Tag: planet fitness

Why I stopped going to the gym

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, gym, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I stopped going to the Planet Fitness gym more than 2 years ago for various reasons. And… I’ve been paying for it all this time.

One reason is I have an overactive bladder. I would go to the bathroom before I even started exercising just so I wouldn’t have to run to the bathroom. I would get on a machine and in 5 minutes the overwhelming feeling to urinate would hit and I would have to literally run to the bathroom because I had to pee NOW. I’d go back and in 5 minutes it would come again. I would get on the treadmill and literally walking for 5 minutes and I had the urgent feeling to urinate again. It was too much.

I spoke with my doctor and she said it’s probably a urinary tract infection and to drink cranberry juice, which I absolutely hate, but I did it anyway and it didn’t do me any good.

At home I have to go to the bathroom at least 20 times in a day. That’s been going on for more than 2 years and nothing I have done has helped. Until now.

I started drinking water and the feeling to urinate has dramatically gone down. I’ve been drinking Crystal Light for many years instead of drinking soda to help with the weight loss, and I’m not positive it has helped, but I’m almost certain it has contributed to my overactive bladder and I say that because when I stopped drinking it, the problem went away.

Now that I don’t have to constantly urinate, I’m going to try going back to the gym to help me lose the weight I’m supposed to lose to get my surgery.

Week 9 Weigh In Day

On By Michel McDonaldIn WeightLeave a comment

It has been a rough week for me, but I finally lost some weight. I decided to only do cardio and not do any muscle stuff this week because I haven’t seen any results in a couple of weeks. It gets frustrating when you are working your butt off at the gym and your weight either stays the same, or it goes up.

I only go to the gym every other day, and this week I walk on the treadmill for 1 hour with a 5 minute cool down, then take a few minute break, then get back on the treadmill for another 1 hour with a 5 minute cool down, then I use the massage bed because after 2 hours of walking, my back is killing me. But, my feet are also killing me. I have blisters on my right heel and I also have a blister on my left foot below my toes. I had those gel insoles, and they basically shredded from either my weight or from walking so much, so I had to buy new insoles and I bought the memory foam ones, and of course they flatten out and they don’t really do any good at all.

Well, more work, more exercise, more trying to resist temptation because I have a LOT more weight to lose. See you in a week with my next report lol.

Week 5 of my diet – Weigh-in Day

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, NoomLeave a comment

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My diet started on July 31, 2018 and today is August 27, 2018, and since my last weigh in, I have lost 4.4lbs making a grand total of 10.6lbs lost.

I go to the gym every other day, I’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast the last few days since I’ve been out of the Weight Watchers Smart Ones egg breakfasts, which are so freaking good lol. I’ve also been eating specifically Lean Cuisine for lunch and Weight Watchers Smart Ones for dinner. I guess I figured I would pick one brand for lunch and one brand for dinner for some reason.

My stomach has shrunk significantly since I started my new journey this month, and I know this to be true because I am not as hungry as I normally am, and a very tiny bowl with 1 packet of oatmeal fills me up for breakfast. Earlier in the week I had eaten the 1 packet of oatmeal and 1 banana and I was full just from the banana. I think I just get full easier in the morning for some reason because when it’s time for lunch and dinner, I’m still a little hungry, so I eat a Tortilla with my meals, which I know I shouldn’t because it’s basically flat bread.

I can sort of feel an indentation where my stomach feels like it’s losing fat, and it also seems softer than before, although it’s still not soft as a marshmallow. I can also see in my face where it’s starting to lose fat on either side of my nose and my mouth.  So I can see the fat is leaving my body in places.

