Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

I feel like I’ve overhauled my entire life in the past six months. I went from “I don’t care” to “I’m obsessed,” and I did it in a slow, step-by-step way that was realistic for someone who reeeeeaaaalllly likes food and wine. I was feeling really good about myself for a few months.

First, I stopped buying cheese to keep in the house. I weaned myself off Diet Coke, substituting green tea and coffee. Then, I weaned myself off caffeine entirely because the green tea and coffee killed my stomach. I stopped drinking alcohol of any kind on the weekdays. I gave up meat.

I had a little too much Champagne on a Saturday and ordered an amazing filet mignon and lobster tails at The Flagler Steakhouse.

I realized you can’t change Rome in a day, and I slowly reintroduced organic meats — mostly fish — back into my diet. I also realized I was celebrating too much on the weekends and tossed the no-weekday-wine rule in favor of balance.

All the while, I rode my bike all over creation, did yoga an average of three times a week, and walked to Palm Beach from my house regularly.

In almost three months, I lost a whopping 5 pounds. 5 pounds! My doctor would love me to lose 20 more! I may not develop a brain tumor from Aspartame or grow a moustache from nasty meat hormones, but I’m still no Skinny Bitch!

I was so disheartened that I went completely AWOL on my diet and exercise for a week or so. And when I didn’t gain any weight eating and drinking whatever I wanted, I was even more frustrated with how hard I had worked for such little return.

But giving up and being fat is not the answer, unfortunately.

So last week I took my first spinning class at 180 Degree Fitness at 6101 S. Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. I’ve never been much of a gym person (hence the need for weight loss), so this was a pretty big step for me. And it wasn’t that bad! The music was loud, and there was a rock-hard blonde yelling at me to KICK IT UP!, but there were no legwarmers, no pervy guys watching through a glass window.

I definitely wasn’t as hard core as the other gals in the class — who all-but-literally danced circles around me as I struggled to just keep peddling the entire hour — but I have potential, and I could see catching the bug. The key now will be to prioritize a 6 p.m. exercise class over whatever social event might be taking place at the same time. We’ll see…

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Time was when simply recycling a few Tab cans meant you were doing your part to give back to Mother Earth. Sure, you avoided Styrofoam and maybe even started a compost pile. Enter 2007. Rocketing fuel prices meant environmental challenges were going to hit Americans where we felt it the most: Our pocketbooks. Add $5-per-gallon fuel costs to an economic climate that’s begun to melt financial polar caps and BAM! You’ve got yourself a revolution.

Fast forward to 2009. You may know nothing about the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the environmental impact of powering the country on coal, but you drive a Prius and you shop at Whole Foods. You may be fumbling through living a greener life, but you’re learning that the most important thing is keeping it real. Real food. Real sustainability. Real life.

I came to this conclusion personally after waking up one morning — OK maybe afternoon — 10 lbs heavier and irreparably sluggish. It was one of those take-stock moments, where you look at your reflection and wonder whether you’re taking the right path.

Hello, me, I said, evaluating facial fine lines, puffiness and sun damage. What the hell happened? I stood naked, lifting and squeezing, sucking in, sticking out… The hot girl from college had clearly left the building at some point between here and the class of 2002.

But I’m a positive gal, so I don’t dwell for long on such things (probably how I gained 35 lbs in 6 years — all that damned self confidence). After few more woesome moments, it was all Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley: You’re smart, you’re successful, and you want to do better by your body and your planet. You want to cut the crap and start being real. So what if it took Al Gore to open your eyes to global warming? You just bought green paint – though you’re not quite sure why it’s green – and that’s a start.

OK new plan. I’ll sell the SUV, get back to the yoga mat, eat more raw foods from local farms, and cut out the daily booze. Lofty goals, given my penchant for champagne and idleness, but how hard can this conscious living thing really be?

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