Not a Bad Start

One of the reasons why I decided to write so openly about my quest for weightloss in my last post was to lead into a sense of accountability. I've never had any problems staying motivated for certain things, particularly school and work. But often, part of the motivation was that I was being held accountable to other people; be it my parents, teachers, or bosses. Sure, part of the motivation is based on some sense of personal honor, personal sense of being a hard work that I don't want to lose. But for whatever reason, that was never enough in the realm of seeking a healthier lifestyle, exercising and eating better. Thus, my last blog post made me, in part, feel committed to commenting from time to time on here about my progress. While I have no illusions as to any people who actually read this truly holding me accountable, the fact that it is open, I don't wish it to misrepresent me in any way; so, if I have written that I am going to do this, I have to follow through. If that makes any sense.

Anyway, this was truly the first full week I've had since genuinely becoming motivating. Looking back, I have to admit I'm happy with the results. I did not work out this morning (wanted at least one day off, at least for now), but did every morning Monday through Saturday. Monday and Tuesday it was roughly 35-40 minutes, and 1.5 miles. Wednesday, because I was little late getting up, it was only 30 minutes and 1.25 miles of walking. Thursday - 45 minutes and 1.8 miles, Friday - 45 minutes and 1.85 miles, Saturday - 48 minutes and 2.0 miles. While I am not all impressed with the speed of which I am walking (just another reminder of the long road ahead), I am happy that I have begun to commit 45 minutes to this. My hope is that I continue this, I will be able to improve how quickly I can walk, and eventually, start to jog for part of the routine. I'm really not sure how long it will take to make any progress in this sense, but I do feel that if I continue to do this, and make some small changes to my diet, I will eventually start to lose some weight.

As to results, this is always the dangerous thing...expecting any thing to be demonstratively different in a short period of time (and I don't even know how to quantify a "short" period of time), can lead to a sense of failure, no progress, and even despair. But I have noticed one thing after one week. My sleep has been much better, and I tend to have more energy during the evenings. I don't notice feeling as tired during my evenings in the last week than I did before, when it always felt a struggle just to stay up to 10. Now, that's not a problem, and I haven't been tired before 10 at all this past week. Also, my sleep has improved. I rarely woke up in the middle of the night this past week, which obviously affects having more energy during the day. I truly don't know if this is completely attributable to just the exercise, as I have been taking a nasal spray from the doctor's office each night before bed to help reduce inflammation in my sinuses and improve breathing, as well as sleeping with more pillows to elevate my head, also to improve my breathing. In any event however, it has been nice to sleep for more than 4 hours consecutively; its amazing how good just getting 6 hours of consecutive sleep can feel.

But that's about it, I suppose; I do have what I think is some slight swelling in my right knee, and its fairly sore at times. But knowing that it is sore from doing the exercise makes it a much easier pain to bear. Now begins another full week, with hopefully another round of exercise each morning.