I hate to sound like a bigot but...

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

There's a lot to be said for hanging out with people like yourself.

Years ago, I went to join a gym. The personal trainer who showed me the facility and introduced me to the equipment could hardly hide her disgust that "my type" of person was going to sully her bevy of beautiful people by sweating in their presence. It was demoralizing, to say the least.

It was even more demoralizing when I looked around and saw no one of my own type. Maybe time has warped my memory, but all I remember are tall, skinny, young blondes. You know the type--the ones with the defined muscles and the workout outfits that showed off every curve. The perfectly coifed ones with makeup intact. The ones who constantly scanned the room to see who was checking them out and who politely looked past me.

Needless to say, I didn't spend time at the gym. Face it--if I wanted to feel bad about myself, I could do that in the privacy of my own home. I'm short, overweight, have grey roots, and barely look as though I'm of the same species as some of those people. Like I said, I hate to sound like a bigot, but I'd much rather be with those of my own kind. Unfortunately, my own kind doesn't seem to spend a lot of time at the gym.

Fast forward to last week. I was going through the insert of coupons that they put into our local newspaper once a month or so (you know, the ones with the two-for-one dining at the Mexican restaurant and the 20% off the oil changes) when I saw a full-page ad for a gym that just opened last winter.

I was shocked at the pictures. Fat people using exercise equipment! A group of smiling women in an aerobics class--all of whom looked older and most of whom looked in no better shape than I.

Woo-hoo! I've found my homies! These are my kindred exercise people! I went in there yesterday to check it out and ended up signing a contract. The woman who showed me around (she was tall but certainly not blonde and she told me right off the bat that she had been diagnosed with MS) introduced me to a lot of the women there. "This is Cathy--she's lost 42 pounds." Cathy said that it was the first time in 24 years that she was under 200 pounds. I met a lady who had had a hip replacement. I met another woman who said that the gym had literally saved her life.

I'm going in this morning so that the nice people can show me how to use the equipment and make me feel at home.

There's a lot to be said for hanging out with your own people.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

KITEFLYINGAL 10/14/2007 3:19PM

what a great blog! I just yesterday went don and looked at our local fitness center and it was full of retiree's.. Steve and I both looked at each other and said yes, yes, yes! I am going to go sign the contract monday.. he has a bad back and knees and the pool, spa & steam room will be perfect for him.. I am drooling over the thought of getting on one of those treadmills.. they look right over the bay and on a clear day you can see Mt. Rainer! From a fellow left coaster, debbie Report Inappropriate Comment

MAMAJO1958 10/9/2007 7:17PM

I have to LOL, but I so hear what you are saying! Good luck with your goals and the REAL gym! Report Inappropriate Comment

MQT4U2 10/3/2007 9:43PM

yes great blog you put down exactly why my gym memberships have been wasted money o my part Linda Report Inappropriate Comment

LEELYNN2 10/3/2007 11:41AM

I know there are alot of classes I've passed up because of the tall skinny blonds. great blog. Report Inappropriate Comment

So THAT'S What's Wrong With Me!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Things haven't been going well lately--both dietwise and personally. I've been trying and trying to lose weight and it just doesn't work for me the same way that it seems to work for "normal" people.

I just finished reading "The Insulin-Resistance Diet" and I think that I may have found the problem. I've read a little bit here and there about Metabolic Syndrome and it seemed to strike a chord with me so the other day I went to my local library and checked out "The Insulin-Resistance Diet" and it just absolutely described me. It was weird!

This book describes a link-and-balance eating method that makes a lot of sense for insulin-resistant people. Basically, you can eat no more than two servings of carbs every two hours (because people with metabolic syndrome store fat from carbs within two hours if they aren't used for energy in that period) and those carbs must be eaten with an equal number of servings of protein.

I figure that I'll give this a try--what, after all, do I have to lose except that which I've been trying to lose anyhow?

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MADFORPLAID 9/24/2007 6:18AM

It must have been so frustrating to not see any results even when you were doing everything right. I hope this new approach works out for you, keep us updated! Report Inappropriate Comment

L.I.L.MOMMY 9/10/2007 9:52AM

I too found that following the "normal" spark plan didn't work very well for me. If I consumed anything over 1200 calories even though I was doing 30 min of elliptical a day I would gain weight. I altered my percentages to follow the spark guideline for eating with hypothyroidism (basically swap percentages of protein and fats), I now can actually eat anywhere in my calorie range and not gain weight. I hope this new plan works for you, if not....perhaps see your doc and see if there's something else going on.....take care of you! Report Inappropriate Comment

(Less Than) 10,000 Steps

Friday, September 07, 2007

So I bought a pedometer on Wednesday because I figured that I am doing so much walking that I should keep track of it as a pick-me-up when I feel as though I'm not doing enough.

