12 weeks to improve my eating and exercise in the hope I can improve my BP & Cholesterol and lower my weight.

Laurie Donohue

Today is the day! 12 weeks to improve my eating and exercise in the hope I can improve my BP & Cholesterol and lower my weight.  My meeting with Michelle at the Y is at 11 this morning and I am excited to see what she has to show me.  Started the day with some homemade pumpkin nut biscotti and black coffee, planning freshly made corn chowder for lunch and dinner is still up in the air.  Just finished reading week 1 in my Better book, I need to find out what “Calories of added sugar” is.  So, almost time to go to the Y, I have decided to walk, its just over 1 mile and a beautiful day out!

I met with Michelle at the Y and she sat down and asked me what my goals were, what my limitations were and we talked about what level I was at now. She showed me around the Y and explained the machines, uses and what benefits I could get from them.  She then had me work on three different machines that she felt would support my back & knees, while giving the cardio & strengthening I was looking for.

The first machine was The Rower, I have never been on one of these and I can honestly say, it is much more innocent looking then it works out to be.  After figuring out how to keep my ample butt on that tiny seat, my feet in the stirrups and the coordination to push-pull-retreat in a semi-fluid motion, I felt I was really getting the hang of it, plus a good workout and when I stood up, my rubbery legs were testament to the power of The Rower and as soon as I could catch my breath, I assured M, that I had “Loved it!”

Of course by that point I was on The Reclining Elliptical and attempting to keep my speed up while holding on to some handle bars that kept getting further and further away with each peddle. Oh wait, no, it was just the reclining seat; if I leaned forward a little I could grab the handles...Holy Cow! That was a near miss; they come right at you really fast!  Probably wasn’t really that close to my head, but why take chances, so I just let my fingertips rest lightly on the handles and peddled my way to almost 6 laps. (Okay, so I had just hit 5, I was trying for 6, but it might have only been a couple more peddles, so I am counting it as 6). As an aside, I had warned M. that I was a little bit klutzy, so if there is a “training” accident…….

My very cheerful Personal Trainer, M, came over and put me on this simply fun machine, I think she called The Arm Rower (or maybe it was You Thought Your Legs Were Jelly?!?) and said do 4 minutes forward and 4 minutes backwards.  While I am attempting to keep my speed 65-75, she sits down beside me on The Reclining Elliptical, punches it up to some physically impossible resistance and starts to peddle, all while carrying on a NORMAL conversation with me.  I meanwhile am quite aware that my arms are going to fall off any minute, cannot even wipe the copious amount of sweat from my brow and am able to offer a grunt as my end of the conversation.

Remember that FB meme that showed the model running through the park with the caption “This is how I think I look when I work out” and the next frame is of the Bassett hound running through the park, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, with the caption “How I actually look when I work out”? Yeah, that kept going through my head the whole time.

Walked back home, had my low cal-low sodium corn chowder, a small piece of homemade whole grain bread, a banana and 24oz of H2O. Seriously, I was a bit hesitant about going to The Y, but the machines M put me on, were exactly what I was looking for!  I asked her for Cardio & Strength and that is exactly what they delivered, while protecting my back & knees.  I am going on Wednesday morning to try out the Yoga class and maybe after try those Rowers again.

Day 1 down (and I didn’t fall off any sidewalks!)