All in a day's workout

Well - despite the nasty headache and tummy issues resulting from all the meds trying to get rid of it - i made it to the gym this morning. A bit later than i had planned - there just didn't seem to be any reason to rush - so i missed my spin class.

Oh yes - i "spin". It's great - i love it! I love being on the bike with an instructor yelling at me that i can go faster, use more resistance and for another 15 seconds. It's been awesome - i wish i'd started sooner. I've been going since beginning of summer - it's helped me lose about 10 pounds and my legs are starting to get shape back.


But - since i went later, i did a good 20 minutes on the elliptical machine (set on fat burn - good heart rate) and then did 40 minutes of weights. Another thing i've taking a liking to. I did good sets of abs, thighs and upper body - cause i have NO upper body/arm strength. It's taken me a while to really start feeling comfortable with all the equipment - but i've found that i really do feel better when i go and sweat out for a while. I'm hoping the upper body work will take care of the huge knots in my shoulder as well - since that's causing my headaches this week.


So yeah - i'm becoming addicted to the gym. For about a year and a half now - although it took me about a year to start feeling comfortable and start taking classes. I go because 1) i want to lose weight 2) i hate most of my body and would like to make it look better 3) my child has more energy than a crate of Duracell batteries and i want to be able to keep up with him (he's a sports nut already) I don't want to be the parent always sitting on the bench or over to the side not being able to participate or keep up.


As to the first two issues - yep, i fall in line behind the other 95% of women who have body issues. We all know how much it sucks. Fortunately (i guess) i've been able to start pinpointing some of my core issues so i can start working on them - a bit. My main issues?


1) I love food - all food. My dad says it's the Danish in us, but good grief we're such a Heinz 57 mix of what nots i don't know how that comes out the most. I love hamburgers, steaks, hotdogs. I love chips w/ dip, hot bread fresh from the oven, dairy (mmmm... cheese) and sweets. It really doesn't matter - i eat it all. And i can actually eat way more than most people could imagine for someone my size - a loaf of garlic bread, mashed potatoes till they come out my ears, bags of candy or cookies. Which lease to


2) I eat for all the wrong reasons. Stressed? I eat. Lonely/bored - i snack. Feeling good or not feeling good -more food. Good food or bad food - doesn't matter, cause like i said, i eat it all. Then i feel guilty about eating any of it - so i eat more since i've already done the damage. Yeah - self destructive and borderline eating disorder personality. The joys. So, for a while working out was backfiring because i justified the calories burned in order to eat more.


Then i started tracking everything i ate. Ohh - that hurt. You really start to learn something about yourself when having to write it down and total it up at the end of the day makes you think twice about eating it. Then i discovered: thedailyplate.com. Awesome little websight - they help you find out how many calories you need to eat to gain, lose or maintain your weight. It figures out all the calories, fat, carbs, etc you eat and will help you track your workouts. Cool stuff. It takes a bit of getting used to though since we eat some foods that aren't typical casseroles or prepared foods. The other thing that's helped beyond belief is that my wonderful hubby has started on this path with me. Eating better, eating less, working out at home and at the gym. I LOVE having him at the gym with me - even if we're not "together" at the same machine, knowing he's there supporting this makes it a lot easier.


Putting it all together has helped - i think i mentioned since the beginning of summer that with the help of an organized spin class and watching what / how much i eat i've lost 10 pounds. Better than that though (cause i'm a scale whore and that's not healthy either ) is that i'm fitting well into clothes that last summer i barely fit into. I'm getting a pretty shape back - some muscle tone, losing the fat. THAT is what i've had to concentrate on. Right now i'm the same weight i was before i got preggers - but my body has changed so much in the last 4 years (pregnancy, birth, staying home with child) that there's still things that won't fit - button up blouses are out. The boobs did NOT go away like everyone said they would. Not bad - but frustrating when clothes shopping.

I don't completely dread shopping right now. I still don't like it, cause i want to wear the cute little tops and dresses i used to wear - and 1) they don't fit and 2) let's face it, they're not always appropriate on a 30somethingish mommy. But i do have my special little black dress hanging from the closet right now as a motivator - i'd love to be back into it by Christmas, but we'll see. My Ren Fest garb as well. If i'd stayed on my original track, this should have all been taken care of almost 2 years ago - but the food got in the way.


So hopefully having some new creative outlets should help curb the bored / lonely eating. I do a lot better job reading labels and shopping for things that are better for you if you do splurge on them and work on not freaking out if i eat one - thereby breaking down and eating 10. Portion control is huge for me.