Weekly update

I started getting back in the swing of things earlier this month and, for the most part, it's been going pretty well. That's not to say that there haven't been some hiccups, mind you, but in general, it's been going well. I had committed to reducing the amount of junk food and fast food that I was eating, reducing the amount of alcohol that I was drinking, and increasing the amount of activity that I got every day.

In the summer, I had tried to do this by walking more. I was walking really long distances every day (we're talking 5k or more outside of walking at work) but it really didn't seem like it was doing much to reduce my weight. Now that the weather is cold, snowy and slippery, I've started using my elliptical more. I've found that because it's more intense than walking, I'm burning more calories and this is really helping things. I'm hoping that when the weather gets nice, the work I have done on my machine will translate to being able to run more easily and I can start jogging again.

I have a love-hate relationship with jogging. In the past, my knees were unable to handle the stress and although I wanted to jog I never was able to. Then, a couple of years ago, I started running. I started out slow and gentle and found that I was able to handle the wear and tear without my joints hurting me nearly as much as they had in the past. Then, I stopped making time to run and it kind of fell by the wayside.

I was using the elliptical pretty much daily for about a week and a half and then I ended up getting sick. I took a couple of days off but am back into the swing of things again (I think). I've been trying to do about three miles each session when I work out and then when I am able to, I am planning to up the distance. I'm also doing crunches and abdominal exercises to try and tone my stomach.

Previous weight as of January 22nd: 183.3 lbs
Weight as of January 27th: 182.2 lbs (a loss of 1.1 lbs)