Now, the running thing...

I stopped using the treadmill because we didn't seem to gel.

More like I was too big to be runnin on it.

It wasn't an issue with stamina, per se. I could easily hit 2 miles. But when I tried to crank up the speed, I was constantly reminded how far from "normal" I was.

The damn thing had a weight restriction.

If you're under 250, the treadmill would do you right. Anything over that, and he'd probably send yo ass flyin backward into a wall (or in my case, the old lady walking by) when the belt suddenly stopped. I hated not being able to run so much that I got some shoes and decided to do it outside.

Not the thing to do if you're a beginning runner and live in North Carolina. These hills had my calves burning.

So the arc trainer had become my salvation. But I kept hearing Kyle talk about the treadmill and how he's doing 2+ miles now. It was like dangling chocolate in front of my face. I had to see.

I did 3 miles my third time out. Yeah, it skipped, but I guess the 35 pounds I'm down so far helped keep me centered.

According to the scale...

I lost 2.6 pounds this week.

I dunno if I can take that as a victory of a defeat. I mean, it's a victory that I lost weight, but I dunno how much of one it is being that I didn't hit my target. Now, I have two weeks til the friends show up, and a 15-pound goal staring me in the face.

It's crunch time.

I'm even thinking about skipping pizza night. It's THAT bad. And the pizza we're ordering is some of the best stuff I've had since Pizza Papolis.

What's a guy to do?

Let's get to it...

I made my 5 pound goal for last week, so I can spare myself the embarrassment of anybody seeing me on the scale.

But the homies are coming down in a few weeks, so I'll be stepping up my program to get a little farther along in the process. That means one cheat day instead of the obligatory two I've been giving myself. I'm also now going to the gym 5 days a week instead of 3-4. This way, I'll burn more calories, and put less into my body.

I've noticed more and more that the cheat days are usually spent eating things I don't necessarily eat during the week, but I eat them because I can. So it shouldn't be hard to give it up.

So far, I'm down 30 pounds since I began, and I feel great.

My goal this week is 3 pounds, since I played the role of fat ass, eating all the bread I could get my hands on this weekend. I know it'll come back to bite me, but I hope to lose more in the next two weeks.

We'll see.

If I don't lose 5 lbs this week....

I'm baring all on my blog.

No, not all that, my weight. I'll gladly climb on the scale, snap a shot of what it says, and put it out there.

The only way I'm able to motivate myself is through incentives. And since this is something I'd dare say I don't want divulged, I think it's gonna work.

I told myself Monday night that this would be the case. I'm already down 4 pounds.

See? It's working already.