January 2, 2013 - The Beginning

It's January 2, 2013.  I weighed myself yesterday morning.  222.0 lbs.  Yuck!

I'm 43 years old, and 5'10" tall.  This is the most I've weighed in about 8-9 years.  About 10 years ago, I weighed in at 239 1/2 lbs, and got down to where I was staying at 205-210 pretty consistently, although that's not where I want to be.

Last fall, I signed up for a Spartan Military Race on May 5, 2013.  It's about a 4 mile race, with around 15 military-style obstacles along the way, such as crawling through mud pits, climbing over walls, balancing on things, throwing things, carrying sandbags up hills, climbing a rope, and more.  I talked my boys, who will be 16 and 18 then, into doing it too.  I've got 4 months to train.  My goal is to (a) not die, (b) finish the race, and (c) try to finish ahead of at least one of my sons, who are both in pretty good shape.

In addition to that race, I also signed up for a Zombie Run in the end of June, a 5K race where you are chased by zombies who try to get you by capturing one of three flags you wear.

I'm also planning on doing some hiking, including climbing some 14ers where I live in Colorado.  I'd also like to do a triathlon...but one thing at at time.

By the time race day comes on May 5, I want to be down to under 200 pounds.  I need to be able to run a 10K without walking.  I need to be stronger in just about every area.

I just signed up for NutriSystem.  I have never been a slim person, and I used NutriSystem back in middle school for about a year.  It helped me then, and I know several people personally who have had success with it recently.  I have tried eating healthier in the past, preparing healthy meals on my own, etc, but haven't been able to stick with it for any length of time.  I'm optimistic that NutriSystem will help me with my goals.  Note, I'm not a paid NutriSystem spokesman (at least not yet), and I'll blog about my honest experiences with it.  My shipment is due to arrive next Tuesday (Jan. 8) so I should start with the meal plan on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

I took a couple "before" pictures tonight.  Front and side views, shirtless in shorts.  YUCK!  Yuck, yuck, yuck.  I'm going to print them out and put them in my bathroom and bedroom.  If I lived alone, I'd put one on the fridge and cabinets in the kitchen, but since my sons live with me, I don't want to subject them to that.

I have my gym stuff in my car and tomorrow after work, I'm going to do a workout I have planned.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm new to this blogging thing.  My main goal with it is to journal my experience for my own use and motivation.  I don't know who might end up reading this, but if it helps to motivate you, too, that's great!  At some point, I might share the link with my friends and family, but in the meantime, I'll stay somewhat anonymous for now.

Whoever might be reading this, whatever your goals are, GOOD LUCK!