So until next week…

End of Week 3 of my Diet

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Noom, WeightLeave a comment

2018-08-04

Today is the end of my 3rd week of my diet. I can’t believe I am actually losing weight again. My very first weigh in when I started shocked me because I had already lost a lot of weight before I even began. I was 265, and then when I weighed myself for my new diet, I was already 255, and I wasn’t even trying to lose weight. My first official weigh in after the first week of my diet kind of shocked me because I had lost 4.6lbs. But then my 2nd weigh in I had actually gained 0.2lbs bringing my total official weight loss to 4.4lbs.

My 2nd weigh in did not discourage me because I have been going to the gym every other day and building muscle on every part of my body. Yesterday and today I weighed myself and I’ve actually lost weight. My last weigh in I was 251lbs and I am currently 248lbs. Although, it could go up by the time the Noom app asks me to weigh in, so I’m not going to congratulate myself yet. I’m going to do my actual weigh in tomorrow and I will see for sure. I should probably do these end of the week blogs on Monday when I weigh myself. My last blog post was on a Saturday, so I changed it to Sunday, so maybe next week I will do it on Monday.

I am so sore. My triceps and my biceps are KILLING me. Usually when I do the weight machines I just do them at a normal pace, and I started thinking that I’m not actually feeling the burn, or any pain. Shouldn’t I feel pain? I mean, when you build muscle, your muscles are being ripped to shreds, and that’s HOW you build muscle, the tissue rips, then it starts to heal itself, and when it heals, it adds new fibers which is why our muscles get bigger.

2018-08-19

I remembered going to physical therapy for my back and they had me use gym equipment to exercise and they had me hold it for a few seconds, then let go every rep, and I actually lost weight from all that exercise. So the previous 2 days that I’ve been going to the gym I did that, but not for a few seconds, I would just pump, then hold for literally maybe 1 or 2 seconds, then let go, and I could actually feel a burning sensation, and I could feel some pain, which is good pain. But now, it’s too painful lol. But that’s why I have 3 days worth of workouts, so I don’t do the same machines every time, and I only go to the gym every other day. I let the day off heal my muscles and I only do those specific machines maybe once a week.

I still have 4 days worth of Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine meals, and I’ve been doing well with those. I haven’t eaten anything but those, with the exception of snacks when I eat a banana or some Malt O Meal or Cream of Wheat.

I won’t post anything when I weigh in, I will just weigh in and post the number on the diet page. See you in a week when I post my end of the week blog next MONDAY after I’ve weighed myself.

End of Week 2 of My Diet

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, Noom, WeightLeave a comment

2018-08-04
Today is Saturday, which I guess indicates that it is the last day of my 2nd week of my new diet. I just came home from Planet Fitness, took a shower, then put a Lean Cuisine “Cheese Ravioli” frozen dinner in the microwave for lunch and now I’m just relaxing at my desk with YouTube on my TV.

Screenshot_2018-08-11-12-33-14So far I have lost 4.6lbs, which is amazing considering I’m only supposed to lose like 2lbs per week. After my first weigh in of course I gained the weight back, but I think that was because of the muscle I was building at the gym, so I’m not worried in the least about that. I’m back down to the weight I was when I first weighed in, so I hope I see some weight loss in my next weigh in, whenever that will be. Noom gives me a random weigh in, so it’s not scheduled.

My diet has changed a little due to money issues lol. My first 2 weeks I was eating the Weight Watchers Smart Ones breakfast, along with either WW Smart One’s or Lean Cuisine for lunch and dinner. Well, I calculated how much that would end up costing me, and it turns out I would only be able to afford enough meals to last me 3 weeks if I continued eating the breakfast. I am on disability, so after rent and bills I just don’t have enough money to feed myself breakfast lunch and dinner. So, I’ve decided to eat Cream of Wheat or Malt O Meal creamy hot wheat cereal for breakfast because one box will last a week or maybe 2 or who knows, maybe 3 weeks. It’s just easier and those hot cereals are more filling than the Smart One’s breakfast. Although, the Smart One’s were pretty darn awesome, I just can’t afford them all the time.

