It was July 2010 when it
really dawned on me just how bad things had got, just how much I had
let go of everything in life and how much I had let go of me!
Attending the wedding of
two of my oldest and closest friends was the start of this, having to
find an outfit appropriate for such an event was almost impossible
when everything looked, as far as I was concerned, horrifying on me.
Luckily I did find something, just in the nick of time, but I didn't
feel better.
Following the wedding we
travelled further to join our friends from York on holiday in
Cornwall. It was here, whilst getting into my swimsuit, that I
realised, just how fat I'd allowed myself to become. I tried to pull
in my tummy while looking in the mirror, and nothing
happened...Nothing! I knew, that it was either now or never that I
lost the weight.
So, upon return from the
holiday, I announced that I would be joining a gym- again!
There were two feasible
options as to which gym I would attend; the one practically next to
my house, or the one practically next to my job. I visited both, was
shown around and ultimately chose to join the gym next to my work.
Why? Because, as much as the gym near my house would be easier to
get to at the weekend, going there after a full day at the office,
followed by a 45 minute commute home consisting mainly of sitting in
traffic, was highly unlikely to happen. I decided to remove the
hugely de-motivating drive home from the equation, therefore meaning
I'd be more likely to attend.
On July 31st I
went down there, signed up, and booked an induction for the next day
with the fitness manager, Joe. He would turn out to be the trainer I
needed to get me through this task, and he did so, very well, going
well above and beyond the call of duty to help me through the tough
times and keep me motivated.
On August 1st
2010 I arrived at the gym for my induction. In true Viv Style, I was
hugely early so the receptionist recommended I went to warm up! I
hadn't been in a gym in a couple of years and I was nervous!
Especially walking through the weights area to the cardio area! As I
rounded the corner, it all looked completely foreign to me. I
approached what I thought was an elliptical trainer (my former warm
up equipment of choice) and hopped on! It seemed a little high, and
hard to get going but I went for it, thinking 5 minutes will have me
all warmed up. 2 minutes in, I thought I was going to die!! How had
this become so hard? How the hell had I let myself get THIS unfit?
I got off and went to meet my trainer!
We talked about my goals
and if there were any time scales. I declared that my goal was
“thin” and the time frame was “as soon as possible”- for a
trainer, this is a nightmare response! But he went with it! We also
talked about nutrition. I had never really become too bad with the
food I ate, there were never chocolate bars or packets of crisps- the
occasional “treat” in the office? Sure! But nothing regular.
But, due to a bout of depression brought on, in part, to a horrendous
work situation, I'd become lazy at preparing our evening meals, and
so take- out was on the menu more often than it should be! In the 2
weeks leading up to joining the gym this had stopped and I had
started to prepare my meals and snacks for work and was cooking our
evening meals again. Joe was comfortable that I had the basics right
and just encouraged me to “Eat the Rainbow” (a phrase I now pass
on to my clients) meaning I should try to eat vegetables that are all
colours of the rainbow every day as they all contain different
nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Having established my
exercise likes and dislikes we went into the gym. Another warm up
was now required and Joe led me to the Elliptical Trainer, it would
seem that the equipment I had been on earlier was in fact a Summit
Trainer, and, as I would very quickly learn, is one of the hardest
pieces of equipment in the gym!! To say I was relieved to be able to
easily complete a 5 minute warm up on the real elliptical trainer is
an understatement!
Joe took me through all
of the exercises he was going to put into my programme, explaining
what each exercise does and why I should be doing it, taking into
account various old injuries (a very old ankle injury and a dubious
shoulder). After 2 hours, I was RUINED! I tried not to let it show
though. I was embarrassed, even ashamed. A few years previously I
had become quite fit and lost 2 stone, and was convinced that I
shouldn't have found it so hard. Joe had no idea how fit I was
before, so had no comparison, but I knew! He was very encouraging,
apparently his favorite phrase is “breathe it out”!
I left that day,
exhaused, and excited about my programme, and looking forward to
getting started!
Next time; The First Step
of oh so very many!
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