Fear of Fitness

Couch potato chips, guacamole, pasta, pizza (yes, I could eat a whole one!), Breyer’s Vanilla with chocolate syrup...these are a few of my favorite things. And it showed. After quitting smoking five years ago I piled an extra 30 pounds on my already overweight 5' 3" frame. I made halfhearted attempts to lose weight periodically, but I never stuck to anything because I hate exercise so much. I joined a gym that was close to my house but it was intimating and cliquey...everyone seemed to know each other and the employees were not thrilled about demonstrating machines or answering questions. I’d walk or run on the treadmill for 30 minutes, hating every second of it, but I avoided the machines because they were filled with body builders and thongsters. When I got home, I’d treat myself to a big all-starch dinner as a reward for having gone to the gym at all.

I tried other things too. I bought weights but left them in the trunk of my car for weeks before storing them in the closet. I joined a beginner’s running class and spent a lonely 45 minutes puffing around the track by myself while the other “beginners” sped round and round, waving as they passed. I signed up for step aerobics at a downtown studio and spent each session praying the building would burn down so I could leave early. I decided I’d power-walk for 30 minutes every day, but each morning I slept too late and at night I was too tired. Finally I reconciled myself to wearing sweatpants and skirts with elastic waistbands for the rest of my life.

It wasn’t until I tried to buy a dress for a wedding recently and realized how big a size I required that I was shocked into reality. In the wedding photos, my head was clearly too small for the body I’d been growing. I looked like the Loch Ness monster in a cocktail dress. That’s when I joined Weight Watchers and then two weeks later decided to try Lifestyle Dynamics.  A friend and co-worker who is also exercise-phobic had been going for several months, and I couldn’t believe how religious she was about it. I was skeptical and thought I‘d just try it for a month. Deep down, I never expected to stick it out.

 Five weeks later at my reassessment, I’d reduced my body fat by 4 percent, increased my strength and aerobic endurance from Below Average to Above Average, lost inches EVERYWHERE, improved my heart rate and gained lean muscle mass. Most miraculous of all, I never skip a session! It’s the first time I’ve seen results in any workout I’ve ever done. The first time I’ve stuck with one long enough to see changes. The first time I’ve had a waist in years. And now I’m hooked. I want more muscles, especially the ones that hold up your rear end. I want to be able to show off my upper arms in a sleeveless dress. And most of all, I want to beat my time on that damn rowing machine.

Nikki Hardin

Skirt! Magazine

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