We went to Target yesterday to buy more dinners and I managed to buy 12 days worth of food. I only got to pick 6 Weight Watchers Smart Ones, the rest were Lean Cuisine. They are flavors I rarely get to eat, they cost the same, and for some reason they seem like they have more food than the Smart Ones. I mean, it’s all diet food anyway, so it’s fine. And it’s worth mentioning that when I went back to Target to buy more dinners, they were completely sold out of the breakfast.

I read an article in the Noom app that basically says that for my diet to work, I need to avoid salt, and these frozen dinners are packed with sodium, but here’s the thing, I can’t afford to buy regular food. I have tried in the past to buy fresh food and eat a healthier diet and I ended up spending my entire month’s grocery allowance for 2 weeks worth of groceries. It’s easier for me to buy prepackaged frozen dinners that I know work for me because I lost 70lbs with these dinners in the past, so I feel like if it works for me, then I’d rather do that.

Anyway, I feel confidant that my diet will succeed if I continue on the path that I am on. I already see a difference. My face and my stomach seems thinner. So I will probably be back in a week to discuss what’s happening in my life.

It’s Been One Of Those Days

On By Michel McDonaldIn Exercise, gymLeave a comment

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Have you ever just had one of those days where nothing goes right? It’s been like that for me today lol. I laugh because what else am I going to do? You can’t help but laugh.

So this is how things happened one after the other.

Planet Fitness membership card: As we were getting ready to leave, I went to look at my keys to make sure I had my Planet Fitness membership card and it wasn’t there. YIKES! How was I supposed to check in? I had to install the app. No big deal, but I would like to know where those cards went.

Planet Fitness gym bag: As you can see from the images at the top, I had a little mishap with my gym bag. I bought this gym bag when I first started going to Planet Fitness I believe in 2015. It has been used a lot, but this shouldn’t have happened at all. I went to reach into the pocket to see if that Planet Fitness membership card was in there, and that’s when it ripped all the way across. I had no idea that the material they use is like paper. It’s like those cheap reusable bags they sell at the grocery store. So now I need a new gym bag.

Master combination lock: My life partner drove me to Planet Fitness today. I checked in and headed straight to the locker room and just then I realized that I hadn’t used my combination lock since last October. It’s been about 10 months since I’ve used this combination lock, and I’ve been using another combination lock for my bicycle in the back yard. I forgot the combination for my locker lock. I closed the lock so I could try to remember how to unlock it, and I actually unlocked it, but then I thought I better try this again just to make absolutely sure it was the right combination, and I couldn’t open it again. I’m lucky I didn’t lock all my stuff in the locker without knowing the combination.

So I called my life partner and he didn’t answer his phone, I called the house, but there was no answer there either because he went to Barnes & Noble and he left his cell phone in the car. UGH! I sat there for about 15 minutes trying to open my lock. I called him again and he eventually answered and I told him that I took an extra combination lock out of my gym bag because I never needed it and so I took it out, and now I actually need it lol. So he was kind enough to go home, get it and bring it to me.

There’s only 1 more thing lol.

Screenshot_2018-07-31-14-02-03-1Logging my exercise: I have a Fitbit, and that usually recognizes what exercise you are doing based on your movement or if you are actually moving. It can usually tell if you are walking a long distance, or if you are walking on a treadmill. It can tell if you are using an elliptical or if you are riding a outdoor bicycle. It logged my treadmill as walking for 13 minutes and riding a outdoor bicycle for 14 minutes. I was walking on the treadmill for 35 minutes, but 14+13=27 so I’m a bit confused at how Fitbit logs exercise. I also used the Noom app to track my progress in real time, but it thought I was walking at 12mph when I was actually walking at only 3.5mph and it thought I had burned 1200 calories when actually the treadmill said it was something like 220 calories.

After all this stuff I was just done lol. I’m sure all this stuff seems trivial to most people, but it was just one thing after the next.

