Exercise part Deux

I really, really hate exercise.

I wasn’t planning on working out. I was planning on brunch in Scottsdale, hence the lip gloss and eyeliner.

August 1st we started our weight loss challenge, and quite frankly, eating is the easy part.  I’m not a huge fan of food, I regularly forget to eat, and only on rare occasions stress eat.  As a regular hiker I maintained my weight in the 150’s with relative ease, despite having exercise induced asthma.

Hiking, my friends, is NOT exercise.

Not when this is the topography...it’s simply life-affirming and spectacular and has nothing to do with wretched exercise.

Exercise, my entire life since I’ve been old enough to remember, means your throat feels tight like you need a drink of water and you feel weak and need to slow down.  

Yet on the radio I always heard this...so I assumed I didn’t have asthma.

HOW DOES A 5 YEAR OLD KNOW HOW A FISH FEELS?!?

Since my asthma is only exercise-induced, I just assumed I was “out of shape.” The first years of this blog I referred to it as The Air Monster. I had friends who had kids with real asthma-I didn’t have attacks like them.  Leave it to my nurse practitioner to figure it out...and prescribe a rescue inhaler.  Which freaking changed my life for the better.

It did not, however, change how I feel about exercise.

Thank God I fell in love with the Cleveland Browns, and NFL training camp has started...

Ok fine, I admit, once in awhile in my past I may have said I loved classical Pilates. But that’s $300 a month I don’t have right now, and all I can afford is the local strip mall gym.

Because my asthma is horrible in Phoenix.

I freaking LOVE Phoenix, 😭😭😭

I love the heat. I LOVE IT.  I love the fact I go outside and it feels wonderful. My muscles relax, it soothes the aches. The hotter car is like a sauna...and I admit I soak it in before I turn on the A/C full blast.  

This is not me😂😂😎

However much I love this city doesn’t matter though, when the pollution and heat make for a dangerous combination.

Physically fit and unable to continue due to my lungs, two years ago.

So my weight? The move to Phoenix contributed mightily to that. There’s four months the heat/pollution combo makes hiking dangerous for my lungs.  The first year it creeped up despite no real changes in my diet, and I lost it all with the 5-2 diet and no exercise at all (which made me exceedingly happy.)  The next round of gaining? Oh, stress and living with my ex, and remodeling and then husband getting fired and almost dying? 

I remember sitting on the couch last December, when the Buckeye was in the hospital. I weighed between 171-173 daily, and I had some Christmas yumminess at hand.  I remember clearing thinking I did not care if I gained weight, because I knew how to take it off, and at that point I was drowning in discouragement. I felt like I was being stalked by widowhood, and was barely keeping my head above water.

So I ate the Christmas cookies and probably several bags of chips and I’ve not regretted it.

If a few extra pounds helped me smile and be the best I could be for my then recovering husband, it was fine.

In January, I halted my indulgence, and ate normally. My weight has stayed at 178-180 for eight months. No gain. (This also means I do, actually, have jeans that fit.  I just don’t like them or the number associated with them!!)

So why now? 

Well, Manchild is working on losing weight. And a mother will do things for her son she won’t do for herself.  That and the Buckeye suggested the challenge, not only to help Manchild, but so we can look good for each other for our honeymoon.

I think he looks fabulous already, and so freaking handsome it’s unfair to the rest of the world. I’m the luckiest girl alive😍😍

Begrudgingly, I admit I don’t like my belly, and it needs to be gone. Along with the two pairs of jeans I know that would fit, because they are a larger size than what I normally wear.

So I’m not only doing my diet (5-2, with Monday and Wednesday being fast days of 800 calories and the rest of the week I can have 1800) I’ve added in the one thing that I’ve neglected for two years:  exercise.

The good news? I can workout in air conditioning and apparently not have an asthma attack.  I also have several podcasts to keep me entertained, which means I am learning much about football😂

The bad news?

I still hate it.

I tried to convince the Buckeye to join me, and was quite pissed he refused. He can handle the heat, and loves to hike in it. His hatred of gyms matches my hatred of exercise, so he refused.

So when I was done driving his truck, I didn’t move the steering wheel back to the position he prefers.  Because priorities.

So today’s workout (I’m aiming for every other day) was 30 minutes on the arc trainer with arms.  Heart rate got up to 184 at one point, so I’m assuming that’ll make some exercise people happy.

Y’all suck, btw.

Anyhow, podcasts made it bareable and I came home to meatballs for lunch. I was still hungry so I gorged on fresh watermelon, and ate until I was full.  Total calories? 362.  Because I actually do know how to do the food part.

So now I’m pouty, and mad I’m not thin already.

It’s gonna be a long 31 days...

But if I make you laugh, then it’s kinda worth it.

Diet food😂😂😂 So I was yesterday days old when I realized the distinctive shape of a tortilla chip is from cutting an actual tortilla into 1/6ths...😳😜

So Monday is my “free birthday workout” at the gym...I’ll make sure to take pictures.  Fitness Quest:  keeping it real🥴