Day 1

5am came early this morning.

My workouts are at 6am Monday-Friday. So, I'm rising at 5 so I can eat something and get there with some time to spare. My brain LOVES to rationalize things and make excuses so I hope that I stick with this 5am rise business. It's nice to not feel rushed.

I looked snazzy this morning for my workout. It was sort of like the first day of school - new outfit and all. I would imagine I will not match quite so nicely in coming weeks. I will say, I bought a bunch of new workout shirts at JCP last week and I fully plan to out grow them (in the other direction - they are going to be too big eventually) and then I'll joyfully buy some more workout shirts. One goal: dump sleeves and get back to rocking tank tops!

I wore a heart rate monitor for the first time today. I bought a Polar FT4 model this weekend. My husband has had one for years and loves it. I loved watching the number of calories burned throughout the workout - definitely a good investment if you are considering one. Note: I think the FT4 model is the most basic option that has a chest strap. Spend the extra money and get one with a chest strap (and a watch). It makes for a more accurate recording of the information. Seriously, if you're going to go to the trouble of wearing a heart rate monitor you will want credit for every dang calorie burned.

I pulled in at the gym and I was blown away by the number of cars in the parking lot. It was 5:45am and this gym was hopping. Apparently morning workouts are the new black. This made for a bit of inspiration and a whisper of intimidation - what is everyone DOING in there this early?

The workout was great. Intense, but it was the first day so we were treated to a bit of first day hecticness which probably saved at least 5 minutes of working out - I'll take any break I can get at this point. You need to know this about me: I have been working every health and wellness trick in the book for the past 12 years. If you have ever been to a Weight Watchers meeting, you know all about some of these tricks (wear light weight clothes, go to the bathroom right before weigh in...). I'm not knocking WW, I lost 30 lbs on it once.

One thing I have always known about myself and it was confirmed this morning is that I am totally lazy. I will half-a** an exercise any chance I get. Luckily the trainer caught on to this early on and did a wonderful job telling me to pick it up when it was quite clear that I was fully capable of picking it up.

I came home and promptly mixed a chocolate Cinch shake from Shaklee. I must order a canister of vanilla and chocolate shakes immediately because they are so. yummy.

All in all, Day 1 was a success! Bring on Day 2...