First Week

My body is s-o-r-e! I was so nervous on my way to the gym on Wednesday. I thought I was going to throw up I was so nervous. I'm not sure why I was nervous. In general, I think it's about being out of my comfort zone, not in control.

Kimberly is great. She pushes, yet she's very supportive. I can't believe all the things I accomplished this week. Despite being very sore, I feel great. I asked for a copy of my training record:

Monday

Treadmill
Squats
knee raises, alt. leg off bench
dumb bell curl
dumb bell bench
knee curls
leg hyperext
tri kickback
lateral raises
calf raises
lat row
bike
ab leg raises
upper torso lifts

Wednesday
Treadmill
Smith push ups
stationary lunges
f.m. calf (not sure what "f.m." means)
f.m. overhead
f.m. bicep
back ext with weights
treadmill
knee curl on bench
f.m. abs
treadmill

I've spent today doing some stretching. I'm off to do 30 mins. step aerobics.

I Can Do This!

My body is sore. I'm a little achy. Life is fine! Yesterday I worked out on my own. I was pressed for time to I did about 20 minutes step aerobics, three sets of the leg exercises Kimberly had me doing on Monday, about 20 squats, and about 20 crunches. I also did a lot of stretching throughout the day. I feel like I really have to push myself doing my solo workouts to help me during my Kimberly workouts.

One thing that I noticed about myself on Monday was feeling self-conscious. It was awful. I don't know where it was coming from. I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm working on my health. This is a source of pride, not shame.

I guess it has to do with being out of my comfort zone. Let's face it. I'm a control freak. I'm not in control at the gym, my trainer is calling the shots. It's a good space for me. I'm also not used to being aware of my body. It is something that I have ignored for so long. Now, I'm moving muscles I didn't know I had. It's a beautiful thing.

Yet, I have all this anxiety about today's workout. I'm worried that she's going to ask me to do something I'm not able to do -- So what! You live and you learn. I can do this!

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On another note, I've been trying out those recipe's in Fitness magazine. They're pretty good. I'll upload my pics later on this week.

Week One

Today is my first week of training with Kimberly. I've been nervous about it all weekend. My goals for the next six weeks are weight loss and improved fitness. We're going to focus on cardio and endurance so I'll be able to reach my 5K goal on Oct. 10th. My plan of action is to come in 30 minutes before my appointment to hop on the treadmill. I'm also doing my best to improve my nutrition.

Today I have Cheerios with rice milk for breakfast, two veggies patties and salad for lunch. I haven't done so well with my water intake today.

I have a new subscription to Fitness magazine. There's a goat cheese salad recipe that I'm going to try. There are also a bunch of 300-calorie breakfasts I plan to try.

A little effort goes a long way

I really didn't think my workout with Kimberly was that intense. After all, it was my first session and she wanted to assess my fitness level. Well, I'm feeling it today. This is a good thing because I know I worked my muscles.

I spent most of today stretching. I did about 10 minutes of step aerobics (I stopped because my knee started hurting) and 20 crunches.

On another note, I have totally abandoned my food journal. My health coach will be calling next week so I better get my butt in gear. I have lost 6 pounds since my last chat with her so I will have some good news to report. I have been watching my portions. I know what I need to do. Pull out that food scale and start measuring my food.

First Session

I'm back. My first session with Kimberly was great. I'm still sweating.

We basically did a quick run through. She wanted to see my fitness level and give me the opportunity to make sure she was a good fit for me. I already knew I would like her from the conversation we had on the phone. Let's see...we started off with 10 minutes on the treadmill and then off to the machines. I've been a member for about a month now and never used the machines. I've been doing light weights on my own in my little workout room. Working on those machines was nothing like I've experienced in a while. I even managed to bust our a bunch of crunches.

So, we decided I'm going to work out with her twice next week. I was a little apprehensive about committing to two days a week. She's cool with me changing my mind. She said it's going to take some time for me to see good results. I'm not asking for miracles. I am proud of what I was able to accomplish on my own so I am looking forward to see what I can do with some professional help. After our little workout, I stayed and did an additional 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Personal Trainer

Well, the food journal is not working out. I've got to get my butt in gear with this.

On a different note, I just signed up for an assessment with a personal trainer at my company's gym. I'm kind of nervous because she said it's going to take about 45 minutes to an hour. I feel confident that I won't totally embarrass myself.

I like the conversation we had. She actually enjoys working with individuals who are "less fit." It reminds me of an experience I had about two years ago when I tried to hire a personal trainer. I didn't find anyone who was that enthuasitic to work with me. I was in horrible shape then. It seems like a lifetime ago. I don't think I could have made it across the street back then. Anyhow, it was still disheartening and discouraging that no one was that willing to work with me. I remember thinking...if I was to decent shape, I wouldn't need a personal trainer. At first I thought it was a male thing. However, when I contacted a female, I filled out her paperwork and she never called me back. These people were interested in training professional athletes, not an out-of-shape 40 yr. old woman. Oh well....

Anyhow, this trainer seems enthuasitic. It's probably because she's young, a recent graduate, and hasn't been jaded. Lol!

Thoughts about Food Journal

Well, it appears this food journal task is not going well. I wonder how much my obvious resistance and my subconscious are contributing to the fact that I am not doing a good job writing down what I eat. Yesterday was ridiculus. Let's see if I can remember what I had:

Breakfast

Coffee
Savory scone
a couple bites of egg quiche


Lunch

Salad
two pieces of fried catfish
Water

Junk food

handful of peanuts
two pieces of carrot cake
one cereal bowl of potato chips


Dinner
one chicken quesadilla with sour cream and guacamole
one bottle of Coke Zero

Today's Food Journal - Aug. 7

Breakfast

Two whole wheat pancakes w/syrup
two turkey sausage patties

Health Coach and Transparency

My employer is offering a $200 credit toward our 2010 medical plans by participating in a health management program. Now, I have a health coach. I will be receiving telephone sessions every two weeks for six months. Since I'm already exercising, we decided to work on diet and nutrition. This is going to be good. While I'm highly motivated to exercise, I cannot say the same thing about my eating. So....we decided to do something I am VERY resistance to doing. Keeping a food journal. Transparency at its best. I am not looking forward to this but here goes.

For the next two weeks, I am going to write down EVERYTHING I eat. I can't believe I'm freaking out as I write this. Well, let's start:

Breakfast

Two whole wheat pancakes with syrup
Two turkey sausage patties
1 can Full Throttle

Morning Snack

1 light Strawberry Activa

Lunch

1 slice turkey, 2 slices jalapeno cheese
1 salad - lettuce and tomatoes, blue cheese dressing

32 oz. Crystal Light

Dinner

Two hot dogs with buns


One caramel ice cream sundae

Countdown

It's getting closer to game day. I'm still not sure that I will be able to make it to my event. I found out a couple of weeks ago Sept. 19th is my Saturday to work. I haven't made much of an effort to look for another event or ask someone to switch with me.

I've been working on picking up my pace. This is my focus for this week--to increase my pace. I've also been working on walking on an incline.

This is about it for now. Peace~