Day 45: gym mouse

A rather temperate day today. I, yet again, wasn't unhappy to go to the gym. I started off the same as always - with 20 pound weights (4 different weight machines). I then did 15 pounds for the lower ab workout that Addie showed me how to do yesterday. After that, I did 2000m on the rowing machine (some day I will have the motivation to look up what that means), 1 mile on the bike, 1 mile on the treadmill, and only .5 miles on the elliptical. I wanted to do more, but the gym closes at 5 on Friday, so I ended up running out of time. Bummer.

I had a super fat day today. It's strange how up and down my feelings about my body can be. I have a stubborn patch of back fat (in a strange place - in between where my bra ends and my hips begin). When I stand with my shoulders back, the fat is very prominent. It's like a roll. But on my back. I hate it. When I see it, I immediately change shirts into something looser that will camouflage it.

Something I have learned is that I look much better from the front than the back. I set up my mirror on the bathroom door so that I can move the door and see my reflection in the mirror over the bathroom sink. It's really nice to be able to see what my clothes actually look like from behind. I wish I had one of those mirror set ups when I was at my heaviest... I could have avoided so much unpleasantness in my dress. Not that anyone has ever said anything to me about not dressing in a flattering way. But still. It bothers ME and that's enough.

After hiding my back fat with a cardigan, I headed to Target to kill some time before the bike specialist would be back on at Dick's. During that time, I tried on quite a few shirts and dresses and I just felt AWFUL. None of the shirts fit correctly. The dresses would look really cute from the front but hideous from the back. One dress in particular that I tried on: I LOVED it. It had a gorgeous pattern and it was strapless. Unfortunately, the back was composed of ties rather than an actual back. Needless to say, my eyes were riveted to the back fat. It looked so good from the front. Womp womp.

I'm not sure why I keep having these strange fat days. I mean, I'm on day 45 already and the scale hasn't moved. What gives? I'm eating better, I'm exercising about a thousand times more than I did before, I'm on my second month of consistent exercise and diet. And nothing. Nothing.

Sure, my muscles are getting bigger. But nothing is getting smaller.

It's depressing. And not very motivating. Throw me a bone here, body! Not that I'm going to stop working out. At the same time, I would like to just shed a few pounds and see a tangible difference when I step on the scale. And I swear on my life that those back love handles will be gone by the end of the summer. They make me hate myself.

On to a less depressing topic.

I had my bike checked out. The guy rode it around the store and then brought it outside. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, but COULD feel what I was describing. He ended up putting it on a bike jack and examining everything and determined that I would need a new de-railer (which will cost $40 at the least) and that the gears are starting to round off with age. He also told me that I will most likely have to start shelling out some $$$ to keep it on the road if I continue to ride it as often as I have. And he mentioned that I am doing myself a disservice by using a mountain bike primarily for road biking because mountain bikes are heavier and harder to maneuver. I already knew this and had begun researching hybrids and road bikes earlier in the day. They are way out of my price range. I am looking to spend about $100 on a bike, and hybrids begin at more than double that price. Lame.

I found one bike that seems pretty promising. It isn't a mountain bike but also isn't a road bike, though it says under the specs that it has "street tires." It has an adjustable alloy stem, which means I can adjust where the handlebars fall, which ultimately means that I can have them up high so I can sit up straight and take some of the pressure off of my shoulders and neck, which is a definite plus. It weighs 36 lbs (mine weighs about 44 lbs) and costs $99. Perfect.



So. Here it is. My future bike: Avalon 26" Cruiser