Current Mood: A Little Frustrated
I started working out at a local gym with a trainer on May 7, 2009. I have always enjoyed physical exercise, so going to the gym was a logical step.
However, I have signed up for the gym and even paid for a personal trainer before. I had great success a few years ago with a trainer, but then I had a bout with illness that kept me out of the gym. Not long after that, I moved back to my home town trying to avoid a romantic situation that I just didn’t want to confront. I never even told my trainer that I left town. I wasted hundreds of dollars, because I was too scared to have a conversation.
I signed up this last year at the local gym. I was slow to get consistent until my good friend started working out with me. She signed up with a trainer, and I decided to do the same. I couldn’t afford the weekly visits she had chosen, so I signed up for a bimonthly appointment with a trainer. My trainer and I decided we would spend the two days together in the same week, so she could show me the program I would follow for the rest of the month. This worked for four visits. Then, I let my life and tasks keep me from achieving my fitness goals.
Well, I finally made it back to the gym. Since I continued to pay for my trainer and not schedule and appointments, I had a bank of 33 training sessions paid for in full.
I’ve been working out with my trainer twice a week for the last month. I’ve worked very hard.
The first two workouts with my trainer left me sore for almost two weeks. I was grateful that my body adjusted quickly and was no longer sore after workouts after those first two agonizing weeks. (I do my cardio before my weight lifting. I had been leaving after my last set, but then I thought about how the body functions. I didn’t want the lactic acid building up and staying in my much fatigued muscles. I still do my intense cardio first, but I always end my workouts with at least 10 minutes of a lighter cardio workout to get the blood flowing in and out of my muscle fibers. I believe whole heartedly that this is the reason why I haven’t been sore.)
I’ve seen enough weight loss shows and read enough testimonials to know that the first weeks of working out usually result in a higher number of pounds lost. After that the weight loss steadies and a healthy loss is 1 to 2 pounds per week. I had hoped I would lose 10 pounds in my first month.
Part of my training session today was measurements. I anticipated little weight loss since I had been checking my weight occasionally at home, but I still had high hopes. I shed four pounds. I should be happy these four pounds are gone forever, but it almost felt anticlimatic.
Next we measured inches lost. I hoped that this would make up for my disappointment. Measuring my neck, shoulder, waist, hips, thigh, calf, and arm, I lost 5 1/2 inches. Two of those inches came off my waist. It was something to celebrate, but again, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. I wanted more dramatic fruits for my labor to give me the incentive to go on.
In my mind, I was going to have a dramatic first month and then taper off to something more realistic after that. If my next months prove to follow the pattern I imagined in my mind, then progress will be really slow.
In my frustration, I came home from the gym to make a breakfast of grits and eggs (a comfort food). I was starving, since my workout had been first thing in the morning. The most accessible food was a bag full of cookies on the counter. As many times as I looked at them, I didn’t partake.
That is, until after I had eaten my comfort food breakfast and still felt unsatisfied. I was unsatisfied with my results and hadn’t yet process those feelings.
I couldn’t fight it anymore. I took two cookies. Then two more. After cookie five and six, I decided I’d better take a nap before I emptied the bag.
With my blog new today, I don’t think I’ll get much exposure. I’m hoping, however, that someone out there will find this and help me to recognize my successes and celebrate what I’ve achieved.
Until then, I’ll be searching the internet to try and find what is normal in regards to inches lost. I will avoid the product testimonials and look for real people losing weight in a healthy manner. (If that person is you, please comment or leave your blog address and I’ll add you to my blog roll. I’d love to do this with someone else.)
