One of the things that tends to slide when I get busy like this is my ability to stay healthy. So far I have not caught any of the crazy colds going around (knock on wood!), and I plan on keeping it that way.
I joined a gym for the first time EVER! The only times I have ever stepped foot in a gym was in college. My dance friends and I decided we wanted to actually take the advice of our teachers and go to the gym to perfect our dance muscles. I stepped into the gym twice. The only thing I remember doing is maybe trying the elliptical? Beyond that, I've apparently blocked most of the memories.
For someone who is in her 30s and has never really been to a gym, I thought signing up for Planet Fitness might be a good idea. It touts a "judgement free zone" atmosphere according to the commercials, and I figured I wouldn't be surrounded by women who are size 2 with rock hard abs and arms. My jiggle when I run wouldn't be totally out of place...
So far, I've been twice. I am impressed that there aren't a ton of people who appear to be crazy fit. There were of course the obligatory muscle dudes by the free weights whose arms were close to the size of my head, but they all seemed very quiet and respectful. There were of course a lot of women who seemed in their 30s or 40s trying to get back in shape, and there were the 40 to 50 year male set who were crushing the cardio machines (I'm always so impressed!).
I did watch one girl totally kill a workout with some weights. She was thin, strong, and beautiful- jealousy material for sure. Instead of feeling jealous, though, I have taken that as motivation. If I can lose this fat jiggle that has appeared on me in the past year (I gained 15 pounds in a year and a half, thanks metabolism), I can conquer anything.
Some of you may laugh at that last statement thinking "losing weight isn't the hardest thing you'll ever do!" Well, it's close. As a little background, I've been thin all my life. Up until probably age 30 I never had to even bother working out. My friends in high school would all comment at how thin and in shape I was. I started running in my mid to late twenties and I would do that on and off but nothing serious. I could always eat what I want, and then spend a week focusing on being a little healthier and drop the weight easily. I've had 2 major break ups in my life that left me unfortunately unhealthy. My senior year of college, I broke up with my first real true love that wasn't a high school relationship. Combined with other situations going on, my stomach became a mess and my diet became the diet that Emily from Devil Wears Prada uses "...and when i feel I'm about to faint, I eat a cube of cheese." As much as I would love to say this is a joke, it's not. Cabot Vermont cheddar was my cheese of choice. I lost a scary amount of weight and had everyone worried about me.
I had another break up that, although a hugely positive change in my life, left me feeling a little broken. I had been in this toxic (admittedly on both sides) relationship that had eaten away at me for years. I don't exactly know why I lost as much weight as I did. I was eating at least 2 big meals a day, and I remember a lot of doughnuts and cheeseburgers involved, as well as one too many adult beverages. So how I lost a ton of weight, I don't know. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that followed me with the increase in caffeine. Who knows? Either way, I wasn't the healthiest.
So all of a sudden, last year we had about a thousand snow days. Fiancé and I only had one shovel between the two of us, so I wasn't shoveling. We would hear the storm was coming so we would go and buy a bunch of "snowed in snacks", and that was great until it happened for a third time. That plus my couch equaled ten pounds in a few months. For the first time in my life, I actually started to need to work out.
I ran and walked over the summer as best I could, but it didn't go as well as I had planned, not to mention all the bbqs and summer birthdays, and my mind being stuck in Engagement Land (<- pretty great place to be though!). I finally got back to teaching and the weather held out long enough this year that I was running up until Thanksgiving. And then another calorie fest occurred with the holidays!
So that brings me up to now. I know that I'm "one of those" that have signed up in the craziness of January. But let me tell you, I will not be quitting this. I'm sore and I can feel leg muscles getting pushed, but I am so excited to feel good again! I feel accomplished when I walk away from a good sweat sesh, and if i can really make sure to keep my diet better, I will be losing weight in no time!
I'm calling this plan Operation Wedding Dress, because that is my central goal- look good in a skin tight strapless dress!!
Have you made any fitness goals this year?
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