I Have Hope!!

For the first time in years, I HAVE HOPE!!!

It took some serious self-talking, but I finally talked myself into going to the gym last night. I was still on the fence until we walked out the door at work and it was raining. I didn't want to bike or run in the rain, so I headed to the YMCA. 

I have been an athlete my whole life. I was even a college athlete who was in the gym (on campus) at least once a day, if not twice, and I'm still intimidated by the weight lifting area of the gym. I always feel like I'm going to get in someone's way or something. I finally had to tell myself (yes, I talk to myself in my head a lot) to stuff it and pointed out that I had just as much of a right to be there as they did, no matter how ridiculous I may look to them!I honestly don't think anyone was really watching me and to be honest, I have been helped by people in the gym more often than I've been criticized. So, there's some insight into my insecurities. 

Anyway... I decided to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes first. About five minutes in I decided to bump it up to a slow jaunt. Then back to walking, next time I went a bit faster for the run and then faster the next. I went over TWO MILES without any side pain!!! My pace was slow, but I was fine with that. My legs are way out of shape, so I could only run for 90 seconds and then walk for 60 and keep alternating, but when I did that back in mid-January I had pain each time I ran. So, I'll consider this progress!! I did have pain at the very end, but I had also bumped my speed up and was overexerting myself. It felt more like a sprint and definitely not a pace I could maintain, so it was just for grins. I won't get a chance to run again until Monday, so here's hoping this wasn't a fluke. For now, I will hold onto the hope this run gave me because it's the only thing I've got right now. 

Moving on... this morning I hit the 10 pound mark for my total weight loss since starting Trim Healthy Mama. That definitely put a bit more hop in my step this morning. Then, on a whim, I decided to grab a pair of my "someday" jeans that I've had stashed away in my closet. Imagine my surprise when I pulled them right up and buttoned them with no problem. They are not skin tight, I did not have to suck it in and I am not pouring out the top like a sausage stuffed into a casing three times too small. I'm actually wearing a size 11/12 jeans today! I haven't worn them since my half-marathon days. *ha ha* But really, it's been almost three years.

So, the progress on my challenge plans is going well. I did lie to all of you though. I had to set up a Facebook group after all. I realized that some people don't have, or want, an Instagram account and beyond that, some don't want to plaster their goals, progress or whatever all over their personal pages of their social media. I want to respect that. By making a group, I give everyone a place to share in the challenge and then, with the permission of the person, 

I have the goals for the next 21 days photo challenge set up. I broke them up into a week at a time. I also found some cool beginner workout videos on YouTube to share that I will do along with everyone. If you already have your own workout regime, that's fine, but I know some people want to get started and just don't know where, but feel that a lot of those 30 days challenges you see posted online are overwhelming or intimidated. I know I cannot workout every day. It's just not realistic for my lifestyle and I'm okay with that, so I want to make options available without people feeling like they are letting themselves or others down just because they didn't finish the challenge every single day and then stop doing it altogether. I promise this will be laid back, fun, challenging and hopefully motivating!

So, if you're interested, please message me, or friend me and leave a reply to this blog when I post it on Facebook and I'll add you to the group so you can join in the fun, or go to the group page to join in. I'm always looking for feedback, so please feel free to give me a shout out. If you want to try something new, let me know and I'll do some research. If you have questions about specific areas of the body, let me know and I'll do some research and help you out. I'm not a trainer, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a nutritionist. I'm just a person who loves to learn, loves to help and loves working with others to meet a common goal. So, take what I say with a grain of salt, but most of all... Know that you know yourself better than anyone and you are the best judge for what works and what doesn't!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!