Exercise

Last summer I wrote about the personal trainer friend I had that came and worked with me 2-3 times per week.  I think I was pretty optimistic about losing weight, getting in shape, and feeling good.

I have to admit that in hindsight, he was pretty successful.  I could see a difference in my muscle tone, although not a lot of difference on the scale or in my fat content.  Overall, I felt better.  Although every day he was scheduled to come I would try to find an excuse to cancel.  I never did get used to it, nor did I ever get to a point where I enjoyed it, although I've heard that that utopia exists for some.

This winter I've gained even more weight.  My obsession with what I can and can't eat seems to be a contributing factor, but it is also a function of depression and lack of focus.

I've been doing the tae kwon do for a year now (can you believe it's been that long!), and although I've noticed muscles moving around, it doesn't seem to have helped with weight loss.  I don't think I've given it the amount of force and time to really work.

So I signed up for an exercise boot camp for the month of July.  I'm scared to death, but I'm determined to do whatever I need to to lose these extra pounds.  I want to feel good, have more energy, and be less depressed.  I know exercise is a key to all of those, so I'm going to see how it goes.  I know it's going to kick my ass, and I don't intend to let go of the tae kwon do, either.  I'm not sure how I'm going to manage it all, but hopefully by the end of July I will look and feel amazing!  We'll see!

Workout Update

This is one of the updates that I promised in my recent post. Primarily because my trainer read the initial post, and took issue with the negative tone! Every time he comes he reminds me that I need to update everyone and be more positive!

So, I am still working out. I am definitely not working out as much as he would like, as I am supposed to be exercising between visits, independent of his supervision. However, I know I am not good at that. I promised my son that I would do some serious bike riding with him this summer, and I will keep my word. I have been waiting for him to get big enough and confident enough on his bicycle that we could ride a good distance. Now, however, he is way beyond me in ability! At 6, he's riding 10 miles each way to and from school a couple times a week. I doubt that I could do that distance in my current sorry state!!

I will be picking that up again, however. That is something I truly enjoyed doing, and something I miss. I loved riding my bike around town on the weekends. I look forward to being able to do that again with him. It will require me to scale back on weekend planning, which will also be good for me. There are plenty of things I want to do with him that will require planning, and time.

That said, I am currently working out with my trainer about 2 times per week for an hour. We have been doing that since the beginning of March, and I do notice a difference. I have not lost the belly pouch that was my goal from the beginning, but I am stronger, and feel better, than I have in quite a long time. I can see the improvement in just how much and how long I can do the tasks he gives me to do. Even though he works me until I feel like I'm going to drop, and can't lift an arm or leg a single more time, I know I lifted/pushed/worked many more reps with much more weight than would ever have been possible when I started.

I'm still slightly sore after every work out, which is something I take to be a good sign. It feels like I'm working hard if I'm sore. It feels like I'm pushing myself. I think that's good. I like pushing myself. I've gotten complacent in the past few years, and pushing is good. In whatever form it comes.

Ultimately, I've improved. My trainer swears he can tell a difference in the shape of my arms and legs. I can't say that I agree, because the only area that I've ever given any attention to is my belly, and that isn't changing much. However, I choose to believe him because I feel strong. That has to come from somewhere, right?

Weight Loss, Exercise

I started working out a little while ago in an attempt to get that hard body I think might be hiding under my thick skin. I'm not fat, but I'm getting older, and my skin is starting to sag in places it really shouldn't.

There's also the fact that I've always had a problem with a muffin top, and it would be nice to see if I might ever achieve a flat belly. This might just be wishful thinking.

I have a friend who graciously agreed to "practice" on me while he works his way through his personal trainer certification process. Nothing beats a free personal trainer. Nothing. Really.

Plus, he likes me, so he's nice.

After experiencing soreness in muscles I didn't know existed, and some that I didn't think could ever BE sore, I can tell I'm getting stronger. My problem is that exercising makes me hungry. Actually, hungry is an understatement. I feel like I'm absolutely starving every minute of the day! And I've never been good at deny myself something I NEED, and I need to eat!

So, exercising tends to make me fat! What the heck? I tell people this, and they look at me like I'm smoking something. Really, I do gain weight. It's not hard to believe when I'm eating twice as much as I'm used to eating, and only burning off a quarter of what I'm packing away.

Knowing this, I've really tried to eat less this time around. I'm only partially succeeding. I am a little chunkier than when I started, but so far it isn't completely out of hand. In fact, I'm semi-successfully trying to eat less than I was before I started working out, so I might have a better chance at that hard body.

We'll see how it goes! I'll let you know in a couple of months if I'm achieving success, or if I've just given up completely on the exercise!