I set some goals earlier this year for my fitness. Today I saw something I haven’t seen in a while on my bathroom scale. A seven in the ten’s digit. I reached 179.4 lbs this morning. I’ve really been working hard lately on watching my eating habits and exercising pretty regularly. It feels really good to have hit this milestone as I continue to see other unfamiliar digits on my scale. It’s gone slower than it probably would have had I gone on a fad diet like the Atkin’s or South Beach Diet. However, I have learned a few things and am getting stronger everyday.

Here’s some cool things I learned so far. I CAN run 30 minutes at a time. I used to think this was impossible since 2 weeks ago I could run for about 7 minutes before my chest felt like exploding. It turns out that I just needed to run slower. I was running too fast and getting my heart rate up a lot faster than I needed to. I’ve since slowed down to a 13 min/mile pace and I can do that for a solid 30. Using a heart rate monitor on the exercise machine really helped me figure this out. Go integrated systems!

Eating is fun. I’ve learned that eating is a good thing and you can pretty much change your habits quickly if you enforce good ones and understand your weaknesses. I had a problem with a caramel popcorn ball earlier this week, but I realized that I couldn’t leave it alone because I left it in a container on the kitchen counter. By moving it out of plain sight, I stopped craving it and eating it. I later threw it away because it had gotten a little stale. Having junk food out is a big problem for me. We only keep fruits out on the counter anymore.

Occasionally, I’ll eat something delicious and fattening like BBQ ribs. I just eat until I’m full and don’t try to blow the buttons off my pants. Also, if its not good, I throw it away. This happens a lot with french fries. I keep getting these ones that aren’t crispy, hot, golden and delicious. Hey, if I’m going to have to run for a half hour to burn this off, it better taste good. Otherwise, it’s not going down the chute.

I’m still a clean plate ranger. Instead of trying to change it, I just try to start with smaller portions and get seconds if I’m still ravenously hungry. It works pretty good for me. I get a clean plate with no “wasted” food and a full stomach. Nice.

I guess the biggest thing thats helped me is the encouragement I’ve received from Yara. She’s been helping me realize when I’m doing silly things. She’s also started eating healthier which helps me too. It’s hard to resist when your buddy is chomping down on chips or cookies next to you. Her encouragement has been great too. She doesn’t mind me telling her three times a day how much I weigh and stuff. She’s been real cool like that. Thanks Yara!