Before I get into the post, just a few quick updates. Recovery from the surgery took much longer than expected. I ended up getting off the pain meds much quicker than desired, so I wasn't able to get up and around as quickly. It took about 6 weeks before I started feeling mostly human again, and now I'm pretty much back to 'normal.'

We had a good time over Christmas break, even though we didn't get to spend any time with my family. However, Anna's aunt, uncle, and cousins came down from Kansas the day after Christmas, and we enjoyed getting to spend time with them. Well, I think Anna did, I was busy for a lot of the time they were here.

Anyway, I've only made one resolution for this year, if you can really call it a resolution. It's actually more of a commitment to myself - a commitment to get into shape. I've been on the sedentary lifestyle diet for a long time, and it's just not been working for me, so it was time to try something new. Something called Fitness Boot Camp.

For the next five weeks, I'll be heading to a workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 5:30am to go through a slate of cardio and muscle-building activities designed to get my butt in shape. Anna started this program by taking a two-week mini session in December, and she's going through the full five-week program with me. Well, I'm going with her, but you get the idea.

This morning, we had registration for the camp. No, not at 5:30, but at 8am. Still, 8am on a Saturday morning, much less New Year's Day Saturday morning, is awfully early to fill out paperwork. Oh, but we didn't just fill out paperwork. Oh, it was much more than just filling out paperwork, however. No, we did a full body measurement and skills test. Here's the results from that:

Stats:
Height - 5'9"
Weight - 199 lbs [good thing I lost 10 lbs after the surgery]
Bicep - 11.5"
Waist - 41"
Hips - 44"

Skills:
400m run - 1 minute 54 seconds
Push-ups (1 minute) - 10 full, 15 modified
Sit-ups (1 minute) - 21 full, 1 modified
100m dash - 19 seconds
Feeling of nausea at the end - priceless

Well, it's a starting point anyway. We'll do the body measurements and skills test again at the end of the 5 weeks and see where we are. I intend to lose a few pounds while gaining muscle mass. I'm not going to say anything stupid like "I'll lose 21 pounds in the next 5 weeks." I'm realistic. I'm not going to change my diet much, because I've already made significant changes to my diet since the surgery. But if I can at least start an exercise routine that will help me improve my overall fitness and get into position to lose more weight and get into better shape, then this 5 week ordeal will be worth it.