Obtaining my Resolutions ~ seeing the benefits of working out.

I started working out almost 3 months ago, but with the holiday season I was not going anywhere as often as I would have liked.  I fact between Thanksgiving and New Years I think I made it in for a workout a whole whopping 3 times.  I just knew I was going to gain the 5 pounds that I lost. 

So with New Years, I recommitted to getting back into shape, having better fitness, and eating healthier without giving up my guilty pleasures.  I went into the gym and found that I hadn’t gain a pound, but when I looked at myself in the workout mirrors I realized that even if I hadn’t gained the weight I did lose the muscle and gain back the fat.  I looked frumpy once again.  Ok, just commit to one day at a time, one week, and see what happens.

So for the last two weeks, I’ve been going in, working out on the elliptic trainers and weight machines.  My endurance is up, my weight has gone down 3 pounds, and I’ve lost about a total of one inch in all my measurements.  But those rewards are minor compared to the ones I see when I actually “look” at myself.

I noticed the small things today.  My fingers look longer without the extra weight around them.  My rings are loose and tend to slide around.  My arms have some definition to them.  Instead of being completely round with a few bumps for muscles, I have lean, long lines of muscles and the “fat-roll” is much smaller. 

My face is also showing the positive effects of working out.  I no longer have a “round pudgy” face.  It’s getting the length back that I had in my youth; I’m now starting to see an oval face with actual cheekbones and chin line. The wrinkles around my eyes seem smaller and less defined.  The double chin is still there but even that seems smaller. 

My neck and chest area have also benefited from this working out.  I can now see the tendons stretching up from my collarbone into my neck.  I now have a neck and shoulders that are separate; the two of them don’t look like one continuous skin roll.  My chest area is able to better support my rather naturally large bosom. 

The only area I haven’t seen significant change, is in my waist area.  But I figure it this way: That was the first place I put the extra weight on at and it will probably be the last I take it off from.  My body is removing the “newest” layers of fat and working towards the oldest, so as long as I continue to work at it, the fat should come off.