I Did It!

We should be taught not to wait for
inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration.
Inspiration seldom generates action. ~ Frank Tibolt

Guess what I did yesterday?

I WENT TO THE GYM!

I know some of you are probably going, "Ho hum - I go to the gym all the time." That's what I used to say, too. But I haven't been in almost a year. I was afraid the roof would collapse when I walked through the doors. :-)

Things have changed since I was there last, of course. But I was happy to note that all my favorite machine were still there. I did a five-minute warm-up on the treadmill, then worked all the major muscles in my body. Nothing strenuous, and I used light weights. It was hard to start over, but it felt great!

I am on my way once again to becoming a calorie burning machine.

Can I put on my former Weight Watcher Leader's hat for a minute?

If any of you out there are looking for a way to ramp up your weight loss or to change the shape of your body, please check into strength training. Unlike popular notions, you will not end up looking like Mr. Schwarzenegger. We women just don't have enough testosterone in our bodies for that to happen. The women you see who are body builders, with large, chiseled muscles, have to work out a LOT to make that happen, a lot more than you and I ever will.

Muscle burns calories: it's as simple as that. Increasing your muscle mass is the one true way to boost your metabolism. If I could find a way to bottle that benefit, I'd be a rich woman!

And let's quell another misunderstanding, one that stops a lot of us from strength training: muscle does not weigh more than fat.

I know -- you read that everywhere you turn. But think about it: a pound is a pound is a pound. A pound of lead and a pound of feathers both weigh a pound, right? The difference is in the volume, the space they take up. A pound of lead would fit in the palm of your hand. A pound of feathers would fill a room.

It's the same with muscle and fat. A pound of muscle is very tight and compact, but it still weighs a pound. A pound of fat is very loose and takes up lots of space on our body, but it still weighs a pound. That's why two women standing side by side, both the same height and both weighing 200 pounds, can look very different. One can even wear smaller clothes. The 200-pound woman who looks smaller has more muscle mass, so she's more compact, even though she weighs the same as the woman standing next to her.

Yes, there can be some small weight gain when you first begin to build muscle. It has to do with the water held by the muscle cells, or some such thing (this is where my knowledge ends - I'm not a physiologist!) Don't let that deter you from strength training, however. It will go away and you will become a much more efficient calorie burning machine.

* * * * *

Ok, I'm going to take off my Leader's hat now, and speak as the humble, overweight woman that I am to tell you that it feels SO good to have gone to the gym! I have lots of information in my head about how to lose weight. It feels good to have taken action. As my friend Eve says, we need to get out of our heads and stop thinking so much, and just do it!

Until next time...