I have been working out about 4 times a week for SEVEN months now!  This is a lifetime record for me, working out consistently for so long.  I'm really starting to see a difference, and as soon as I figure out my health-care strategy, I expect to see results via my A1C test.  I have reached one goal already - the ability to play tag with my son until he gives up, not until I collapse.

I have found there are more downsides to getting fit than I expected.  Time, money, and physical effects are all turning out differently than I expected.   

Fitness takes time.  That's one reason it took getting laid off to get me really started.  There's travel time, child drop off and pick up time and workout and training time,  of course.  But there's also time spent prepping at home, the additional laundry (4 complete outfits a week), the clothes changing and showering.  Of course, I bathed before I started working out (!), but I spend more time taking extra showers.  And a LOT more time shaving. I used to shave minimally during the winter, but that won't cut it with my workout clothes.  All told, it's at least 10 hours a week to get in 5 hours of actual working out.  I can do it now, but I wonder if that is sustainable should I return to the corporate world.

I did try, just yesterday, to workout at home with our Wii.  The baby (who's almost 2) did not enjoy it at all and kept interrupting me while she loves the kids room at the gym.  It ended up very close to the same ratio - about 1 hr 45 minutes to get in a 60 minute workout.  I also didn't get the intensity that I do on cardio equipment. The virtual trainer is pretty good, but nowhere near as inspiring as an actual trainer.

Money.  Gym membership and unlimited use of the kids room were both contracted on sale, so I pay a very reasonable price.  I go to a stripped down version of a gym, no showers, sauna, hot tub, group classes, etc.  I drive past a popular family gym that has pools and water slides and a huge building, and charges 700% more.  For that kind of money, I can shower at home!  More money is spent on gym shoes, workout clothes and the occasional caffeine-based reward.  Then there's the trainer.  A 30 minute session costs as much as the monthly fees!  I've been going twice a week, as a severance gift to myself, but I will be cutting back to once a week next month. But Jinx is worth it - I work much harder than I thought I could and try things I would never have tried working out on my own.

The results I am seeing are awe-inspiring for the most part.  I see real change in my functional fitness - the ability to tote my 25 lb daughter around, or piggyback my 50 lb son up the stairs.  I also can't believe it, but I now feel the endorphin difference, I always thought it was propaganda to get us to exercise, but I really feel mentally refreshed, calmer and  happier after a workout.

Where's the first place you visibly lose weight?  I'm sure any women reading this know the answer.  My male readers refer to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover and see if you can tell where she could lose 5 lbs.  I am no exception, so the first change I could see was a negative.

Then after losing a few pounds in my fingers and toes, which do not show, I lost some weight in my face.  While I detest my double chin and was glad to see that fade, I didn't realize that losing some fullness in my cheeks would  make wrinkles appear.  Lots of wrinkles.  I've always been told I look quite a bit younger than my age, but I haven't heard that in a couple months!  This adds to the money category above, since I am buying all kinds of new face creams to try and compensate.  Oh, I should have used more sunscreen!

It's all worth it.  I feel better, have more energy and get some time to myself without guilt.  My body is getting stronger and more fit.  I even signed up for a 10K race in June!