All done with finals. I studied hard and I think I probably scored an A in both classes. I feel extremely pleased with myself. John surprised me with a chocolate cake when I got home from my last final tonight. I'm coasting on a sugar buzz now, mixing with the giddy energy of knowing I made it through two difficult tests. I bet that cake has a million calories. I will have to work it off at the gym.
Yes, I, North Peninsula Sloth Woman, have joined the gym. No kidding. Here's my hideous membership card. I have to live with this photo for the next year. Hopefully the next time they take my photo I'll have one less chin and a much slimmer face.
I've never joined a gym before, at least not as an adult. When I was still living at home my mom signed us up with Elaine Powers, a workout facility which featured some light weight training, a few instructors who would teach resistance training techniques, and lots of jiggling weight belts that sssshhhhooookkkk you around but didn't actually burn any calories. I think I toned up a bit, but I hated working out with women my mom's age. They all had perfect hair and makeup on while they let the machines jiggle the fat around their waists.
Then I used to go to aerobics classes in Nashville for a couple of years. That was when spinning was getting to be big, and step was huge, and low-impact aerobics were for fat wimpy people. I didn't care, I did them anyway. While all around me leapt and stomped and swooped I took it easy. I lost 20 pounds just as fast as the leaping gazelles but without blown out knees or fainting from overheating. I especially liked the resistance classes, now called sculpting. I took jazzercise and dance aerobics from an instructor whose nickname (at least informally among the students) was "Throbbin' Bob." He was hunky. I never did learn to dance like Madonna, though.
And then some more years went by, and I got fat again, and way out of shape, and not coincidentally a bunch older. After my dog died and I stopped getting even that minimal exercise I noticed I put on weight even though I hadn't changed my eating habits. So, back to the gym. This time I'm going to learn to do weight training as well as using the treadmills, step machines, and rowers. I want to see some real body changes. Losing weight will happen naturally if I work out, so I'm looking forward to that photo next year.
And if I'm lucky I'll find a substitute for Throbbin' Bob. Nothing like a hard bodied instructor to keep a girl motivated.
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