I’m on Day Two of the Get Fit in February Developer Challenge.  This month-long competition boasts around 200 participants who are vying for some nice prizes to the fittest of the fit.  Judged in 3 categories – total weight lost, percentage of weight lost, and most active participation – the winners can claim one of two Zunes or an MDSN subscription.

So I’m committed to this thing… here’s my starting point.  I’m at 183 as of last night, which puts my BMI squarely at 27, making me technically overweight.  My goal by the end of the month is to lose 12 pounds, which would land me at 171 by the time March arrives.  Beyond that, I’d like to trim down to an even 160, but we’ll reevaluate and set further short term goals once this challenge is done.

My plan goes something like this:

• Work out every day, no excuses or exceptions.  Even if I’m exhausted, I can hammer out 20 minutes of cardio.  If it’s raining, I have the treadmill.
• Lots of water.  Water water water.  It’s good for me, it keeps me alert, and it makes me feel full.
• Stop the senseless munching.  I’m probably taking on an extra 2-300 calories a day by grabbing a handful of cashews here and a stack of potato chips there.
• Eat a small and healthy breakfast, and a couple of smaller meals in the day instead of a large lunch.
• Shore up the evening meal.  For the next two weeks, I’m eating only cereal and fruit for dinner.  I’ll do something similar for the back half of the month, but I’ll see what I’m craving at that point – I’m sure the cereal/fruit will get old after 14 days.
• Weigh in biweekly (Monday, Friday mornings).  Post progress and my notes at least biweekly.

So I’m a full day into this thing and, excluding last night’s Super Bowl party, I’m doing quite well.  Tonight’s dinner was Special K cereal and a banana, and I pounded out 20 minutes of 10 degree climbing on the treadmill. 

Now this is a technical blog so I’m not going to post all of my weigh-ins or notes here; I will follow up here with a single final results post at the end..  If you’re interested in my progress or the event as a whole, visit to the Facebook group for this challenge.