First Day at the Gym

I was nervous. All the way over there...I was nervous. Nervous about what? I don't know. I guess just being out of my element and comfort zone. I always associate gyms with athletes, beautiful fit people.

Anyhow, the first 15 minutes were brutal. First, I had to get used to walking on a treadmill. It was hard to find a comfortable, yet challenging pace. I decided I would do 2 miles or 45 minutes--whichever one came first. It was the 45 minutes. The last 10 minutes I spent fiddling around with the incline.

Later on this week. I going to experiment with some of the walking programs.

A Walk in the Past

I went for an hour walk in my old neighborhood. It felt so weird to walk through streets I hadn’t seen in over 25 years. It was nice and peaceful. I saw the neighborhood park where we used to play kick ball. Actually, we fought more than played. After a while, I decided to walk up to my old junior high. Boy, did that bring back memories! Now, I probably haven’t taken this trek in 30 years. I allowed the memories to rush through my mind as fast as I was breathing. I didn’t hold onto any of them. As I was huffing and puffing I thought about how I used to walk up these streets with ease when I was 13. I had a great time. It was fun. I wish I brought my camera along with me.

Health Works

I did it! Yesterday I joined my company's gym. I don't know why I was so nervous about it, but I was.

This is taking me way out of my comfort zone. It's a good thing.

I plan to start on Tuesday when I return.

Synchronicity

I am a person who believes there are no concidences.

This morning I was on Facebook (instead of outside walking)and I see this friend request. I don't know this person. I look at it. It's some random person asking me about The Open Mind Center. I don't want to be rude so I respond. She sends me a reply and I realize our paths have somewhat crossed before.

There's a weight loss series in the AJC. I've been following it for sometime. Each time I read I think to myself... my story will be there one day. I remember reading this lady's inspiration story. She lost over 100+ pounds. I looked at her pictures, felt inspired, and moved on.

Well, what are the chances this same person would contact me on Facebook? As far as I am concerned, it's no concidence.

This is my story

I'm so tired. I'm feeling stressed.

Work is overwhelming. Family crap is overwhelming. I have soooooooooooo many papers to grade and it appears so little time.

My laptop is half dead and my desktop is slowing dying. I'm long overdue on purchasing a new laptop. I think I'm going to breakdown this weekend and buy a new laptop. It will increase my quality of life.

Anyhow, yesterday and today I find myself growing weary about old habits. I want to rush out and get junk food. I'm craving a quick sugar rush to get me through this day. What I really need to do is take care of myself. I need a decent night's sleep. I'm going to stretch and take a quick power nap during my lunch break. I'm going to have a nice healthy salad for lunch.

My Real Age

I will be 47 years old in September. Before I started this journey, I took that real age test. Based on this test, I was 52.7 years old. I was so devastated. I remember crying. I felt so hopeless. I knew I was in bad shape but this was a little hard to swallow.

I took the test again sometime in March and I was 46.7 years old....not bad. I was happy to at least reflect my current age.

I decided to take the test today. Today's results say I am 44.9 years old. It's cool. I'm not one of those individual's that is afraid of growing old. However, there are times I allow others to make me feel self-conscious. I really don't care about my hair graying or wrinkles or any of that stuff. However, I do want to be healthy. I'm cool with aging. I understand it's simply the cycle of life. I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can to enjoy my time here on earth in a healthy, fit body.

I did it!

Well, I completed my second 5K last night. I must admit I was very disappointed in my performance. Not only did I not beat my previous time, I think I came in dead last. Oh well, I am still proud of myself for trying. I will not give up in my quest for optimal health and fitness.

Crystal reminded me that months ago I wouldn't have been able to finish 1 mile let only 3.1 miles. She's right. I will remain positive. I've been a couch potato for years. I will give myself credit for getting out there and trying. Plus, the test results I received yesterday are proof positive that my exercise journey is working.

Well, I'm supposed to support D.J. on the 27th when he does his first 5K. I don't know how much support I'll be but I'm going to try.

I'm off to find another 5K to do in September.

Test Results

I am very pleased with my results.

A1c 6.0 I want to belong to the 5% club.

Cholesterol total - 130
Triglycerides - 129
HDL - 50

Vitamin D - 37.6


My 5K walk is tonight. This is good news I'll think about while I'm walking. I've been stretching and hydrating this morning. I'm a bit nervous but I'll be okay.

Tomorrow is the day

The Surgeon General's 5K is tomorrow evening.

I'm nervous. I really haven't been walking like I should. I've been stretching, working on the stairs, step aerobics, and weights here and there.

All I can ask of myself is to do my best.

I've been spending today stretching and hydrating. It's supposed to be hot tomorrow. Yuck!

I'm thinking about joining the company gym. I'm not too sure about working out with my co-workers around. Since I work from home, most of the people there probably won't even know me. We'll see. I just don't want to use the heat/weather as a reason not to exercise.