The power of two.

My exercise regime has hit the five-week mark. I wish I could say that I have lost weight waking up at 5:45 every morning, but I'm parked about 15 pounds heavier than I was when I got married, which, as we all know, is an overused, if not unrealistic yard stick. 15 pounds heavier than my wedding day, but strangely, one size smaller than when I began this habit.

I owe it all to the friends who agreed to sacrifice sleep for pain. Every morning I curse the alarm clock, only to roll out of bed, knowing that someone is counting on me to be there and, heaven forbid, I be the one to slack off. Yep, self-motivation is virtually non-existent for me. I try to shake up the routine a bit, alternating elliptical, treadmill and stationary bike with an occasional weight here and there. The first time I stepped on the treadmill, I ran (okay, jogged) a mere ten minutes before throwing in the towel. I'm up to 20 minutes of running, er jogging but at half a mile per hour faster than before. I have no plans to make a runner out of myself, but it's nice to know that I can spend the majority of my 35 minutes on the treadmill going faster than 4 miles per hour. Next month I'll start swimming two mornings a week. That, I can do.

This is the first time in 7 years that exercise has risen up the ranks of my priorities to a five-times per week habit. And it feels good. Here are the few benefits I've noticed from having a regular workout regime:
1. I feel a spring in my step and less drudgery at performing physical feats on behalf of my children (like towing 3 of them behind me on a bike to and from school). By the end of our trip to the zoo yesterday, I was pushing all four children on our sit-and-stand stroller and didn't even break a sweat.

2. I'm taking more showers (much to my husband's delight - I was on a 36-hour schedule before, creating hygiene-anxiety for him).

3. I am ready for the day before my children. It's tough to say which I prefer, waking to a blaring alarm clark at 5:45 or to a host of children petitioning me for breakfast at 7:15. Hey, where's the world with no alarm clocks, dozens of fully self-sufficient children(whom I did not have to carry in my belly, or give birth to) and husbands minus the built-in earplugs?

4. More energy to meet the challenges of the day. And less. But I'll take the fatigue resulting from sleep deprivation over the kind that comes from being a lazy bum. Anyday.

5. Greater selectivity with regards to food intake. Knowing that it took me about 40 minutes to burn a mere 314 calories, I'm in no hurry to hit the treadmill for double that time to work off a slice of cheesecake. No sir.

And here's where I should conclude my post with something insightful or witty. But you'll just have to settle for identical before and after pictures of my thighs. Or not.