Safe vs. Getting real

Busy, busy week! As I'd mentioned before, work is really hectic for me right now. Even more so this past week since one of my co-workers was on vacation. Basically, when I got home I just sorta zonked out, not in the mood to write or anything. I did well to exercise a few times and that was it.

I did an aquafit class this past Thursday night. The last time I tried that, my knee completely gave out on me and I couldn't finish the class. That's why I've been swimming laps - much easier on the joints. But since I've lost some weight now, I thought I'd give it a try. It went pretty well all things considered. I felt a stabbing pain in my left knee a couple times during the class and afterwards, both knees were aching. I was a little afraid of what they might feel like Friday morning! But no worries; they were perfectly normal all day. I was really glad I at least finished that class, even though I am so horribly uncoordinated I resembled a true fish out of water doing some of those fancy moves! LOL!

Last weekend, I went gym shopping. I want an all-female atmosphere, so I'm limited to a couple of choices: Curves and Goodlife Fitness (they have female and co-ed gyms). Curves was up first. GREAT, welcoming place and very friendly staff. No mirrors on the wall, several private changing areas. The women who were there working out looked 'normal'...not a size zero in the place. Next up was Goodlife. Wow, what a difference!! Heavy-duty, serious gym equipment at every turn, a lot of Barbie-doll lookalikes running around in cute little outfits, their perky ponytails bobbing up and down. Mirrors everywhere - is it a gym or some sort of voyeur/sex thing?? Only one private changing area and the sales rep was very proud of the sauna. Sauna? I have no desire to sit around and sweat. I found her approach a little pushy, too. When I hesitated at signing right away, she goes 'What's stopping you? You said this was important to you.' Um, yes...however, the first words out of my mouth were also that I wasn't signing anything today and just wanted to see what you had to offer.

So initially, I'm thinking the clear winner here is Curves. Maybe I need to start slowly and work my way up to Barbie-dom. Right? Well...maybe not.

The more I thought about it, the more I came to the following conclusion: Curves is what's safe; Goodlife is probably what I need. And here's why. At Goodlife, I can get personal training sessions that will no doubt help me tremendously. Here's the thing - before last Saturday, I'd never even been in a gym in my life. I have absolutely no idea what the hell I'm doing. I could hurt myself or spend 6 months doing something that isn't working me to my maximum potential or yielding maximum results. The variety of equipment available at Goodlife is also appealing to me. They have classes, too. I'm not big on classes yet but we'll see.

The personal training sessions are 40% off right now, but they're still pretty expensive to me. They sell them in 6 or 12 increments. I think I'm going for the 6 now. So I go in tomorrow to sign up. Lord help me, but I'm gonna do it. I'm stronger than I think I am, right? Me, scared of Barbies? Pfffft.

I went to see my family doctor on Monday. She was very pleased with my weight loss and agreed that right now, she sees no need to continue my diabetes or high blood pressure medicine. I had some bloodwork done and we'll see how that comes back, but I think it's ok. I go back to Detroit to see Dr. Genaw on the 30th. Only thing I'm worried about there is my protein levels. Sometimes, I just can't get the protein drinks down. I try my best but I ain't perfect.

I only lost two pounds last week, so I'm at 320 - 124 lbs. total lost. Hopefully I do better next week. I didn't have a great week, food-wise. I notice that when I'm feeling good and things are going down well, I lose weight. When I feel nauseous and odd, I don't lose as much. However, I have no control over that, which is frustrating. Sometimes it doesn't matter what I do, I don't feel well. I suppose stress exacerbates the problem and I have been stressed this past week. Everything stayed down, but my stomach felt a little weird a lot of the time and my pills weren't going down very well. It is what it is and I'm still newly post-op so I just have to be patient.

It has been FREEZING in the mornings and nights here. I have no freakin' jackets to wear so I confiscated Erich's that he got from work. It's a 2x. Heh. Fits pretty well. I put on some sweats last night (I get cold easily anymore) and they were so big, Erich and I cracked up. He insisted I try on a pair of his - size XL. So I did and they were tight, but they went on. Unbelievable. Every day is a new discovery and a new milestone.

Sorry about the length of this one. I'll try not to let this much time pass again!