My FitDay journal entry No. 1

Pre-day 1. The opening measure to my weight-loss suite, if you will.

My name on here is Legs Nelson. That's not because I have awesome legs or anything (though they're not bad); it's because I recently said "Who has two legs and just registered for Bloomsday?" That's right, this girl.

I have about 100 pounds to lose: That's 6 pounds less than I weighed my senior year in high school. I am dense (har, har) and tend to look like I weigh less than I do. Once I reach that weight I'll see if I need to tweak my goals further.

For now, though, my goal is to lose 55 pounds by my 35th birthday. I was going to set my goal at 35 by 35, but I can do better than that. July 24 is just shy of 7 months away; that's 2.2 pounds a week. Totally doable.

I have always struggled either with weight or eating issues or both at the same time. But recent developments have made me more hopeful about weight loss. The first is that I discovered a major cause for my lethargy, achy episodes, and 10-year battle with terrible IBS (lifechanging, actually; it sometimes keeps me from traveling or going too far from a bathroom. For an adventurer, pretty devastating): wheat. The less I have, the better I feel. It's amazing to suddenly realize that you had forgotten what it felt like to be alert, be able to concentrate, and not have a distended stomach and constant diarrhea. You have no idea unless you've experienced a similar revelation.

So knowing what was making me sick for so long gives me a HUGE boost. Without IBS as a major roadblock, I can look at my diet proactively instead of as a literal crapshoot. Sorry, too much. Anyway, the other major boost is that I just had my tonsils out. I was told that I will experience more energy now that I'm not fighting chronic infection. Yay!

In 2002, I made my second trip to the Enchantments, a famous group of high-alpine lakes that are also infamously difficult to get to. In 2004 I hurt my back working at a nursing home. I've only done minor hiking since. So this year, I am planning a return trip to the Enchantments! Too much? Life is short; I'm not getting any younger; and when I went I weighed 220 pounds (I got some looks of surprise on the trail, yes). I figure, if I weigh a lot less than before this summer, I can do it. Plus after carrying this weight around for so long, I'll actually be stronger as I lose weight, as long as I maintain and then build on my muscle.

That's for the end of August. But first, in May, I'm doing the Spokane Bloomsday run. It's 7 miles; I'm going to jog as much of it as I can work up to by then. I could step outside and walk 7 miles today (believe it or not, even at my weight. I'm of hardy peasant stock), but I registered for 2 hours. So I have to jog part of it or do that crazy speedwalking that makes you look like a wounded duck running from a bear. I'd rather jog.

So this is my first journal entry. Tonight I did my first workout (besides walking) since my tonsillectomy (which was two weeks ago today): 15 minutes on the elliptical followed by 10 on the treadmill. I felt ready to do more (20 on the elliptical was my regular light workout before my op), but my throat still hurts quite a bit, so I'm working up to it. Blog readers, I'll occasionally check in. On FitDay, I'll keep this journal up each day with my total calories eaten and my workouts.

My plan is simple:
Breakfast—Flax oatmeal (1 packet), coffee, half and half
Snack—Medifast or other protein shake
Lunch—Salad with nuts, cheese, ranch dressing
Snack—Yogurt, cheese stick, or other 150-calorie snack
Dinner—1 protein, 1 carb, veggies
Dessert—Protein shake with frozen berries
Drink water and tea

Morning exercise—Couch 2 5K (3 times a week)
Afternoon—20 minutes elliptical, 5 minutes stair trainer (to be amended as I get in better shape) OR full yoga workout OR swimming (6 total laps)
Every weekend—Hike

Wish me luck as I do you!