I woke up on New Year's Day and thought "I'm going to do Weight Watchers". So I started that day. People ask me if something happened that made me want to make a change. No specific event made me want to make a change. I literally just woke up one day and decided to do it. I am not one for New Year's Resolutions so I did not make any resolution. I just made an immediate lifestyle change.
On January 20th, I joined the gym. I had already lost a few pounds just from eating right, but I knew there was more to healthy living than that. My friend had been bugging me to join the gym for the longest time, and I finally did. At first, I hated it. HATED IT. I would go every day. But I felt out of place. I felt like I did not belong there. And I thought people were looking at me and judging me. But no one really cared about me. I realized pretty quickly that everyone was in their own little world there. I still didn't like it even though I was seeing some results. I just felt so out of shape. It was not enjoyable, but I plugged along. Even if I only went for 30 minutes of Cardio, I was there at least 5 days a week.
After a month or so, I began to feel the effects of my efforts. I began to have a lot more energy. I started looking forward to going to the gym. In March I signed up with a trainer for
'Fight Like a Girl' -- a striking/kickboxing program that was twice a week for 6 months. Sounded great, I thought it was outside of my comfort zone so it had to be good. And I was going to like it - it wasn't cheap and there was no way of getting out of it so I better like it! I didn't at first. It kicked my butt! And I didn't think I would make it through 6 months of it! But my trainer (Erin) and my partner (and awesome new friend Shelby) had faith in me - way more than I had in myself! They were both so encouraging to me. Even though I was very motivated on my own, it's so nice to have people that believe in you.
In April I signed up with an additional trainer for twice a week - just for general personal training. Four days a week with personal trainers? What in the world was I thinking?! He took it kind of easy on me at first. I was his first client here at this gym, and he wasn't sure how hard he should push me. Another trainer and his client trained with us one day - He insisted I 'had it in me' and that my trainer (Daniel) could push me - and from that day he started kicking my butt too!
For months, the cardio I was doing on my own was either walking on the treadmill or riding the bike. I tried the stairmaster once - I was about dying after 5 minutes! Daniel made me do the elliptical one day - I hated him... But after that I started doing the elliptical almost daily - I do the stairs regularly now too. It's fascinating to me that now I can do over an hour on the elliptical at one time - and not die! And 20 minutes on the stair climber on a decent pace is nothing!
I was told I should try classes. My friend at the gym - Tony - suggested Pitaiyo -- and I thank him for that now. At first, I didn't want to try classes. What if I mess up? What will people think? Everyone will be watching me - eek. Well once again, I was wrong. They're paying just as much attention to me as I am to them. NONE! Pitaiyo (which is not offered everywhere I've learned, but is at my gym because one of the founders/creators works there) is a blend of Pilates, Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qi Gong. Yea, I'm not coordinated, and my balance I've found is not great. But I love the class, and I go as often as I can. I still want to try more classes - Body Combat, Body Pump - and I may even want to try a water class as well.
The gym is the highlight of my day, and has been for a while. I work from home now full time, so the gym is like my escape! I have friends there. People know me when I walk in. How did I go from being someone who has never set foot in a gym to someone everyone knows there? I've even been the topic of conversation at trainer meetings! I've been told I'm an inspiration -- that's flattering, but I don't really see it. People have asked me how I do it.... What diet am I following... What diet pills am I taking....
*I am not dieting. I made a lifestyle change - and that's the only way to do it I believe. A diet is temporary. Diet sounds like you're depriving yourself of things you may really want. I did weight watchers - but if you know about weight watchers, you know it's not a diet. You eat what you want. It just teaches you how to track your food, and helps teach you how to make healthy choices. I stopped doing weight watchers over two months ago. I started using a wonderful app called MyFitnessPal. This app counts calories. Let's face it, counting calories is a lot more practical than counting points. Eating right + working out + sleep = a healthy lifestyle.
As of my last weigh in on Sunday (9/18/11) I have lost 74.8 pounds. In my head I know this is a lot. Everyone tells me they can see such a difference. I don't always see it. I notice little things. Like I know now you can see my collar bones all the time. I've had to basically get rid of ALL of my old clothes because nothing fits. I see a difference, but it doesn't seem as dramatic to me as everyone makes it out to be - but I guess it is. Isn't that like what a super model weighs? LOL My quest is not to be super thin. It is to be healthy and happy.
