2011 Is Going To Be A New Year

Yes, it’s a rather obvious headline, but it really is. I don’t normally make ‘resolutions’, as they’re seldom kept and only serve as a discouragement, in most cases. However, 2011 is going to be different, as I have new motivations.

For starters, I’m going to become a dad this year. That statement alone has caused an unending parade of emotions thus far, and I’m sure it’s only going to get worse. I’m incredibly excited, but it’s also a sobering realization that I need to get some stuff done. My impending fatherhood has also spurred on a few thoughts on what I’m doing, where I’m going, etc.

Thus, 2011 is going to be the year I get back in shape. Three years ago, I weight a scant 150lbs and no part of my upper body protruded from my shirts. Today, I weigh 195lbs and stick out in three specific places on my shirts. I realize 195lbs isn’t a bad weight, but when you start out at 150lbs, a 45lb increase is pretty noticeable. Worse yet, I topped out at 200lbs a year ago, when we started looking to buy a house. Our homebuying experience was insanely stressful, and I dropped a solid 20lbs during the ordeal – 20lbs that I’ve since gained back, in less than a year. Clearly my metabolism isn’t on my side anymore.

I used to be quite active, honestly. I play soccer (football for my international readers) every season for 6 years when I was a kid, and loved it. In college, I played Ultimate Frisbee quite often, and for 2 years, played racquetball for about an hour every single day with my roommate.

Thus, my biggest personal goal for 2011 is to lose 40lbs in 2011, and keep it off.

To accomplish this, I bought an elliptical machine today. I already watch 3-4 movies per week, so for 2 of those movies, I’m going to use the elliptical machine the entire movie. I’m going to do this every week, all year long. That may sound silly, but it’s what’ll work for me, for a few reasons:

1. I hate exercising, with a passion. I’ve tried running, numerous times, and it always leaves me in a pissy mood. A few years ago, I bought Mrs. Guru and I bicycles, thinking we’d go riding all the time. Unfortunately, the weather interferes, tires go flat, and they just didn’t work out. With an elliptical machine, I’m not technically running, and it can’t be deterred by weather or flat tires. It doesn’t require electricity, either, and I bought one without a seat, specifically, so that I have to actively use it the whole time.

2. I’m not going to do it every day. I have enough things on my plate every day that it’s simply not realistic for me to set aside 30-45 minutes every day to work out, plus the extra 15-20 minutes to take another shower, etc. However, twice a week is something I can handle.

3. I don’t ‘do’ diets. I have been making a conscious effort to eat healthier, thanks to my health-nut wife, but I’ve never been able to really ‘diet’. I enjoy food and eating too much, and I have firm beliefs against ruining that experience by counting various metrics and worrying about what the food is going to do to me. I eat sensibly, though, and I am actively working to eat smaller portions, at least. By adding exercise, I can worry a little bit less about what I’m eating.

So there you go. If I can maintain this two-movies-per-week thing, I believe that’ll at least be a good start to helping me lose 40lbs by Christmas 2011. Currently, my plan is to just wheel the thing out into the livingroom twice a week and watch the movie on my nice big TV. However, I’m a big fat nerd, so I’m probably going to, at some point, build some sort of a mount for my netbook, and hook up my Plantronics BackBeats to it to watch movies on. I’ll post pics, for sure.

My other big goal for 2011 is to publish a post here at least once a week. 2010 was an interesting year for me, as I went from maintaining Symbian-Guru.com, with 3-5 posts per DAY, in addition to this site, to only maintaining this site. While you’d think that’d be an easy transition, with more time for this site, you’re wrong. Without the demands of Symbian-Guru to keep up with, it’s easy to not blog for weeks at a time.

I have other goals, as well, but they’re smaller, more short-term goals that build towards bigger ones. I’ve always been a goal-oriented person, and am pretty excited for a fresh start with 2011.

What goals/resolutions have you made for 2011?