I joined a gym. Again. Only this time, I was smart about it. I usually join, exercise aimlessly, see no results after what I think is long enough, and then lose motivation. So, this time I shelled out the $$ for a few personal training sessions. This way, I’ll have a plan for every time I go to the gym, hopefully tailored enough to my goals to show some results in a reasonable period of time.
My goals? Well, losing weight would be nice. Fitting into my clothes would be nicer. And even though I’m below my pre-pregnancy weight, I’d like to get enough below it before having another baby to not even see this number again on the scale the day before my due date. (If it’s the same weight gain as with Carrie, that would be somewhere between 30-40 pounds.) I’ve always wondered if the pregnancy-induced hypertension could have been avoided if I hadn’t been quite so overweight from the start (the OB said it could have been a factor, but wasn’t the only factor). If/when we have another baby on the way, I don’t want to have to put Carrie through 6 weeks of me being on bedrest if I can avoid it.
The other thing is, even though I strive to have a positive body image to be a good role model for Carrie, the bottom line is that I don’t like how I look. I hate that I can’t wear cute and trendy clothes. I don’t want to diet (beyond obviously making good choices and controlling how much I eat) because I don’t want Carrie to think dieting is good, or even necessary. So the only way I’m going to lose weight and feel better about myself is to move. A lot. It’s going to be a lot more work than I want. But hopefully it will actually work this time. I haven’t decided how much I’m going to actually blog about – the actual number on the scale right now, while not my heaviest non-pregnancy weight – is embarrassing, but we’ll see. Maybe some incredibly raw honesty with the entire internet will be enough to keep me motivated?
My first session is Friday morning. I went today and walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill, and burned 103 calories. And since I got an herbal iced tea instead of a sugary coffee drink at Sit & Knit tonight, that’s an extra bonus, right?