Not!

Seriously though, since last month I've been trying to put myself on a diet and exercise regimen. Not that I'm considerably obese or anything, but I've put on some weight over the years and ever since I turned 40, it's been a lot harder to lose what I've gained.

My biggest problem is finding time to really exercise. But lately the love handles have been bugging me a lot. So I decided to do something about it.

I started ( in October ) out with a few goals:

1. Improving diet.
2. Losing weight.
   
3. Increasing cardiovascular endurance.
4. Better muscle tone.

So far, I've done pretty good with the diet. Most of my effort has been focused at work. Some things I've done to improve it are:

1. I cut out my morning 20 oz. Breve Mocha and instead I usually have Rockstar Energy with coffee.
2. I know you'll probably still call me out on that, but . . .
3. I cut out all pop at work. I'm a huge pop ( specifically Mountain Dew Code Red ) consumer, but I don't drink it at work anymore.
4. I do not go out for lunch. I bring lunch that usually consists of leftovers.
5. I eat a bowl of instant oatmeal once I get to work for breakfast.
6. I drink a snack ( milk + vanilla protein powder ) around 10:30.
7. I snack on a few things throughout the day like yogurt, nuts, and fruit.

This week I started exercising. Since I work in a building with 16 floors, I thought I might utilize them during the lunch hour much like I did in high school when I wrestled.

Starting on my floor ( the 12th ), I head down to the 1st floor - slowly, it's just the warmup. Then I, at a slow pace, I start running up the stairs. I can get to the 6th floor and then lactic acid buildup starts kicking in. Right now I can handle the burn for one more floor and then I have to stop running and walk for about 3 floors. Then I run as much as I can handle and walk intermittently.

I was very sore Tuesday night. My quads and calves hurt intensely. Tiger Balm became my friend.

But today I did the stairs again and it hurt, but I finished it. My plan is to try increasing the number of floors I can run before the burn forces me to walk. Additionally, I want to increase the number of sets ( trips down and back up ) before I call it good.

I'm not sure exactly how many calories I'm burning as it probably depends on how fast I'm going but it starts at approximately 9 calories per minute at normal speed. I'm doing it right now for about 20 minutes. I'm only doing this every other day so my muscles can recover.

I figure in a week or so I'll add jumping rope at home in the evening for about 20 minutes every other day as well on opposite days I do the stairs.

I voted today.

The line was short, maybe 20 people in front of me.

There was a little confusion as to which building people were to go to at The Light of the World Christian Church. If you lived East of Gage you were supposed to go to one building, and if you lived West of Gage you were supposed to use a different building.

But no signs posted anywhere let you know this.

I originally started out in the wrong line, but some nice lady ( who already stood in the wrong line in the wrong building ) let us know when she got in my line.

I still made it to work on time.

So what's holding you up? Be a part of history.

Vote.