44 Seconds On The Elliptical Machine
One of the hardest parts of this weight loss journey was learning to love the gym again. The gym is a place that people either love or they hate. I do not think there is truly an inbetween.
There are those that love it. They wake up pumped to go. They put on whatever and fight to get that pump. Then there are those who hate it. Now, you can hate the gym and still go five days a week. You might have to force yourself, I mean, you will force yourself. But still go.
Then there are some people who just workout outside the gym. I envy those who workout at home. I never could be one of those people. I envy the Peleton, beachBody, and Sweating With The Oldies crowd.
So before the pandemic, I loved the gym. I would get excited about going, and no matter what my food struggles were, would make it every day for an hour or so. Then the pandemic hit, I got up to 470 pounds, and the gym was not even a thought for me.
But when I finally made the decision to get healthier, I knew that the gym was going to have to be a part of it. So the first day I drove to the gym. I did not get out of the car. But I drove there. Same for the second and third day.
The fourth day I went up the stairs to the gym. That was enough for me as I felt like I was going to explode. I swear, I have been fat and skinny, but 470 pounds is unlike anything someone should have to ever deal with. It is just so hard…to do anything.
So on the fifth day I went on the elliptical. This is a machine I would do for 90 minutes every time. After about 44 seconds, I was done.
Then I skipped the sixth and seventh day.
That was my first week of working out.
But I did not stop. I kept going. I did not allow another day where I would skip, drive by, or just go up the stairs. 44 seconds turned into two minutes. Then five. Then ten.
And after going for months, I am back at 90 plus minutes of cardio a day.
The funny thing is, I am the fattest person at the gym. I always will be. I do not care. I am not there to impress others and shaming someone at the gym is like making fun of cancer patients at the hospital. I am literally there to get better. To find some hope.
Do I love the gym? I wish I could tell you I do like I always have, but it is not there yet. It just isn’t. My son and I will be working out this summer together. He is extremely excited and I think that will make me love it again. because I remember being just like him.
I do get asked how to lose weight and I do not know the answer. Well, I mean, I could tell you eat less and move more, but no one asks me how to lose weight to get that answer. Same with the gym. I do not know how to love the gym anymore.
But I will. I assure you. And I will not stop. I might not love the gym yet, but life is much better every day.
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