Thursday, June 4, 2015
Another 8!
I have lost another 8 pounds. Feeling great. Still not even close to my goal, but that doesn't matter to me right now, because I'm feeling happy, energetic, motivated, and strong.
Monday, November 17, 2014
10 lbs
I have officially lost 10 pounds since I decided to really dedicate myself to losing weight since signing up to the gym. I'm pretty happy about that. Just need to keep it up! Slow and steady!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Trainer Troubles cont.
Yesterday was my training session. Trainer was a no show. I sent him a text and have never received a response.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Trainer Troubles
I joined a gym quite a while ago, probably the beginning of spring, and I recently decided to sign up for a trainer. Trainers are extra cost and they are independent of the gym itself. It is just the facility that they use. I decided this was worth it and signed up for a trainer after talking to him over the phone.
It has been a disaster. On one hand, it is true, I have gotten more work outs than I probably would have gone to the gym for. On the other, it has been annoying and not worth the money I have paid.
1. In our initial call he says he'll text me some links and rates. The phone call was motivating and I was excited, however about 20 minutes after talking to him on the phone I realize I need to reschedule our initial in-person meeting to a Thursday instead of a Monday. I call the office back and never get a response. The secretary woman said she would let him know that I called back and have him call me. He never does. I do not actually have his phone number, as I initially called the office at the gym and they got him on the line. However he DOES have my phone. NO calls. No texts. Not even the informational text. During this time I am in Chicago and I think 'well, maybe something weird happened. I'll call on Monday.'
2. Monday I call to reschedule. I tell the secretary that I haven't gotten a call back and I need to make sure he knows that I won't be there. She says "Yeah, he knows." Uh. Okay. How about a confirmation, then? Okay, whatever. I finally get him on the line, he is noticeable distracted and less friendly than our initial phone conversation, but we agree on Wednesday to have the first session at 4:30.
3. Wednesday. 4:25 I get to the gym and go change. I feel very anxious to get started. Now it is 4:30. Now 4:35. The owner sees me and asks if I'm looking for someone. I tell them my trainer's name. They say "oh, he was just here. I haven't seen him for a while, though." So then they try to call him and look around for him, but can't find him. The secretary type lady says "well, let's get you on a treadmill to warm up until he gets here". Okay. So I get on the treadmill and after about 10 minutes I see my trainer standing outside the doors on his cell phone. I try to not get too angry because maybe it is an important call. But then it keeps going and going and I see him walk in to the gym, and then walk out of the gym and eventually, it's about 20 minutes (into my 30 minute session) and he finally comes over and says hi and "I was on the phone with my mom". Okay. I'm going to be okay with that because maybe there is a family emergency or something. But if there is an emergency, and you are at the gym, and you know I am here, then cancel the appointment or something. But whatever.
So then, the rest of the "session" is just talking about goals. But we don't have a weigh-in, or lift any weights, or seriously do ANYTHING. I write him a check for the next sessions (maybe a bad idea, in retrospect), and I sign a contract, and the I thought "great! now we can start!". But what ends up happening is he says okay, let's have a session tomorrow. Uhm, okay. Tomorrow works I guess. There is another girl in the office waiting to have a session with him that then tells the owner to just have my trainer call her, because she has to go. BECAUSE her session was supposed to be when my session was. It was bizarre. Anyway. We decide on the next day at 6:30 pm. 4. Thursday. 6:30pm. No trainer. I wait until about 6:45. Nothing. I called, no answer. His answering machine was full so I couldn't leave a message. I text him, no answer. I decided maybe he thought it was at 7 or 7:30. Absolutely no show. I get home and write him an email. This is the email:
Hi, I am emailing you because I think there has to have been a misunderstanding about my first training session.
I thought that it was today (Thursday, the 19th) at 6:30 pm. I stayed at the gym until a little past 7:30, hoping that maybe the misunderstanding was on the time. I am willing to come back to the gym at 8:30, if that is what you thought we had scheduled and if you get this in time.
