So today is day one of an 8-week session… so naturally, I’m optimistic! Don’t we all go into any fitness program like “hell yeah, I got this! I’m going to get SO FIT and I’m NEVER going to let myself get this way again!” It’s easy to say on day 1, but on week 8 when I miss gorging on pizza and not counting calories, I know I’ll wonder if it’s worth it.

My struggles in the past have not been doing the program but staying motivated after I lose the support from trainers and dietitians. I KNOW what I need to do- I did a lot of meal prep yesterday for very well-rounded, healthier meals to start my session off right! And they’re tasty! It’s not even overly bland-ness that gets me off track. A lot of the times it’s because I don’t enjoy cooking. I CAN cook, I’m not a chef or anything, but I just don’t enjoy it, and I rarely have time for it!

A health-program can end up being another part-time job’s worth of time- it’s not just the two workout sessions a week, it’s the time grocery shopping and food prepping, and cleaning from the food prepping, and the additional workouts (because I’m also signed up for another half marathon- which is extra strength training and also, of course, running), making sure I get enough sleep a week. It sometimes can get to a point where my social life takes a hit: I’m sorry I can’t go to dinner with you, that place has NO healthy food! I’m sorry, I have a workout scheduled for that day and time and NO other time to reschedule it.

BUT I tend to be all in, or all out. Either I’m counting calories and working out regularly, or I’m binge-watching Netflix for two straight days eating potato chips with a side of pizza and Reese’s Shapes.

So as of right now, I’m all in.

I got up to work out at 5:30 at the Riverplex! I checked out BurnZone for the first time, which is awesome! It uses a heart rate monitor to look at the level of intensity, and then they tell you what zone to be in: yellow, orange, or red. Red is your highest intensity, or what I like to think of as go too hard for too long in that zone, and you’ll probably throw up! Orange and yellow are where you burn the most fat! You go through the class in the color the trainer tells you to, and at the end you’ve had a great workout with actual results! I would have posted a screenshot of my results here, but we had an issue getting my monitor hooked up. For whatever reason I would not show up on the screens, so I did not know what zone I was in. I just tried to work according to how I felt, but hopefully on Wednesday, I can get it working!

Now the embarrassing part. I always hate my before pictures, and normally won’t post them on social media until I have a definite after picture to compare it to, but if I’m going to stay accountable, I’ll need to share my entire life, even the parts I don’t like! So here’s my embarrassing before pictures. (Don’t mind the fact that I look like I’m looking at my phone in two of them- I am. I have an app on my phone where I can see the view through my nice camera!)

I started the day off right with Kashi Go Lean Cereal, Almond Milk, and Blueberries with a side of Greek yogurt, and I have Lemon Pepper Chicken on brown rice with a side of green beans for lunch. I haven’t decided what I’m eating for dinner yet, but I have a few options at home.

We’ll see what happens!

If you’re sad you didn’t get in on this, the next session starts in April. Check out the info here.