OMG, I have comments!!!

And followers!!

You guys have totally made my day!! Thanks!

Just a couple of notes: one of the biggest things I wanted to get across with my last post was that I really don't believe that you need to have a "diet" to succeed in weight loss. You just need to eat healthy. The basic Canada Food Guide (or your country's equivalent) is enough to help you along there. 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables, 5-7 of grains, 1-2 of meats and alternatives, and 2-3 of dairy. If you're so inclined, you can add a basic calorie counting formula to ensure you're not over eating, but as long as you learn how big a portion actually is (i.e. the "deck of cards" rule for meat) you'll probably be fine.

And exercise doesn't need to be the sweat-inducing, all-out fitness regimen I'm on. I've decided to hype it up for the last quarter-mile, so to speak. For the first eighteen months, my exercise was a daily walk. That was it. A walk. And I lost weight. In one of my very favourite quotes "The best type of exercise is the exercise you do." Just be active. You'll find the more active you get, the more active you're inspired to get.

Back to my fitness regimen: last night was another training session with Shawn, and I was wishing I had kicked Ambition Fairy when she so helpfully suggested I add a riser to my step Sunday night, because he decided we had been neglecting my legs lately. That meant a LOT of weight training with my legs. So much I've forgotten some of what we did. That's how you know it was a good workout. We were doing "pyramid sets" with the weight machines, which is when you start on your beginning weight, do fifteen reps, then add 15 pounds or so, do twelve reps, add another 10-15 pounds, do ten reps, then go back down 10-15 pounds, do twelve reps, then down to your starting weight, and do fifteen reps. Also known as, how to kill your legs in one hour or less. I always wanted to know how to do that. We were even doing all these calf exercises. Seriously, what do I need strong calf muscles for?

Oh, and I have decided that there is just no way to workout and possibly look graceful and ladylike. Have you ever tried doing a plie squat while holding a twenty pound dumbbell, and then "pulsing" at the end of the set? I'm sorry, the movement is absolutely obscene. Who designed these things? There has got to be a way to accomplish the same ends that doesn't look like something out of the pages of Cosmo that you read while looking to make sure no one is watching you.

No matter how much stretching I did last night, everything hurts today. Muscles I didn't know have hurt.

Shawn's decided he wants to do another fitness assessment on Wednesday. I am strangely stressed over this. I know I am far too "evaluation-oriented" for my own good; that's why I burned out as a student. This would evaluate how far I've come after a month, and part of me is just a little worried it'll take some of the pleasure and satisfaction I'm getting from this if I find out I've not come as far as he (or I) expected me to. I really wish I could find a way to shelve some of my neuroses at the door.