed through it).

That's all for me today. Get out, get active, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Hello friends!

Well, it wasn't planned, but October was kind of a bust for exercise. I could blame it on being stiff and sore in the mornings or on my week-long vacation at the beginning of the month, but in reality it all boils down to laziness. Yes, it's hard to believe, but even I am afflicted with this malady.

Yesterday was my first official 5K, and my lack of training during the past month made itself known. I was unable to run the entire distance, taking probably three walking breaks, and completing the course in 34 minutes, 47 seconds. On one hand, it's disappointing, but on the other hand, it's motivating. Knowing that I could have finished the race at least a couple of minutes earlier if I had been consistent with my training, I've got a bit of an extra mental push to keep at it.

Taken in my apartment after the race as my family couldn't make it to the race with me.

Tonight after work I will be starting the "Freeway to 10K" training program. Now that we're in November and the weather isn't going to necessarily be cooperative during the day, I've decided to move all of my training to the treadmill after my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday shifts at work.

In addition, I've decided that after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and sometime in the evening on Saturdays I will go through the strength-training sessions of P90X. I'm going to start with lighter weights, probably in the 7.5-12.5 pound range, in order to acclimate myself to 50-60 minutes of strength exercises. I'm hoping to see improvement in my overall muscle growth and development, but my primary focus is to drop some weight, especially around my belly. I weighed 221.4 pounds yesterday, and getting down below 200 would really help take pressure off of my lower back as well as allow me to run faster since I won't have to cart around so many pounds. I'm looking at this especially for the half-marathon I signed up to run in May, the Med City Half-Marathon in Rochester, MN.

Are you struggling to maintain a fitness schedule and proper nutrition? You're not alone! Let's keep each other accountable, eh? If you're blogging about this sort of thing, too, feel free to share the link to your blog in the comments.

P90X Week 1 1/2 Day 4

Funky title for today's entry, right? And you're probably thinking, "Hey, what happened to days 1-3?" Rewind back to my last entry. I had Kenpo X on Saturday and afterwards was feeling fantastic. However, that evening I had a huge knot in my right glute and felt some tweaking in my back and legs similar to what I experienced when my disc herniated. That had me concerned, especially because my wife and I were spending two nights with my in-laws and would be sleeping on an air mattress that has historically not been the best for either of us. Thankfully there was a foam pad to put down. On top of that, Abi made sure to pray for me, and I woke up Sunday morning without any pain at all.

We didn't get home until Monday night, and I had decided by that point that I wasn't going to try to change my workout schedule. If I'd been on track, that would have been Day 2 of this week. Not wanting to stress my body more than I had to, I opted to not do my exercises that night. Then Tuesday night I didn't do them, either, knowing I had a chiropractor appointment on Wednesday and figuring the adjustment would help me exercise better the rest of this week.

So tonight I got into the Yoga X workout. If you remember last week, I only made it just a few minutes in before feeling I needed to quit. Tonight was better, though it was still only 15 minutes (out of 1 1/2 hours!). It's going to take some time to work up to doing the entire session as the workout utilizes a lot of muscles that just aren't the strong and/or flexible for me. Again, I'm looking forward to seeing how I'm doing by the end of the program.

I hope you've managed to stay a little active this week. I know I haven't been the best about it, but all I can do is get up tomorrow and try again. Abi and I are planning to hit the gym on Friday for some walking and probably jogging, hopefully a MWF deal for us again.

P90X Week 1 Day 6

Ah, it's the end of the first week of P90X and I'm feeling fantastic. Because of a variety of schedule issues revolving around today, I decided to do my final workout this morning instead of last night because I needed to be up earlier than normal. It's amazing how sore my glutes are from my previous workouts, so I was a little concerned about how today would go, but I sat on a heating pad for a little while to help loosen things up and took it slow.

Cardio day today with Kenpo X. One of my coworkers asked if there was actual martial arts training involved, and in my expert opinion I'd have to say...maybe. The moves seem legitimate, but since the focus is on keeping the heart rate up, the speed at which the moves are performed doesn't seem (to me, with no martial arts experience) to foster actual training. However, it's a fun workout.

I'm going to be out of town this weekend, possibly through Monday since I have the day off, so I might have to adapt my workout schedule. I'm not totally sure how I'll adapt, so I'll be playing it by ear and seeing what happens.

If you get a chance, get out and move yourself today. I highly recommend it!

P90X Week 1 Day 5

Back to strength training today with Legs & Back and Ab Ripper X. I have to say, I'm not a fan of wall squats, but that's mostly because I can't do them for very long. There were two variations in this workout. The first set of wall squats lasted for 90 seconds. You start with your thighs a little higher than parallel to the ground and hold for 15 seconds, then switch to thighs fully parallel with the ground, back and forth. The second set of wall squats lasted 60 seconds, and you had to raise one leg out in front of you for 10 seconds, switching back and forth. Neither one was very easy, and even should I get into "X" shape, I doubt they'll be a cake walk, but I'm excited about getting stronger.

Abs...well, they're abs. I'm happy to see that my reps are increasing for most of the exercises and that I'm maintaining good form at the same time (that's key; there's no sense in gaining reps if you're going to be sloppy about it). It'll take a while, but I'm confident I can get to the slated 25 reps per exercise by the end of this program.

