First proper day at the gym - aches, pains and water

Right, dinner is cooking, tomorrows lunch is cooked and ready, I am aching in places I forgot existed and I have drunk 500ml of water.

To most of you sat reading this, nothing in the sentence above is particularly extraordinary, I know, but for me today was a big step.

I know most of you are aware that along with (an ever expanding group) Beverley Hope, Elspeth Finlay, Fiona Lang and Jamie McHale am doing a sponsored 10k run on Sunday 17th October.

So, after weeks of dabbling at the gym and running last week I took the plunge and went in to the David Lloyd gym at Newhaven to see Richard Kerrigan, one of the personal trainers.

Today was my re-induction and I ache like hell tonight, which given I did not do the full run of exercises means I have some more pain to come and look forward to!

I am always a little nervous when going in for my sessions with Richard because often the gym is full of men with muscles and petit women and I wonder what the hell I am doing there, but Richard looks after you and concentrates on you so they become the background and you forget you are there.

I started off having my blood pressure taken, then being weighed and measured and to top it all off my photo taken!

I also had a good session on nutrition and you would think given I worked in hotels etc for ten years I would know the basics, yes to be honest I do, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't hear it again.

For my height, weight etc I should according to Richard be drinking 4 litres of water per day, but he acknowledged as I don't drink any to start with 2 litres, mark the bottle into 4 and set myself targets, so after leaving the gym I left to go to ASDA, bought the food for healthy breakfast x2, lunch x2 and dinner for this evening, plus the water, and yes Charlie, I did avoid the cakes, sweets and even the biscuits - a challenge in itself.

Now, if I was asked to drink 4 litres of coffee per day then I would probably have to reduce my intake, but WATER, I just don't drink the stuff, so the fact I have managed 500ml already since leaving the gym at 4.15pm is quite an achievement in itself.

So, dinner this evening is 150g of steak with corn on the cob, carrots and broccoli.

Breakfast tomorrow is a 3 egg mushroom and tomato omelette followed by a banana.

A snack around 11am will be a tub of natural yoghurt with some grapes and almonds.

Lunch is shredded lettuce, one slice of bacon, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn, cucumber, chicken and Parmesan.

The afternoon snack is rice cakes with cream cheese.

I know this is a lot of enthusiasm for the first day, but I know I need to lose weight and get fitter again, if I don't, well let's not think about that, so help me keep motivated, don't offer me cakes and sweets and try and put me off - I want to lose at least three stone, with your help, Richard and David Lloyd I know I can do it.