A huge step towards healthy living

So I decided to stop moaning about my thickening thighs and do something about it, I closed my eyes and joined a gym. This is in line with my new philosophy, 'strive to do today what you can, tomorrow might never come'. My first week was horrible, every part of my body ached. I ached in places I didn't even know I had muscles in. My second week was just as bad and at one point I was about to just give up then I thought of all the money I had shelled out the unrecognisable me who stares at me everytime I look in the mirror. That was all the motivation I needed to get out of bed into my gym clothes and off to the gym.

My trainer is South African and it seems he can't 'count'. 'Now you gonna give me 2 sets of 15 reps on this machine' I get onto the machine and I begin to do my reps counting to 15. With a sigh of relief after the first set I am about to disentangle myself from the yeye aparatus (who send me message) when he goes 'what are u doing? I only counted 8 reps' WTF!!! The first time he did it and I argued with him I ended up doing an extra set of reps so now I just grit my teeth and let him count. Thankfully I only meet with him once a week. Exercising for me has been painful (I cannot emphasise that fact enough) but fun. Fun in the sense that its been challenging, pushing myself and all that. I also find that having a partner helps. I actually have two partners, well one, okay one and a half. My main/whole partner is my friends mum and I must say she is in great hape, fashy the fact that she is the same age as Princess and no, she is not white or half-caste. My other partner (the half one) is my main partners daughter, my friend whom I stay with. We both registered at the gym on the same day three weeks ago and she has only been twice. Having a gym partner really pays off especially when you are doing cardio, you will be amazed how a 60 min gruelling workout on the treadmill will just go by when you have someone to gist with.

Alongside exercising, I am also learning to eat sensibly. Normally I would eat 1 max 2 meals a day. My trainer gave me an interesting bit of information; the only athletes who eat twice a day are Sumo wrestlers! That got my attention. The key to weight loss is increasing my metabolism. Right now, the way I eat, my metabolism spikes once, max twice in a 24 hr period. For self preservation, when I eat my body converts a small percentage of the food to 'fuel' for the body to use and stores the rest as fat since it knows it wont get more nourishment/sustenance for atleast another 8 to 20 hrs. Since I do not lead a physically active life, the probability that I will make use of the stored fuel is low. The next day I eat, my body stores food and soon I am like the squirrel storing up nuts for winter only that I have no problem locating my hoard, its right there on my thights, hips, butt, arms, etc inching me closer and closer to the next dress size. Also since my body is skimping on 'fuel' thinking it needs to save for a rainy day, I find that I am slow and sluggish during the day (Is that the reason? There I was thinking something was wrong with me!). How do I fix the problem, i.e. get my body to use up a lot more of what I eat as fuel and store a lot less? Eat more frequently, 4 - 6 times a day (according to my trainer) and build lean muscle. By eating frequently I increase my metabolism. Since my body knows it will always get food,the amount of fat stored in all the wrong places reduces. What do I eat frequently? Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat, chicken, chocolate, ice cream, pretty much anything I want as long as I portion my food (a good rule of thumb is the size of your fist, no second helpings!) and don't overindulge in the 'bad' stuff, (sweets, chocolates, ice cream, chocolate cake, etc) I should be okay. I was also told that for every pound of lean muscle I possess, my body will burn 50Kcal every day during my rest period. The goal is to build 10 pounds of lean muscle so during my rest period I burn 500Kcal everyday. It will take 10 - 14 months to build lean mucle (this is where excercise comes in) I eye my instructors 32" biceps as he says this, 'Mr man I just want to lose weight and be fit, I am not planning to enter the Mr World competiton' he laughs. I am in no danger of developing 32" biceps by developing 10 pounds of lean muscle he assures me.

Okay now, how the heck am I going to be able to eat sensibly I wonder as I go home after my orientation class where I learned all about metabolism. I love all the bad stuff, how will I cope? Quite well apparently. I am eating right and exercising, enjoying increased mental alertness and slowly but surely dropping the weight. I am not starved for all the 'bad' stuff I like to eat, I have learned to enjoy a scoop of ice cream as much as a whole tub. I have managed to suprise myself at the level of discipline I have been able sustain. I must say it, I am proud of me! Wish me luck as I pace my self for the marathon called healthy living ahead of me.