Changing My Life

Well it’s been an extremely busy couple of days.  I traveled to Savannah GA, to visit my uncle and to be down there during his surgery to remove his Pancreatic Cancer.  Unfortunately they were not able to proceed with the surgery as they located other cancerous spots on his liver.  The doctor described them as “Low Volume” so hopefully that means chemo will help reduce them even more, and they will eventually be able to operate and remove it all.   It was an odd trip, it was good to see everybody again, but just wish it could have been under better circumstances.  The good thing was I felt like I kept to a healthier diet while I was on the trip, instead of reverting to my usual “I’m on vacation, that includes being on a vacation from smart eating”  I wasn’t perfect, mind you, but I was better.

Since I’ve been back I’ve been working hard at an update of our company’s webservers.  Everything had to be done by Tuesday, and we were fighting some issues up until the last second.

Today everything is working, and all fixed.  Call me crazy, but I can’t wait to get home and push mow the lawn.  I’ve been missing exercising.  I did some walking on the trip, but managed to twist my ankle in somebody’s front lawn (Apparently sidewalks are a “Northern” thing)

Now I’m ready to get back at it.

I’ve been a bit under the weather the past 2 days, and haven’t been able to exercise, but still found a way to be proud of myself.

The new company I work for has a health club in the main floor of our building, and employees get access for just a tiny fee.

I always had an excuse why I hadn’t signed up before.

• I have a treadmill, weight bench, and exercise bike at home, why should I pay to work out at work?
• If I exercise at work, I can’t exercise with my wife.
• I go in early and go home from work early both to beat rush hour traffic.  If I stay late to exercise I’ll be in the middle of traffic.

Anyway I put all of that aside and signed up today.  The health club is open an hour before I normally get to work, and at that time I’d pretty much have the run of it all by myself.  That’s the goal anyway.  If I don’t get up early, I’ll just exercise after work.  It really doesn’t matter all that much if I take an extra 10 minutes to get home, especially if I’m moving in the right direction in what is important in my life.

Well I put off starting this blog for a while, because I couldn’t think of what to put in my “Introductory” post. But I wanted to start documenting my progress. So I got into the habit of documenting my exercise, and now I have the time to post the “Introduction”

This is my second attempt at starting a blog here. The first one went the way of what is unfortunately somewhat of a pattern for me. I started it, posted in it every day because I was exercising every day and feeling better. Then I missed a couple days, both exercising and posting, and suddenly the blog and my exercise habits weren’t “Perfect” and for some reason that meant I should abandon them.

I returned to this blog for a couple reasons. First of all in the 8 months since I started the first attempt, not much has changed for me. I’m 8 months older, but still 300 lbs, out of shape, and not doing much physical activity. And secondly I had one of those moments where life gets in your face and makes you take a good long hard look at yourself.

My uncle was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most aggressive and hardest to fight of any form of cancer. It shouldn’t have taken something like this to get me to live a healthier lifestyle and exercise, but it has happened, and I’m going to go forward with it.

I’m starting this blog to hold myself accountable, and to share with my family as I take the steps towards a healthier lifestyle.  I know it’s not going to happen overnight, it’s a long journey, something I have not had the patience for before in my life, but something I must do starting today.

Well got out and walked the lawn with the push mower.  After living on 3 acres, and using a big tractor to mow, push mowing 1/2 acre is nice, and a great way to get some exercise.  Unfortunately the mower is one that was left with the house when we bought it and it’s seen some better days.  I’ve been out hunting for a replacement, and it’s been a nice feeling walking right past the riding mowers and comparing the push mowers.

Workout:

• Type: Walk
• Date: 05/09/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 1:05:00.00
• Distance: 1.2 miles
• Average Pace: 54:03.24/mile

I got back to this blog, cleaned house a bit, and got back on the exercise bike

I rode for 1 hour and went 6.42 miles

I have a lot more to write, but it’s good to document my progress again.

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 05/07/2008
• Time: 19:00:00
• Total Time: 1:00:00.00
• Distance: 6.42 miles
• Average Speed: 6.42 mph

No, the numbers aren’t pretty, but that’s why this blog is here. I have a long way to go, and I’m going to do this one step at a time. I can’t wait to see how these numbers changes over time.

Health:

• Date: 05/07/2008
• Weight: 302.5
• Mood: Less Happy
• Sleep Pattern: Normal
• Body Fat: 38