Posted 10:10 AM by Tim
Day 91. Well, the 90 day challenge to myself is over. I'm even posting on time. Here's the last update:

Starting weight: 210.
Final weight: 205.
Total change: lost 5 pounds

90 days, and all I've lost is 5 pounds. I'm nowhere near any of my goals. I know for a fact that if I tried the sit-up thing, I would die. I'm 25 pounds short of my weight loss goal. I am a little more fit than I was before, but not so much that I'd call it any sort of success.

I'm a little disappointed in myself overall. I don't think that I stuck to it enough to really make a difference. I didn't stick to the idea of a diet, or to a real workout program like I should have. I got very lax on the idea of doing the weights for a while there, and haven't really been trying lately either. Even with the deadline coming up. Still, I lost 5 pounds, and it's more or less stayed off. I suppose that another round of 3 months would lose me another 5... it'd only take me another 15 months to lose the 25 pounds I'd like to lose.

The challenge is over, but I'm not going to give up on the weight loss thing. I'm going to try to focus on DDR a little more, and maybe try to eat a little better. I am going to join a gym, and try to get in on a few classes. Something with some combat skills in it probably. Some more weights (and more varied weights) would be good.

Yesterday was not a good day for me. I was annoyed at something, and I'm not sure what. It didn't clear up all day. Today seems like it might be better, but I have some doubts about that. Here's to hoping.

Posted 11:52 AM by Tim
Day 85. % days to go. Still no closer. There is good news on the horizon though. Seems that a friend of mine is looking to get fit and lose some weight too. We're looking at doing workouts together. It helps to have someone to encourage and support you in your endeavours, right? Exactly.

So, we went over to the YMCA to see how much memberships were. I think we can afford the expense, so now we just need to start looking at how much time we have available, etc.

Posted 10:59 AM by Tim
Day 84. Only 6 days to go. I didn't even bother weighing myself today. I suppose I should have. So, no update for the weight today. I feel the same as always, and I imagine that I weigh more or less the same as last week.

I managed to actually get onto a real DDR machine this weekend. Other than being about three times as slippery to dance on as my home pad, its about the same. I didn't do too bad. Got the hang of it pretty quick. All I had to do was put the idea of embarassment aside, and then there was no embarassment at all. It helped that most of the other people there didn't seem to have a clue about how to play the game at all. They were playing, but all of them were playing on Basic. Even then, they weren't doing too good. So, feeling like I'm better than them at it, I figured that it wouldn't be so bad.

The biggest problem with the place is that they have a very loud jukebox, that is really close to the machine. So, you're playing something, and then this loud song overpowers the music a lot. You totally can't feel the beat anymore. A friend of mine, Oni, plays with the speed mods on. She sets it to 3x, so the arrows just whiz on her screen. I'm way more comfortable with it on normal speeds, so I just kept it there. I can't seem to react quickly enough for the 3x.

So, yeah. Gotta get in about, say... 2 hours a day or so of practice on the pad at home. Start getting good, or maybe get some time down at the local arcade playing. There's gotta be a local group here somewhere.

Posted 4:41 PM by Tim
Day 77. Again, another week passes and not a single post. What's been up? Well, I haven't felt totally well in the last week, so I haven't done a thing. No weights, no DDR, nothing. My weight shows it too.

Starting weight: 210
Last Weeks weight: 200
This Weeks weight: 203
Change since last week: gained 3 pounds.
Total change: lost 7 pounds.

I think that I've grown tired of my long term goals. I'm not giving up, mind you, I'm just saying that I can't see any way (short of maybe a "water diet") for me to lose 23 pounds in 13 days. Even that might not be enough. As far as the rest of my goals go, I'm not really close to them either. Maybe I haven't given it enough of my attention? That's probably it. I've made some changes in my life. I try to eat less, if not better, and I'm certainly trying to exercise more.

I've been missing the weights lately, so I'll probably get at them tonight. I was feeling like I could use a 20 pound weight, but I've probably fallen back from that point in the last week or so. A real workout should help me out though. And with DDR, I've simply not felt like the dancing. I've been a little worried about ending up in a massive cough/hack fest after one song. So, I've used that excuse to avoid it all. Too bad for me, I'm gonna have a bit of a dance thing this weekend that I'm supposed to not look like a total spaz for. Gah. Gotta get in the practice.

In other news, I've been doing some shopping lately. I bought me a pair of Underground England Boots. They're similar to the "No Future" boots under the Screwed Steel Caps section. I also picked up a nice stud bracelet. I've got a little more shopping to do to really get the goth clubwear look together. Maybe I'll drag a few people out along with me to help me decide.

There's the tourney this weekend. I bought the new Necromunda book to try out up there, if I can get some people interested in it, I'll be happy. I figure that it'll turn out the same as the Warhammer Fantasy book I own. I'll be the only one in the house with minis, and the only one with any interest in playing the game. I'll know a few places I can play, if I can just get out there and get up the nerve to talk to new people.

Posted 12:05 PM by Tim
Day 71. Wow. More than 70 days so far. I missed yesterday of course, so here's the update.

Starting Weight: 210.
Last Week's Weight: 205.
This Week's Weight: 200.
Change since last week: lost 5 pounds.
Total Change: Lost 10 pounds.

Somehow, being back where I was more than 2 months ago just isn't as exciting now. I've been trying to keep on with the weights, and I'm just not getting to do any DDR lately. I keep skipping it because of sore ankles/feet/knees, and I'm really starting to think that I just need to ignore that bit of my body and play more. Especially since I'll be trying to hit one of the actual arcade versions of DDR in the next two weeks. Nothing like looking like a total newb, right?

Yeah, I can almost taste the shame and humiliation already. I can't wait to look like the big, fat, old guy on the machine. Yay for me.

Posted 10:15 AM by Tim
Day 67. I did some weights last night. They're starting to feel good again, instead of being boring. I am getting some twitches in the right arm that I'm not getting in the left. I figure that if I had a trainer, or at least someone with more experience, they could tell me what I'm doing wrong, and I'd be able to fix it. As far as I can tell, I'm not doing anything different between arms. So, I must have stressed the muscles on that arm at one point, and they've just not gotten any better with time. I may have to switch to a different exercise form or something.

I've been thinking about Karate. Especially open-hand karate. Something more defensive than offensive. Suits my way of dealing with the world better. I'll have to look into it.

Posted 5:08 PM by Tim
Day 65. No posts in a while, and I missed Monday again. Holiday here, so I didn't get to the computer a lot. Let's say, I didn't lose any weight again.

I did some DDR last night, and weights. I've been slacking over the weekend, so I didn't get much done for workouts. I did go to a festival and stand around for most of the day, so I got some exercise there.

The physical activity thing has pretty much sucked lately. Just not able to do enough to make myself lose weight. And I've not been as good on my diet as I could be. Just taking in too many calories.

I've got to keep up on the DDR though, it's good all around for my endurance and for my aerobic activity. Just got to keep my feet from getting too sore with all the hopping.

Now for my normal life stuff. I'm finding things to be really stressful lately. Work's got me in a pressure spot. I'll get through it, I'm just not liking where I am right now. It's always better for me to be happy than not. I'm always less productive if I feel that I'm being unfairly pressured.