TGINM + Gym Talk

First order of business:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SLITHER BOY!

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ok so,

Thank Goodness It's Not Monday!

Those were the words out of the instructor at the gym this morning, and I couldn't agree more.

Here I am now, sitting at my desk enjoying my coffee and breakfast, with my workout done for the day!

Let's talk about morning workouts for a moment, shall we?

I have such a love hate relationship with them. 

The love: I am much more flexible throughout the day.  I can work late if need be, I can grab drinks with K if we're feeling fun, I can take my time with dinner!  When I'm working out after work, I'm on a strict time schedule because I attend classes that fill up fast.  I have to get there in time to change,refill my water bottle, etc.  Basically, bad traffic could mean I miss my workout.  And then, I'm rushed to get home and get dinner and a glass of wine on the table. Working out first thing takes all of the guesswork out of that portion of my day, which in itself, saves this little OCD girl some stress!

The hate: Well, I'm up at 5:00 am, which I realize isn't that early, but considering I'm an 8 hours + sleeper, it puts me in the bed by 9:00 pm, which again, isn't that early.  But let me tell you, my 5 am wake-up call is looming in my mind once 8:00 pm strikes.  The winding down must commence.  And some nights I like a little late night tv!  And then there's the waking up part. My oh my how tempting it is to dismiss the first alarm and snooze until 7!  And because I don't workout every morning, my body fights it all the more because it's not yet a habit.  It's a battle...

Fitness is a battle that I love to fight.  With the risk of sounding totally nuts, certain workouts have made me feel so good they nearly bring me to tears!  Exercise has brought great things into my life.

And now, onto something (not so great) that often goes hand in hand with gym talk:

Fat talk.  This is something that bothers me so much.  I have overheard numerous conversations at the gym and within my own friendships that center around the concept of being skinny, feeling fat, and everything related to both.  These are conversations that I mostly manage to avoid participating in or letting affect my self-image.  I have never considered myself to have an issue with weight or fat talk as I have always been generally content with my body, but it's only been recently that I have thought about this.  And this is only because over the past year and a half I have lost about 25-30 lbs.  I'm mentioning this not to brag or share my "secret", it's because I'm having to learn to answer the question in the first scenario, "Have you lost weight?", and truthfully it makes me uncomfortable!  It's funny because I obviously made the choice to start living a healthier lifestyle and with that I welcomed the inevitable weight loss.  But I don't really like the attention of it!  It's shown me a side of the world that is obsessed with weight loss and maintenance. And it's made me realize how it is hard for me to take a compliment.  I would never respond to this question with a self deprecating remark regarding my body (ex: OMG what do you mean, look at these thighs), but it's also hard to say "Thanks! I feel great!".  I don't want to come across as smug and thus I underplay my results.  I find myself fumbling in response, like "Sure, I guess I have..."  I don't really know why I feel like this, but it's very important to me that I "Stop the fat talk habit".  And if by denying my success as far as weight loss goes, and diverting the questions and interest in it fuels any sort of negative body talk, then I definitely don't want that!  But really.. 

I want to celebrate health, NOT weight loss...

Ladies, please let me hear it:  What are your opinions on "Fat Talk"?