Taking Stock--before I get started

This is where I am at today:

• on 300mg of Wellbutrin XL because I didn't want to try coming down in dose while going through the strains of a LDR
• my lower back doesn't hurt, but I know it's not strong
• long distance drives make my hips feel stiff and tired and my lower back feels irritated--but I do drive a 4-door sedan so the ergonomics of my seat configuration are not very conducive to long drives
• I am tired after work most every day
• have had some headaches here and there which feel like tension headaches
• my shoulders and neck are usually tense and knotted
• I'm pretty sure I don't get quality sleep often
• at the end of February was experiencing heart palpitations which went unexplained since all the heart diagnostics available came back fine
• crave sweets often
• can't remember the last time I lifted weights
• drink 1-2L of water a day with something added to it like Nestea packets

Let's leave it at that.

A year later....

It's almost a year later and I'm now my 5th month into being 40 years old.


 I've spent every day wanting to get back to the discipline and commitment of the lifestyle I was leading when I was going to the gym regularly. But, every day I have been tired after work and it has become routine to simply go home; my gym bag still packed from months ago.


I had gone up to 165lbs and was edging out of my favorite pants. I am a thrift store shopper, so it wasn't a big deal--just go get another couple pairs for $6 each.

A new relationship has begun and while presently it is long distance, it's only for another year and we'll be seeing each other throughout this year. Prior to meeting, I scrambled to lose whatever weight I could manage and my first choice was to go back on the Dr.Bernstein program for 8 weeks. I lost 14 pounds and was happy enough with myself when I met him to enjoy the visit thoroughly.

However, in a LDR, after that first visit, there's a bit of a low point I wasn't prepared for and of course, right around Easter and PMS time when chocolate was not only abundant, but craved. I have decided that Toblerone=Chocolate Crack , so need to stay away from that or any version of it. I gained back 7 pounds after going on a chocolate campaign.

It's 9 weeks out from our next visit and I want to see what I can accomplish on my own at the gym. I went to the gym for the first time in a LONG time yesterday and had a session with a personal trainer to assess where I was at. I'm going to need to start nearly from scratch.

I am glad that I kept my workout book from last summer, so that I can see what I was doing back then.

According to the measurements at the gym, I'm 29% body fat. So--here we go....9 weeks to see what I can do!