I just did a spin class for the first time this morning. Only the extreme sense of accomplishment is keeping me from swearing I'll never do it again. I burned close to 900 calories in an hr. I'm still at negative 350 calories for the day even with extra cheese on my lunch. Lol. Anyway, this is perfect bc I really wanted this post to be about the gym, and most people's attitudes about it.
One of the reasons I never asked to go work out with Will is because I didn't want to go into the gym. He looked like the poster child for any gym in America and I looked like the poster child for a insulin pump. Lol. Seriously though, the LAST thing a fat girl wants to do is put on shorts and go sweat infront of a bunch of skinny people. When I finally went, I just had to get over it. Put in my earphones, block out the rest of the world, and focus on what I was doing. Going with Will was like getting passes backstage, in a way. I got to see what he did to get the way he was.
I started out doing weights like he was, but a Mexican woman and a Black man have completely different bodies, so needless to say I wasn't making the great strides that he had. I was still losing slowly but surely and I was feeling stronger and better so I kept it up. I added cardio and started to see and feel a bigger difference. Weight wise I wasn't really making a whole lot of progress but as you know, muscle weighs more than fat, and I wasn't too concerned.
When Will left for bootcamp I promised I would keep working out on my own and in 8 weeks when we saw eachother again we were both going to be measurably thinner. Well back in April I had gotten a new job and it had me traveling and busy and it was another month before I managed to join the gym by my house. I had put back on 5 pounds in that time, but I was still about 20 lbs lighter than the year before. It was about a year since my starting point when I finally threw out all the excuses and got my smaller-but-still-big butt into the gym.
It helped a lot, mostly unconsciously I'd guess, that the gym looked almost EXACTLY like the one I'd been in for months with Will. The guy who signed me up was even in the navy and we talked about that and I felt strangely comfortable. Now, let me tell you, it was still super intimidating because it was mostly skinny people, but I wasn't the only one there because they were trying to better themselves, not by a long shot. And even at closer look those thin and muscular people were still sweating and breathing hard on their chosen machines. I could do this.
I started going as much as work would allow, and you know what? It SUCKED! A lot. But it was also the best feeling when you were done and knew that by your own will power and determination, you just burned off x amount of calories and were on track to lose x amount of fat. You by your power are changing your life. And THAT, my friends, is worth every minute of feeling gross and sweaty and being sore. Which is why I am actually about to go back to the gym for my training session. I'm probably crazy, but I'll talk about personal training next time. Until then, keep up the positive thinking! You guys are great =)
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