Three weeks ago today I got a Wii Fit, mostly in the hope of adding a little more exercise to my day. Little did I know at the time that it would become downright addictive to the point where I’m exercising over an hour a day. Gladly.

In fact, I’ve been enjoying the exercise so much that I also bought My Fitness Coach for the Wii. Let me just tell you, although I’ve been busting my butt doing the Wii Fit workouts — doing both the 20-minute step exercise and the long-distance run daily in addition to the full menu of yoga, strength training and balance games — the Fitness Coach workout really brings on the burn.

Oddly enough, I mean that in the nicest way: after 40-60 minutes with the Wii Fit and a 20-minute Fitness Coach workout, I feel amazing. Or, rather, I get to feeling that way once my breath returns to normal and the sweating stops.

Yeah, it’s a lot of exercise. It’s one thing to say to yourself, “Self, I’m going to exercise for 60-90 minutes today” — the recommended amount for weight loss — and it’s another thing to do it. But doing it I am.

In all honesty, I get out of bed every single morning thinking up excuses not to exercise. (I’m tired. My legs are sore. I worked out plenty yesterday so one day off won’t hurt. I need to clean house. I don’t feel like it.) But that’s the kind of thinking that helped me gain weight in the first place, the kind that led me to believe I could lose weight if I’d just find the right diet and perhaps the right weight loss pills. Three years and countless diets later, and it’s obvious to me that dieting alone (with or without pills) isn’t going to do it.

Surprisingly enough, even though I argue with myself over exercising the entire time I’m driving my son to school, by the time I get home I’m actually in the mood to work out after all. Maybe it’s just that I’m tired of my own whining? Or maybe — just maybe — it’s because I’m seeing great results.

As of today — three weeks after I started exercising and watching what I eat — I’ve lost 9 1/2 pounds. But wait, there’s more! I’ve also lost 1 1/2 inch in my waist and 1 inch from my butt. And my chronic joint pain? It’s gone, baby, gone. (Yes, I still get sore muscles regularly — but so what?)

With results like that, I’m not about to give up. And that, perhaps, is the best response to all of those early-morning “I don’t feel like it” excuses: I don’t feel like being fat anymore, either.

At some point in the past two weeks I started enjoying exercise. No, that doesn’t accurately describe it: I love it.

I love no longer shaking as I hold formerly difficult yoga poses. I chase the burn on strength training and weight-lifting, gladly adding reps until I can’t take anymore… then resting a bit and tackling another set. Aerobics? Bring ‘em on, babe. In the evenings, even though I’ve done my one-hour workout earlier in the day, I’d rather be doing the Wii Fit freestyle step workout while watching TV than just sitting there.

As strange as it sounds, all that exercising lately has translated into serious pain relief thanks to those lovely, lovely endorphins. (Granted, being exhausted by 9 pm may help distract me from pain, too. But as they say: it’s all good.)

So what’s the scale saying? Eh, it depends on the day. At first it frustrated me, seeing my Wii Fit BMI and Weight line graph looking like a roller coaster; one day my weight would be down 1 pound, the next it would be up 2. And, of course, when the thing asks you to indicate the cause of your weight gain, “retaining a hell of a lot of water” isn’t among the options.

But that’s fine. I’m eating right and avoiding booze, and according to my daily nutrition tracker I’m getting roughly 1450 calories per day. As far ax exercise, Between my 60-minute daily Wii Fit workout and the other 20-30 minutes exercising Wii-free, I’m burning roughly 535 calories per day. Weight loss will happen. It’s bound to. Oddly enough, for the first time in my life I can say I’m not exercising to lose weight; I’m just exercising because it’s fun!

Hello, my name is Kate and I’m an endorphin addict.

I stink. No, I mean it. I just finished my one-hour Wii Fit workout for the day and I reek. Of course, being a chubby Mommy, I’m going to be sweating for the next, oh, half hour or so. That means showering now would only be a waste of time — by the time I was clean, dried off and moisturized it would be time to do it all again.

So I’m sitting here doing my damndest to stay downwind of myself. Not an easy task, even if I am getting pretty good at that yoga thing. And speaking of yoga, today’s workout consisted of 22 minutes of it followed by 15 minutes of strength training and 20 minutes of aerobics.

I tried out the “freestyle step routine” for the first time. Basically, it’s 10 minutes of stepping on and off the balance board in time with an annoying ding sound emitted by the Wiimote. The only good part about it: being able to watch a news channel while still getting my Wii Fit credit for exercise time. The entire fun factor was gone, though, so I doubt I make that a regular part of my morning workouts. May start doing it in the evening while whatever my remote-controlling husband insists on tuning in.

Aside: Hold on, let me see if I’m still sweating. Yep. Eww.

While we’re on the topic of my husband, tomorrow he’s heading to Korea for some stupid business trip or another. Why, no, I don’t have many more details beyond that. What more do I need to know than he is once again going to be traveling, and I am once again going to be solo-parenting.

Another aside: Yes, I realize many of you are single moms, and I feel for you. I did that route myself for 8 years with my daughter. And while it may sound like I’m whining about spending the next few weeks doing what you do every day, keep in mind that I scrub his underwear, pick up his socks, wipe his balls of phlegm off his clothing and our furniture and generally tend to all of those other wifely duties that are part of my deal for not having to solo parent a/k/a marriage.

Anyway. The nice part about VH’s trip this time is that I have a Wii Fit to entertain me in the evenings. Also, I can stop recording all of those stupid shows he insists on watching every night, and maybe even I’ll get a chance to catch the finale of Real Housewives of Orange County (the women I so love to hate).

Oh, and in case you’re curious, I am STILL sweating. Also, I’ve lost 5 pounds in the 2 weeks since getting my Wii Fit. Which means that despite the stench of my armpits I can still savor the sweet smell of success.