Weight Loss Journey

About a month ago, I realized my knees were hurting constantly. They popped and creaked too. Now I know I'm only a few months from being "over the hill," but it seemed like something that shouldn't happen. I knew the problem. I've known it for quite some time. I'm overweight. No, morbidly obese. Let's not sugarcoat it. Mmmmmm... sugar.... ;)

It wasn't just the physical problems. I was feeling so depressed that I talked to my doctor about medication.  I didn't want to leave my house.  I cried randomly, for no reason. I had an extremely short fuse with the boys and with Jon.  I hated myself and my life. I wasn't sleeping well and was tired all the time as a result. Just dragging my heavy body around was exhausting. I was in literal and figurative bad shape. 

I wasn't sure how, but I knew I had to do something. I started doing research.

The best way to succeed with weight loss and fitness in general is to find something you enjoy. If you dread it, you won't do it, right? 

I found the right solution for us in our local YMCA. It actually killed several birds with one stone. Nathan had been asking me about playing with other kids. I needed a kid-free moment during the day to exercise. After more than 20 years of always having somewhere to be (a job, usually) and something on my calendar, it has been extremely difficult for me to have nothing on my calendar now that I'm a domestic goddess. Group fitness classes happen every day and there's an app that puts your chosen class on your calendar.  I'm not self-motivated when it comes to exercise. Group classes motivate me. I see the others doing it, so I do it too. The instructors are encouraging and give pointers about doing things correctly.  Lots of birds, right?

So we joined. And I packed up the kids and went to our first class. It was a Spin class, and it was fun, but wow, did my butt hurt from the bicycle seat! I was literally the largest person there. The next day, I tried Zumba. Again, the fattest person in the class. I admit, I felt deeply ashamed of myself. But the beautiful thing is, nobody looked at me with disgust or said anything rude under their breath. Everyone was encouraging and friendly.

The next day, I did BodyPump. I found out they were one day into the BodyPump 98 program, and that it would be the same routine for the next four weeks. I wasn't sure about weights, but I decided to give it a shot. It wasn't "just weights." It was weight training, cardio, and ab work all rolled into one. It hurt so much, but I stuck it out. I used 2.5 lb weights on both sides of my bar that first week. 

Since that day, I've done BodyPump on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays every week, with Zumba on Tuesdays and Pound on Thursdays.  I started with 2.5 lb weights, but Friday, the last day of BodyPump 98, I had 12.5 lbs on each side of my bar for some of the tracks, and never less than 7.5 lbs.

In just a month, I've gone from being unsure about weights to realizing they are my happy place. I've never been so "in the zone" while exercising.

And I never even picked up the medication for depression. I haven't needed it. I've felt so much better in every possible way.

I haven't changed my diet at all.  One thing at a time, right? It takes 30 days of focus to create a habit, or so I've read.  The next 30 days will focus on better eating choices. But even without changing my diet, I have some results to share. 

Still a looooong way to go.  But progress, even a little, is encouraging.