That year sucked
Wow...2008 really sucked. I think 2009 is going to be a much better year.
So, to recap 2008 (if you need a good read, and also since I haven't posted on here in over a year now)...I separated from my wife (mid Dec 07 actually)...idea was to put the house up for sale right away (which really sucked because I loved that house and never wanted to move again)...early January, as the agent is about to come in and have pictures taken, there is a lot of rainfall with warmer temp which melts the two feet of snow in my backyard. The end result is that the basement flooded (for the second time in a year and a half), and the basement SWAT team has to come out, rip everything up and dry the place up. There were tons of homes that flooded at the same time. So it takes until mid-April to get the basement redone (a second time) and repainted. Now it's May and the house is finally on the market. All this time I'm in way over my head with a huge mortgage I can't possibly afford on my own and the house isn't selling. It finally sold in October or so, and closed in December. So I was basically at the brink of bankruptcy and was going further into severe debt every month. Last March and April (during my busiest time of the year - I'm an accountant) my stress level is through the roof, my attendance at karate has plummeted to rare appearances, and my nightly drinking has me getting to the point of getting concerned if I'm turning into an alcoholic. Other than that, I'm doing pretty well throughout the year.
Summer was good and I started doing CrossFit in July. Jesus Ch*st that stuff is F*****g hard...but you know what? I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Somehow I pushed myself every single workout and went way past the point of giving up that I would have done if I was attempting it on my own. I also started getting back to karate...and within the second month...I was noticeably leaner and in way better shape...it was amazing.
Then when my house was about to be sold, and I was looking for a house, looking for appliances, got sick, blah, blah, blah...my last CF workout was mid-October and I don't think I went to karate at all in October.
Anyway...I've bought a new place and I'll be moving into it at the end of the month (house-sitting right now in the mean time with all my stuff in storage) and I'm very excited. Finally starting over with my own place.
So Monday I got my @$$ back into the CF gym and committed for the year. After a 3 month lay-off, that workout was difficult, but was scaled it down a bit for me. My legs were sore yesterday. Stairs sucked. Last night I was at karate and had a great workout there too. Today EVERYTHING hurts. And stairs really, really suck! Especially going down stairs. My eating has been good for the last couple of weeks in preparation for getting back into a routine. I definitely feel a rewewed energy and committment to accomplish some challenging goals for 2009.
Tonight is a rest day as I have my son tonight, and tomorrow night I'm going to a hockey game. I think my body could use the two days of recovery right now. I don't want to overdo it right away.
My goal is 5 workouts per week, with at least 2 CrossFit workouts and 2 karate classes, perhaps the 5th workout alternating between the two.
My weight has gone up a little bit from last year at this time (I had been down by Sept/Oct, but then a month of fast food and booze undid everything, and the holidays gave me some extra work to do. I've been around the 215 mark for the past few years...now I'm probably at around 220 (not sure of the accuracy of the scale I used last week), but that's probably where I'm at. I would like to get down to 205 by June or so...and down to 190 by the end of the year. Those are the weight goals. After a couple of months of consistent CrossFit this summer, I noticed that my weight didn't actually move a whole lot, but I was gaining muscle and burning a lot of fat...so even if my weight doesn't get down that far, I won't get too worked up about it as long as I can see, feel and measure the progress.
I know that there will be some setbacks...there are always are in life...but I'm going to do my best to be consistent and eat well.
Food-wise I'm kinda using a cross between the Zone and Precision Nutrition...it seems I have a fear of committment...lol
Holy crap...long post
Glad to hear you're exercising again! 