So from now on I will continue to wear my Fitbit, but I’m going to push the button when I start walking and instead relying on Noom for my exercise, I’m going to use Planet Fitness’ app to log the exercise by taking a picture of the display. You can do that and it automatically adds all the information to your account. The Planet Fitness app gets the data from the Fitbit app, but I don’t know if I want to trust the Fitbit app lol.

I’m done complaining lol.

New Diet

On By Michel McDonaldIn Diet, NoomLeave a comment

2018-07-29I have had major issues with my diet. I live with my life partner of 24 years. We are both overweight, although me more than him, but it’s been a struggle for me ever since I quit smoking in 1996. When I try to go on a diet, suddenly my life partner wants sweets or fast food, and he won’t accept anything else and he insists I eat the same thing as him. When he’s on a diet, I just want to eat whatever the heck I want because I’ve usually been working hard to eat healthy and I just want to be bad and eat food that actually tastes good. We are never on the same page at the same time.

My life partner (by the way, I have to keep saying “my life partner” because he does not want his name in my blog) called NutriSystem recently because he’s been very concerned with my weight. He wants me to lose weight, but he doesn’t realize that HE is the one who sabotages my diet every time he sees me making actual progress. So we had a little chat about my diet.

I told him look, I want to lose weight. I NEED to lose weight, but I can’t because every time I go on a diet, he decides now is the time that he wants to go to the buffet, or fast food or he has to have ice cream because it’s hot. He can’t expect me to lose weight if he keeps putting junk in my face. So I said the only way this is going to work is if he backs off and let’s me do my own thing. I told him if YOU want to go to Taco Bell, or McDonald’s, go for it, but don’t ask me if I want any junk. If I’m trying to lose weight, I will eat weight watchers and I will go to the gym and I will work my ass off to lose weight, but all it takes is one sabotage to turn it all around and all that hard work is out the window. I don’t want to waste any of my time or energy, if he’s just going to sabotage me every day. He agreed that he would leave me alone.

So… today we were at Albertson’s and I noticed they had the Weight Watchers Smart Ones on sale for $1.77 each if you buy 5, so we bought 10 meals. I get my check on Friday, so I have just enough food to last me from Tuesday until Friday. I bought 4 breakfast meals, 3 lunches and 3 dinners. I figure I will start on Tuesday, then Friday I’ll have a breakfast, then we can go to Target to buy more. I can only fit 40 of these meals in the freezer.

So on Tuesday morning I will install the Noom app on my phone and I will take all my measurements and weigh myself and I may even take a picture of myself just so I have a before picture, not shirtless lol. Then I will start going to Planet Fitness every day.

I lost 70lbs with Weight Watchers and the Noom app in 2013, so I really hope this works again because I hate being fat.

Going back to Planet Fitness

On By Michel McDonaldIn Exercise, gym, UncategorizedLeave a comment

planet fitness

We had to stop going to the gym last month because both of us got really sick. When I say we or us, I am referring to myself and my partner. I was diagnosed with HIV in 1991 and then upgraded to AIDS in 1994, so when I get sick, I’m not just sick with a 24 to 48 hour bug, when I get sick, I’m down for a month or longer. I literally have no immune system. My viral load has been undetectable for years and my t-cells have been pretty high in the 900’s for awhile now, but I still suffer when I get sick.

The virus from my cold is long gone, but I’m still coughing. I was coughing up and blowing mucus out of my nose even though I had no nasal or chest congestion at all. That first couple of days when we first got sick last month we just so happened to have a doctor’s appointment and the doctor checked my lungs by listening to my back while making me breathe in and out, in and out, in and out… He didn’t hear anything, so he told me I would be fine. I asked him for antibiotics or at least cough syrup, and he refused to give me anything. He didn’t want to give me medicine for something I don’t have. Well, that’s fine and dandy if I was only going to be sick for a couple days, but I was literally sick for a month.

