Fitness and Nutrition Update

So I wanted to give everyone that still reads this an update on the fitness and nutrition changes I've made. We got a new gym a few months ago (Planet Fitness) in Orem about a mile or so from my house. As soon as I saw the 'coming soon' signage I knew I wanted to join. Well I did it. And I've been going almost every day. And I'm freaking in LOVE.

When I was taking prednisone for my ears everyday I gained close to 50 fucking pounds. Anyone that has been on that for an extended period of time knows it's inevitable. There's nothing you can do to stop it, don't even try. Anyway, the extra weight on my 5'3" frame is obviously not a good thing. I had this idea in my head that once I stopped taking it the weight would come off on it's own naturally. It didn't. So I faced it and made a choice about a month ago and I knew the only way I would start to look and feel normal again was to work the weight off through the gym and change my diet. So I bought a gym pass and am doing just that.

Originally, my goal was to just get my ass to the gym 4 times a week. But now, I go in with a purpose and push myself a little harder each day. I have tried all of the cardio machines available. I've never been a big fan of the bikes and the treadmill is hard on my joints. I landed my heart on the Arc Trainer. I LOVE it. The first time I got on it I did 5 minutes and thought I was going to DIE. 2 days later I got back on and went 20. And now I am doing no less than 35 minutes each time. It is super low impact on my joints but it burns calories twice as fast as the treadmill or elliptical. If you've not tried one I seriously recommend it. I am dripping in sweat when I get off that thing. It's magic. In addition, I am doing the 30 min full body circuit training they have set up 3x per week. That's good too and I feel my body (especially my back) getting stronger.

As far as my diet goes, that has completely changed. I used to eat 2 maybe 3 meals containing tons of processed crap a day. I've cut out everything processed. My diet consists of mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole wheats and grains. And I eat 5 small meals/snacks a day. I didn't (and don't plan to) cut out Coke and Dr. Pepper. That's not a realistic goal for me. I just seriously cut down. I have one can with lunch. I keep track of all my food intake and exercise on MyFitnessPal.com. Since I've made these changes (roughly around the 4th of January) I've lost 8 pounds. Go me go! I am sleeping a bit better at night and I don't eat based on emotion or what 'sounds good' anymore. I think of food as fuel now and it's changed everything. I'll do another update in a week.