My Odyssey Begins--A Little Inauspiciously

Today was a typical day at work. First on the agenda was a breakfast meeting. Today’s the day I go live on this new blog and so it was easy to make good choices at the buffet. The sausage, biscuits and gravy, and syrupy waffles called to me but I answered by having a few scrambled eggs, country-style hashbrowns, (they looked less fatty than the shredded ones that looked tastier), and a couple of strips of bacon. Yes I know bacon is not diet food, but the thin strips are not as deadly as my favorite: link sausage, and there was no ham.
I spent the rest of the day driving around the valley meeting contacts. I ate lunch on the road. In my case, this means literally eating while I drive down the highway. I realize that it’s a habit more serious than cholesterol, but time’s always short. Since eating in the car means fast food, I made the best choice I could; soft bean burritos from Taco Maker. They are about 275 calories, about 30% of those coming from fat and they’re full of fiber and complex carbohydrates. Not the best lunch but better than a Big Mac and Fries.
Oh, for the record: I weighed in at 257 lbs. this morning. Just thought you'd like to know.
I intended to go for a hike in one of the canyons above Ogden, but by the time I got time to do it, it was nearly dark. So I went to the gym for the first time since about May.
I’m not that big of a slacker actually. In the spring it’s hard for a Boy Scout to choose the gym over a hike in the woods for exercise. And in early July I began a real health-disaster. I have a bad back and it flairs up from time to time. On the first Sunday in July I left church early because I couldn’t sit still. By the end of the next day I couldn’t sit at all. To make a long story short, it turns out I had a bacterial infection in my spine. It involved three disks and the surrounding muscles. I spent 3 days in the hospital and a month on some really evil I.V. antibiotics. It was September before I could put in a full day at work and they weren’t quality days until the middle of October. So that’s why I gave the Ogden Athletic Club $40 a month for five months without darkening the doorway. Anyway, it wasn’t as pleasant as a hike, but with my ipod playing an audio book, it was tolerable and after just one visit, it feels like I never stopped going. A gym is a nice option for days with nasty weather or when I get wrapped up in work etc. Since it’s open weekdays from 4:30 to 11:00, it’s hard not to be able to get in a workout if you want one. If you can afford it, a gym membership is a great asset for getting in shape.
I could say more but this is a long post and so I’ll revisit health clubs another time.
Biggest thing if you’re going to get in shape…start. Don’t wait for a perfect time like a new month or the end of the holidays or even the start of the week. Just start. You can make it perfect as you go.