Feeling the Burn

I was dreading my usual January health kick for a couple of reasons. First of all, I was heavier in December than I've ever been in my life. It seems like each year the number on the scale creeps up and up, but this year it virtually leaped into another tens group the likes of which I hope to never see again. Secondly, I felt like I had no other choice but to do something because of a conversation I had with Meredith. Back in November I was complaining about how much I was eating and how much I weighed and she said, "If I know you, once New Year's hits you'll be on a big kick and you'll lose it all." She's known me for a while and it appears she knows me better than I know myself. Last January I was gearing up for a trip to the Bahamas, three Januarys ago I was gearing up for a wedding that year. It seems I always have something to get skinny for once January comes around.

This January was no different. While I once loved Weight Watchers I have come to despise it in the last couple of years. I get really "Gung Ho" about it but then I cheat and cheat, so it doesn't really work in the end. I try to come up with plan after plan after plan, when the reality of the situation is quite clear to anyone with an ounce of a brain. As Skinny Bitch says, "Don't eat crap and move your ass." I can stick to that!

The perk of this year's health kick is the added encouragement of my new workout buddy - my husband! Every year I tell him to exercise with me and he never does, but this year, when I went to check out our local YMCA he came along, perhaps out of boredom and perhaps out of genuine curiosity. Either way, he came. When we finished our tour and they asked us if we wanted to sign up, I looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say, "Why not? It can't hurt."

Well, we've been going to "the gym" for three weeks now. The fine folks at the Y showed us how to lift weights and I LOVE the treadmills with private televisions. It looks like our routine will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays with weights and carido on Mondays and Saturdays, then just cardio on Wednesdays. Chud wants a stationary bike for the basement and I would give my right arm for a treadmill or an elliptical machine, but I'm fine with using the ones at the gym until it's warm enough to go outside (which is was this weekend, but I still prefer the TV treadmills)!

So here we go, into the wild abyss of health and weight loss. Lots of friends are also trying to stick to a routine, so at least we have support out there. Thanks to Laura and Meredith for the recipes and motivation to make this work!