The second part comes harder

Three years ago I lost 100lbs. It’s not something I am very proud of. I like to pretend I was never that out of shape, and I don’t want people to think of me being that way.

I began walking and dieting, and lost 20lbs in my first month, then I started going to the rec centre. I hit the gym everyday, one hour on the elliptical, and one hour doing weights, upper body one day, lower the next. I really didn’t have much of a clue as to what I was doing, but the weight just slid off me.

I found a web site called Sparkpeople.com that helped me keep track of what I was doing. It allows you to input what you eat and what exercise you do everyday. I especially like how it breaks down what you eat into the nutrients, fat, calories etc, so I can see what I am lacking or having too much of. I have found when I keep a log everyday, I am more apt to stay in control.

After two months of this, I grew bored, so I began doing classes. My first time in a spinning class was just horrible. I showed up right when the class started, so I couldn’t get any help setting up the bike, and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t even know how to work the tension, so when everyone stood up, I tried and couldn’t … one because I just had no strength … and two, because the tension was so light, the pedals sped out of my control.

I eventually grew frustrated at the rec centre. The muscleheads intimidated me. They hung around in groups, getting in the way, sweaty, testosterone filled, loud, smelly, and just plain aggravating. Then there were the dirty old men … staring and leering at you while you worked out. Yes, it had been a while since I’d had a man flirt with me, but come on, not someone 30 years older than me! I wasn’t that hard up. Then the rec centre began cutting some of my favorite classes, and changing the schedules, so I began thinking of alternatives.

I walked into Goodlife Fitness expecting to just check it out and leave …. but you see, they had this deal … if I signed up, I’d get this cool Mio heart rate watch. So I signed up, even though my rec centre membership hadn’t expired yet. I went to both gyms that month. I actually did double the classes, just to get my money’s worth. And at the end of the month, there was just no choice, I couldn’t give up Goodlife and go back to the muscleheads and dirty old men.

I began running, and joined a running group, then began entering some local races, working up to 5km, 7km, 8km, 10km and a half marathon plan. I had never believed I could enjoy running, but I grew to love it. I started thinking about what I needed to work on to do an Ironman.

It took me a year to lose the 100 lbs, and after keeping the weight off for a year, I figured I had it all beat. I swore I’d never quit the gym, and never ever gain weight again. Nothing could thwart my lifelong plans to stay in shape.

Unfortunately, a few weeks before the half marathon I was due to run in, I developed plantar fasciitis and had to stop running. I had to get orthotics, and take physiotherapy. I quit running, and all the high impact classes I loved so much and took up swimming and low impact.

I got depressed, partially because I couldn’t do the same things, but also because I didn’t get the same feelings from the low impact classes. I wasn’t able to go to as many classes now that I had limits, so I had more time on my hands. I’ve learned, my two enemies in life are boredom and depression. I was mostly eating well, as I had before, but wasn’t burning as many calories and some days, I would splurge. I’d eat something to make me feel happy. That should have been my warning signal.

I gained some of my weight back, 25lbs to be exact, which frustrated me immensely, so I started looking for other ways I could work out. I started hiking, and cycling more often, and longer distances, and stopped gaining weight, thankfully. I worked hard with a personal trainer. We made big strides with correcting my posture, and getting me using the correct muscles, my glutes instead of my legs, my abs instead of my neck and back, my back instead of my shoulders. I learned to swim better, working on my front crawl, learning finally how to breathe properly, and the proper form. I also began stretching religiously every day.

I have come a long way in this last year since I was injured. I’ve been able to correct a lot of issues that were holding me back, I’ve stopped overtraining, and my fasciitis is almost completely gone. But damn it, I haven’t lost the weight yet …