A New Beginning

My aunt is doing better.  She is walking with some assistance but is still in the hospital.  They want to release her soon but she will probably have a home-health nurse to help her out since my uncle is still in a back brace from his injuries.  They are very determined to get better.  I hope they do soon.

I finally got my test results back.  My cholesterol is still very high.  Well, actually, my HDL which is supposed to be high, is low, and my LDL which is supposed to be low, is high.  So, yeah.  I started taking fish oil supplements and cut out more processed food from my diet.  The only processed foods I really eat anymore are cereal and low fat, low calorie granola bars.  But, not anymore.  It will be oatmeal, fruit, or yogurt, or some combination of the three for breakfast from now on.  I am tired of taking meds, and I won't be able to take them when I'm pregnant anyway, so I HAVE to figure out how to do this on my own.

So, I finally went for my free trial at the gym down the street.  I told a friend of mine that I was embarrassed to tell him what the gym was called, and when I finally did, he did not understand by hesitation at all.  So, here it is.  I am going to start working out at Curves.  My problem with admitting that originally was because...well, there were a few problems, actually.  The first was that I have been an athlete my entire life.  I did competitive gymnastics, soccer, softball, basketball and track growing up.  I played soccer in college until the Graves' symptoms wouldn't allow me to anymore.  Even after I had the radioactive iodine treatment, I refused to do any type of exercise that wasn't competitive (hence, never taking to Yoga).  When I finally found cardio kickboxing, I felt like I was back where I belonged.  It was a great combination of athleticism and competition trying to keep up with everyone else in the gym. 

The other problem was my vision of Curves.  When I thought about it, to be honest, I pictured a bunch of lazy, older women who can't make it at a "normal" gym.  When I accepted the fact that Curves really was the best place for me at this time in my life, I was a little disappointed in myself.  But when I went for my free trial today, instead of disappointment, I felt proud of myself.  I was finally doing something instead of just talking about it.  I signed up for 12 months, knowing good and well that I might not make it that long, because that's been my history, but knowing that I have to at least try.  The workout is only as hard as you make it.  The machines work on resistance, so they work as hard as you do, and you can do the 10 minute circuit as many times as you want.  They track your progress every few weeks, it's a small gym, only women are allowed so I can roll out of bed and go in my pajamas and not feel self-conscious, and the best part is that it's only 30 seconds from my house.  We'll call this Day 1.