It definitely made a difference even in the warm-up stretching tonight that I'd been up all day moving around. That's a pretty big clue that I need to be doing this workout after I get done with work, not right after getting out of bed.

Have you made time to get some movement in today?

P90X Week 1 Day 4

Well, not much to report here. This session is the Yoga X workout, and I didn't get more than a few minutes into it. Part of my problem was likely not doing it last night after work when I'd been up all day and my muscles were already somewhat warmed up. I'll have to keep that in mind for subsequent weeks.

Oh well, not everything is easy at first. I'll just have to work harder next week on getting through it.

Hope you've found something active to do today.

P90X Week 1 Day 3

I was seriously bummed out earlier because I left work at 7:45 PM not feeling well and thought I wasn't going to be able to do my workout tonight. After getting some food in me, a mug of peppermint tea, and a good deal of water, I finally felt pretty much normal around 10:30. I'd been dealing with a pretty good headache that was leaving me weak and semi-nauseous. I was--and still am--pretty sure this was the last hurrah of my caffeine withdrawal (I had two travel mugs of coffee Sunday morning and two glasses of Coke while out to eat with some friends). I'm happy to say that I should be through the worst of it, and I am thrilled I was able to get my exercising in tonight!

It was a good night, too. Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X. So far, having done three workouts, the two strength training workouts have been considerably easier than the cardio, probably at least in part because I can adjust the weights down, which I'm doing to ease into this and prevent injury. When it comes to cardio, jumping around and such and utilizing my own body weight, I can't really do much about that in the short term without drastic measures like liposuction. I know that historically I've not been good at high intensity output over long periods of time, so it's not surprising that I struggle with the cardio workouts in this series. Going to the gym and running 4 miles doesn't sound like that big of a deal at all in comparison.

Anyway, halfway through my first week, and I'm remembering just how much I love P90X. Yes, it's tough, and I have to dig down and push through sometimes, but it really is a fantastic workout. I'm not following the eating plan, so I'm not necessarily expecting to shed the 35-60 pounds I'd need to lose in order to see definition in my midsection, but that wasn't my goal in the first place...it'd just be a nice bonus if it happened. Rather, I want to have total body health and be in the best shape I can be.

If you're not participating in some sort of regular exercise, I encourage you to start. Find someone to do it with you so you have that added incentive. You won't regret it!

P90X Week 1 Day 2

Tonight's workout was Plyometrics (jump training), and it is a killer. I was only able to make it about 2/3 of the way through before I was toast. It's frustrating in a way, but at the same time, I'm happy that I was able to do that much of such an intense session.

Could I have gone longer? Sure. Would it have been smart? That's trickier to answer. Because this workout shows up throughout the entire program, though, I have time to improve. Besides, as I've stressed before, I don't want to push so hard that I risk injury to myself again.

At any rate, I'm glad to be moving. I hope you're finding time in your life to get some activity in, too. Even a walk around the block is better than nothing. Start small if you haven't been doing anything lately. Results come with time, benefits start immediately.

P90X Week 1 Day 1

Well, I took things slow, but that's okay, because I made it through the workout. Today's session was Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X. I can definitely tell there are several muscles I haven't used in a while, so being deliberate and taking my time is going to be highly important. Sure, it's frustrating to be doing so few reps with so little weight, but all that will come with patience.

Now, I haven't told any of you this before, but I have discovered the secret to time travel. This has allowed me to obtain my before and after pictures from P90X today, and you can see them now, too, instead of waiting several months.

Are you ready?

No, seriously, are you really ready?

Okay then, here you go. Don't faint.

That's right, baby! I am a beast! RAWR!

Pre-P90X

As I mentioned last week, I have decided to get into P90X again. Tonight will be my first night into it this time around. I will be taking it SLOWLY so as to not injure my back again. I don't know if P90X was the cause of my disc herniation or if it was what pushed me over, but in any case, I don't want to risk that sort of hurt again. I'm going to keep the weight light and the reps using the band minimal for this first week as my body adjusts. As great as I think this program is, I am not wanting to use it as a once-for-all solution to my weight management goals. Rather, I see this as a way to get into the best possible shape I can over the next three months and then go from there.

I am hoping to manage 2-4 days a week of some light running, too, to keep up with that end of things. Abi wants to be able to get out and do some walking so she can continue to feel well, too, especially as she is in the third trimester now.

I weighed myself tonight, and I came in at 223.6 pounds. That's only 2.4 pounds heavier than my last update on July 23rd. I had feared I had gained more than that, so I'm quite happy, especially considering I didn't do nearly so well with healthy food choices the three weeks I was on the overnight shift.

I had Abi take some new pictures today, too, for a bit of a baseline.

The shorts I'm wearing in these pictures are different (and smaller) than the ones from my previous updates. These are a 36-inch waist while the others were 38-inch. I thought they would make a better dramatic presentation for comparison a few months from now.

Well, I need to get the spare room in order so I can do my exercises, and I want to try and get a thermos of water finished an hour before I get started on the program, so I'm going to have to go for now. I'll be back to let everyone know how it went.

As always, I hope you're finding time to get some movement in your days!