Getting Back to the Gym

Everyone in my house is (relatively) healthy! That means that I am able to finally return to the gym after about two weeks off.

In the meantime, I'd been doing some Wii Fit here and there, but it's just not the same. I never feel like I'm really getting anything going while playing the game. Plus, it's too easy for something else to come up or distract me.

That's what I like about going to the gym. I get up early and go first thing in the morning while it's still dark. Once I get there, I have no choice but to exercise. I can't go lie down and take a nap. I can't go watch some TV. I can't go read a book. I have to exercise, or I have to go to work.

Early last year, I was doing about 30 minutes of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike), and then about 15 minutes of resistance training, usually using weight machines or dumbbells. But during the summer, I started slacking off and missing workouts, and now that I'm back I've pretty much just done cardio. This week I started adding back in some weights. The problem is that I don't remember where I was on the different machines. So I'm not sure about how much weight to put on them.

I'm going to ask my trainers in my "Shape Up at Work" program if they can set me up with an exercise routine. The "Shape Up at Work" program is going pretty well. They've really started it off slowly by design. I think they're afraid of giving people too much information too quickly. I can understand that. There is a ton of information out there about eating and exercising, and most of the time it doesn't make sense or it contradicts. So instead of just throwing a bunch of facts at us, they're taking it slowly.

This is the fourth week of the program, and so far we've mainly been talking about food. We have a mandatory goal of at least 90 minutes of exercise a week, and then they've been adding additional food-related goals each week. Things like "cook a healthy recipe" (I chose the chicken enchiladas recipe I found on That's Fit) or "eat a healthy breakfast every morning."

Part of the program involves different physical tests. Last week I had a cholesterol and blood pressure test. My total cholesterol, HDL and LDL were all at good levels. My blood pressure was slightly elevated, but she said it may have been because I was sick. Since my blood pressure is usually very good, I'm hoping that is the case. I'll get it checked again in a month to see how it's going. Wednesday I had a fitness test where I had to step on and off a step for three minutes. After a minute of rest, my heart rate was tested, and that came out average and almost above average. So that was good.

So far things are going really well! I've lost 38 pounds, but I'm looking toward that magical 50-pound mark. Sometimes my brain gets frustrated, thinking that I'm doing so well on all this, why can't I lose weight faster? I know it takes time, but I'm ready for it to really start taking off. I think getting back into weights will help that.

That's the plan, anyway.

After decades of dieting only to gain it back, two That's Fit readers have decided to finally rethink their relationship with food and exercise over the next year to move toward a lifetime of fulfilling, healthy living. Come by every week as Ashley and Lee share their successes and challenges as they tip the scale.