2.8.99
We decided to chill a bit and play things by ear. The relationship has been maturing and a major milestone is approaching. Things have just been….er, freaking us out. The intensity level has been a little too much-and believe me, that stuff just gets to a person after a while. Tomorrow, I head off to Dallas for a few days for work and, that'll put a break in the action for a little bit.
On the lighter side, Elizabeth and I have been on a getting-into-shape frame of mind for the passed month. Of course, all of this started right after the holidays, when all the rest of the country was asking, What the hell happened to me?
I woke up one morning, passed by a mirror without performing any mock bodybuilding poses, and caught a glimpse of myself. With some hesitation, I walked back in front of the mirror and took a good look. I'm fat! I was able to grab myself in a couple of spots. Ew! I *AM* fat!
It was that same morning when Elizabeth came to her own self-discovery. The screams from the bathroom told its own story.
That night, we drew up what we thought was a sound strategy. I was to hit the gym on a more regular basis, not miss any training sessions, and drive up the tempo a little. She on the other hand was going to concentrate more on her daily diet. And together, we were going to lower the frequencies of snacks in the evenings.
We headed off to the supermarket and hunted around for nutritious, yet fun foods. This was known as sensible dieting instead of the all out no-fun-missionary-rip-out-the-body-fat style. We focused on fat-free sugar-free ice cream, low cholesterol pork rinds, the works! Elizabeth also spotted Slim Fast and decided to pick up a couple of six-packs. I never had tried them before, but figured they would go well with the fat-free chocolate fudge we got on aisle six.
I was also going back to the gym. I was going to hang up the spandex and tank tops of yesteryear and decided to go for the Sears special sweatpants and baggy sweatshirt look. It was probably more "me" nowadays anyhow. Initially, hitting the gym with all due intensity was a little difficult to endure. The first week was a little tough. I would do a set with minimal weight, find a bench nearby to sit and rest, meanwhile yawning and gazing around the room. But, by the end of the week, I was feeling a slightly more energetic and miraculously enough, I had put back on five previously forgotten pounds. Yes!
The following week was a little more enticing where two more pounds were added. I was hitting 172 lbs (I'm only 5'7")and my abs were coming back in again. Yes! Thoughts of maybe competing in May started springing in up in my head. Just maybe.
Unfortunately, the next week, things at work started getting busy and I was not able to get to the gym as much. When I finally did get to the gym, unfortunately, I had dropped the seven pounds and started to feel dumpy and soft again.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth had her own fun with the Slim Fast. She denies it, but I witnessed her swigging them down with a handful of Wow chips. But, these are fat free! As the chocolate Slim Fast drooled down the side of her mouth.
Today, she asked me once again about Charlene Bohannon; a friend and personal trainer in the area. In hopes of finding her, we took an illustrious ride out to Webster and entered the doors of Muscle World Gym. We arrived there sort of late and the place was closing for the day, but Brian, her husband, was still there.
We chatted for a while, and caught up on a few happenings around the area. Embarrassed enough, I kept my coat on the entire time, but it was nice to hear how everyone was doing well. We received some information, and it was agreed that Elizabeth was going to call Charlene tomorrow and possibly start embarking on her new journey.
I emphasized to Elizabeth the importance of the journey. She looked at me with glazed eyes. It's difficult to understand the significance of it all when one has not partaken in the "journey" yet. Hopefully, I'm not making it sound like a cult thing, but maybe I'm the one of the few that understands the philosophical bodybuilding books that lay on the shelves of Barnes and Noble these days.
Who knows. Maybe when I return from Dallas, Elizabeth will be donning the old spandex and chugging protein shakes. Again, with Wow chips in her hand. Yes, they are fat-free. <smile>