It's been two weeks since my final weigh-in. On April 30th, I weighed in at 174 pounds. Since November, I had lost 30 pounds, starting at 204 pounds. It's been a hard two weeks as I have taken a bit of a vacation from the gym. I wanted to treat myself to real food but found that the more I ate sugar & fat, the more I craved it. It's addicting! I gained 5 pounds in two weeks not working out and eating crappy foods. Here is the craziest thing. I went back to the gym yesterday after a two week vacation and I was shockingly out-of-shape. I was out of breath and I felt as if I were going to vomit in my exercise class, just 60 minutes of circuit training. Before I left for vacation I was a pro at that class. That is just to show me how much I have to continue being in shape as a life long goal. I was working out 6 to 9 hours per week before I left and as a shock to my body, down to none for a whole week. On top of that I was drinking alcohol now and eating fatty foods. I could feel the difference that diet had made on my heart as I was having chest pains in my class, just after two weeks.
I am prepared now to exercise no less than four hours per week. I have two gyms I am going to give a try, one is a full-service with pool, weights, and classes and the other is cross-fit. In addition the Island is full of hikes and trails for running. We are surrounded by the Puget Sound where people kayak with Orcas! And paddle-boarding is pretty popular. It is an active mecca so I have no excuse to sit on my booty and cake (actually, I always have a reason to eat cake). I look at it this way, exercise is the device that keeps my heart healthy and shapes my body to look strong and muscular and a low calorie diet will allow me to continue to get to lose or gain weight. If I want to lose weight I have to watch my calories and eventually once I get there, I can eat a diet to maintain. I do want to keep trying to get more in shape as there are sections of my body that need more muscle but most importantly I don't ever want to get so out-of-shape again. I will never be able to stop exercising as I need to be able to get through my day with a healthy, fit - body and mind!
Give yourself some love and start moving now folks and then don't ever stop!
