I sit here at my desk, recently weighing myself in at 344lbs. The plan is going really well, so let me tell you about it. For the last four months I've been languishing over a problem that I've had for a couple years now. I prayed to God over and over for an answer because I didn't know how to fix this problem. Sometime after my camping trip I realized that I needed to start walking much more. I know this may sound crazy but I believe it was God directing me to do this.

How do I know that, though? Some people tell me that they do hear God's voice, and others say they hear nothing. I don't hear voices in my head at all. However, in this case it was a very strong urge to do something and it came out of nowhere. At the time, walking wasn't required and I only played at it up until now. In fact I really didn't feel like increasing my activity level as I was comfortable in my then-current condition. There wasn't any real imperative to exercise. So why all of a sudden did I have to start walking regularly? When I mulled this thought around in my head, and the idea that God was directing me to do this, there was a strong sense of truthfulness about it. Does anyone else ever get that truth-sense?

Since following this directive things are starting to change for the better. I walk four miles every day and have added sit-ups and some weightlifting. I'm definitely feeling the difference and the weight has come down. I've also become much more deliberate with my eating habits. I'm oddly able to pay more attention to what I'm eating and even with the workout I have been able to decrease the amount to a more appropriate level. Now all I need to do in that area is integrate more protein. In addition, I got my second choice for the new shift bid at work(which happens to work out better for me than my first choice!) and I started that yesterday. So far the transition from a day shift to an evening shift has been smooth.

These past few weeks have been a blast too. Coming home to a relaxing game of Left4Dead with my best friend has been like another vacation. Unfortunately, with school and work constraints our campaign of zombiecide will have to be relegated to my days off.

I'll be turning chronologically 30 in a week, but I've decided that I'll be going back to 25. I don't feel like I'm 30, and you are only as old as you feel, right? Seriously though, it isn't an attempt to mask my age. The past five years haven't been all that great so now that I'm healthy and wise, I think I can go back a few years and redo them.