...and I jump started myself tonight in getting it adjusted. I have not worked out much since I have been in Phoenix, certainly not even coming close to my hiking workouts and treadmill use when I was in Tucson for the all of the spring and part of July. I have let myself regain about 11 to 12 pounds that I lost while in AZ earlier this year. Luckily I did not regain all of the 18 to 20 pounds I lost back then but I still had a long way to go before reaching my goal then, so gaining any of it back has made me feel dismal. I can and have lived with feeling dismal before but tonight I decided I have had enough. Well, maybe not tonight since I have changed some of my other behaviors drastically over the past 4 or 5 weeks. Those changes are very personal and I will not go into it more here except to say I have overcome some of my personal Monsters From The Id that have plagued me for years.
Back to tonight. This evening I went over to the local YMCA and joined up for a one month trial membership. The rate was amazingly reasonable for a full gym, pool membership at only $45. That is not a come on rate either, their recurring payment by the month membership is only $43 per month. I hit the treadmill right after joining. I ran and walked a total of 3.6 miles. I will pay for the treadmill time, my hips already ache. They will get much worse over the next month but I think I can cope with that if I split running and walking so long as I do a good deal of it at a fair incline. I do not know why but when I hiked in the mountains my hips rarely bothered me. Yet if I do likewise on a treadmill or on the street I wind up in agony. Go figure but don't tell me it is in my head. I definitely have hip problems with burs and arthritis. Something about the unevenness of the trail maybe combined with the incline and declines of hiking - whatever it is it is amazing how little all that effects my hips like a treadmill will do.
Well, after the treadmill, I did a few exercises on the machines. I will pay for that too in my shoulders in the beginning. I did a few free weight exercises too, everything I did was arms and back. I will alternate each time I exercise (chest, shoulders and legs next time). I plan to workout at least 3 times per week, but if I get it right, I will go at least 5 days a week and maybe even every day for cardio. I have been dieting somewhat - just a lot less snacks than I eat when back home. With the exercise added I expect that I will lose about 2 pounds per week. I am basing that on what happened in the Spring; my blog post on May 14 or 15th had me down 15 pounds in about 7 weeks. I will admit my hikes then were strenuous but sometimes i only hiked once per week. I would hike more here but the trails I have found do not compare to those near Tucson, and there are none just a mile and half from my apartment here as there was from my hotel in Tucson. Driving to a hiking place near Phoenix sucks and the trails lack the elevation I got to hike near Tucson and Madera Canyon. Oh well, there may only a few more hikes in my future before I leave here but there is definitely a lot of treadmill time and maybe some pool time along with weight training time coming up for me during the next 29 days. I am pretty certain that when I lose the weight this time I will not put it on again like last time starting as soon as I got home. Just a better mindset now than then, killing off some of my own personal Monsters From The Id (a la Forbidden Planet, 1956) has had something to do with that, I am sure of it.
All the best,
Glenn B
