The Cure for Thigh Burn

I found the cure for Thigh Burn. Right before I left the house for my next workout, I sprayed my inner thighs down with my Suave deodorant...Shower Fresh scent! It certainly decreased how much I was sweating down there and in turn completely got rid of the thigh burn...aww much better.

Also on another note, the last time I exercised, I went for 15 minutes on the bike, then ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes and then went back to the bike doing 30 minutes this time. Usually I do, 15, 15, 15....but I was reading my kindle on my phone and totally got to a good part in the book while on the bike and didn't realize I was losing track of time. LOL...distraction is the BEST motivation.

I wasn't able to do my workout on Friday because we left to go to Iowa to help my in laws put a new roof on their house. I think I made up for the workout though by picking up TONS of rotten shingles and throwing them into the dumpster....those guys made such a mess during the demolition....ugh. I hurt this morning. Probably not as much as Chris, but still...ouch.

5 Things to Watch out for

This could actually be workout number 5, I just don't remember. I've been doing really well actually. I ramped up the resistance on the stationary bike today and I did a full 15 minutes walk/run on the treadmill. There are a few things that have me concerned however....

First: Elbow sweat. I didn't know I could sweat from my elbows. What's worse is that it runs down my arm when I'm on the treadmill, and then runs back up my arm to my elbow when I'm on the stationary bike eventually depositing itself on the arm rest of the bike. Normally I wouldn't care because I'm a good little YMCA member and I always wipe down the machine with the cleaner they provide...but sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who does. So whose sweat am I mingling with here?

Second: Motivational exercise TV. Now I don't really watch the TVs they have in the cardio room, I'm usually reading my Kindle and working out, however when I do glance up the last thing I want to see is someone getting liposuction on the discovery health channel. I mean really? This is supposed to be ENCOURAGING? Maybe I should just take the $60.00 a month I'm going to be spending on the membership and put it into my liposuction fund...plastic surgery is so much easier than having to deal with elbow sweat.

Third: Eyebrow sweat. Like I said, I'm sweating in places I don't remember EVER sweating from before. The sweat that comes down from my forehead, which I have dubbed eyebrow sweat eventually pools right above my nose...then in slides down my nose making a little "sweat-drop" on the end. Usually I grab a towel or two to keep this under control, but today the towel I grabbed was probably NEVER washed with fabric softener...it was like running sandpaper over my face. Haha.

Fourth: The Dreaded Crotch Wedgie. I'm sorry...I had to say it. When you get as...well rounded....as I have clothing just doesn't fit quite like it used to anymore. Unfortunately whenever I run on the treadmill my shorts end up sticking to my legs and riding up to my crotch, so it's almost like I'm wearing a bikini bottom all wedged up in there and trying to run at the same time. Then when I slow back down to a walking pace I pull the crotch wedgie out only to have it happen again 3 minutes later...flattering, I know. LOL.

Fifth: Feel the Thigh Burn....okay okay, I'm going a bit too personal on this one, but hey I'm an open book. As a result of the dreaded crotch wedgie my lovely plump thighs end up rubbing together ever time I take a step on the treadmill. After 15 minutes of basically having diaper rash on my inner thighs I'm about ready to steal some of Wesley's Desitin and rub it on there...anything to keep the friction to a minimum. How quickly can someone lose thigh fat anyway...and WHY do I have to have "thunder-thighs". Darn you M&Ms! You did this to me!

Hahaha, okay now that we've all had to read about my complaining and hopefully you laughed over some of it. I'm really not in that bad of shape. I really do enjoy my workouts and they are going really really well. It would be nice to see some more results, but that will come in time. I have noticed that I do have more energy now, so that's a definite plus. Also an unexpected perk to all of this is that I REALLY enjoy a nice long shower after working out...I have NEVER enjoyed a shower so much in my life. Haha. Must be all that eyebrow sweat.

Exercise relieves Anxiety

Today I went in and worked out for the third time. It was really good. I've done the same thing three times now. Stationary bike - 15 minutes, Treadmill - 15 minutes, Stationary bike again - 15 minutes. It's a good workout, but today I felt like I was getting used to it. It was a whole lot easier than the last time I did it. So that means I either need to add something, or increase the resistance on something...or the way I'm doing the exercise. Haha! Look at me, making things more difficult on myself, figures.

