Once more, with feeling

I have returned. Returned from ten weeks of relative inactivity and mediocre nutrition. Returned to the land of accountability. Don't worry, I didn't go completely crazy and balloon up again, but I have made zero progress in the last two and a half months -- negative progress, actually -- and that is going to change.

Yesterday, I ran a mile outside for the first time since my cruise. (Incidentally, do you know how hard it is to run on a moving ship? It's not fun, not in the least.) It's only the sixth run of any kind I've done since mid-January. Today, I'm going to attempt to do the same, and Sunday I'm hoping to make it two. I have motivation -- my 5k run is in less than two months. Was that smart of me, or what? Start working out again, or forfeit thirty dollars and have to tell everyone who asks how I did that I never went. That's powerful.

On the plus side, my doctor told me last week that I only need to lose about twenty more pounds for me to be at what he would consider a manageable weight. And my blood pressure is excellent, which surprised me. He also said my cholesterol was just borderline, instead of being very bad, as I imagined it would. Apparently, I'm pretty healthy for being fairly overweight. That makes me pretty optimistic that I can become very healthy in a reasonable amount of time.