So we could have gone back to the gym a couple of weeks ago, but we wanted to wait until it was fully out of my system. I would hate to give anyone else my germs and then get them sick.

Going back to the gym after being absent for a month is basically like starting over from scratch. Whatever exercises we did today will probably hurt in the morning and for the next couple of days. I mean, I don’t feel anything now, but then again we just came home from the gym about an hour ago, so who knows what may happen later tonight or when I wake up tomorrow. We’ll see.

The surgeon who operated on my broken leg in December told me to do leg exercises at the gym, and of course take my time and not try to force myself to bend my leg on the leg machines and then hurt myself. My leg is in agony, so I will have to be very careful when I do the leg exercises. I haven’t spoken to a trainer, but I already know which machines I want to start using… all of them! LOL No, but seriously, I will have to make an appointment so she can write down our day 3 exercises for leg day. She gave us 2 days for our upper body, and my partner only wants to go 3 days a week, so legs will all have to be done on the last day of the week.

I’m not expecting to lose any weight, I just want to exercise to feel healthy. You see, I have a feeling it’s when you stop trying is when you will actually lose weight. I say that because just about every time I try to lose weight, I end up gaining weight. So I’m using reverse psychology… on myself lol. Hey, whatever works right?

Planet Fitness for Weight Loss

On By Michel McDonaldIn Exercise, gymLeave a comment

planet fitness

It’s been 5 weeks since we started going to Planet Fitness since I broke my leg in December. I haven’t seen any weight loss on the scale, but then again I am building muscle, and I do see a significant difference in my face. It’s not as fat as it was, and I can even see where the fat is disappearing. I also see that my chest, shoulder and my arms are getting bigger from building muscle.

We go 3 days a week because it’s a bit of a drive, and that costs gas which as you know isn’t free. I’d love to go more often, but my partner doesn’t. He only wants to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday, although that depends on our week. The last couple weeks we’ve gone on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I only have 2 days worth of exercises anyway since they didn’t give me any leg exercises because I can’t really do those because of my leg issues. When the surgeon says I can do leg exercises, I will start doing them.

We do incline chest press, chest press, pectoral fly, shoulder press and tricep press on day 1. Day 2 it’s lat pull down, row, rear deltoid and bicep curls. My partner feels like those aren’t enough, and because he’s not really on the same exercise plan I am on because they didn’t give him a plan since he’s my guest, he doesn’t really have to do what I do, he can do what he wants.

After we do upper body, we walk over to the lower body section. I discovered there are exercises over there that I can do, like they have a machine for abs, it’s like crunches, and another one where you sit on it with your knees and your body twists to do the side abs. It does hurt my right leg to sit on my knees, but it doesn’t hurt for long. I do my usual 15 reps, rest, 15 more, rest, 15 more and done. I actually love that machine, and I can’t wait to see how ripped my stomach will be once the fat disappears from my stomach lol. My partner does the other leg machines. There is also a machine for the lower back and butt, which I need to do because the last time I lost weight, I noticed that my ass was as flat as a board. I need all the help I can get for my butt. I can’t do squats because of my leg, so this will have to do for now.

Last night I was looking at Instagram, and I came across a post from Planet Fitness. I don’t normally read the comments because there seem to be a lot of people who hate Planet Fitness. I never could understand the hatred, but it became clear to me why they hate them so much. They have Pizza nights and bagels mornings. This guy said that Planet Fitness doesn’t give a crap about you losing weight and they just want your money. Well, um… what does that have to do with anything? Of course they want your money, they are a business and that’s what businesses do. They lure you in with a great price like $5 down and $10 a month and they give you perks like 1 night a MONTH you get pizza and one day a MONTH they give you bagels. I’ve never actually gotten those perks, but even if I did, that’s on me, not on them. I’ve eaten pizza at home more than I’ve eaten it at the gym, which is never, so who is trying to sabotage me now? ME! I am in control of what I put in my mouth whether they are feeding it to me or not. Planet Fitness IS a gym because they have free weights, kettle bells, rope on beams, they have tons of machines that target all of your muscle groups, and they have tons of machines that allow you to do your cardio.

