Weighed in this morning at 158 pounds, down one pound from Monday.

Fitness bootcamp seems to be getting easier for me to do. I'm able to go through an hour of it with fewer rests in between. And afterwards, I don't feel as exhausted.

Yesterday, I did a short hike up and down the mountains here in SoCal. I felt pretty good doing it, was never exhausted or tired, and felt like I could have done several more miles. I just didn't have the time do it.

But considering I bought a new SLR camera, the Canon EOS Rebel 1000D, I want to do more hikes and practice my photography.

Which brings me to an interesting point, the better shape I'm in, the more freedom I have. I can go on longer hikes, enjoy more time seeing the natural beauty of the world.

Weighed in this morning at 159 pounds, up two from last Saturday.

After some thinking, I'm cutting down my beer consumption significantly. I realize over the past year my beer drinking has increased. It's to a point now that anytime I go out to eat, I look for a place with a good beer selection, and drink at least two. That is, my choices in dining are predicated on how good the beer is.

During my weight loss period, I would drink beer usually on weekends, whereas today it's five to six days a week. I want to get back to where its just weekends.

Beer is actually not that bad of an alcoholic drink in terms in weight loss efforts. It contains no fat and has very little sugar. Interestingly, beer gets a bad reputation, while wine is looked upon more favorably in social circles. Yet a typical 5oz glass of wine still contains more calories and alcohol than a 16oz glass of beer.

But as with anything, moderation is the key. In the past, my beer drinking was under moderation, but not recently. So, I'm making an commitment to get back to moderation.

Weighed in this morning at 157 pounds.

Since my last post on January 31, I've gained four pounds, but I think it's mostly muscle. I've been working out in this fitness bootcamp for three months now, and I'm progressing well. And just a month ago I signed up at my local fitness center, and workout there about two-three times a week.

I'm getting to a point where I want to exercise everyday, and plan my days around it.

But because I exercise a lot, I get into this habit of eating and drinking more. I keep thinking I can eat more, because I work out more.

I'm also eating and drinking more because I'm going out more. I spend more time out of the house, going to restaurants, public events, and meeting people, and that somehow translates into consuming more calories. I used to stay home a lot, and that gave me better control of my diet. But going out more often makes it tough to control.

So recently I've been exercising more in an attempt to burn off those calories. I try to run 5+ miles either on treadmill or on ground. I lift more weights at the fitness center. I push myself harder at bootcamp.

I'm no longer trying to maintain 150 pounds; I realize that's impossible if I'm building more muscle. But I want to at least stay under 160 pounds. I still want to work on my belly, trim off some lingering fat on my sides, and flatten out the pooch.