My Own 600-Pound Life

So exercise has never been my friend.  Gyms have been my mortal enemy and quite frankly, I like sitting on my rear end.  My job dictates it (I'm a computer developer, so I write code all day) and I love playing video/computer games, which requires me to sit on my rear end a lot.

Well, recently, a new gym opened in our area called Planet Fitness.  This gym appeared to be different - they didn't let "lunks" in (extreme bodybuilders) and when you saw pictures of their gyms, you actually saw... wait for it... big people!  It's nice to see other people that don't necessarily fit in the healthy BMI range going to the gym.  It makes the gym a lot less initimidating.  Plus their staff are amazing there.  They really care about people and they are there to help you.

So, happy that I found a gym that I could work out at (and that has amazing massage beds!), I went three times last week.  That is amazing for me considering I haven't even walked more than to go to my car to get some fast food in probably the last 4 years.  Not only did I go, I pushed myself hard at the gym.  For most of you, what I did would be a drop in the bucket, but since I weigh over 560 pounds still, the routine I did really kicked my butt.

I felt amazing.  I was ready to see a 5 pound loss at Weight Watchers yesterday and I was all stoked and ready to tell everyone how I did it.  I stepped on the scale and it hit me.  I had gained 1 pound.  WHAT?  I wasn't sure for the whole meeting whether I wanted to cry or pound my fist into the scale.  I was furious and upset all at the same time.  Even my wife, who can normally calm me down could not say anything that would make me OK with what had just happened.  The whole day was ruined.  I swore that if I didn't lose weight next week, that I was going to quit all together.  I wasn't going to kick my butt at the gym and then come and gain pounds.  I have over 400 pounds to lose!  I'm not about to go the wrong way!

So, this morning, I was a lot calmer and in fact, my gym bag is waiting in my car for the workout that I will be going to this evening after work.  So, I decided to do a little Googling and came across this article.  I read through it and I found myself getting happier each paragraph I read.  Wait - weight gain is normal after starting an exercise program?  Holy crap!  That's amazing news.  I think I did a little happy jig in my chair after I read that article.  It explained to me why my hard work was not showing on the scale!

My point in explaining this is that sometimes hard work will not show immediately.  Just as much as anyone else, I need to remember that this is a long-term solution and we won't always see the numbers on the scale.  However, we are making choices that will hopefully last a lifetime and going to the gym is a reality of most skinny people.  Since most of us are on our weight loss journeys to become skinnier, healthier people, we have to make the gym a part of our lives and we can't be scared when that number on the scale doesn't show like we wanted it to.

It's hard to feel that way because I still wanted to see that number, but I worked out, I pushed myself and I am healthier because of it.  So, NSV for me!  If you are in the same boat as I am, keep on trucking.  It will get better and I hope that next week, my blog post to you will be that I lost an amazing number even while exercising the whole week.  Keep those chins up, folks!  We can do this!