Day 0: The plan forms.

Can playing DDR help one lose weight? Of course. But how much is possible in only a few weeks? I guess only time will tell -- but I hope to find out the answer.

I recently purchased a Cobalt Flux DDR pad (an extremely expensive, but supposedly durable metal pad), and I plan on playing the crap out of Stepmania.

I currently weigh, on an average day, 178 to 180 pounds. I feel a little disgusted with myself every so often, because I wasn't always like this. However, my weight tends to fluctuate when it matters; during the school year, prior to a PT test, I will usually weigh around 165 pounds -- just barely passing the height and weight for the PT test. This is my goal for now.

As the army teaches its leaders, I will create a "SMART"* goal for me to chase after.

* (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Bound)

(The pad is so beautiful, isn't it?! ;__;)

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The goal: I will reach my desired weight of 165 pounds by August 20th (this is the day I will likely go back to school and lose access to my DDR pad)

(Note: the weigh in time will probably not be the same each day, and thus a little inaccurate. I will attempt to weigh in around the same time each day -- but regardless, the trend should be evident if I am losing weight).

Day 0* weight: 178 lbs (*this is not actually a weigh in from today -- rather, my average weight)

Goal: 165 lbs

Pounds to drop: 13 lbs

The plan: Assuming I'm not lazy or dead tired at the end of the day, I will update this blog twice a week -- that is, on Mondays and Fridays. The reason is that weight tends to fluctuate, so weighing in twice a week should make the weight trend/changes more evident. Also, this is a blog, so I may put in other things as well, perhaps even my work hours so it's easy to keep track of and so I feel more accomplished on my lazy days.

The most important thing for me will be playing DDR for a minimum of 30 minutes. Even on the days when I don't create a blog, you can assume I will meet this goal unless I state otherwise (injury being really the only reason why it'd happen). I will also try to run at least once a week.

My eating habits? I likely won't change them very much. I eat junk food for the most part, and I hate salads. The purpose of this "experiment" of sorts is to see if keeping my same diet (which isn't THAAAT bad) but playing DDR and running a bit more will lose me some pounds.

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Day 0:

• Ran with brother (Zach) at a nice easy pace for 1.3 miles -- ran at 100% intensity for another .7 miles before I saw the FedEx truck and got excited for my pad to arrive. It didn't.
• Worked 4.3 hours.
• Came back from work to find my brother (AJ), his girlfriend and my father coming home with the pad. YESS
• Played ~30 mins of Stepmania. Realization? I am not nearly the DDR man I once was. It will take time to regain my skill, and embarrassingly, my balance. The more I play, the better I get, the harder songs I play, the more weight I lose. A simple concept.

Thoughts? Well, I am still able to pass many 8-9 footers right off the bat. This is good news -- that means in only a few weeks, I may even be back to my old self. Only time will tell though. However, I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel some pain in my legs tomorrow.

Good pain.