I Worked Out Every Weekday for A Month — Here’s What Happened
Let’s set the tone here. The extent of me “working out” is walking from the couch to the fridge and back again. So, this was an adjustment, to say the least.
Every weekday of April, I did something physical for at least an hour. It wasn’t always rigorous—I’m not training for a triathlon (ever)—but it was a lot more than I was used to. My end goal is a tight, lifted booty, but to get there I have to build toned thighs, glutes and core. My trainer told me I could see real results within three to six months if I did resistance training (basically just a million different types of squats) twice a week. The other days I reserved for cardio to lose fat.
You can see my cardio wasn’t anything crazy. Twice a week I just took our dog for a walk; however, the other cardio day I went all out at the gym, running on the treadmill for as much of the hour (sometimes a little less, if I’m being honest) as I possibly could. It used to take me 35 minutes to do two miles, but I got down to two miles in 28 minutes! The little notes were just my way of cheering me on because I’m worth it. #yasgirl
After one month of keeping up with my workout schedule, here’s what I’ve noticed:
I’m hungrier.
I’ve always been an eater. I eat about every two hours, though I’m not always hungry. I use eating as a procrastination tool, as a vice if I’m happy or sad, as a way to curb boredom. How often I eat didn’t really change once I started working out regularly. What did change, though, is that now I’m STARVING. I’m no longer eating out of a lack of anything better to do. I’m eating because I’m hungry.
I love it. I love being hungry all the time because I love eating all the time, and because it means my workouts are working! My body is burning more fuel, so I need to supply it with more fuel. Plus, I learned a very motivating fact when it comes to eating and working out—for every pound of muscle I gain, I can eat 50 more calories scot-free. Extra bacon for breakfast? Don’t mind if I do.
I’m less bloated.
Normally, the side effects of my period are more along the lines of my jeans fitting uncomfortably tight as opposed to crying at a 15 second Amazon Alexa commercial. (Although, those commercials can hit you right in the feels.) However, this month when Aunt Flo came to town (do people still say that?), I felt and looked totally normal.
While I usually have to unbutton my jeans while sitting at my desk (tell me I’m not the only one), this month I didn’t need to make any adjustments. My period came and went without issue and without bloating. So long, denim discomfort.
I crave physical activity.
Hold the eye-roll—I don’t mean running marathons or flipping 200-pound tires. I mean I can tell when I haven’t moved all day. Like I said, I worked out on weekdays only. So, even though Saturday morning I was looking forward to not working out for two days, by Monday morning I felt like absolute crap. I was low energy and felt heavy, like I’d spent all weekend eating McDonald’s. (I didn’t. I swear.)
They say it takes what, two to four weeks to form a habit? I could definitely feel that happening here. My body, getting antsy by Sunday afternoon, would start badgering me. “Why aren’t you moving? You’ve already seen this episode of Bob’s Burgers more than anyone has ever seen this episode of Bob’s Burgers.”
Bob’s Burgers aside (I will never stop watching), I think I’ll be adding some sort of something physical to my weekends as well. Even just walking the 20 minutes to my favorite taco stand instead of driving could make a difference. Gotta earn those tacos, right?
Before and After
My gym offers a full body scan that calculates all your measurements. Check out my original compared to the one I received after one month of working out—I gained two pounds of muscle! I did also gain a pound of fat…probably not a coincidence that I had Nutella in the pantry for the whole month of April. (I only let myself buy Nutella once a year because I have no self-control around it. In hindsight, I might’ve picked the wrong month to buy it. Or…maybe the right month? If I hadn’t been working out every weekday, I probably would’ve gained more than one pound of fat from it!)
Correction to scans: I’m 5’5”, not 5’1”.