My legs and ass hurt so bad it actually hurts to sit down.

Oh boy! So I have already expressed my extreme hatred for working out, however, I fully understand that  it is vitally important in my whole weight loss plan. So, my sister goes to YMCA, and I have been tagging onto her membership for about 2 weeks. Its a far drive, but we hired a trainer that works us out in a group of 3.

1st of all, I am way more motivated to work out and lift weights when I have a trainer, however, this whole group thing is kind of interesting. My sister and I are obviously in the group, but then there is the 3rd person - a 52 year old mother who has a bad knee and wants to chit chat the entire time we are doing stuff. Um, I guess that would be cool, if we signed up for a social club!! She told my sister that she would get along with her daughter. Um, have you met my sister?? That is highly unlikely. hahah.

Okay, so workouts with Ward are going pretty well, despite the gabby granny-like tag along. We have only done two so far, and I have developed an extreme hatred for one of the machines. Its the "rowing" one. Where you buckle your feet in, sit low to the ground, grab the handles - slide back and pull the handles and it "rows" your forward. Ugh - what an obnoxious machine. Ward makes us do it for 5 minutes straight. The first time we did it, I hated it. The second time, I hated it even more.

So, I am a recent member at LA Fitness close to my house. I've only been a memeber for a week and I've already been 3 times (plus the 2 times at the Y for the workouts with Ward) So, its been a week of exercising! When you join a gym, they try to get you to sign up for personal training with them...so, I said "what the hell" - I'll meet with you and see what you have to offer.

I went Saturday morning at 8am to meet with Alex, a non-trainer sales guy. He did, however walk me through a "workout" He told me that I shouldn't do cardio before lifting weights because it takes away all of your energy. I have always been told before that cardio before is really good as it gets your heart rate up... hmmm.

Anyway - he took me though a work out - a leg workout, and holy crap did it burn. I did lunges up and down the gym floor 3 times. Then he made me do squats holding weights above my head. THEN, he made me step up sideways onto a stepping board, jump to my other foot, step down on the other side and do a friggin squat.

So, today, Sunday - when I got out of bed, I damn near fell into the wall. My legs hurt so bad, its ridiculous. Sitting down and standing up is quite the challenge. I almost just want to stay standing all day, just so I don't have to worry about how I'm going to manage to sit or stand up. Even my butt hurts... I had no idea that my butt muscles could hurt.

Needless to say, it was a good workout, however, their prices just simply do not fit my lifestyle. And, I hate sales people trying to sell me on their product. Alex's GM came over and tried to upsell his trainers. Too bad the GM had a big ass beer belly. Seriously dude? You are the head of all of the trainers and you have a beer belly? Can you say oxymoron?! He tried to get me to sign up right then and there on 1 workout a week for $150 a month. Seriously? No dude. Then he tried 2 workouts a month. Really? what is the point of having a trainer for 2 times in 1 month - to which he uttered much bullshit.

This week I'm going to do some classes, probably a latin dance class and a yoga class. I really want to attempt a cycling class, but in time. I'm excited for this exercise adventure that is ahead of me...

3 months = amazing!

I lost 15 pounds this past month, and I can hardly believe it. I have lost a total of 48 pounds in just 3 months! Its amazing to me that this is working. I love it, and honestly I wouldn't change anything - well except for the flavor of the vanilla protein shakes. Ew!

Its been a crazy month, with the end of the school year, and the loss of my precious niece. So when things go crazy, my eating habits usually do too. I had a few shitty eating days during this time, but given the circumstances, shit happens. :)

Regardless, the most important thing is that I never over-indulged in one single food. I have found that if I have a craving for something that I eat just a tiny amount to get my craving taken care of, and go on with my day. I have had 1 soda in the past month and the only reason is because my tummy hurt so band and having a Sprite helped to calm down my stomach ache. 

So my goal for this next month is to lose 22 pounds. I truly believe that its do-able, most because I will be going to the gym to work out and sweat 5-6 days a week during the summer! Today was the first day at the gym. I did the elliptical machine - a mile took me 12 minutes. I accidentally kept pressing the + button and I didn't realize until the last part of the mile that I had made it sooo much harder to walk! hah! My sister is my "trainer" for the summer. She had me walking on my friggin tip toes! Whew, that burned!

We focused today on legs and butt, and tomorrow we are going to focus on Chest, Back and Arms and we are going to play racquetball!   I am super excited to see if my goal of 22 pounds this next month is going to happen with adding this much exercise. 

I got rid of a ton of clothing this weekend. Its amazing how much losing almost 50 pounds can really change the way clothes fit.  Its so exciting! I love it!

While I wish that I would have found this "program" years ago, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. This is happening to me right now for a reason. It's my main focus and I am so excited to see the changes taking place!!  Thank you all so much for your motivation and support!

Enjoy your day and don't forget to Smile!