Why, and How, I Have Started to Exercise

For most of my adult life I have felt that I could stand to lose a bit of weight.

Yes, even while I was in the Army.

Blame my genetics-the way most of the women in my family are built, any extra weight we put on goes straight to our bellies. So even at my most fit and skinniest, I always had a little bit of a “pot belly”. Add in two kids and leaving the service (where staying fit is a requirement for keeping your job) and that little pot belly has gotten bigger, as well as all the bits and pieces that used to be quite a bit firmer, well, they aren’t.

Folks who have met me in person are scoffing at this point. “Jenn” they say “you look great!”. I’ll answer that with a blush and a thank you. I really am not one of those over obsessed women who hate themselves and their bodies. But I am realistic.

In the 5 years since I have left the military I have gained over 10 lbs. None of my pants fit and I had to go on a thrift store shopping spree. If I don’t check the weight gain now-when I’m a little heavier than I’d like but still look fine-what will I look like in the future? I haven’t even hit menopause yet, and friends I know who have say it’s hell on you for weight gain. I feel tired way too often, despite eating pretty healthy and sleeping 8 hours every night.

I know the cause of all of it, and it’s lack of exercise.

Of course I come to the decision that I absolutely need to concentrate on myself and make exercise a priority when it is an average temp of 15 degrees out! You can’t exactly pop outside and take a walk in Upstate NY in the winter.

I have a good size house, and their are plenty of exercise DVDs tucked away in a cabinet, available at the library, as well as daily shows on the exercise channel on TV. I’ve tried some of them before and enjoyed them. They are even free, but that is not the route I am going-and here is why.

I get too easily distracted at home. I tend to see all the tasks that need to be done and then never get around to doing the things that are just for me. It is easy to say “ok, I’m going to make myself a priority”. It is a bit harder to follow through, especially with distraction. All the videos and exercises in the world won’t do me any good unless I actually DO them.

So I made the choice to join a local gym (and when I say local I mean less than a mile from the house) with a girlfriend who is as focused on getting in shape as I am right now. We looked at the plans available and decided that the best choice was to go with a 6 month membership-a total of $245 spread over the 6 months-and then the weather would be nice enough to be outside again.

My intent at this point is to get in the HABIT of exercising. Once it is a habit, and I start to feel and see the results then I think I will be able to start exercising on my own, and at home. Until then I really need the added motivation of having made a “date” to meet at the gym.

This is my plan, and my motivation. We are able to handle the additional burden of $40-something dollars a month.

But what if you don’t have that extra $40 in the budget-or your local gym is farther away than a mile and requires one of those big, expensive contracts? What can you do then?

I’ve got a few ideas, and I’ll go over them on Monday.

Speaking of Monday, make sure you tune in to Frugal Coast2Coast, 8:30 EST on Monday night to hear Lynnae and I talk about exercise and motivation with guest expert Jonathan Roche of “No Excuses Weight Loss“. Run on over right now and set yourself an email reminder by clicking on the “Remind Me” button in the blue show box to the right of the description.