I did my 4-mile walk in the morning, went shopping, did my usual back and forth to the sink and stove, etc. and figured that I was ahead of the game with all these "10,000 steps a day" folks.

After all that, I managed a mere 8956 steps. It just goes to show how much I over-estimate how much I do (or how little I eat) unless I actually keep tabs on it.

Tools such as the calorie counter and a pedometer are really quite valuable.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SUNSETWATCHER 9/7/2007 12:38PM

LEFTCOASTBOB, I totally agree. I love my pedometer but have overestimated my step count too. I thought I was doing at least 10,000 steps a day, but that wasn't the case. But, getting in 8900 steps for you is a great start towards a 10,000 step day. Keep walking. You're doing great! Report Inappropriate Comment

Becoming less intense

Saturday, August 25, 2007

The other day I was talking to a friend who wanted to get together the next day. I said sure, but it would have to be after 9:30 because I was walking around the lake until then.

She got a perplexed look on her face and asked if there was a protest on Wednesday morning. I didn't know what she meant until it finally dawned on me--she couldn't picture me walking anywhere for exercise or fresh air or scenery; she just assumed that I was involved in a political march of some sort.

Am I really that intense? I did a little reality check and came up with the answer, "Is a bear catholic? Does the pope..." Well, you get the idea--yes, I am.

Or I WAS. Don't misunderstand me--I still call and email my legislators, go to town hall meetings, and read voraciously everything that comes my way regarding the state of our nation and world. I just don't have to bring EVERY conversation to the subject of Iraq or impeachment or Abu Graib.

I'll double check on Monday when I walk the lake with my walking buddy again, but I honestly don't think that I've mentioned any of those subjects on our walks. (Those of you who know me well might have trouble believing that, but I really think that it's true.)

This, I believe, is a good thing. Even before the Iraq occupation, I have been more or less monomaniacal on the subject. People I hung out with either shared my views on Iraq or they didn't hang out with me and were downgraded to the status of acquaintance or associate. Now I purposely hang out with someone who, for all I know, might be a right-wing Republican! I doubt it because she seems way too nice, but that's not the point. The point is that I don't even know her political views because I've never asked and never shared mine.

And that's okay.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

-SHAWN- 8/28/2007 1:51PM

Thanks, that's good reality check for me as well. Report Inappropriate Comment

Quiznos makes me nuts

Friday, August 24, 2007

A few days ago, the husband and I went to Quiznos for lunch. I was debating what to order and--being the ever vigilant weight watcher that I am-- asked for a printout of the nutritional value of the different salads and sandwiches. The counter guy said that they didn't have one.

Huh? A chain sandwich shop that doesn't have the nutritional contents of their products? Even MacDonald's will give you the information on the "nutrition" in a Big Mac, and I can't imagine that that's anything to be particularly proud of.

I ordered the Black & Bleu Salad which I had never had before (and which, by the way, was wonderful) but didn't feel quite right about the whole thing. It came with flat bread (which was also very good) that had god-only-knows-what in it.

When I got home, I looked up their site on the internet. Nada on nutrition. By this time I was getting a little irked by the whole thing and called their head office in Colorado. The lady who answered the phone said that she didn't have any info on the nutritional values of their sandwiches and salads. I asked to be connected to someone who did--she said that there was no one. I said, "Do you mean to tell me that NO ONE knows what's in the sandwiches????" She assured me that they knew exactly what was in them but that they were in the process of doing a nutritional study on the contents and hadn't completed it. I asked for a ballpark figure then. She said that she couldn't even guess.

I told her that I would go to Subway until they could tell me what was in the Quiznos lunches. She didn't try to disuade me.

That is sooooo messed up!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

LEADFW 10/21/2007 4:12PM

That is EXACTLY the experience I had with Quizno's! I was so disappointed, I stopped eating there altogether. Better safe than sorry, right?! Lea Report Inappropriate Comment

TAZZIEGIRL 8/25/2007 10:19AM

I so agree with you hun. One of the suggestions I have asked for in Spark is to post a restaurant of the month on their site and give restaurants thta are honest about their food content and also cater for the not so *thin* ones who need to look at low carb or low fat or have to watch sugars. I now go to the internet and look up what's on the restaurants nutritional guides before going and it really helps when making choices with eating out. I am appalled at the number of restaurants who still do not have such a guide. Good on you in phoning and all. Way to go babes! Report Inappropriate Comment

WORLDSWALKER 8/24/2007 9:45PM

You may have found this and it wasn't what you needed, but I did get this page after googling: http://www.thedail yplate.com/nutrition-calories/f ood/quiznos-sub/black-26-bleu-s alad I ran across several other sites that had Quiznos info, but it was clearly hit-and-miss. Report Inappropriate Comment