bootstrapping a startup

[kludge]

I'm 48, and starting to feel it. At 5'9" and 212 pounds with high blood pressure, no history of exercise, and an artistic love of food, I'm in surprisingly good shape for guys in my state. That doesn't mean good shape, just better than you'd expect. That's not good enough. I've felt my strength and energy levels go down significantly over the past few years, and my aches and pains go up. If I don't do something about it, I'm going to become a creaky old man who doesn't have the strength or energy to do fun things anymore. 

 

I work a day job in the computer industry, and spend much of my off time trying to start my own software company, which means 60 hours or so a week in front of a computer (and speaking of rebellion, I'm trying to declare independence from middle class American employment. THAT is rebellion!). So any exercise I'm going to get will have to be deliberate. 

 

A couple of months ago, my wife asked me to join her in Couch to 5K, and I started on it and have done an adequate job of sticking with it - starting week 6 on my next run, and I've lost some advancement to running with people who can't keep up. But winter has arrived here in the frozen north, and running outside is now actively dangerous, courting broken bones and frostbite and getting eaten by ice weasels and Crom knows what else. I didn't want to lose my rhythm, so I signed up for a nearby gym - a little local place with straightforward pricing and not a ton of upsell. I planned to use the treadmills to keep running, but on talking to the owner about how I'd like to lose weight, he said I needed strength training more than cardio. I started googling my way toward a solution, one thing led to another, and now I'm here. 

 

So goals. I want to get down to 180 pounds, which ought to be feasible even if I'm packing on muscle. I want to get rid of my "toon tummy", where all my weight accumulates around my waist. I want to have plenty of strength and energy. I want to deal with the aches and pains as well as possible - can't do much about arthritis, but I don't need to put up with sad muscles and tendons too. And I want to build the habits that will allow me to stay the way I want to be until I finally finish that robot body. 

[Justus]

You're gonna do great. It takes time, patience, and motivation. Couch to 5K is an excellent start! And you'll find tons of accountability and guidance here as well. You've got some awesome goals.. Just remember not to overwhelm yourself!