These shoes were made for walking…but now they run!

Seven weeks ago I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer in efforts to change my body, my health and my life. In these seven weeks I have not only improved my body and health, but learned a few other things along the way.

1. Be careful what you say. When Katherine (my trainer) asked how many hours I’d be willing to work towards my fitness goal every week. I answered “4 to 6 hours.” Clearly my mind was leaning toward 4 or less, but I wanted to impress her with my commitment. “Good,” she answered, “we’ll go with 6!” And she promptly fashioned a workout regime that brought me to the gym 6 days a week!

2. A minute is a very long time. I’ve never been a runner. In fact, I hated any thing to do with running and for most of my life have avoided most sports activities, with running being at the top of the list. So when Katherine prescribed 20 minutes of running every week, I was not overly enthusiastic about it. So in the first few weeks I’d run for a minute or two and “quickly walk” the remaining 18 minutes.

3. Soy milk isn’t that bad; neither is pitas, yogurts, salads and shredded wheat¬—these are staples in my diet now. Oh yeah, and 60 calorie, sugar free Jello brand chocolate pudding (premade and in the refrigerated section of your grocery store) IS THE BOMB!! Yum!

4. Things change. 36 visits to the gym (I took a week off due to a sinus infection) will change your body, your health and your life. Although I still have a long way to go, I have lost 12 pounds and 11 inches of my body. And today I ran for 26 minutes and 30 seconds…and it felt GREAT!