So, I’m one week into my personal challenge to get back into shape by my 50th birthday, and I can honestly say there was a day toward the end of the week where I thought about quitting. After just a couple days working out to the “Cardio Sculpt” program at dailyburn.com, I was sore.

I couldn’t decide if it it hurt more to walk up a set of stairs or down, but one thing’s for sure. I was in pain – and it was no one’s fault but mine. “See what happens when you stop using us?” my muscles screamed at me. “Is this really what you want?” Truth is, I didn’t want to walk around like I had a stick up my butt because my muscles spasmed each time I took a step. But what I wanted even less was that out-of-breath feeling I had while exercising. And I was even doing the low-impact because I knew I couldn’t just step back into the level I was at five years ago.

The end of the workweek was tough because I had other things to do after work and I was so tired that I couldn’t get myself out of bed at 5 a.m. more than one day to get a workout in before work. But, as daughter reminded me, a day or two of rest is probably a good thing – both mentally and physically. By Saturday, I was able to get a workout in while the house was quiet and before the day got in high gear. Same with today.

I have to say, I do feel really good after a workout and I’ve missed that feeling. As the week ended, I’m a little less sore, and more importantly, I feel like I have more energy. Which is a good thing considering we gained an hour of daylight starting today, and that means more gardening time for me. That energy will be put to good use, assembling and installing raised beds and carrying plants and soil and all kinds of supplies.

As for my weight, the scale stayed the same at 140 pounds. That doesn’t really bother me because I was doing low-impact exercises and I’m not really dieting, so I’m not expecting to lose 2 or 3 pounds a week. What I really want to happen is to feel better in my clothes, so to that end I measured my waist (33 inches at my belly button) and hips (40 1/2 inches at the widest part). Yes, I’ve always been quite curvy and, like I said, I’m OK with that if I feel good about myself and I’m in shape.

Here’s to week 2 of #fitat50. May the energy stay with me.