A Body in Motion

In the month or so since I started back on a concentrated attempt to change my life, the weight loss has been slower than I usually experience in the early stages – plus or minus eight pounds. I was sort of stuck around one weight for what seemed like forever, when this morning I finally saw what seems like meaningful movement in the right direction. It was just a pound or so, but it really made me happy. If you're reading this, you probably know what I mean. Drops in the bucket? I'll take 'em.

On top of that, I was also able to throw on a pair of jeans that were getting uncomfortable enough that I didn't wear them for a while. They're still on the snug side, but didn't gouge into my flesh anymore. Hooray! I have another pair of jeans hanging in my closet that I have my eye on next. (And there are some after that, and after that – I have many sizes of clothes hanging around that I want to fit into again.)

I had a great workout with my trainer, Rick, yesterday. Just when I feel like I'm going to have a crappy time, I surprise myself. He really helps me push beyond what I think I can do (though always safely), and I love the variety of activities he has me try. I do have things I do automatically when I come in for a session. I get to the gym at least a half hour early so that I can warm up and get a head start on the day's workout before he's on the clock: 15-20 minutes on the treadmill at a fairly easy pace, then a three sets of 15 each of three seated exercises (these look easy and are easy to do, but get me sweaty and my heart beating!), then 3 sets of bicep curls on one foot, alternating left and right feet, using 12.5 pound weights in each hand. After that, Rick takes over and we go through a series of whatever's on the menu that day. Sometimes it's strength training on machines, sometimes dumbbells, sometimes throwing the muscle/medicine ball around, using the ropes, or using my own body for core exercises. It always, always ends up being great, though.

I work with Rick twice a week right now because I had accumulated some extra sessions during my hiatus. Soon enough I am sure I'll be limited to once a week, but already I have a great list of items to do by myself when I come to the gym on non-session days. My plan is to get used to doing this so that once my year commitment to training is up in December, I can go it alone confidently.

Thanks to the Pact app, I have been logging physical activity three days a week now for three weeks, whereas before that I was happy to do that once a week. I'm starting to find that on my off days, I wish I could go and do something! That's a really positive change in my attitude.

I'm going to leave you with a link to a video that you may have already seen, but is new to me. Rick told me about it and when I finally found it to watch myself, I realized how right he was about it being a tearjerker and very inspirational. Those times when I start to feel sorry for myself will be countered with a reminder that I can reach the goals I set out to achieve, no matter what.