Week 3

241.8/246.3

My ankles and knees have been taking a beating with the high-impact cardio exercises recommended by the Hacker's Diet plan. I'm a fan of the concept, but until my joints and tendons get stronger (and some of the weight comes off), I need to adjust to low impact exercises for cardio work.

Fortunately, I've got a treadmill in the basement. It's a nice one, complete with incline control, Calorie estimator, and a safety key you clip to yourself so the machine shuts off after you pass out and fall off. I spent about a grand on it last year, used it sparingly, and when I upgraded TVs and moved the old entertainment center to the basement, the treadmill went with it to give me more space to set everything up. And there it sat, unused.

Now that I'm putting aside time daily to exercise (which has been a great boon, despite my current aches and pains), I'll get much more use of the treadmill, rather than having simply blown my money on it. I intended to use it regularly (out of guilt for how much money I spent on it), but somehow didn't find a lot of time for it. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, as they say.

Since I've lost some weight and gotten desperately needed workouts, my mood has improved, despite the recent bumps and bruises that I am just now recovering from. The hunger and early body chemistry changes initially caused me to be cranky and forgetful, but those symptoms have passed now, and I've found myself smiling a lot more. I'm more productive at work, and it's been easier to get myself out of bed in the morning -- breakfast being my big Calorie meal of the day, and ample inspiration to forgo hitting snooze.

It's nice right now. I'm a little sore, a little hungry, sometimes low on energy, but I see the changes starting. My clothes fit better than they did three weeks ago, the spreadsheet numbers have taken on a noticeable downward trend, and I'm gleefully looking forward to the rest of the journey at the very point that sapped my motivation in the past. I have deduced that attitude plays a big role here.