I have been unable to contact you, and your voice mailbox message says it is full and I cannot leave a message. I also texted you at this number: _________. Will you please confirm that I have the correct number?
I have also not received any texts. I wanted to confirm that you have my correct number. It is: _________.
I was also hoping to get a firm, written, schedule of our sessions. I understand if you are unable to schedule too far into the future, but I would like to avoid misunderstandings like this in the future.
Thanks, Megan M
5. The next morning I check my inbox. Nothing. I wait until about 3pm and decide to call the office. The secretary says "oh, here, I can get him" I say hi, I was wondering about our training session. He says "oh, hi, I got your email, I was just about to respond". Bull shit. That is what I wanted to say. But whatever. We end up scheduling a time. But I still have never gotten a firm, written, schedule of our sessions. EVER.
6. The first training session was fine. It was what I expected. There were times when I kind of felt like he left me hanging. Like, we're doing something and he says "keep doing that" and then walks over to visit with people he sees in the gym, so then I get done with the set and am just waiting for him to return. Whatever. Mostly it's okay. The follow up session he wants me to run a mile and time it. Okay. Well. I'm on a treadmill. Sooooo, I set it to a mile, and set a pace, and that is what it is going to be. If I set it to a 10 minute mile, it's going to be 10 minutes. If I set it to a 12 minute mile, that's what it is going to be. But hey, exercise is exercise. But AS I am running this mile, he leaves the gym to run an errand. This just seems so weird and unprofessional to me. It is frustrating.
7. I'm out of town for about 11 days. I get back and am SO SICK. Really not feeling well AT ALL. This is a Monday. I go home early from work, sleep about 15 hours and feel too nauseous to eat anything. I texted him early that morning to tell him today is not going to work. He suggests Tuesday. Okay, I sort of doubt I'll feel better by then, but we'll see. Turns out I don't, I text and ask about Wednesday because I am feeling better than before. Wednesday works, so I show up, although still feeling quite tired, and he has decided to schedule me with another client. Okay. I get it, you're working me into your schedule, and maybe part of the problem is that he just has TOO MANY clients. But c'mon. I'm paying for a private session.
I feel like communication is the problem here. I'm not clear on expectations, for one thing. So I expected there to be warm-ups and cool-downs, so I show up on time for the session, but we don't do warm ups. So then I'm just jumping into a workout cold, and end up being super sore the next several days. Well, okay, I can change that. That's fine. But what about scheduling? What about billing. THAT'S ANOTHER THING! We wrote him a check that he has still never cashed. We can't have a check just floating. Another thing is that he wanted me to write a food log. So I have been doing that, but then he wanted me to take pictures of it and text it to him, but that takes more effort than just emailing it to him. So I do, but then he never responds. It is just frustrating.
Blah. I hate confrontation, but something has to change.
It has been a disaster. On one hand, it is true, I have gotten more work outs than I probably would have gone to the gym for. On the other, it has been annoying and not worth the money I have paid.
1. In our initial call he says he'll text me some links and rates. The phone call was motivating and I was excited, however about 20 minutes after talking to him on the phone I realize I need to reschedule our initial in-person meeting to a Thursday instead of a Monday. I call the office back and never get a response. The secretary woman said she would let him know that I called back and have him call me. He never does. I do not actually have his phone number, as I initially called the office at the gym and they got him on the line. However he DOES have my phone. NO calls. No texts. Not even the informational text. During this time I am in Chicago and I think 'well, maybe something weird happened. I'll call on Monday.'
2. Monday I call to reschedule. I tell the secretary that I haven't gotten a call back and I need to make sure he knows that I won't be there. She says "Yeah, he knows." Uh. Okay. How about a confirmation, then? Okay, whatever. I finally get him on the line, he is noticeable distracted and less friendly than our initial phone conversation, but we agree on Wednesday to have the first session at 4:30.
