Well, it’s been about 3 weeks since I started my diet and exercise extravaganza. I have to say that I have been pleased with the results. Before I started I weight consistently between 196-198. Now I’m weighing between 190-192.

As many of you probably know, I am Web Developer. Now developers in general don’t tend to be the most physically fit group as a whole. I think this may have something to do with the countless hours of sitting at a desk, probably eating entire bags of greasy Cheetos, and writing code. Probably not the most physically strenuous activity you can do.

You may or may not know that my wife has been training for a marathon. So, you have me, a web developer who is likely to die of a heart attack, and my wife who is running a gazillion miles a week.

Now, I’m not a fat person by any means, but I do have a bit of a spare tire that I’ve gained over the last five years of marriage.  I’m probably about 20-30 pounds heavier than I was before I was married.

About two months ago I broke my arm, just when I started to play basketball and become a little physically active again. That really put a damper on that strategy. Now, my arm is better and I’ve actually done it; I’ve started to work out. For the last two weeks I’ve been running about every other night.

It’s interesting. I had a point in my life where I could sustain a run for about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) without going into a walk, or dying. Two weeks ago on my first run in a long time, it took me about 0.6 miles before I wanted to lay on the side of the road and die. Since then I’ve been going up in small, but steady increments. Each time I go “Running” I try to make my legs move for 3 miles, whether by running or walking. The eventual goal, of course, is to run 3 miles at a sustained running pace. Tonight I ran 2.5 miles at a sustained running pace before I walked. Even then I only walked .25 miles and ran the remaining .25 miles to finish off my three.

Okay, I know that it’s not a great accomplishment, but I’ll have to tell ya, I’m pretty proud of myself. Two weeks ago I couldn’t run more than 0.6 miles without a respirator, but now I’m getting close to the 3 mile mark.

On top of all of this, I’ve also been watching my calories. Yeah, that little chart on the back of food actually means something. According to some website (yeah the internet is always correct), My body burns about 2400 calories when I just sit there. So, I figure if I eat less than 2300 and burn about 400-500 calories on my runs I’ll be losing the Michelin that sits around my center. I’ve developed quite the taste for grapefruit and I’ve avoided that horrible basket of chocolate bars that always adorns the table during developer meetings.

In conclusion, all of you out there who have wanted to work out, but haven’t started yet, I have one thing to say, “Don’t…I mean do it.”