Hurts so good

I had the third session with Russ, my personal trainer, today. The first one was a week ago Tuesday. I was in such bad shape after it that I could barely walk on Thursday and Friday last week. Seriously. I'd be hobbling along and my knees would give out. I couldn't sit down without groaning and clutching the back of the chair for support.

This Tuesday, we met again and did an upper body workout. My arms were sore yesterday, especially my left tricep (I have "issues" with my right arm, so my left arm did double-duty apparently). Well, compared to today, yesterday was a cakewalk. I was in such bad shape today that I couldn't hold my phone up to my left ear with my left hand. My arm simply wasn't working that way today. I was, however, able to lift a margarita from the table to my mouth at dinner, I'm happy to report.

Today's workout with Russ was lower body & abs. I'm a little worried that I'll wake up tomorrow morning with my abs & legs hurting really bad and my arms still hurting as bad as they were today. Will I be bedridden? Will B have to bring me breakfast in bed? Uh-oh. He doesn't even know how to pour a bowl of cereal. Who will help him put on his shoes? Who will help ME put on MY shoes?!

Russ has turned me loose to work out on my own for a couple of weeks, until I feel like I need some help again. When we start working out together again, he's going to be focusing on core strength. Sounds painful already. But maybe I'll have a killer six-pack by next summer. It'll look awesome with my fish belly white skin. Hot.

Update: 30 at 40 campaign

So I'm turning 40 in about six weeks. I really really want to have the same body I had at 30, yet somehow I haven't mustered the energy or motivation to do much about it. Since I made this decision (about six weeks ago, I think), guess how much weight I've lost? Zero. Zip. Nada. And how many times have I run or worked out? Twice. In six weeks. I don't think that's going to make much difference.

So today I hired a personal trainer. That's right, I'm paying someone to motivate me. We had an hour-long workout, and it was actually very fun. I think it's going to make a difference. I'll probably be a little whiny tomorrow though, b/c my legs already hurt and feel rather rubbery when I go down stairs.

Whoop-de-freakin-do

You may remember that eight days ago I vowed I'd be at the same weight I was at age 30 when I turn 40 in November. Well, one week into my program, and I weigh exactly ONE POUND less. And that could easily be that I drank less water yesterday than I usually do, or maybe I got up to pee in the middle of the night or something dumb like that. So basically, no change. Could it be that I only ran once last week? I imagine that has something to do with it. I did work my @ss off in the yard yesterday, and we're talking heavy work too -- digging, hauling rocks, etc. I did it again for two hours this morning. That has to count for exercise, right? Maybe last week was a bad week to try to start. I had a big presentation to make in Santa Fe on Friday, and was so busy & stressed with the preparation that I didn't make time to exercise. Maybe I should just stop making excuses and drag my lazy self out to run.

Coming soon to a blog near you

A new me. I gained an obscene amount of weight when I was pregnant, like 60 pounds. Waaaay more than what they say is healthy. And B was a tiny baby -- 5 pounds 14 ounces -- so I can't blame much of it on him. Funny aside: I made M promise that no matter how big I got when I was pregnant, I'd never weigh more than him. He had a hard time keeping ahead of me toward the end there, poor guy. Anyway, back to my chubby self: about two months after B was born, a month before I had to go back to work, M and I both went on the South Beach diet. It was hella expensive and there's no way I could do it when I'm not home full-time, but it really worked. I got down to about 8-10 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight.

And I stayed there. Nearly four years later, here I sit, still 8-10 pounds more of me than I like. I know there are lots of people out there who have genuine struggles with their weight and would probably give their right arm to be just 8-10 pounds above their ideal weight. But I'm living my own life, and I am starting to despise the body I'm living it in. It's time to take charge.

So here it is: I turn 40 in about two and a half months. When I turn 40, I will be the same weight I was when I turned 30. Since I only have a vague idea of what my actual weight was at 30, I've picked a number that I think is close. I'm setting the goal at 9 pounds less than I am today. Good thing I'm not aiming for my weight at 20 -- that's more than 30 pounds less than I weigh today, and I definitely haven't gotten any taller or anything. I was a skinny little stick back in the good ol' days. I remember trying to gain weight so the smallest size of Levi's 501s shrink-to-fits would stay on me. Ah, to be 20 again. No, scratch that. I'd just like to have the body of a 20 year-old and the mind of a 40 year-old. But I'm going to be realistic and aim for the 30 year-old bod.

Can I do it? I'm not known for my motivation when it comes to exercise. I love a good long walk or a sweat-inducing hike, but it's hard to find the time to work those in at the regular intervals I need to lose weight. I need to get back into a running habit, and I need to do strength-training twice a week.

I am, however, known for my love of cooking and food. Especially food that involves cheese. Not good when a body wants to shrink. My goal: more vegetables & fruit, less meat & dairy.

I'll check back in at the end of the week to report on my progress. I hope there's some to report! Anyone want to join me?