Directly beneath my office is a Subway restaurant and across from that- a personal training clinic. So after eating at the Subway too much, I walked across the hall and met with a trainer
I did my first session of strength training on Monday. It was 30 minutes of weights (under supervision) and 30 minutes of cardio.
Oh my gosh, it was super challenging. I did come to the realization that I do not have any core muscles strength at all, and lunges...oh lunges....the magazines make it look so much easier than it is.
So day after, I am sore, really sore- especially my quads. I have just taken an epsom salt bath and feel better, but ouch. My colleague, who is also a personal trainer, said this is all part of the process.

Please tell me that it gets better.
Please tell me that it is normal for the scale to move around. I am up two pounds from yesterday.

As I mentioned in the title, I am reallly new to weight training and to scheduled exercise

Yes and yes

You know. I used to get winded walking up a flight of stairs and cried when trying to shoulder press 10lbs. Yet, years later, I was the fastest obstacle course runner during a police fitness entrance exam and deadlifting 200lbs at 120lbs. ME! Running with lifelong athletes?

So yes, it gets better. Starting off at the bottom rocks - because you can only go UP

As for the weight. This is a common complaint. You can google water weight + muscle fibre tears + weight training and find your answer Unless you ate 5 or 6 large pizzas (pizzaS... not slices) after your workout, you didn't gain 2lbs in one day.

All normal. All good. Oh but I feel your pain. We've all been there. The sick thing is, after you've been doin' this awhile, you will be worried when your workouts no longer leave you with just the mildest case of DOMS, delayed onset of muscle soreness.

Congratulations on your choices and enjoy the process!

It definitely gets easier I used to weight lift for maintenance (as opposed to weight loss) and I can definitely tell you, don't give up or get caught up with any of that, and definitely get off the scale. I know it's hard but it is NOT reliable and it can be discouraging (with strength training). Even though the scale doesn't budge that doesn't necessarily mean you aren't getting thinner. When I weight lifted before, I didn't lose weight (granted, I wasn't trying to) but my clothes fit better. We always get caught up in counting pounds when all we really want is to be thin, and the two don't always coincide how we think they will.

And, as silly as it may sound, try to change your mentality if you can. Embrace the soreness, in other words. I love it- it makes me feel accomplished. Even if I'm not seeing immediate results I KNOW that my body must be changing because I can feel the burn. That in itself is motivation- especially when I can't rely on the scale and the tape measure can't be used as often as I would like.

And good luck! I just started adding strength training to my cardio plan to lose weight. I hope we both see excellent results

Thank you all so much. Today the DOMS is better, but still reminding me of Monday's session.
This weight training cardio plan is my first real stab at exercise so I alternate between being thrilled and terrified.
I have to walk by this clinic every day to get to my door at work. I am hoping this will be a huge factor in increasing accountability for me. Oh, and I mentioned how I have stopped eating at the subway, right?

(shhh..my dream is to eventually have strong arms. I have always wanted to be the woman who could pick up heavy boxes and open huge jars. I'll let you know how it goes...)

One last question, did you combine any kind of specific diet with your training? I am moving towards more protein and less carbs and counting my calories with Weight Watchers.

It gets way better, especially when all your muscles start popping out!

Experiment with the more protein calorie counting. You can always change it up if it doesn't seem to keep you satisfied. For me, I tend to do better with a little more protein and fat, while staying within my calorie range.