3. Wednesday. 4:25 I get to the gym and go change. I feel very anxious to get started. Now it is 4:30. Now 4:35. The owner sees me and asks if I'm looking for someone. I tell them my trainer's name. They say "oh, he was just here. I haven't seen him for a while, though." So then they try to call him and look around for him, but can't find him. The secretary type lady says "well, let's get you on a treadmill to warm up until he gets here". Okay. So I get on the treadmill and after about 10 minutes I see my trainer standing outside the doors on his cell phone. I try to not get too angry because maybe it is an important call. But then it keeps going and going and I see him walk in to the gym, and then walk out of the gym and eventually, it's about 20 minutes (into my 30 minute session) and he finally comes over and says hi and "I was on the phone with my mom". Okay. I'm going to be okay with that because maybe there is a family emergency or something. But if there is an emergency, and you are at the gym, and you know I am here, then cancel the appointment or something. But whatever.
So then, the rest of the "session" is just talking about goals. But we don't have a weigh-in, or lift any weights, or seriously do ANYTHING. I write him a check for the next sessions (maybe a bad idea, in retrospect), and I sign a contract, and the I thought "great! now we can start!". But what ends up happening is he says okay, let's have a session tomorrow. Uhm, okay. Tomorrow works I guess. There is another girl in the office waiting to have a session with him that then tells the owner to just have my trainer call her, because she has to go. BECAUSE her session was supposed to be when my session was. It was bizarre. Anyway. We decide on the next day at 6:30 pm. 4. Thursday. 6:30pm. No trainer. I wait until about 6:45. Nothing. I called, no answer. His answering machine was full so I couldn't leave a message. I text him, no answer. I decided maybe he thought it was at 7 or 7:30. Absolutely no show. I get home and write him an email. This is the email:
Hi, I am emailing you because I think there has to have been a misunderstanding about my first training session.
I thought that it was today (Thursday, the 19th) at 6:30 pm. I stayed at the gym until a little past 7:30, hoping that maybe the misunderstanding was on the time. I am willing to come back to the gym at 8:30, if that is what you thought we had scheduled and if you get this in time.
I have been unable to contact you, and your voice mailbox message says it is full and I cannot leave a message. I also texted you at this number: _________. Will you please confirm that I have the correct number?
I have also not received any texts. I wanted to confirm that you have my correct number. It is: _________.
I was also hoping to get a firm, written, schedule of our sessions. I understand if you are unable to schedule too far into the future, but I would like to avoid misunderstandings like this in the future.
Thanks, Megan M
5. The next morning I check my inbox. Nothing. I wait until about 3pm and decide to call the office. The secretary says "oh, here, I can get him" I say hi, I was wondering about our training session. He says "oh, hi, I got your email, I was just about to respond". Bull shit. That is what I wanted to say. But whatever. We end up scheduling a time. But I still have never gotten a firm, written, schedule of our sessions. EVER.
6. The first training session was fine. It was what I expected. There were times when I kind of felt like he left me hanging. Like, we're doing something and he says "keep doing that" and then walks over to visit with people he sees in the gym, so then I get done with the set and am just waiting for him to return. Whatever. Mostly it's okay. The follow up session he wants me to run a mile and time it. Okay. Well. I'm on a treadmill. Sooooo, I set it to a mile, and set a pace, and that is what it is going to be. If I set it to a 10 minute mile, it's going to be 10 minutes. If I set it to a 12 minute mile, that's what it is going to be. But hey, exercise is exercise. But AS I am running this mile, he leaves the gym to run an errand. This just seems so weird and unprofessional to me. It is frustrating.
