I am trying to eat healthier and workout more in the hopes that I could lose a little weight and get into better shape and wow does it suck. Why is everything good bad for us? Why does lettuce have to be so unappealing? Why can’t one salad for dinner make you drop five pounds? These are a few of the questions I have been pondering since I have chosen to attempt to eat healthier. 

It is hard and I am not going to lie, I did eat a lot of bad-for-me things during the Super Bowl. It is the one day a year that it is unheard of not to eat pizza or wings so I had to. Also Valentine’s Day treats have thrown me off course a little too, but other than that I give myself a B minus for effort. 

I used to be in relatively good shape. I played sports all throughout middle school and high school so I never had a time I wasn’t doing something. I played soccer at Motlow and there was a spring and fall season and we practiced and worked out all the time. Because of always being active, I could essentially eat whatever I wanted and it would cancel out because of all the practices and workouts. That is not the case anymore.

This is my third year of being inactive and boy have I felt and noticed the effects. Every time I get into a workout routine something comes along and derails my progress. I was trying to drop a few pounds last year because I was going to be in two weddings, and I tried really hard for about a month and then found myself treating myself to weekly Donut Country runs and sugary, but fantastic Dunkin Donuts coffees. I guess you could figure out that I did not succeed in losing the weight. 

This time I have learned that eating bad junk food is probably deterring my attempts to lose weight. Who knew? I don’t love vegetables and I hate salads, but I have been trying to incorporate them more into my meals. I started doing a few workouts and I hate doing them too, but I think they are necessary.

 I started going to a gym and on my first day there were quite a few people there. I was trying not to look stupid or incompetent, but some of those machines were hard to figure out. I took it slow on the treadmill and only fast walked because I really did not want to face plant by running on my first day in front of all those people. I also tried out this elliptical machine and every time I moved the screen said “pause.” I tried a different machine and it wouldn’t even light up. I got on one and pushed a few buttons and it finally worked. I wish it didn’t because ouch that was tough. 

I am going to keep watching what I eat and attempting to work out and hopefully achieve some of my goals. My birthday is coming up though and that will definitely throw me off course, but hopefully I can get back on track. Hopefully. 

Standard reporter Bethany Porter can be reached at 473-2191.