What to expect when you’re working out?

The second the doctor confirmed what the home pregnancy test had already revealed, I flew out of the office to the nearest book store to purchase the ever so coveted “What to expect when you’re expecting!”  This was way way back in the day, circa 2002, before I had a smart phone and Amazon Prime. 

I could not WAIT to sink my every loving pregnant chops into the black and white pages and soak it all in!  At the time, this book was the only “modern” tell all reference guide to pregnancy.  Otherwise you were left to listen to the tales from mother, aunt,  grandmothers, sister or mother in law. (which sounded more like a fairty tale than then bare bone facts)   So having your very own copy was like a right of passage not to mention there would be lots of  highlighting all of the quirky changes during the 9 month journey.   This pregnancy holy grail was like a clinical and relatable gift to warn us and tell us all of the THINGS!  

Ladies, working out is also a long labor of love much like a pregnancy.  Getting to a phisical healthy body weight and maintaining a balanced lifestyle is a journey. For a certain period of time you basically donate your body to FITness.  You hand it over to a professional personal trainer or DIY the heck out of yourself.  Either way there are things…unexpected things that will and do happen and I want to make sure you are RRRREADY!  

So print this, highlight and prepare for your total body transformation.
If it’s been a while, like decades, odds are that you will experience dizziness, nausea and or increasing heart rate.  Blah blah blah it will go away! It passes. You aren’t the first or the last! Barfing can happen…but it will not be a continual thing. If you start to feel any of these, sit or lay back with a cold towel on your head.  Wait till it passes and try to pick it back up.  Eating before a workout is usually better than not eating.

After the first weight training workout FULLY EXPECT  the following:

To feel sore.  Even if you only use 3-5 pound weights or body weight you are going to feel tender in some areas.  You mayf will feel bruised and discomfort but with plenty of water and ibprophen( as directed) it will pass in 3 to 4 days!  

After the second weight training workout:

You can’t get on or off the toilet without using had rail assistance and moaning profanity. Again…completely totally normal. If your home is split level, walking up and down stairs will be cumbersome.  Your muscles are experienceing a lactic acid build up causing this wretched bruised/ sore/ tender all over car wreck kind of pain. But trust me…all you have to do is will yourself to get up and walk around.  Go for a power walk followed by a or warm soak in an epsom salts. You will wake up feeling good as new and ready for the next workout!

After 6 weeks….EXPECT the following:

You will notice the need for smaller clothes.  Suddenly your pants/jeans will become loose and tops that were once super tight will begin to bag!  Your body is in the morph phase. You might notice that certain skin feels loose…this is also conventional.  If you experienced signgicant weight loss before you started lifting weights you will feel the saggy loose skin as you increease your activity level.  Once you begin to lift weights on a dedicated weekly routine you will form lean muscle which will turn to hard muscle.  Did somebody say flex?

You will begin to inspect your body (in or away from) the mirror on a frequent basis.  You will notice in the shower that certain areas of your body feel tight.  To be sure you are not hallucinating you will examine at a closer look. OH YEAH,  It’s happening.  All of the workouts coupled with better eating habits are for sure paying off.  The excitement will brighten your day!

Friends, family and or co workers will start to vocalize the noticeable changes.  “Hey are you losing weight?”  Or Wow, you look really good…I can tell you’re shrinking, congrats.”  “Girl your clothes sure look baggie, that workout thing your doing must be working.”  There is no denying things are shaping up.

You’re starving!  You will feel hungry all the time!  HELLO!  Welcome to my world.  A healthy body is a hungry body!  The famished slightly shaky feeling is not good.  We are designed for fuel.  SO EAT!  The key is to feed the body healthy foods about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  The only fasting that should take place is when you’re sleeping.  

CRANKY!  The first 6 weeks of working out can create major mood swings.  This is caused by from the detox of fried crappy junk food.  You might grieve the taste of sugar for a week but week two will notice that the sugar crashes are gone. Warn your family, and beg for forgiveness when you snap. Also if you feel tired, go to bed!  Just go to sleep.  Take a power nap.  Take care of yourself. 

You could experience a wave of extraordinary flatulance. Feeling extra gassy is an organic consequence from a high protein low fat lw carb diet.. This too shall pass…no pun intended! The tooting spells will eventually come to a crawl as your body adapts to the healthy eating style. Also…you will most assuredly experience many more healthy bowel movements! The newly fiberous meal plan and activity level gets things perculating. Long gone will be the days of irregularity. FITness stinks! 

At the 12 week mark:

You will rapidly want to put smaller tigheter fitting clothes on your body.  You will be less self concious.  You will notice shrinking body fat in areas besides your mid section and thighs.  You arms and legs will start to show definition. Just in time for tank tops and shorts!  

You might start to walk around in the nude more often and inspect your reflection a whole lot more!  (OMG RIGHT)  This is a spot on exceptable behavior for someone experiencing gradual shrinkage.   The mirrior is an accurate depiction of the fresh new FIT you! 

Throw on some lipstick and leave the house immediately. You’re energy level will be off the charts.  You will notice a surge of stamnia.  So get out there and flaunt the new look.  You have earned it!   Even a trip to the grocery store in your smaller…tighter…work out tights is a joy.  Plus you could also start a strong affinity for the produce section.  All of the bright beautiful colors of vegrtabes and fresh fruit!  You will be on a first name basis with the deli man and butcher.  

Plateau.  You may experience a dead time.  Nothing on the scale is moving.  All of the excitemnt has come to a halt just when it was starting to get interesting.  The momentum and the fun is not over and this is not the end!  However, you may need to make a few tweaks to your regimen.  

Sometimess adding food to the diet is a must.  You could be in a calorie deficient state and in order to rev up the metabolsim you need to add more food to your diet.  This or dial up the workouts a notch.  Like all of us, we respond amazingly to change.  So do something different.  Add a protein component to your salad or add a protien shake before or after a challenging workout.  Play with the weight.  Add some heavier weights or add more reps per set.    

Bump up the speed of your cardio. Cardio such as jogging or eliptical or spin class is one of the best ways to combat chronic fatique. You should experience a second wave of the endorphin rush once you incporate cardio which creates blood flow.   

You need stronger detergent and stronger deodorant.  Perspiration is a natural consequence of working out and increased metabolism.  You may start to notice a musky smell.  Try using a scented detergent and wash in hot water.  Body odor can be embarsssing so keep a stick of deodorant close.  Body spray does not fix the problem.  Reminder to wash and scrub the pits and private areas with a good bacterial soap.   

Your selfie taking and selfie posting ratio could inflate.  Social media is a cool way to track your progress with before and after phones.  But even if you can’t or won’t or don’t post before pics you might notice the urge to post more than usual.  Get down girl go head get down!  

Smile, enjoy and relish the torrent of change and flattery.  You’ve earned it.  You’re doing good work!

You will reach that personal goal. You will change and you will give birth to a healthier happier lifestyle.

Love, suck it up…and don’t give up!

Angixo