Back to the gym today after an overly lengthy absence. 13 months ago

Been pretty consistent with this! I’ve made it to the gym every other day on average so far since I got my membership, which is pretty awesome. Feeling great too. Last night one of my friends came with me on a Guest Pass and we worked out for over an hour, then spent some time relaxing in the sauna. Great workout, relaxing at the end, and good company. Woo! 14 months ago

I went and bought myself a gym membership.

Yes, I work at a gym, but I’ve come to realize that as I spent so much time at work, I don’t feel inclined to be there when it’s not work hours.

Also, I found I’m more comfortable in a co-ed gym environment than I am in a women’s only one; I find it more motivational for some reason to be around both men and women, and I find it more stressful to be in a women’s only environment, I think partially because I’m queer and I’ve heard some unkind things said before about queer women ‘cruising’ women’s only gyms. Which isn’t the case for me, but the whole stereotype about it makes me uncomfortable.

Also, working out at a gym I don’t work at means that I can exercise in peace. No one will come up to me, pull my headphones out of my ears, and demand I assist them with something because I don’t work at this place. At the gym I work at, that’s an issue when I’m not on shift – people assume if I am there, I am working and there to assist them at all times, even if I’m there and not on shift. That makes it difficult to get the exercise in that I want and makes for stressful situations when I try to kindly explain that I’m there off-shift and they get offended that I’m telling them they need to ask another staff member for help.

That all said – I love the gym I’m working out at now. There’s a lot of equipment, I like the atmosphere, most of the people are pleasant, and best of all I’m actually GOING and working out rather than putting it off. Paying for a membership certainly is motivating in that way, because if I’m not using it I’m wasting money. 15 months ago

... tracked my nutrition for today and stayed within my calorie guidelines, pre-planned most of my meals and snacks for tomorrow, and started pre-planning for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for what meals I know I have things for.

This weekend is going to be a little tricky; headed out of town with the theater group for performances out of town, and I know at least some of the dinners will be dining out and perhaps a lunch or two. I’m aiming at having salads as much as possible during those, avoiding desserts and drinks, and also pre-packing is going to help.

I’m not the only one in the group trying to watch what I eat, so I’m hoping that will help to some degree too. Even if it doesn’t, I have a goal, dammit. I’m sticking to it! 16 months ago

The holidays were not entirely good to me; I avoided cookies, candies, and a lot of the big holiday meals, but I didn’t exercise like I should have and still ended up gaining a couple pounds. That and I was going through emotional upheaval for the span between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that didn’t help.

I’ve got a new goal however, so that’s going to help a lot with getting back on track. I have a major event happening in May, and I want to be in better shape for it so… we shall see how much I can buckle down and get into the swing on things between now and then! 16 months ago

24 pounds. Continuing on with SparkPeople still as it’s clearly working. Keep pushing ahead, one day at a time. I will be pleased as punch if I can reach 30 pounds off by the end of August. That would be a real birthday treat to myself! 21 months ago

I’ve been working on this now more consistently than I ever have in the past. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.

I’m still on the SparkPeople.com plan and have been since the first part of June, and so far I’ve lost 20 pounds. It’s a work in progress, but I’m glad to see some actual progress for once! 21 months ago

Six days into using SparkPeople, and I love it.

I feel like I’m really getting a fresher, better sense of things – I’ve been meeting my calorie goals for the day so far, and meeting or exceeding my exercise goals.

I don’t feel hungry as hell with this meal planning either, which is a huge obstacle I usually end up stumbling over and consequently falling off the diet and exercise boat over time and time again. The lack of the issue makes me hopeful that this time I’ll actually be able to stick-to-it for the long haul. 23 months ago

So… yes. This needs working on, as I fell off the dieting boat AGAIN.

I joined SparkPeople.com about three days ago and it’s been… a good experience so far. The NutritionTracker is really helping in the sense that I’m getting a chance to see exactly where I am getting too much of some things (carbs) and not enough of others (protein).

Let’s see if I can actually stick with this program for a change. 23 months ago