Anyway as the title of this post says, I do believe that my exercising has brought about a change in my anxiety issues. It's too soon to tell, but I feel like I have a better grip on the thoughts that race through my head. Sometimes though, no amount of exercise or anxiety medication helps.

With me, anxiety tends to occur when I've lost control over the plans for the day, or something changes suddenly. For example, last Saturday Chris emailed me and told me that we had been invited to go out to a lake with some friends that evening. I remembered that he had mentioned it before, but forgot all about it. It just so happens that the lake was in South Bend, very near my old "stomping grounds". I can't really go into that area of the world without feeling some anxiety.

We were in a rush to get out the door because the party had already started while I was at work. So we pushed to get out the door and sped down the road in hopes that we wouldn't miss the grill-out. Even though Chris had his GPS going on his phone, we inevitably got turned around at the lake and kept missing the turn to get where we needed to be. All of this stuff, having to leave work in a hurry and get home, getting rushed out the door, going to South Bend - my old stomping grounds, and then not knowing where we were going actually had me in tears by the time we finally got to the party. It's weird what Anxiety does to me. As soon as I got out of the car and to the party though, the nerves went away completely.

I don't know why I put all of that on here, I guess I'm venting a little bit because my mom just sent me an email explaining that she's out of work and needs a place to stay until she finds a new job, or the unemployment kicks in. Can you imagine the anxiety I'm feeling now?

I should go work out again.

In the Beginning

In the beginning of my attempt to make myself thin again, I should probably state my goals for this adventure.

1) Lose the baby fat that has accumulated around my hips, thighs, stomach and butt. (50lbs)
2) Get back to a size 12...which is just above what I was in High School. (currently at size 18)
3) Become one seriously HOT momma.
4) Integrate working out into my life so that Wesley has a good example.
5) Prove that I can finish what I start.

So those are the goals. So far I've been to the gym twice. Both times consisted of a steady diet of cardio work-out. The first workout was 15 min on the treadmill to start. As I've never used a treadmill you can imagine how nervous I was since there was someone else using a treadmill about 3 feet from me....who had obviously been on one before. I decided to look over at hers to see how fast I should be going while walking and running so eventually found a good pace for myself. I would walk for 3 minutes, then run/jog for 1 minute and then walk again for 3 minutes...repeating until my 15 minutes was up. It wasn't too difficult, but since the last time I worked out was a million years ago, I could definitely feel it. I don't think I've sweat that much in a while.

Then I decided to hop on one of the stationary bikes for 15 minutes. I discovered that the bikes come with a Fan...I promptly turned the fan on High and started to petal. I went for about 3 minutes before I saw that I was on the easiest setting and it was definitely too easy. So I turned the bike resistance to level 8...a good round number...and kept going. I really liked how it would tell me my heart rate, the distance I was going etc, calories I was burning, etc. Even though Chris (my husband) says that there is NO way that thing can accurately tell me how many calories I've burned, I still like that the number kept getting higher and higher...made me feel good.

I started to feel the strain in my knees, but decided not to stop because of that old adage..."no pain, no gain". The strain actually went away after a few minutes, or I got used to it, one of the two. I stayed on the bike for 30 minutes and then realized that I should probably go home since I'd been there for 45 minutes and Chris was home with the baby.

I spent the next 20 minutes or so getting the YMCA membership set up so that the next time I went they'd be able to give Wesley some daycare. They even offered us a discount...which is super awesome because it would cost almost $70.00 per month otherwise for the three of us.

When I got home, Chris sent me straight to the shower after I got home, though I didn't smell THAT bad. Haha. I felt kinda selfish though for taking so much time away from Wesley. We all had dinner and Wesley went to bed shortly after that. I just have to keep telling myself that I'm a good Mom even if I take time for myself.

All in all, that first workout felt good, and I felt a lot of self confidence for having done it. So that was nice. As I start learning this process more, I will start posting some more stats and weight changes so we all know how I'm doing.

I'm going to need to go out and buy a scale too...I didn't actually see one anywhere at the Y, and my last one always said "Lo" whenever I stepped on it. I kept saying it didn't have anything to do with the batteries...And because I wasn't doing anything about weight loss then...I decided that the word, "Lo" was a good sign. Haha!