Lessons learned

As most of my 'net friends know, I am attempting to lose weight and get in better shape. There are pros and cons to this. Over the past week-and-a-half, here are some lessons I've learned or, at least, were refreshed.

Lesson #1: It's amazing how quickly your body responds to exercise if you push yourself at a decent rate. I started my gym routine on an elliptical runner, 45 minutes, level 1, flat rate. And it nearly KILLED ME. By Friday I was running random hill programs, 45 minutes at level 8 and it was a good workout.

Lesson #2: While your body responds postively to stimuli, it will also respond negatively. For example, if you have a back prone to going out of whack, it's going to do so.

Lesson #3: I prefer plain old ibuprofin to naproxen sodium. Growing up a military dependent, I was given Motrin for every ache and pain. A few years of military service provided the same. Then one day, naproxen sodium came into my life and I thought it was a Godsend. But, based on recent comparisons, ibuprofin is my preferred pain killer for back pain. Naproxen sodium is still the king for headaches though.

Lesson #4: There is no entree I can think of that is not improved by a liberal dose of hot sauce. This is, of course, not a recent lesson learned, but something that bears repeating often.