Working it Out

I have never been the type of person who has cared about exercise or working out. I have always had the attitude that what you see is what you get as far as my looks go.  Back in April I put on a pair of shorts when I saw it was going to be a hot day. Well I guess I should say I tried to put on a pair of shorts because they did not fit. UGH!  It was evident I needed to do something about what I had gained and put on the previous two years.  So I started a healthy diet which totally sucked the first month. Seriously, it took some major discipline.  But I tried to stick with it and once I saw that it was working right away, I stayed motivated to keep up with it.  So by the time I moved to Tokyo, I had lost 25 lbs.  My goal was to actually lose 23 more on top of that. With my move to Japan, came a set back in the diet because I had to figure out where to shop and find things (I am actually still figuring some of that out). 

 

So after about 4 weeks I was in a place where I felt I could start up again. This was also the time I embarked on the Mt Fuji hike which I still look back on as painful and miserable experience but what I learned on that hike was that I could do physically hard things.  I could keep going when it hurt. I could push myself physically a lot farther than I thought I could. This was a really important lesson for me because at that moment I had decided I needed to exercise and just be more physically active.

 

  So I found a gym right near my work and happy day they had an English speaking trainer.  So I have been working with him since mid September.  Pretty much he just is someone I can have around for me to report to on how I am doing and to help me stay accountable. My trainer's name is Hara and he is a really good guy. Super fun to talk to and really kind to me. He actually studied exercise science in Wisconsin and is a CPT. I also like that he is around my age so I don't have to worry about some 20 year old trainer making me feel like I am an old lady or whatever.  So Hara is the guy in the pic with me at the top. Ladies, he is really nice and wants to date. Anyone interested? I will totally hook you up with him!

Anyway, since I have been here I lost the bit that gained from the move, plus the 23 lbs so I have lost a total of 48 pounds and hit my goal weight that I set back in May. I am down 4 sizes!

 

Okay so my gym is fine and I give names to the people that I see there.  First there is Jason. Jason is a woman. I call her Jason because in the locker room makeup hair area, she always has these paper face mask things on that remind me of the horror movies with that Jason guy in the hockey mask. 

 

Next there is quirky Japanese dude.  I see him about once a week. He is a short Japanese guy with bleached hair. When I first started at the gym, he saw me when I messed up on something or other and I made this face and stuck out my tongue in frustration and he thought it was hilarious. So after that he started saying hi to me and of course I said hi back. We eventually introduced ourselves in broken Japanese and English but then the guy starts speaking some Spanish to me and I was like, "what the what?"  So now when he sees me he says "Konichiwa Hermosa."

 

Okay so there is also undies in a bunch girl. This girl

 

walks around like her undies are stuck.

 

Also there is gross armpit hair man. This guy has huge holes in the armpits of his shirts and all his hair hangs out. So gross when it is sweaty. I want to vomit.

 

Next is hot new guy. I saw him on the treadmill just today. I have never seen him before. I must see him again.

 

Cat eye lady cannot work out unless she is wearing a bikini-esque style workout outfit consisting of yoga pants and bikini top. She must have full makeup on all the time and giant dangly or hoop earrings too.

 

Okay today I nicknamed a new lady. Her name is squid parts lady. I was changing and all of a sudden there was this really strong fishy smell. So I look up and she was giving a large bag filled with dead squid and squid parts to another lady.  Just right there in the locker room like it was the most normal thing. Half naked ladies exchanging money for squid parts in a giant bag of gross squid water right next to me.

 

Well I leave for the states tomorrow for all the holiday celebrations. I hope I can keep on track while I am away!