Adrienne Hood 3

A Weight Loss Journey Guide This Week...

It was time for my first workout! YAHOOOO!!!! I was so excited but…I was also VERY nervous. We hit the floor and Debbie put me through the wringer. The workout was difficult but I loved every second, even if I couldn't show it between the sets that were taking my breath away. Debbie kept me on task and made sure my form was perfect. To this day, I take great pride in demonstrating good form in my workouts because of Debbie. It’s so crucial in not only working the muscles the exercise is targeting but to avoid injury. I wouldn't know any of this if I’d tried to do it on my own. I also know I wouldn't have gotten a great workout on my own. Even today, I see Debbie on a regular basis because almost 7 years later, she’s the one that gets me to eek out that tiny extra bit of effort at the gym. Debbie, being the fantastic trainer she is, also kept me on task. When I was struggling, I’d do my best to drag out whatever rest time I was given. Debbie knew better. She ALWAYS knows better. THIS is why you need a trainer.

Sure, you can do this stuff on your own but you may never reach your full potential until you have a professional pushing you, keeping you on track, and keeping you accountable.

With Debbie’s help, I made a commitment to get to the gym at least 3 times a week for a strength workout followed by some cardio. By the end of David’s deployment, the stepmill and I were besties. I also became such a regular that people started to recognize me and give friendly smiles and gestures. I can’t explain how great that felt. I felt like I was being accepted into the world of health and fitness that I’d been longing to be a part of ever since I’d become overweight as a child. It’s exhilarating. It’s even freeing because now you know you’re in control. Not the scale, not the food, not the bad influences that take your eye of the prize. Strangling enough, you begin to even feel accountable to those regulars who also frequent the gym at your regular times. There’s a silent bond with those you exchange smiles with because you know they’re there for the same reason, to be better, to be healthier. Even if you’re at different places on your journey, it’s still the same journey and the same desire that brings everyone to the gym. You can become a part of that!

As for my food, one week in, I was finally starting to get the hang of it. I realized the food was going to take time for it to become second-nature. I was working hard on resetting my brain’s idea of what a meal should look like. Do your best! Even when Debbie adjusts my food now, I tell myself to give it a week or two to settle in. Change isn't easy but you’ll get there. I went through craving after craving not because my body was actually hungry or even needed it, but because it’s what I’d been eating for years. My whole life up to then had been about satisfying craving after craving, whatever they were. Cravings are what made up my meals if you could even call them that. The food was in control. Food should NEVER rule what you do with your LIFE. It’s just food. Eat to live, not to eat.

With my new exercise and food plan in place, my commitment started to pay off quickly and the number on my arch nemesis, the scale, was going down! I was stunned at what listening to your trainer could get you! I felt like I was finally on the right path on my weight loss journey. I was feeling empowered to continue…