I gained a massive amount of weight due to COVID stress and not leaving my house and not working out. I was living like I was on an extended vacation, for three months, in addition to not having lost my holiday weight -- having too much alcohol and eating unhealthy food paired with NOT moving. At any rate. I started working out again starting in July. It has been a little over a month and a half of regular workouts and I have only lost 7lbs. That is only a lb a week. I guess its very very easy to forget that I am changing my life style. That no matter what, so long as I can, I will get a 30-45 min work out in every day and lift 3 times a week. Right now I am building it up to working out six days a week and then, in the next couple weeks, I will build it up to 7 and then add in the lifting 3 days a week. I guess just continuing to tell myself that this is my life style now and that by showing up everyday with a routine that the habit and routine will take over and I won't even have to think about it anymore or make it hard for myself. I think I will focus on gratitude right now. I am grateful because when I started working out again I was having a lot of back pain and joint pain because I was so used to sitting on my tush. As I have lost even this little amount of weight my back is hurting much much less. It in so much pain initially. It’s easy to forget that and it is definitely a testament to why you should just never stop moving. Also, what an impact it has just to get a workout in in terms of your mood. So, I am grateful that I am able to workout, that my joints are in less pain, that my mood is improving, that I am building a really good morning routine. I am also grateful for having accountability through my zoom workout classes. Checking in with people, interacting, and showing up-- all good for mental health. What else? Oh! I am so grateful that I don't have to embarrass myself at a gym while I am this weight. It’s easy to forget the kind of mental gymnastics you have to do, when you are fat, to go to the gym and look sweaty and fat and embarrassing with all the giggle moving around. Further, I go to a gym where I would potentially bump into ex-boyfriends who dumped me, and who happen to be in great shape still. So there’s that. I am grateful to be in safe space but still have accountability. I am also grateful that I can just wakeup and workout without having to drive to the gym and then figure out parking. And the class that I go to now is the same time every day- which is awesome because it changes around when it’s at the gym. I understand getting bored and wanting to change it up but we do different dances and it’s an easy way to get me through some cardio, clock 30 min of exercise on my watch, get half my steps in and a little under half my calorie goal-- all before 10AM. And did I mention the accountability factor is huge? Really helping me to set in place good habits. I thought of one more thing-- I feel like so much of paying a trainer is having someone to check in with because after you have learned how to do the workouts its really just someone to check in with and to push you and it is SO expensive for that! Right now I have someone to check in with, six days a week, and it costs me $60- $80 a month. Also, my sister started coming to my Zoom workout class, too. So that’s awesome because it’s a way to sort of bond and connect. And I love checking out her screen sometimes and seeing her bop around in her living room and looking funny, just like the rest of us. haha.
