Quieting the Monster (part 1)

So, after having our third baby, Trey, last May...one could say that the "out-of-shape monster" reared her ugly head. My body image complaints really started in earnest probably in the summer. We took a trip to Michigan and I had to go out and buy shorts, t's, etc in the largest sizes I have ever had to squeeze into. Not good...the monster is howling.

While in Michigan I walked in the mornings and started to feel a little more in control...the remnants of "You've done this before, you can lose the weight." started to hush the monster.

I continued to walk, maybe even jog a little after we got home. Then the wheels (and running shoes) fell off the wagon and I went nowhere fast. I think the monster was laughing.

I love our local YMCA. It has been completely remodeled in the last few years and is gorgeous. It's affordable, has a huge gym, new exercise equipment, clean locker room, friendly staff, and child care! The only thing it doesn't have is a pool, which is fine by me since I consider most pools to be cesspools of bacteria, perverts and pedophiles. Huh, I use the same words to describe the play area at the mall. Anywho, I digress. My point is....I just didn't go to the Y. The kids never wanted to stay in the child watch room, and if I did go by myself, I totally lied about how hard I was actually working out. I would do the elliptical for a while and barely break a sweat. Then, I would move over to the weight area and pretend to do some ab work....then I'd look at the clock and tell myself that I had been gone long enough. Time to head home and feed the monster.

Then Hannah asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! Yeah for me! Uh oh! Now I really need to do some work...and shut that monster up! Should I go back to the Y? Do my own thing in the morning before everyone wakes up?

Jay suggested checking out CrossFit. CrossFit is a gym that we pass on the way to our church. It's in a building that used to be an auto garage. The tell tale bay doors give that away. When it's warm, those doors are open so that all can see these muscle bound people lifting real weights, doing real work. "Yeah right. I don't think so." was my reply. Every effort of getting me to check the place out was rebuffed, so Jay did the next best thing. He went to the gym himself, talked with the owners and set up an appointment for me to meet with them. "WHAT??!!!" I could barely hear over the monster laughing! Me? Walk into that gym knowing no one, knowing I wouldn't be able to do these types of exercises? What if I threw up or passed out? Both were very real possibilities! But, Jay assured me that there were other "stay-at-home" moms working out while he was there, the owners Mike and Jenn were very nice, and the exercises could be modified. So, I....to be continued...