The Gym
Dan and I accomplished some big things this weekend. In the domestic department we cleaned the apartment, vacuumed and I carmelized onions for the first time and made french onion soup last night. I used veggie broth and it was SO good. While I was stirring my onions Dan roasted a butternut squash and made butternut squash soup after dinner for dinner tonight, so that's two nice dinners in a row!
There is a good explanation behind the flurry of cooking and preparing, we have decided to make some major changes in our lives, in particular our eating habits, that will hopefully have an impact on our overall health. The goal is not to diet, but to eat healthier and "watch what we eat" overall.
The whole life-overhaul ordeal began when we went to the Xsport gym and joined up as members Saturday morning. After a lot of discussion and soul searching, I decided that I wanted to accomplish something this time around at the gym since last time I was a member for over a year and I didn't lose a lb, nor did I gain any fitness knowledge, nor did I build muscle. I finally decided that the only way I am going to accomplish my goals is if I have some serious support so I decided to take the plunge and get a personal trainer. Its kind of expensive but I am on a payment plan so it will be affordable for me. And it will allow me to have 3 trainer meetings a month for the next 10 months. Wow! Basically they had Dan and I sit down with different people and do evaluations. It was determined that my Body Mass Index was too high and essentially I was told that losing 20 Lbs. of fat and replacing a lot of it with muscle would get me out of the danger zone. I know it won't be immediate, we're talking over 10 months, but I am really excited to be embarking on a workout plan that really is going to change me and make me stronger and more able and fit. I don't really care a ton about losing weight beyond the few pounds I've packed on that are preventing me from wearing some of my favorite pairs of work pants, but I think that with the trainer I'll be able to really stick with this but more importantly, to begin a routine that really benefits me and accomplishes something. I really do love to go to the gym and working out, but I've always been the first to admit that I don't really know what to do besides cardio though I know strength training is very important. I am really excited about this whole thing and my first appointment is tonight at 8. Unfortunately my thighs are still really sore from the exercises I did with the girl on Saturday, so sore in fact, that going down stairs is difficult, oh well, I just hope he'll let me do some arm work!
Anyway they talked to me a lot about nutrition and basically said that instead of getting starved at 11AM but waiting for lunch at 12:30 to eat that I should eat smaller meals more often so when I get hungry I should have a snack and then have a light lunch later and then another snack in the afternoon so I am not so hungry by the time dinner comes around. That sounds like such a good idea to me! So much more sensible that being starved out of my mind all the time.
Perhaps I'll be writing a little more often about my workout adventure but it will be good for me to record it so I can see progress and setbacks.
Yay for embarking on new endeavors! Especially ones that will get me to lose weight and get strong - I can wait to be stronger! Eeeee!
There is a good explanation behind the flurry of cooking and preparing, we have decided to make some major changes in our lives, in particular our eating habits, that will hopefully have an impact on our overall health. The goal is not to diet, but to eat healthier and "watch what we eat" overall.
The whole life-overhaul ordeal began when we went to the Xsport gym and joined up as members Saturday morning. After a lot of discussion and soul searching, I decided that I wanted to accomplish something this time around at the gym since last time I was a member for over a year and I didn't lose a lb, nor did I gain any fitness knowledge, nor did I build muscle. I finally decided that the only way I am going to accomplish my goals is if I have some serious support so I decided to take the plunge and get a personal trainer. Its kind of expensive but I am on a payment plan so it will be affordable for me. And it will allow me to have 3 trainer meetings a month for the next 10 months. Wow! Basically they had Dan and I sit down with different people and do evaluations. It was determined that my Body Mass Index was too high and essentially I was told that losing 20 Lbs. of fat and replacing a lot of it with muscle would get me out of the danger zone. I know it won't be immediate, we're talking over 10 months, but I am really excited to be embarking on a workout plan that really is going to change me and make me stronger and more able and fit. I don't really care a ton about losing weight beyond the few pounds I've packed on that are preventing me from wearing some of my favorite pairs of work pants, but I think that with the trainer I'll be able to really stick with this but more importantly, to begin a routine that really benefits me and accomplishes something. I really do love to go to the gym and working out, but I've always been the first to admit that I don't really know what to do besides cardio though I know strength training is very important. I am really excited about this whole thing and my first appointment is tonight at 8. Unfortunately my thighs are still really sore from the exercises I did with the girl on Saturday, so sore in fact, that going down stairs is difficult, oh well, I just hope he'll let me do some arm work!
Anyway they talked to me a lot about nutrition and basically said that instead of getting starved at 11AM but waiting for lunch at 12:30 to eat that I should eat smaller meals more often so when I get hungry I should have a snack and then have a light lunch later and then another snack in the afternoon so I am not so hungry by the time dinner comes around. That sounds like such a good idea to me! So much more sensible that being starved out of my mind all the time.
Perhaps I'll be writing a little more often about my workout adventure but it will be good for me to record it so I can see progress and setbacks.
Yay for embarking on new endeavors! Especially ones that will get me to lose weight and get strong - I can wait to be stronger! Eeeee!