227.0 lbs. Hit the gym again, just ran again was running late. 20+5 minutes 2.65 mi.

somehow I injured my right rib in the past 3 days. I don’t remember getting hit at all at karate, maybe I strained a muscle somehow? But it is quite sensitive to touch.

… back to work.

this morning 227.5, woohoo!

Time to celebrate with a half-gallon of ice cream and a day off from the gym. Alright well I won’t eat the ice-cream but I have skipped the gym. Mostly because karate ran late, then I couldn’t get to sleep until around 11:45, (mainly because I was researching how to pre-compile JSP files for my work.) And I learned in the past that going to the gym really tired too often impacts my general ability to function. So I slept in, until 6 AM. But the day is not a total loss, I have karate again tonight. I just have to try really hard to get to sleep as soon as possible after class so I can make the gym tomorrow.

So far so good, but I am currently pretty hungry.

Already feeling the effects. 5 AM comes really early. There just needs to be something inside that makes you want to get up when it is pitch dark and cold. But I got up. Still weiging in at 228.5, so illogically that is discouraging, especially because I feel 2 pounds hungrier. But it is the knowledge that there are many factors that can attribute to your instantaneous weight and that it has only really been one day that makes you continue. It would truly be discouraging if it were still the same number on December 1.

Anyway here is the breakdown: Alarm goes of at 5 AM (my clock is about 18 minutes fast purposely, I don’t like to see the clock saying 4 something when it is dark and cold). I start my car (remote starter is on point), and weigh in. Dispense with a large glass of water and head for the gym. Unfortunately I forgot my towel but I decided since I have karate and probably ATP tonight I will only run and stretch, so the towel is not entirely necessary.

5:08 AM: arrive at LA Fitness. Run for 20 minutes at 7.1 MPH go through automated cooldown for 5 minutes. The automated cooldown drops to 4.5 MPH and then drops .5 MPH every minute. In the first 20 minutes I went 2.37 miles. And this treadmill tracks the distance for the cooldown as well, so overall I went 2.65 miles. Then a little stretching and back home to eat, make lunch and shower. In work by 7:12 AM.

Anyway, I am hungry, and my left foot hurts a little from the running two days in a row. But I am also full of energy, and accomplishment, and luckily it is just about lunch time.

About 2 years ago on this date I started doing something about being fat. I had realized a few months earlier that I was way overweight, approximately 300 lbs, and I signed up for LA Fitness, but didn’t go very frequently and didn’t alter my caloric intake at all. Then I happened across The Hacker’s Diet and everything that John Walker had written in there made a whole lot of sense to me, I read the entire thing in a few hours, printed it out and stuck it in a binder in case the web version ever went away. I started on the 18th, going to the gym, weighing myself daily and eating only 1200 – 1500 calories a day. By May I was down to 218 lbs.

I have done generally well since then, primarily because I hit the gym frequently and I am very comitted to my karate study. (I just got Green with a Brown Stripe.) I realized recently that I had let my eating habits deteriorate again. And I find myself at 228.5 lbs. Which is not too bad, however given the significance of this date, I have decided to give it another go of low intake and very consistent gym appearances. So starting today, I am focusing on 1500 – 1800 calories a day of intake. My goal is 198.5, which will be the first time I have been under 200 since I was a Junior in High School when I had done all that Bally’s work over the summer for Football, with my friends Frank and Joe.

I am going to try and keep my progress documented on here. Just in case anyone wants to follow along at home. But I hit the gym this morning. And have stuck to my planned calorie intake so far. Had about 300 for breakfast and 500 for lunch leaving plenty of room for a snack and some dinner. Luckily my illness last week caused me not too each much so I think the worst of the initial hunger headaches are already past me, just have to use my brain every time I think I want to eat something.