exercise 3X a week

I have my lapses, but biking 4 miles almost every day for my work commute gives me a good baseline of physical activity, even when I don’t “work out”. That also includes carrying the folding bike through the BART parking lot, up & down many stairs – a workout in itself! Also trying to take this modern dance class in SF every Monday after work for 90 minutes – I lope around like a fool, but hey, it can’t hurt in the gracefulness department to give it my best shot. Same with the bellyjam classes at the YMCA, Tues. and Thurs. whenever I can get there. Then trying to go running a few miles here and there, and get in yoga and weights at least once a week. I’ve found a lot of things I like to do, so just getting out and doing them keeps me active enough without always feeling like “I have to go exercise now”. So I lose weight as long as I don’t extremely pig out or drink a lot – down to 130# from my 2006 high of 158#!!! My weight is settling more around my belly as I age, so I do need to tweak my workouts to address that. But overall, I ain’t all that bad for an old broad.

Still doing okay with this. I find that I need to “try” to get to the gym every day, and something will come up to prevent that at least 3-4 days per week, so I end up hitting my goal. I never say “I went to the gym last night, so I won’t go tonight but I’ll go tomorrow”. If there’s nothing else going on, I’ll hit the gym, because “tomorrow” might not work out. So I went last night, even though it was already 8pm. But it was worth it as I burned 410 calories on the elliptical trainer! It also killed some time so I didn’t think about eating between dinner and bed.

It’s been up and down, forward and back, for months (nay, years), but the past 2-3 months here have been showing good progress. I am prioritizing the gym as many nights a week as I can, and doing something else around the house or neighborhood (yoga, running, trampolining) when I can’t spare the time for the gym. I find that if I make a date with myself to hit the gym later, I will have a light dinner in preparation for it. Or if I hit the gym first, the exercise seems to dampen my appetite. When I just get moving for a few minutes after work, it’s easier to do more. I have not allowed myself to spend evning hours on television or Netflix, which I tend to do when I feel that I am “too tired” to exercise after work. After exercise, I am energized to do something slightly productive before bed – pick up clutter, pay bills, email a friend. All that, plus cutting down alcohol and food portions, seem to be making this the first time in 4-5 years that I am actually making steady progress on my weight and fitness goals.

I can’t believe it is now Fall and I have made little or no progress on my goals. I know this from past diaries as well. You could read my journal goals from five years ago, and they would be no different from today’s. This sucks. I have to at least strive for baby steps and not just let things go at the same pathetic rate for years and years. I’ve made a little progress with drinking. Time to be more serious about exercising.Seriously, just 3-4 hours a week would make a huge difference in my body & my life, yet it’s not very much time at all!

shin splints and nervous stomach kept me from the gym last night. Tonight is a social engagement. Maybe tomorrow…

But I seem to have shin splints now, so this might take awhile.