Going to the gym

My brother-in-law just left for three months of training to be an army chaplain.  I'm very proud of him, but we miss him already.  Before he left he encouraged me to keep up my efforts to become healthier.  He transfered his gym membership over to me and told me he will keep paying the monthly fee if I go!  He's so generous!

I've never had a gym membership before.  In fact, at university there is a gym on campus that students can use for free.  I went only a few times.  A few years ago I went and sat outside of the gym for fifteen minutes before chickening out and leaving.  The atmosphere is very intimidating to me.  All of the equipment I don't know what to do with and all of the mirrors... ugh.  My brain knows that people are not there to judge me, but I can't get my emotions to believe it.  The few times that I have gone to the gym successfully I had to keep telling myself over and over that people weren't there to watch me or judge me.  That's very emotionally tiring.

I am determined to put that behind me.  They say that the more often you do something that is difficult, the easier it becomes.

This morning I met with a personal trainer at the gym; new members get a free consultation.  I am thinking about setting up weekly appointments with a personal trainer to become more familiar with the equipment and learn how to use it properly.)  The personal trainer briefly ran me through some exercises I can do at the gym.  He talked to me about the importance of setting specific goals.  He had asked me what my goals are and I told him I want to lose weight but I don't have any specific goals.  He said that a lot of people don't set specific goals because they are afraid of letting themselves down, but in the end they are unable to accomplish anything.  He compared this to setting a goal to graduate college but not setting a goal to study for your tests or even to pass your classes.  If you don't set specific goals you are a lot less likely to accomplish anything.

So... for the next three months I am setting a goal of going to the gym three times a week.
I am also setting a goal to forgive myself for failures.  In fact, I am going to choose to not think of them as failures but as learning experiences.

So, you want to help me lose weight?

Since I started this whole "live a healthier lifestyle" thing, I have had several people tell me to let them know if there is anything they can do to help.  I've been thinking about it, and I think I may have found a way.

First of all, simple things like commenting on my blog or asking me how it's going are wonderful and they boost my spirit and keep me focused.  But if you are looking for something more you can do to help, here's how...  I have a long-term motivation (Hannah agreeing to audition for American Idol), but that is a looooong way away;  I need some short term motivations to carry me through. So, if you want to help, you can...

• Pick a goal that you would like to help me achieve:
• If I lose x amount of weight (or get down to a certain weight)
• If I get down to a certain BMI
• If I go down a dress size or x number of dress sizes
• If I go for a walk 6 times this week
• Or come up with your own
• Pick a reward that you would like to give once I achieve that particular goal:
• Go for a walk with me
• Give me a back or neck massage
• Take me on a picnic
• Teach me how to make a yummy healthy recipe
• Invite me to your home for dinner
• Buy me new walking shoes
• Get me a hair cut
• Buy me an outfit
• Take me to the zoo or bowling or mini-golfing or some other fun activity
• Buy/give me a good book
• Buy me some groceries
• Doll me up and take my picture
• Take me to the opera/symphony/ballet/concert/theatrical performance
• Or come up with your own.  It doesn't have to cost money, just give me something to look forward to and keep me motivated.  :-D

So... any takers?

It's the End of March

Click the image to see a larger version of the graph.

Feeling good.  Got my scale exchanged at Kohl's.  I didn't lose quite as much this week, but I'm still heading in the right direction.  It's the end of the first month of my new effort to change my lifestyle.  I have really enjoyed feeling stronger and having more energy.  I have definitely had some struggles, though.  Pizza, brownies, Krispy Kremes, and burgers are difficult to say no to.  Not that I'm giving up those things entirely, I just need to make sure I stay balanced and don't let that kind of junk food overtake the healthy portion of my diet.  Whereas before I might eat an entire pizza on my own, I need to rewire my brain to eat smaller portions.  Before, I often would get fast food on my way to work, now I need to find healthier options to bring to work.  

Surprisingly, I think the part of the month that I have found most enjoyable has been getting some exercise.  I've really enjoyed taking walks.  One day I even took a 2 hour walk and it felt great!  The part that I'm getting sick of fastest is recording what I eat.  It does make me more aware of what and how much I'm eating, but it feels like it takes up an annoying amount of time.  My plan right now is to stick it out and keep recording what I eat until September, and then reevaluate if that's something I want to continue doing.  Maybe by that point I will have developed a good awareness of what and how much I eat without needing to record it.  

Encouragement

It is so refreshing to get encouragement from friends and family.  Even just a simple "You can do it!" or "Yay" on my blog gives me renewed motivation.

 Or when I'm home and my family makes a healthy dinner instead of pizza.  Or someone offering to help me learn how to make healthy food.  Giving me tips on things they have learned about living a healthy lifestyle.  And I especially like it when people invite me to join them in a healthy activity.  Even something as simple as going for a walk.

These may be simple things, but add up to a wonderful circle of support and I am so grateful.

10 down, 22 to go

I somehow managed to lose another 5 lbs this past week.  So, I've lost a total of 10 lbs and I feel great!  I have 22 more lbs to lose by September.  I'm still only planning on trying to lose 1-2 lbs a week.  You can keep track of my progress by looking at the bar at the top and bottom of my blog.  The one at the top measures my progress towards my September goal and the one at the bottom measures my progress towards my ultimate goal.

Here's an update on what I'm doing...

1. I'm trying to get some exercise every day.  At this point it's mostly walking.
2. I'm trying to eat healthier.  I'm aiming for half of what I eat being fruits and veggies.  I'm also trying to cut back on sodium intake.
3. I'm trying to eat less by only eating when I'm hungry and stopping before I'm over-full.

So far so good.


Aaand... my computer is on the fritz so I may not be able to update more than once a week.  We'll see.  But please keep reading and commenting!  It really helps me stay motivated!  (For the few of you who may be unaware, you can comment by going to the bottom of the post and clicking where it says "0 encouragements".  Or the number will be different if someone has already commented.)

Here's an issue I'd like to get your opinions on...
Am I losing weight too quickly?  They say if you lose only one or two lbs a week, you're more likely to keep it off.  But, I'm not sure what I would do differently to try to lose weight slower.  At this point I'm inclined to keep doing what I'm doing and let the weight fall off however quickly it wants to, but I'm not sure.

Oh, and my new scale broke.  Boo.  I'm going to see about getting an exchange.

3rd shift

I wonder if working 3rd shift will affect my ability to lose weight.  I sure hope not.  I've heard that lack of sleep is bad for you and in some cases can cause weight gain.  Of course, being part-time, I don't work every night.  I wish I did, I get more sleep when I have some semblance of a sleep schedule.  I usually try to get around 8 hours or so after work, but I'm not sure if that fully makes up for it or not.