Gym Update

It’s been a month since I joined the Crunch Fitness and Torture Center. I have some progress to report.

It’s been hard. I still don't like it.

I am not nor have I ever been an athletic, active person. Now that I’m 49 years old, getting active and athletic is a slow process. I wanted to become trim and slim right away but that’s just not going to happen. Yet.

However, I have noticed a big difference in my stamina. If you had told me a month ago that I’d be able to walk/jog for 40 minutes on a treadmill, I wouldn’t have believed it. And you know what? It actually feels good.

Last night, I was couch-potato-ing (I love making nouns into verbs, e.g. “It’s time to KFC!”) and realized that I needed some things from Trader Joe’s. It’s an eight-block walk to TJ’s but on the way, I realized that I was walking much faster than usual.

That's not saying much. A couple of friends have mentioned how slowly I walk. I often motion for sloths to go on around me. But last night, I actually felt “lithe.”

I’ve only lost five pounds so far, but my clothes are fitting differently. The pants that I bought at Target the other day were 2 inches smaller in the waist and they’ll soon be too big. I think I might even be building (gasp!) "muscle mass." How about them apples?

When I joined the gym, I weighed 229 pounds and had a 40-inch waist. Now, I’m down to 224 lbs and wear 38 waist pants. (I’m six-foot-two).

I still don’t like going to the gym, but I like the results. I really wish one could couch-potato and pizza every evening and still be healthy.