First Step

One month....that’s it.


One more month until I turn 30. Being a wife, mother, and full-time student, I never thought I had time to focus time and energy on getting healthy and exercise. Last month, the reality of turning thirty really hit me, and I wrote out a list of what I had accomplished in life thus far and what my goals were for the future. I noticed that a running theme in my goals was HEALTH; healthier eating, losing weight, expanding our family, exercise, biking, 5K, complete the Breast Cancer Walk with my mom, outdoor activities with my son Jaiden, Muddy Buddy, the list went on and on, and I knew then, no time was better than the present.


I decided to make me a priority.


I researched different exercise options and decided (with the advice from my doctor) to hire a personal trainer to help me get started. I was afraid if I joined a gym, I would feel so overwhelmed and immediately become discouraged. The place I decided on is a private training facility that is small and very inviting. I have been communicating back and forth with the owner for the past couple of weeks and today I met with my trainer for the first time. I was very nervous this morning and had trouble sleeping last night. I didn't know what to expect. Would I be training this morning? Would my trainer and I click? But, what I was most nervous about was really finding out how out of shape I was. BUT, I was ready to face the reality of the situation and take the first step to the new and improved me.


I made it there right at 8:30, and Linda was there waiting for me with a HUGE smile on her face. I immediately felt like I had made the right decision. We first talked about my goals and her food and workout philosophy and then we discussed my diet and work-out plan. Anyone that knows me knows that I am sooooo not into the whole eating food I cannot pronounce, so I was really hesitant about the nutrition plan. But as soon as she showed me the meal options, I was pleasantly surprised. The menu was full of viable options! Food that I would actually eat, and in fact a lot of the breakfast and lunch menu options, I was eating already! I meet with Linda again on Tuesday to take my measurements and learn completely about the meal program. The idea is to eat 3 meals a day and 3 snacks. The daily calorie intake starts at 1500 and then reduces to 1300 by Week 3. Oh! And did I mention it provides you with a grocery list! I will write more about the nutrition program after my meeting on Tuesday.

The personal training will focus on more of strength training 3 days a week and I will do more of the cardio before I go to training and on my off days. I am thinking that I may want to invest in an elliptical machine before the winter. I have been walking/running on the treadmill every night for the past couple of weeks, and while I am enjoying it right now, I may want to have an alternate option. Finally, we discussed the variety of classes they offered. It is usually 5-10 people in each class, so again, it’s not intimidating. The classes that I am thinking about attending are Kickboxing on Mondays and Zumba on Tuesdays!


Ok! That’s the recap! Wish me luck!

I have decided to use this blog to help me keep on track. I will talk about the food I eat, my work outs, my accomplishments and setbacks along the way. I do not to expect to reach my goals overnight, but I am confident that this is a start to a whole new life. And although it is a blog about my journey, don’t be surprised to see a lot about my family and friends because without their love and support, there would not be a journey.

Jamie H.

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can."