Monday, June 14, 2010

June 14: A Piece of Peace, Gym Whores, and Random Thoughts


Do you ever hit the sweet spot in your diet plan and just feel at peace with it? 

I wrote that last week was a real struggle for me, taking the diet out into the real world.  Today, despite a whole heap of personal stress, my eats were pinpoint on track, and it brought me a sense of peace.  Despite some out-of-control financial issues, I felt good about the fact that my eats were under control and were not going to harm my long term goals.  I made dinner for myself and my daughter without even thinking about it.  I threw the chicken on the scale quite naturally and dumped it into my salad nonchalantly.  It's taken over a month, but today I was really in the groove.  I didn't give off-plan food a second thought.  What I wanted to eat was exactly what was on my plate.

The best news I've had in a while is that my family and I don't make very much money.  Why is that good?  Because we qualified for a subsidy for a family membership at the YMCA!!!  Finally, I have a reliable place to work out, no matter how tight my finances are.

I've decided to be a gym whore.  No, I'm not going to sleep with every guy at the gym.   Being a gym whore just means "no commitment" to one particular activity.

I'm going to try out every activity at the gym..  And when I'm through with all of those, I'm going to find other activities to indulge in.  I'm going to engage regularly in strength training to build a strong healthy body, but everything else is up for grabs.   I want to give at least a month to each new activity to give it a real chance and see what it does for my body.  This month's trials are Zumba and Boxfit, two 45 minute classes offered at my local YMCA.

Hopefully no one is terribly offended by my terminology and will be looking forward to my weekly "Gym Whore" reports.  By now, you probably know that I have a very warped sense of humor, and this is all in fun.

Isn't the Internet a wonderful place?  In the world wide village, I have friends that keep me accountable, friends that offer unwavering support, friends that kick me in the butt when I need it and friends with brains full of huge amounts of knowledge, and they allow me to pick those brains regularly.  I have cheerleaders that brighten my day and make me feel like a success on a day when I feel like anything but.  I'd start naming names but there are so many of you who have touched my life, I'd be here all night. 

I've mentioned some personal issues going on lately.  A big one is money.  I've been unemployed a long long time due to some depression and anxiety issues.  I had a flood in my basement this weekend and have been cursing myself for the dubious wisdom of home ownership.  My kids fight like two stray cats in the same cat carrier.  Despite years of managerial experience, a decent education and previous high wages, I've found myself starting at the very bottom rung in a minimum wage job.

I won't deny that it's stressful.  But what I feel most of all is gratitude.  I feel gratitude about my healthy children, my home (well, most of the time), that I managed to keep my car, that I have true true friends that would do anything for me, and my huge circle of support on the Internet, both here and at a couple of forums where I post.  All of the kind and beautiful people I've met on the Web have touched my life in a way I would have never dreamed possible by people I've never physically met.  We may never actually meet in real life, but that doesn't make our friendship and support of one another any less real.

I hope you all find a piece of peace somewhere in your busy lives as well.


3 comments:

  1. That's an awesome and optimistic attitude to have - as many problems as we all have I think we all also have a ton of things going for us!!

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  2. Lisa (SoCal Hen 08)June 16, 2010 at 3:28 AM

    What a wonderful post. I truly wish I had your optimism. Possibly the reason I was drawn to you and your writing was so that I could become more glass half fullish!

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  3. You're doing fantastic...I wish I had your optimism :) At my gym, we call ourselves the "gym rats", just happened the other day, and we've been hanging out for at least a year! LOL

    BTW, I think a lot of people have done the bleach thing. I hold my breath now when I spray it in the shower! I found that out the hard way, too!

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