Today in fitness

So today is the first day I've really been pleased with my own workout.

The first time I went to the gym, I did okay. I was struggling with my couch to 5k running plan, specifically my shins and ankle (it's a two year old severe sprain, ankle still weak), so I made the decision to take it down a notch, and just WALK. I need to build up the strength in my legs before I try running again.

I did pretty well, I think. My goal was 1 mile, and 30 minutes. I set the treadmill for 3 MPH, because that is a good, challenging speed for me without exhausting me at the end of it.

At about 10 minutes in, though, I was starting to get angry, feeling tired, like this was just too much. So I made myself a challenge. Go to 15 minutes. You haven't completed a single 30 minute session on the treadmill since you started a week ago, you can do this.

And I did. So I aimed for 20 minutes. And did. Then 25. At that point, I'm encouraging myself under my breath, saying "You can do this, just 5 minutes. Just 2 minutes. 1 more minute. Come on, now, just 30 seconds."

At exactly 30:00, I spotted the 1.4 on my distance.

1.4? Really? Surely I can go for .1 more and make it a nice, even mile and a half.

So I did.

I'm proud of that.

I wanted to try my hand at the weight machines, so I hopped on a tricep machine of some kind and did about 10 reps. It was just an experimental, "Can I do this" sort of thing, but I think I can, and I'm pleased. I got a little burn there, and I'm happy with that.

Today, my goal is to plan a weight training workout. I'm back on Sparkpeople, and have decided to try their beginner's strength training plans, that are printable. one of the things the gym personal trainer I had a consultation with said was I need to have a plan, and he's right. It just takes a bit more work and motivation when you have to do it on your own than when you're paying for a personal trainer.

I'm toying around with the idea of going in tonight for some crosstraining on the stationary bike, and maybe check out a zumba class at 6. I haven't decided yet.

Either way, I feel more productive than I have in a while.

I write, but this blog is about fitness

I do have a writing blog, of course, which has been my first and most successful foray into the blogosphere. However, now that I'm starting to get serious, I figure I need a blog devoted to fitness.

This week, I discovered that I weigh 211 lbs.

Two. Hundred. Eleven.

I've never weighed this much. You might ask why I titled my blog "I'm not pregnant, just fat." It's because to the untrained I, I *look* pregnant. Now, anyone familiar with pregnant women can see the telltale signs of non-pregnancy: no pregnancy mask, no peculiar puffiness in the face, a stomach that flabs over the pants rather than cutely stretching them out because of firm baby belly... but I still get asked, more frequently than I'd like, "When is the baby due?"

So I say, point blank, "I'm not pregnant, just fat."

I think I've finally said it often enough people around here stopped asking. Or maybe I just ran into the rude ones earlier.

I've reached a point in my life where I have two little girls watching every move I make. I can make a choice: I can continue to live sedentarily, on my ass in front of the computer, or I can get up, start moving, eat better, and FIX THIS.

I'm a 32 year old mom of two. This is me.




Let's make this journey together, and see if I can turn the lady in the mirror into something I'm proud of, and that you don't mind looking at.