What I Weigh Today

28 days down/3 days to go

OK, this is officially the end of week four. So here’s the wrap up:

Weight: down 1 pound from last last week, 4 pounds from January 1. Some of that is the dramatic reduction in booze, but some of it is a natural part of returning to a normal schedule, post holidays.

Sleep: My sleep was overall pretty good, the night I had two drinks, I did, predictably, wake up at 2 am, but I was only awake a half hour.

Work: I’ve been satisfied with my level of output. I’ve sent a few queries, which feels good.

Working Out: I’ve had some issues with my back, but I’ve worked out in some form or another 5 times since this time last week. One of those times was my first ever personal training session, which I just returned from. I just plunked down $375 for five sessions with Pete Mattis, one of Sweat Fitness‘ most experienced trainers. I could have saved a few dollars and gone with a less experienced/credentialed trainer, but I am huge believer in the power of expertise. (I expect to be compensated for mine, after all.)  Plus, last year I interviewed Pete for a story I was doing for Cooking Light, and I knew then he was exceptionally passionate about his work. Nonetheless, here are a few things I was scared about:

I feared I would sense some disapproval or negative judgment of my technically-5-pounds-overweight body, or that I would be weighed and lectured as an introduction to Personal Training. This did not happen. In fact, Pete said that I seemed to be in pretty good shape, and that I looked good, especially considering the calorie-load of my work. In fact, the topic of weight and body size never came up at all. The focus remained exactly where I wanted to be: on building strength, well being, and injury prevention.

I feared I would be plopped on treadmill for a significant part of my session. I’ve seen trainers do this before, but I told Pete I had cardio under control and I don’t think he even considered putting me on a cardio machine.

I feared I would be expected/required to do things I simply can not do. We talked about the fact that I can’t do a single push-up and would like to, and Pete set me up a simple, quick set of exercises that I can really do. I know that it can help to do a kind of half push-up, where your body is at a 45 degree angle to the ground and your hands rest on an elevated surface, but I couldn’t figure out how to set this up for myself. Turns out there’s an adjustable contraption at the gym for this, and now I know how to use it.

I feared I would be lectured about my indulgent restaurant-crazy diet. Pete spent about a minute giving me a few tips on avoiding overeating in restaurants, which of course I know. And that was that.

Overall, I feel really good about it and I’m looking forward to doing these exercises alone and meeting with Pete again next week. For me, $375 is a lot of money. But the thing is I do without a lot of things in life (a car, vacations, a big house, nice clothes) so I have resources to invest in the things that are most important to me (ongoing education, organic produce, pastured meats, etc.) and my well being and self esteem are priorities. It’s an investment in my future self.