Elliptically Responsible

Becoming calorically responsible was the easy part. Becoming elliptically responsible is completely different.
I don't hate going to the gym, and I don't love going to the gym. I go to the gym because the exercise is an important part of getting healthy and living long enough to see my future grand kids grow up. Besides, wintertime in Boise is no place for a wimp like me to be out walking and biking. The gym is at least warm.
In the winter, it's hard to find something to do that keeps my interest. It's a long, cold season where all we can do is brave the cold, and sometimes snow, to get to the gym and endure our daily punishment. :-)
Summertime is different. I'm out in the warm sun, sometimes participating with my son's baseball, or playing tennis on weekends. In the summer, if I skip a day or two at the gym during the week, I make up for it on the weekends when I'm out running around.
If only I could change my outlook on the gym. For a lot of years, I went to the gym without a plan. I just went because it was the thing to do. I never paid attention to how many calories I might be burning, or how using certain muscles with certain weights would change my shape. In the past, going to the gym was just another part of a failing weight loss plan that never really came together.
So now, I have a fresh start. I have the eating plan down now. That part is under control. Now I have to incorporate the exercise in a way that I like, and in a way that doesn't feel futile, like it has in the past.
Currently, I go to the gym two or three times a week, and spend up to 30 minutes on a combination of treadmill and elliptical. Then a few reps on a handful of weight machines that target legs, arms, chest, back and abs. It's a decent workout. As I lose more weight, I'll increase the times and weights.
My massage girl says I have strong muscles under the fat layer. Thanks, Kat. That's a real confidence booster. Ugh.