Redux

Not long before or after I moved back to the States, I evoked my weight gain of the previous year, and said I was going to do something about that. And I did. For a while. I dropped about 10 pounds the first couple of weeks I was back here, then eased up on the dieting. While I have kept off those 10 pounds, I have not lost any more weight. I haven't tried.

I am loved. I look pretty good, compared to a lot of people out there. I suppose that I could stay this way, but I don't really want to. Instead of just losing weight this time, I would like to get into shape. See, I was slim before -- oh, how blind I was to that fact! -- but out of shape.

So I have been thinking I need to get more exercise, join a gym, start yoga again, SOMETHING. I am by nature a procrastinator, so I haven't done a damn thing yet. And then yesterday I saw this post about going to the gym, followed a few hours later by this post (by the same author). I left comments to both posts; my second comment is basically a "binding" contract that obliges me to exercise twice a week or "donate twenty dollars to a health-related charity and...humiliate myself on my own blog..."

Oh, hell.

UPDATE: I just got back from Curves, where I did a free trial workout. I'll be joining on Wednesday. This is something I can do. It is so totally NOT intimidating. I'm pretty excited, and I feel pretty good. Thanks for the motivation, Neil! I had been meaning to try that place for 6 weeks, honest. Your post yesterday made me get off my duff. 

Comments

[cj]

Excercising 2x a week sounds like a reasonable goal to start with. I gained weight after I had Gracie and have been stuck in the house with her. Now that the weather is nice I can get outside and walk with the kids to the park and such. However I need to do more. I am going to call my dad and ask him to write me up a plan - he can get the flabby college football players all shaped up he can do the same for me. :)

[LittleMike]

Here at work, we started a competition. Paying money to a gym does not modivate me... winning money does. The winner of the competition not only loses the most weight (be percentage) but also picks up a couple hundred bucks. I've lost 18 lbs, but unfortunately, won't win the bucks. Someone more motivated than me lost over 40 lbs. It was worth the try. I've not been this light since College, and I feel great!

[Thomas]

Wild and crazy sex counts as a workout, right? If Allan needs any help with that... well... I'd offer, but I think he'd rather you pick up a college girl who needs some tutoring in French... and other forms of kissing intimately.

[ms. sizzle]

i should probably make the same (humiliating) contract with myself but the procrastinator in me has convinced me that it can wait until after i move to seattle because right now there just is NO time.

i wonder what excuse i will come up with when i get there? ;)

[kklink]

My husband and I do the gym thing together. But even that wasn't enough to motivate him on a regular basis. So he bought a video ipod. This has helped him immensely. However, if you try this route I wouldn't recommend watching clips from the Food Network while on the treadmill like he does. It seems a little counterproductive :)

[Monty]

Well, I have things just a little different than most. My family runs rife with diabetes. I am never going to be slim no matter what I do. Throw in herniated discs from a car accident, and I do tai chi. I had to stop tai chi after a broken arm fro two years. I went back the day the surgeon allowed me. It's the ONLY way I will have any flexibility and energy when I get older.

Motivation? I watched my father go through eleven (11) amputations in one year. He had four or five heart attacks and two major and several minor strokes in an eleven year period. The last two years of his life were spent predominantly in hospitals.

I don't need any contracts to go to tai chi, or to practice at home. I'm not going to lose weight. I have gone a week on just water and not lost weight (under a doctor's care). All I need to 'worl out' is thinking back to the stump that was my father's right leg. Move like a river, be still like a mountain.

[bhd]

Whatever it takes. Though I think it's odd that we (and I do include myself in this) aren't "worthy" enough to promise our efforts, I think in the end it doesn't matter as long as the thing gets done. I've used such tools myself in the past. It's a Good Thing.

[Neil]

I frankly think "losing weight" isn't a great goal, because when you accomplish it, you feel like you're done. I've just been realizing more and more how much of a sedentary life I lead. I even drive to the supermarket a block away. At least when I was a kid, I would run around and play tag. And blogging, as great as it is, is only making me sit around more. My body just feels blah from not moving enough. And from what I hear, regular exercise improves your stamina in the bedroom -- so, I'm all for that! (that is if I don't fall asleep immediately after coming back from the gym)

[Alison]

I agree with you; I just happened to pack on 40 pounds last year. I was pretty sedentary, even as a Thinifer, so this really is about more than losing weight.

The great neighborhood I am in is conducive to walking (to the store, etc.) but bad weather makes for a great excuse to use the car.

Thanks for the motivation, Neil!

[cmhl]

I used to go to curves, and loved it! good luck!

[Margaret]

Exercise is the absolute key to energy, fitness, and just feeling good about oneself. I do it almost every day, as a routine like brushing my teeth. I found Little Mike's comment eerily like what I would expect from his dad. Funny!

[edieraye]

I went to an office supply store and bought myself a bunch of gold star stickers. Then I made a calendar out of cardboard paper and stuck it on the fridge. I get a gold star every day that I do something active (I'm pretty loose on the term excercise - a twenty minute walk counts). Childish but surprisingly effective for me.

[Another Alison]

One of my former acquaintances had a wonderful and -- more importantly -- *successful* experience with Curves. She was really impressed by the support and advice they provided.

Knowing when to call in the experts was a *big* part of my problem: You rock for doing this sooner rather than later.

(I finally did. Had I known the doctor wouldn't think I was lazy or crazy but actually give me credit for being *proactive*, I would have made the call *much* earlier.)

[sallyrogers]

Good for you, Alison! Have a great time! I have heard great things about Curves. As I progress along my road to skinny-dom I may just have to check them out.

[saundrah]

Oh gawd..I so relate! You would think I was risking my life going to the gym the way it pains me sooo... You are in good procrastinating company!

[jeorg]

i actually enjoy working out. i do not enjoy watching people sweat. i don't enjoy the ten minutes before working out.

[Janet]

I am the worst ever gym-goer. I should be there right now, in fact. I am even in my gym clothes as I sit here. I'd so much rather be looking at all your photos! Oh well. :o)