Give them a chance because they are a good gym. I have self control. I wouldn’t drink beer in a AA meeting, so I’m not going to eat pizza at the gym. I go there and do my exercises and leave. I’m on disability, and I am going to go to Planet Fitness since it’s the only gym I can afford. It’s too bad my health insurance doesn’t pay for it since the doctor is the one who insisted that I go.

Exercise at Planet Fitness

On By Michel McDonaldIn ExerciseLeave a comment

We started going to Planet Fitness a couple of weeks ago to help lose weight. I’m more interested in going to a gym than my partner is because I have more weight to lose than he does. We both have a gut, but he doesn’t have the huge fatty neck and face like I do. He also doesn’t eat as much as I do. He is always “fasting” because he thinks it will help him lose weight, which I’ve told him does the opposite. He has type 2 diabetes, and during his “fasting” he has forgotten to check his blood sugar, and he recently bought some new test strips and is quickly finding out that fasting is causing more trouble for him than he thought since his blood sugar is too low. Last night it was 34. Yikes! He won’t listen to me though.

We go to the gym and at first he didn’t want to participate. The first day that we went, I did all the exercises that the trainer gave me, and he sat at the table by the door. That first day was brutal, and trust me, I was using the least amount of weight, but I was in pain for 3 days. The next time we went he surprised me by bringing a sweat towel for himself. He’s been doing the same exercises that I have been doing, although, not as many as I do. I do 3 sets of 15 of each machine, and he might do 1 entire set, or half lol. When he’s finished, he goes to the chair and gets on his cell phone to text, read email or whatever it is that he does on his cell phone while I’m on the elliptical machine or the bicycle.

I said in the last paragraph that the first time we went, I was in pain for 3 days. The next few trips I was doing fine, but the last 2 trips I’ve been in a bit of pain because I’ve added more weight to all of the machines. I start with a low weight because I don’t want to overdo it, then if it’s too light I will add more weight. If I do an entire set and it starts to become too much for me, then I will lower the weight so I can finish the next 2 sets.

When I saw the trainer, I only requested upper body because of my broken leg. I mean, it’s not broken anymore, it’s completely healed, but the doctor told me not to put any pressure on it at the gym, to only focus on upper body. So I only have 2 days worth of exercises. My partner only wants to go on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so one week on Monday I will do day 1, Wednesday day 2, Friday day 1, then the next Monday I will do day 2, then Wednesday day 1 then Friday day 2. If the doctor said I could do legs, then I will tell the trainer that we’re only going 3 days a week, so give me all leg exercises for Fridays. I would love to go 4 days a week, but I’m really pushing my luck with 3 lol.

I haven’t been using the Total Body Enhancement machine because of my partner wanting to participate, but I used it on my last visit and then again today. One of the concerns that I had was will this hurt my leg? I have a metal bar with metal screws screwed into my shin. I’m sure the screws aren’t going to vibrate so much that they unscrew… wait, that won’t happen, will it? I’m sure nothing like that will happen. I didn’t have any pain in my leg at all, so I’m not too concerned, although I should probably ask my doctor just in case. I will see the doctor in 2 weeks. I walked the dog and as soon as I opened the door the pain came. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so the pain told me it will probably rain.

Of course after only 2 weeks I haven’t really seen any loss on the scale because I’m building muscle. I haven’t built enough muscle to notice a difference, but I do see that my face is starting to thin out a tiny bit. If I am consistent, the fat will melt away and I will be happy. That’s all that matters. I know that what matters the most is my health and not my happiness, but screw that, I just want to be happy, and I will be most happy when I can breathe while bending over to tie my shoes, and when I can actually see my junk without having to look in the mirror.