40 for 40

Lent is upon us.  This year I decided I was not going to give anything up.  I have been reading that it is better to do something new, something worthwhile during lent. Yes, it's good for the kids to give up candy and desert, but for us adults....As a result, I have added a couple of spiritual things to my daily routine, but I also wanted to do something positive for my body, and help me get to my weight loss goal. 40 is a very important number in religion.  From Wikipedia:

The number forty has many Biblical references: the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18); the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8); the forty days and nights God sent rain in the great flood of Noah (Genesis 7:4); the forty years the Hebrew people wandered in the desert while traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33); the forty days Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh in which to repent (Jonah 3:4). Jesus retreated into the wilderness, where He fasted for forty days, and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1–2, Mark 1:12–13, Luke 4:1–2)

So I came up with "Forty for Forty," meaning I would exercise 40 minutes each of the forty days of lent.  Pretty good plan if you ask me! Starting on Ash Wednesday I did my 40 minutes on the exercise bike at the gym.  Today and tomorrow I hit the treadmill.  Wish me luck!

Back to ground zero

As you can see from all the posts I've been making (not), I've been really dedicated to getting in shape and losing weight (not).  Actually, I'd been doing not too bad, maintaining 7-8 pounds lost for the past couple of months. For some reason Super Bowl, and the week after, have always been a bad time for me weight wise (can't imaging why....).  As a result, at my weigh-in this morning, I was back to my original weight when I started this project back in June.  To say I am depressed about it would be an understatement.  But, there are some good things that have happened over the past couple of months:

• I (believe) I am kidney stone free (not that many of you knew I had/get kidney stones).  Part of ensuring I stay that way is I drink 10-15 8 oz glasses of water a day.  I am quite hydrated, which is a good thing. 
• I pretty much keep to 1-2 craft beers a day, which keeping with one of the themes to this blog is good.  Shows self-control and indicates that my weight is not caused by beer drinking.
• I bought a new bike after the holidays.  With the nice winter weather we've had, I have actually ridden a couple of times already which is a good thing leading into the spring, where I know bike riding will help me reach my goal and keep me healthy.
• Rose bought a treadmill.  I'm torn on this one as I have a pretty good morning routine, getting to the gym a couple of days a week to ride the exercise bike.  However, having a treadmill at home will allow me to exercise everyday inside until the weather gets bad, regardless if I am working downtown (where the gym is) or at home.  I have been on it a number of times since we got it last week, and so far I am enjoying it.  Who knows, maybe I'll start running again.
• Rose wants to lose weight also.  If both of us are on the same page food-wise, it will be easier to keep on track.

So there you have it.  50 pounds (again) to go in 300+ days.  Should be an interesting couple of months trying to kick start my program.  Only time will tell if I can do this....