Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Plan

So my dear friend, Beth, wants to know the plan for getting myself into shape. And because I love Beth more than my luggage I present you The Plan.

First up, I rejoined Weight Watchers. I joined a few years ago and had great success. And then I stopped. And then my ass got big again. And it sucked. But I did do really well when I followed it so I'm trying again. The thing about WW is that it's just common sense. And apparently I lack common sense when it comes to food at times. The thing I like most about WW is that it doesn't make anything off limits - it just reminds you how important portion control is when it comes to certain things. So I started right after the first of the year and I'm down 7.5lbs. Sure, most of that is water weight but I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel fan-freaking-tastic to get on the scale and see the number get smaller. (Sidebar: I've debated about putting my starting weight out there. I've decided not to do that. For one thing, the number makes me sad and I'm focusing on staying happy and positive. And for another thing, the numbers don't matter near as much to me as looking in the mirror and thinking, "I look great". But maybe when I reach my goal I'll share where I started. Then again, maybe not)

Next, I've joined a boot camp. It's an all women's facility and it is awesome. I had originally planned to go to a co-ed boot camp but I'm already self-conscious and I don't need to be sweaty and panting and self-conscious. Anyway, I've only been to boot camp twice since I started last week but good lord, it's kicking my ass. I had a physical assessment over the weekend so we could see where I'm starting and compare again every 4 weeks. There were some things I did well on like the mile run, flexibility test and muscle mass. And then there were other things that I didn't do so well on like pull-ups (I just hung there like a frozen monkey. It was sad) and push ups. Apparently my legs are quite strong and my arms are...well the trainer didn't say this but basically they are like veal - no muscle at all. *sigh* Anyway, after two boot camp classes in two days, my body is sore. Very, very, oh my god I can't get out of the tub sore. And yet, I'm so happy about it and I'm so excited about starting this whole thing. So that's the deal with boot camp.

I also have a 5 mile race in April. I have several friends running it with me so I've been getting myself ready for that as well. Boot camp may interfere with my runs for a few weeks as my body adjusts to the abuse but I think in the long run it will help with the race.

So that there is the plan. Stay tuned for Operation Tiny Ass updates.

2 comments:

Becks said...

Frozen Monkey! HA! You go, girl.

Beth said...

Hooray for plans! This appears to be a good one, and good for you on focusing on how you feel, because that's what matters.

I heart the WW, and Merideth cooks almost exclusively from their cookbooks.

As for arm muscle mass: Don't feel badly. Pull-ups for women are what flexibility is for men: Totally possible and all, but not what the body is naturally built for. I could do 10 pull-ups without breaking a sweat when I was 15. One short year later when nothing about my workouts and eating had changed, but I'd grown hips? Not even one pull-up. The center of balance was completely off. My dad (MY dad -- Mr. Beth-I-think-you-could-do-a-few-more-cleans-before-you're-done-with-weights-today) found that it was totally normal and even expected that girls with hips had a lot of difficulty with pull-ups.

Moral: If you feel like your arms are spindly and can't even hold up a purse, imagine all of the football players you know trying to touch their toes.