7. I'm out of town for about 11 days. I get back and am SO SICK. Really not feeling well AT ALL. This is a Monday. I go home early from work, sleep about 15 hours and feel too nauseous to eat anything. I texted him early that morning to tell him today is not going to work. He suggests Tuesday. Okay, I sort of doubt I'll feel better by then, but we'll see. Turns out I don't, I text and ask about Wednesday because I am feeling better than before. Wednesday works, so I show up, although still feeling quite tired, and he has decided to schedule me with another client. Okay. I get it, you're working me into your schedule, and maybe part of the problem is that he just has TOO MANY clients. But c'mon. I'm paying for a private session.
I feel like communication is the problem here. I'm not clear on expectations, for one thing. So I expected there to be warm-ups and cool-downs, so I show up on time for the session, but we don't do warm ups. So then I'm just jumping into a workout cold, and end up being super sore the next several days. Well, okay, I can change that. That's fine. But what about scheduling? What about billing. THAT'S ANOTHER THING! We wrote him a check that he has still never cashed. We can't have a check just floating. Another thing is that he wanted me to write a food log. So I have been doing that, but then he wanted me to take pictures of it and text it to him, but that takes more effort than just emailing it to him. So I do, but then he never responds. It is just frustrating.
Blah. I hate confrontation, but something has to change.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
2014
Alright. Obviously I haven't posted here in a long time. That is because I haven't exercised in a long time. A lot has happened in my life. I got married and moved out of state almost immediately. I would be lying if I were to say that it has been an easy experience. I think home sickness and living cheap has really taken a toll on my well-being*.
I don't like fixating on numbers. I don't like thinking about "2 years until I get to go home" or "30 pounds less, and I can feel comfortable with myself". The reason I don't like thinking about that is because I have counted down a lot of things in my life, thinking that if I just achieve that, then I'll be so much happier.
And for the most part, accomplishing goals or reaching time marks is good and does bring joy. But I am a chronic daydreamer/future-wisher. And I need to learn to live in the present. And so I have decided to approach my wellness on a day-to-day basis.
Instead of thinking "by the end of the month, I want to weigh this amount" or "3 times a week doing this exercise, and 2 times a week doing that exercise, then I'll be fit" I want to think more about TODAY.
True, there is value in planning ahead. But with my current mindset (stupid Voldemort. Hmm, maybe not as bad as Voldy. More like...hmm, not sure. I'll think about villian that is more of a jerk-wad than out-right evil), I think I need something less daunting and more focused on a day-to-day schedule. Otherwise losing as much weight as I want to is just too much. It almost makes me feel like giving up before even starting. Or like "well, I'm already so fat, I might as well just eat whatever the hell I want" (I recognize the flaw in this argument, but that doesn't prevent my brain from thinking that way).
I'm not very motivated right now, at all. Despite this big winded stream of consciousness about change and a new way of thinking. And in a way, I think that is good. When I get really motivated it doesn't last very long. The reason I am deciding to change is not because of a surge of motivation, it is because of a surge of fear and self-loathing. This needs to end. I need to be healthy. I need to treat my body better. I need to fuel it better. I need to strengthen it better. I need to not ignore these unhealthy signs that could lead to worse issues.
I have had high blood pressure, sore knees, labored breathing after too little of work to allow for such labored breathing, lethargy, negativity, emotional ups-and-downs, not to mention all of the physical appearance and embarrassment that comes from gaining more weight than you realized and feeling awkward in your own skin.
So. All of this just for me to say this: I'm not going to just accept my weight because I'm too overwhelmed, defeated, and sad to allow it to make me feel overwhelmed, defeated, and sad. I'm going to be proactive. However, I'm not going to approach it with a strong goal and then get discouraged when I don't make progress. Don't get me wrong, I have goals. I have a weight range that I want to be in. I have an image of sculpted arms and flat belly that would be nice to achieve. I have an image of not being embarrassed in photos taken of me, or fitting into my favorite pair of jeans again.
But I am NOT going to fixate on these things. I am determined to think of these things as purely bonuses to getting healthy. THAT is the goal. To be healthy. I'm going to work on it one day at a time.
Wish me luck.
