Sore Muscles & a Lard Butt, Gutt, & More

(Warning: I do make fun of myself, as my hubby, kids, parents, sister, and most anybody who has worked with me will tell you. If this offends anyone, well- I'm not sorry. :) As I always say, "If you can't make fun of yourself, who can you make fun of?")

We joined the YMCA last month. I feel like this is my last chance to ever get any weight off and take care of me, so even if we don't have the $ I'm going to do this for me. After almost 6 weeks, I can see where I'm able to do a tiny bit more than I could. And this week, I actually am starting to feel sore muscles under all my lard :).
Just a side note- I often refer to my exercising as "taking the lard out for a walk." Ha! Ha! He! He! I crack myself up sometimes.

My goal? By age 40, to have undone as much of the damage I've done to my body as I can. If I could weigh 200 pounds or close to it, I'd be happy (I realize that's still heavy and lard-ish, but it would be a lot better than it is now!) I'd like to be able to walk more than a flight of stairs without being out of breath. I'd like to be able to walk more than 1.5 miles and/or 30 minutes without my knees and heels killing me. I'd like to enjoy exercising more than I do now. I'd like to fit into smaller "fat-lady" clothes than I do now, and be able to buy clothes at Walmart if I need to.

I have been walking on the indoor track at the Y some, and I really love swimming! After I walk- head down, avoiding eye contact- the dreaded "Walk of Shame" to the pool as quickly and discreetly as an elephant woman can in my cover up, I get in the water and try not make a tsunami in the pool. :) Once in the water, it is so relaxing to me to be in the water, and I could swim, tread, float and basically just stay in the pool all day. It is kind of embarrassing, though, when I try to swim. I am slower than slow. I mean, really, the tortoise (you know- of "The Tortoise & The Hare" fame) is sitting at the end of the pool saying to me, "My word, girl, you are slow! I got here a half a lap ago!" :) :) :) The pool is usually full of good swimmers who know what they're doing and aren't toting a vat of lard on their behind & everywhere else, so they are also faster than me and much more graceful.

But, I keep telling myself a few things to make myself feel better & to keep myself going:

• I didn't get to be an elephant overnight; it took me years of eating big macs and large fries, & late night pizzas, going on no sleep for years, and putting my own physical needs behind everything else & just not taking care of me like I should. I am not going to get un-elephant overnight- it will also take years to ever hope to be anything close to thinner.
• I'm not going to get thinner or live to be longer, by looking at all the good swimmers and letting my shame and embarrassment keep me home and on my butt.
• And the tortoise may be laughing at me at the end of the pool, but at least I can swim! :) (By the way, before anyone who might read this worries, I am not crazy, and I do not really see a turtle at the pool- I'm just being silly old me!

So for now, I'm happy to actually be a little bit sore! That's a major milestone for me! And I'm hopeful that with the Lord's help in keeping me going through all the running and kids' crazy schedules plus the workloads and demands from Rob's job & mine, I'll actually maybe, hopefully, see a physical difference in my lard load in a few more months' time. I'd sure like to surprise my momma with a noticeable difference when she sees me at Thanksgiving! It would also make a nice birthday or Christmas present to myself to have to go out and start buying smaller clothes because mine are falling off me!