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Somehow, Mandy convinced me to try and go a whole week without turning on the TV at home. I can watch TV at the gym, but nothing at home, not even in the morning when I'm getting ready. Three days in, it's been an interesting experience.

Monday night was great, as we got quite a few things done around the house. We spent some time reading (I love my NookColor by the way), and the evening went by pretty quickly. Last night was a different story. Neither of us felt like doing much, so she read while I killed most of the evening on Twitter or playing Angry Birds. Made for a long evening, and not really any more productive than watching TV would have been. Tonight we went to the gym, so that took up a good portion of the evening.

I think what I'm learning is that I don't need to have the TV on at all times whether or not I'm actually watching it. It is okay to enjoy the quiet now and then. Hopefully we can detach ourselves from it a bit as tome goes on, and be willing to find other sources of entertainment. I can't wait for it to warm up so I can get back on my bike, and the detachment from TV will surely make that easier.

Week 7 was a tough one.  Mandy caught bronchitis last week, and wasn’t able to go to the gym all week as she was fighting a nasty cough.  I came down with something (I originally thought it was bronchitis), and pretty much sick from Thursday through Saturday.  Thus, I didn’t go to the gym on Thursday through Sunday. 

I was feeling good enough to go for a walk and do some things on Sunday, so that was refreshing.  The great news is that we both were able to start back at the gym this morning, so hopefully we can get our routine back in order.  Hoping I’ll feel up to more activity in the evenings again shortly.  Today, I was pretty tired after we got home from work.

The sickness and rest may have been a blessing though.  Think I gave myself a chance to actually burn some fat as I did lose 4 pounds this week!

Thanks to Angela (@TheAng), I found a new site that’s going to allow me to add sit-ups and push-ups into my routine - http://www.hundredpushups.com.  I’m going to start both the 200 sit-ups and 100 push-ups programs during my morning workouts.  It’s nice to have a set routine to follow to push my progress, so I’ll report back how those are going over the next few weeks.

Finally,  thanks to everyone for the support.  It’s been great to read your comments and encouragement, and it’s been a great help to keep me going!

We're now just three days short of one month at the gym!  The results aren't overly dramatic, but I am feeling good about the progress.  I haven't actually lost much weight, but I can definitely tell I've gained muscle.  I'm also pretty sure I've burned some fat as my clothes are fitting better, and I need to drop a notch on my belt.  

I did skip Saturday this week, but I did play golf on Friday night and Saturday.  I'm really enjoying the nicer weather we've been having.  I've been walking the dog and playing golf a lot lately.  The extra energy I have from exercising is really paying off.

Week 3 is over, and I'm still going strong.  Due to the Easter holiday, I did miss my first day of going to the gym on Sunday.  I did get up and go for a 30 minute walk on Sunday to help make up for it though.  

The Easter holiday was not good for my healthy eating, but I did manage to hold my weight steady from last week.  I am starting to see noticeable improvements in my physical skills though.  My bench press is up 10 lbs. from last week.  I also managed to go 30 minutes on the elliptical.  I was going to work my way up, but decided last week to see just how far I could go, and hit 30 minutes.  I'm going to go at it again tomorrow and shoot for another 30 minutes.

I'm hoping that I'll start seeing some weight fall off, but I'm not getting discouraged yet.  I'm seeing other results besides weight, and I'm really enjoying the extra energy I have!

Wanted to provide an update after 7 days of going to the gym.  I've gone every morning, for at least 30 minutes each time.  I've been focusing primarily on strength training, but have done some cardio, primarily for warm-ups.  Cardio of any significant intensity is still difficult, but I expect that to get easier as my muscles get stronger.  

I lost two pounds this week; considering I haven't made any drastic changes to my diet, I'm feeling good about that.  My mornings are going much better now as I'm doing my waking up at the gym. When we get home, it's much easier to get dressed and get going to work (or whatever on the weekend) now.  I'm also drinking less caffeine as I don't find myself dragging as much; therefore, I'm getting better sleep.

I'm taking the strategy of doing this everyday in order to make it a true routine.  Going in the morning doesn't take any time out of my day.  This way I still get to enjoy my evenings, and can do whatever I feel like, including walking the dog.  

I am going to put up a weekly status update to help keep me accountable.  If I miss a week, be sure to send me a note telling me to post!