*Please don't get me wrong. I am happy in a lot of other areas of my life. I have a very happy marriage. The unhappiness stems from being away from home and everything and everyone that I know and love. The issue is a lot of change. I never have adjusted to change easily. I am very lucky I have married my best friend, who helps with this adjustment to change, and we are stronger for it. But that doesn't mean I don't want to wake up in my old bedroom with a dozen cats out the back door, German pancakes in the oven, and my mom watching The Price Is Right.
I don't like fixating on numbers. I don't like thinking about "2 years until I get to go home" or "30 pounds less, and I can feel comfortable with myself". The reason I don't like thinking about that is because I have counted down a lot of things in my life, thinking that if I just achieve that, then I'll be so much happier.
And for the most part, accomplishing goals or reaching time marks is good and does bring joy. But I am a chronic daydreamer/future-wisher. And I need to learn to live in the present. And so I have decided to approach my wellness on a day-to-day basis.
Instead of thinking "by the end of the month, I want to weigh this amount" or "3 times a week doing this exercise, and 2 times a week doing that exercise, then I'll be fit" I want to think more about TODAY.
True, there is value in planning ahead. But with my current mindset (stupid Voldemort. Hmm, maybe not as bad as Voldy. More like...hmm, not sure. I'll think about villian that is more of a jerk-wad than out-right evil), I think I need something less daunting and more focused on a day-to-day schedule. Otherwise losing as much weight as I want to is just too much. It almost makes me feel like giving up before even starting. Or like "well, I'm already so fat, I might as well just eat whatever the hell I want" (I recognize the flaw in this argument, but that doesn't prevent my brain from thinking that way).
I'm not very motivated right now, at all. Despite this big winded stream of consciousness about change and a new way of thinking. And in a way, I think that is good. When I get really motivated it doesn't last very long. The reason I am deciding to change is not because of a surge of motivation, it is because of a surge of fear and self-loathing. This needs to end. I need to be healthy. I need to treat my body better. I need to fuel it better. I need to strengthen it better. I need to not ignore these unhealthy signs that could lead to worse issues.
I have had high blood pressure, sore knees, labored breathing after too little of work to allow for such labored breathing, lethargy, negativity, emotional ups-and-downs, not to mention all of the physical appearance and embarrassment that comes from gaining more weight than you realized and feeling awkward in your own skin.
So. All of this just for me to say this: I'm not going to just accept my weight because I'm too overwhelmed, defeated, and sad to allow it to make me feel overwhelmed, defeated, and sad. I'm going to be proactive. However, I'm not going to approach it with a strong goal and then get discouraged when I don't make progress. Don't get me wrong, I have goals. I have a weight range that I want to be in. I have an image of sculpted arms and flat belly that would be nice to achieve. I have an image of not being embarrassed in photos taken of me, or fitting into my favorite pair of jeans again.
But I am NOT going to fixate on these things. I am determined to think of these things as purely bonuses to getting healthy. THAT is the goal. To be healthy. I'm going to work on it one day at a time.
Wish me luck.
*Please don't get me wrong. I am happy in a lot of other areas of my life. I have a very happy marriage. The unhappiness stems from being away from home and everything and everyone that I know and love. The issue is a lot of change. I never have adjusted to change easily. I am very lucky I have married my best friend, who helps with this adjustment to change, and we are stronger for it. But that doesn't mean I don't want to wake up in my old bedroom with a dozen cats out the back door, German pancakes in the oven, and my mom watching The Price Is Right.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
5k Results
Just ran my 5k! My time was 34.51. Not too shabby for my first race since last summer AND for the first time running more than 2 miles since starting to run again! Feeling very happy. :)
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Mileage Progress
Ran 2 miles yesterday and felt surprisingly good. I went at a slow and steady pace, but I didn't feel at any point of time that I was running out of steam or that I wish I was closer to home. In fact, I even did a fairly long sprint at the end. Feeling good about Saturday's 5k!
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