Week 1 of lifting

I just finished one week of adding weights to my routine. I actually started a week ago today and since I had Monday off I did weights Tuesday and Thursday this week even though my routine for lifting is going to be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

I've increased my squat weight to 75lbs. Lateral pulls are at 70 lbs. I'm also doing none weighted lower back extensions and abdominal lifts, which I really do not like and I think I'm swapping that out for bench pressing starting next week. I figure I feel my abs working when I squat and do lateral pulls. I was doing them because someone suggested them, I could care less now. Maybe I'll do them later. I just hate that I'm all sweaty and I keep slipping from the pads.

I weighed in today. Let me tell you I am not happy about it. I went up almost 4lbs!!! I felt so defeated. I know I didn't do the greatest with my eating this week. I went over my 1750 limit a few times but I don't think it was enough to gain 4lbs. This is what I really dislike about lifting 3 days a week. You can't really track how many calories you burn so I feel like I'm not doing any good for myself and plus I'm hungrier and go over my calorie intake! At least with doing the elliptical I knew I was burning something and ate some calories back so I wouldn't feel so damn hungry.

I did measure myself this morning though. That was a surprise. I lost inches all over, waist, hips, thighs and arms. I don't know how accurate that is since I measured this morning vs in the evening. Does that make a difference? I'll keep measuring in the mornings. I'm taking a picture tomorrow and comparing it to the first one I took 6 weeks ago. I'll continue doing lifts for three more weeks. If I don't see progress I might just kick it to the curb. It feels very defeating when you don't lose any weight. Maybe if I continue to lose inches I'll feel better.

The girls on MFP say it's normal and I should just focus on my measurements and not at the number on the scale. I've been weighing myself every day the last couple of weeks. I want to see how much my weight really does fluctuate especially around the time of the month. There was one day, I didn't log it in MFP where I had lost another pound, I was at my lowest ever in a long time on that day but now I'm up.

This is very frustrating.

Lifted weights today!

I lifted weights for the first time in years. I started light to get a feel for things again. I did weighted squats, lateral pulls and good mornings.

I'm super excited yet very concerned. I didn't sweat like when I do the elliptical. Sweat is fat crying after all. So the fact that I didn't sweat makes me feel like I didn't do anything and I didn't burn any calories. I totally went over my calorie intake and I went against recommendations by going for a long walk even though it's blistering cold for some reason. Besides I didn't listen to my audio book during my "work out" so I needed to know what's going on.

Lifted:
50lb squats
50lb lateral pulls
30lb good mornings

Weights?

I've been debating on if I should starting lifting weights. It seems that people get great results by lifting weights. When I was a teen I remember having to do weight lifting for gym class. I really liked it then. I remember how the coach was impressed by how much I was able to lift with my legs.

When I went to college I lifted weights with the boys. It was fun but schedules and motivations got in the way and I never lifted a dumbbell again. That was over 10 years ago. Now that I've been doing the elliptical for 5 weeks now I think it's time I start lifting again. I'm a bit sheepish about it though. There is a weight lifting area in the gym but it's users are usually really young and fit men. I feel a bit put off. My own self judging makes me imagine what they could be thinking of me. It sucks really. It sucks that I'll let what a stranger may or may not be thinking of me get in my way. It shouldn't.

I'm going to give it a try. Monday, Wednesday and Fridays are going to be my lifting days. I'll do the elliptical on Tuesday and Thursdays. I'll start next week. My friend suggested I do full body lifting, that way if it won't be a big deal if I skip a day. One set of 10-12 reps. I'm all for that. Get in. Burn. Get out. I don't want to stay they longer than I have too. I have a womens lifting book. It tells you want lifts help which parts of the body. I'll be taking a look at that today to get any idea of which exercises I'll should be doing.

I'm afraid of it getting boring and slowing down my already slow progress. Who knows, maybe this will be good for me?