Fitness Friday : I'm Still Here!

Well, hello!  I didn't mean to be gone for so long, but I'm here now in any case.  If you read my other blog you probably know what I've been up to, craft-wise and reading-wise.

I know that especially at the beginning of the year, I talked about becoming more fit.  And then I also said I was planning to take advantage of some Pilates classes.  I have not really said anything about either thing since, have I?

The results are mixed.  I have been trying really hard to move around regularly, and to watch what I eat.  I've been successful in that I have been able to remain motivated, but I have not really been successful as far as physical changes.  I've discussed this with two of my doctors, who have not been able to determine exactly why - I mean, we all know that losing weight is harder when you are older, but they can find no medical reason why I am not losing any weight (and both of them suggest trying to drop 15 pounds to stay healthy).  So it's time to up the exercise and see if that helps not just with losing weight, but gaining strength and fitness (which is actually the most important thing to me personally).

So let's review.  I took the Beginner Pilates Mat classes, and LOVED them!  I was in no way good at it, but I really enjoyed them, and they made me feel like I had better posture.  My coupon special expired at the end of May, so now I'm on my own.  I've been looking for free online classes, so I can keep up with it.  As with real-life classes, some classes and some instructors are better than others, but I have a couple that I really like, so hopefully I can keep going for that.  Because I just can't afford the regular classes, those suckers are crazy expensive!

Local Yarn Store Day happened, and I won a raffle, which was incredibly exciting, since I don't win most of the time.  One of the prizes was a free, one-on-one workout of The Bar Method, which recently opened a studio near our house.  My first inclination was to just not bother, because frankly I figured it would be something I wouldn't enjoy, even a one-on-one free class.  But then I thought, what the heck - it's free, and made an appt.  I had truly low expectations.

You know what? It was so great!  The person doing the one-on-one was one of the owners of the local studio, and she could not have been nicer or more helpful.  She said she had originally hoped to do a beginner series, but since this is the first summer they are open, she hesitated to do that until they had an idea of how well they would or would not do overall.  Understandable.  Anyway, it was fun and she was incredibly encouraging.  There were some things I just could not do, and other things I could do but not for as long as the class does them.  She said that in her opinion, the good thing about the classes are that, although they are group classes, everyone is doing their own thing the best that they can, and the instructors help each person in the class.  I though that it was probably something she said to everyone, but then when I was getting changed in the locker room, there were a couple of older women getting ready for an actual class who claimed the same thing when I asked them about their experiences.  Hm.

Anyway, the owner/instructor who helped me was a) extremely nice, b) not pushy or judgemental, and c) most importantly, not constantly giving me a sales spiel.  She has invited me to be her guest at a regular class this Sunday morning to see how/if I like it.  I told her that I would love to try it, but warned her I would likely not be able to afford to go regularly.  She said that if I liked the class, and felt that I could do it at all, she would figure out a way to make it affordable to me.  I don't know if that will be true, but I'm gonna see how it all goes on Sunday in any event.

Another thing that is helping is that I can now ride my bicycle more than I do in the winter.  I love riding my bike, and can even cycle back and forth from work.  But I'm not a person who cycles regardless of the weather - I guess I'm a weather wimp that way!  When it's freezing, raining, or just incredibly cold outside, I'm not interested in riding my bike.  If I absolutely *had* to, I'm sure I would, but given the choice, I'll wait for better weather.

If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of summer.  But I have to admit that it makes it so much easier to eat well.  Fresh fruits and veggies are not just more available, but more affordable.  And even when I was a little kid, I LOVED fruits and veggies!  So I'm hoping that will make all of the rest of it even better because I do love to eat.

So that's what has been going on around here.  I know that being more active and eating well makes me feel better not just physically but mentally.  I want to be as healthy and as fit as I can be, and if it can help me keep it together better overall, there's no down side.

In summary:

1. Keep exercising.
2. Ride my bike.
3. Try new things.
4. Benefit from all the good food available now.
5. Stay accountable.

If you want to try along with me, all the better!

Here's to a good and healthy weekend.