Judebert

Last week was crazy week. Every spare moment was dedicated to getting the house clean enough for family to visit. But now that the party is over, I'm getting back to exercising.

The new school schedule is actually helping. Because I have to wake up at 5:00, I try to be in bed before 10:00. I get my eldest daughter to her bus stop and return home around 6:00. That's a perfect time to start running, because it's as cool as Florida is ever going to be. I finish running 5K in about 42 minutes, take a shower, and I'm ready around 7:00 to help get the other daughters ready for their bus stops at 8:00. It all dovetails very nicely.

I jumped right in to the running, picking up exactly where I'd left off: 90 seconds running, 60 seconds walking. I expected trouble, but Monday was actually pretty easy. Wednesday... not so much. But that was probably because of the gigantic, protein-intense meals from the day before.

Today I got back on EA Sports Active. I think I made my exercise band a little too tight, because my biceps really felt it. Still, that's the point! I run for aerobic and lower-body fitness, and I use the Wii for upper-body fitness and balance. I'm sure I'll need them all for the Race!

Judebert

On Friday, I reached my goal. 20 pounds lost in the five months since Christmas! I was expecting Wii Fit to provide fireworks. Or at last party poppers and streamers. No such luck. Just, "That's... incredible! You've reached your goal!" and the screen for setting new goals.

My family was pleased, though. We didn't get to celebrate until Sunday, when we went out to see UP. Fantastic film; I almost cried. I also ate way too much popcorn with extra butter.

I felt sick all Sunday evening. On Monday morning I decided to skip my exercise. On Monday evening, I had terrible heartburn and couldn't sleep; I still blame the popcorn, although it could've been Monday's hot dog dinner.

This morning, I did my arms and abs workout. I did the strength before the yoga, but my push-ups were still weak. I think, since my push-ups aren't improving, but my lunges are, that running is a good strength exercise for my legs. I'm going to stop doing the legs and back workout. That'll give me three times a week for running, and twice a week for arms and abs.

And of course, I'm going to lay off the popcorn a bit!

Judebert

Today was supposed to be legs day, but since I was having so much trouble with the workout anyway, and Eri was having trouble sleeping, I decided to make today aerobics day and watch something with my wife.

Since I was already mixing it up, I decided to try a new aerobic activity: Free Step. The Wiimote clicks at you, and you step on the balance board in the appropriate rhythm. It's been marked "New!" forever, since I consider the Wii Fit step exercises to be the most boring activity possible for a video game.

Unfortunately, it wasn't very aerobic. I barely broke a sweat.

Fortunately, we chose to watch one of the AFI 100 Greatest Movies: In the Heat of the Night. We only watched the first 45 minutes -- just past the famous line, "They call me Mr. Tibbs!"

I mentioned the workout trouble to a friend at work. He recommended that I eat some protein immediately after my strength workout. Perhaps on strength days I'll change my breakfast from fruit, cheese, and nuts to fruit, cheese, and a hard-boiled egg.

I gained another pound. Still keeping a low Wii Fit age, and still below 290!

Judebert

With my recent unexplained weight gains, I've decided to place my eating habits under firmer control. I started the "big breakfast" thing, but didn't restrict its contents. The resultant sausage biscuit and hash browns was not conducive to overall fitness.

For the past three days, I've been eating a breakfast with a piece of fruit (usually an apple or a pear), a finger-sized piece of cheese (mmm, Havarti), and a fiber source (usually a handful of mixed nuts, but today I had a Publix cranberry-walnut muffin). This keeps me satisfied until lunch time without indulging in a lot of fat.

I missed my body test yesterday, so I couldn't tell how it was working. But even after a dinner involving two slices of meaty pizza and a bunch of hummus eaten with pita chips, I've lost two pounds!

I think I can stick with this breakfast!