Good luck and please post an update when you have one!
LOVE.
IMO, anything worthwhile in life is worth making a spreadsheet over. 
Haha!
I’ve often wondered how much of that is skin losing its elasticity and going south like a melting candle & puddling at the waist of our pants. Seriously.
Nothing is going to take in the loose skin on my belly that was stretched during pregnancy — except the surgeon’s knife!
I’m working hard to love me just the way I am today. I see people 20-30 years older than me and I think BEHOLD, my future! Will I wear shorts? Will I put on a swimsuit no matter what? Do men think about these things?
Thanks, @calmom . i go to planet fitness and, alas, you get what you pay for. i did find an amazing trainer who not only helped me set up routines at the gym and at home, she also let me make videos of her doing freeweights, etc. and narrating. i dont have a good memory for this kind of stuff so the videos are extremely helpful.
@Midwest67 - I have excel spreadsheets for race results, PR’s and a number on non fitness things, too!
@wannabee35 I have to admit I am not much of a runner but I did get a lot out of the couch to 5k app. I had to go really really slowly at first and sometimes repeat a week. I went to a running clinic, just a couple of hours, and that helped a lot. If I had stuck with running instead of switching sports, I would definitely do that again. There was a lot to learn from looking at video of our gait and posture. Also I have gotten a lot of help from a good PT who specializes in athletic performance. She was very reassuring about working to avoid knee pain, which has been more my issue. She really helped me see how I was not symmetrical in my strength or movements (favoring the previously injured side) and helped me get much stronger.
@oldmom4896 – Planet Fitness advertises:
https://www.planetfitness.com/about-planet-fitness/pe-pf
Since I don’t go to PF, I have no idea whether their advertising is accurate or not – but you had posted about not really knowing how to use a machine, and I think that they ought to have people on staff who can at least show you specific equipment if you ask. I know that’s not the same as a trainer who works with you to help develop a fitness plan and routine – although I have to say that even though I really like my trainer at 24-hour fitness, a lot of what she showed me or encouraged outside the specific equipment simply didn’t stick for me. Partly that’s just me — I find that if I am sitting or standing on a machine, then I have to use it for its intended purpose — but it’s a lot harder for me to self-motivate outside the gym.
One advantage that I’ve found from going to the gym on a regular basis is simply that I get to know the staff & also some other gym-goers who are regulars. That makes it feel a lot easier and more natural for me to ask for help when I need it.
My son-in-law gave me an incredibly informative book on sleep—Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. The author, a neuroscientist, stresses the need for at least seven hours of sleep and backs up his views with all kinds of scientific evidence. There is also a section with hints for those who have trouble sleeping. I am by nature a night owl but after reading this book, I resolved to get to get 7 hours of sleep. I feel better and notice a difference, especially when I don’t get 7 hours. I highly recommend the book.
Spreadsheets: From 2005 - 2007, when my daughter was looking at musical theatre BFA programs and auditioning, I was the king of spreadsheets to keep things ultra-organized. It got to the point where I thought I needed a spreadsheet to keep my spreadsheets organized!
Regarding Planet Fitness - Like everything in life there’s always an exception to every rule but in general, ugh, the “trainers” there are really sales people, not legit trainers. The PF’s near me are 2 floor operations with cardio on the second floor and I swear you could drop dead on a treadmill and not be found for two days until they got around to vacuuming. And " judgment free zones"? Right, until you make any noises lifting weights and they swoop down on you to admonish you to work out silently. Bet they never read any of the studies that found that making loud noises, and particularly cursing to get those last reps, actually improves your performance, lol!
The sleep concern is one reason that I exercise late in the day – I am also a night owl and find it hard to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. Fortunately, I work from home so rarely need to be up early – I prefer to schedule appointments for afternoons whenever possible. So waking up early to go to the gym would be a problem for me.
LOL. @MichaelNKat about them not finding you until they vacuum.
Thank you for the book recommendation. I just put it on hold at our library. It must be a popular book bc there are 6 holds in front of mine. Thankfully, our system has 2 copies and we can’t renew books that have holds. I read multiple synopses of the book. I am looking forward to reading it.
Didn’t you guys hear about two weeks ago, a Sandy, UT man was locked into a 24 hour fitness gym, while he was swimming around midnight? The company switched the hours of facility and the gym was no longer a 24-hour facility.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-locked-inside-24-hour-fitness-evening-workout/story?id=68268645
Not quite dropping dead on a treadmill though. 
“Just getting up off our butts and moving will give us the health benefits.” - Right… I think of my running / walking as “un-sitting”.
A few years ago I had about 6 months of VERY stressful job, working from home office but glued to the desk starting 5:30am - usually there 10 or 12 hours, sometime 14+ hours with only quick meal breaks. (I had survived a layoff but had to pick up other new work). I found that my knees hurt, even when just bending them in bed w/o weight on them. By the time I got in to see my doctor (truly fearing arthritis), I had “cried uncle” at work and requested one of the new/stressful assignments be reassigned… and the knee pain disappeared. I think the combination of long hours and body-clenching stress was taking a toll on my body. After that I vowed to move and walk more! (The next year I started couch-2-5k).
I think one thing that has helped me for years is that I am VERY selfish about my workout time. It simply has to happen. We get used to being parents, spouses and good employees and putting our own needs after those other things, but usually you CAN put the exercise time in your day and do your best to make it stick. On business trips, I will ask for 30 minutes before we all regroup for dinner, or a little bit later of a start to the day. This doesn’t always work (i.e. if we are going to court or something) but the people around me know that my running is a top priority. It seriously keeps me a little bit sane, so there’s that…
I agree with this. ^^^^ Exercise is one thing you can do that will help your “health” in more ways than one. Raise your hand if you feel more self worth because you find time to take care of yourself.
Well, inspired by this thread, I’m now up to 15 minutes on the rower and plan to build up to 2 15-min sessions or one 30 min session. This is the most rowing I’ve worked up to so far—travel and illness has always interrupted my ramp up.
I’m pleased I’m able to resist the urge to do a lot and then injure myself so I don’t exercise for an extended period, which is my more typical pattern. I’m also able to coax H to row as well.
Hopefully I will develop and stick with a yoga routine as well. I did take yoga regularly for years and know many of the poses, which often are identical to what H has learned in physical therapy.
I just came home from a really great workout session – I’m still breathing heavily even after the drive home from the gym.
At the gym where I go there’s no danger of anyone being missed or overlooked during normal waking hours. Way too many people there at any given time.
I looked a the picture of the guy who got locked inside in Utah and I think I would be delighted and have a field day if I found myself in that situation – no waiting on any machine! I’d be like a kid locked inside a candy store.
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