I've recently committed to getting into shape. Or some resemblance of shape. Or just better shape than I'm in now. Ideally, I see myself achieving the Grade 11 weight I've slowly moved away from, but I accept that I'm 21 now and my thighs are made of Smirnoff, so that's a bit of a lofty goal.
But I'm really trying. I've been a member at Gold's Gym in Regina since January, but have really been putting in my time since school started. I've been religiously tracking my calorie intake (except for Thanksgiving weekend and birthday cake). There's actually a neat little app on my phone that helps with this and I find it pretty motivating, because I now know how many minutes on the elliptical that KitKat bar is going to cost me, and I'm way too lazy for it to be worthwhile.
I've noticed a couple funny things, however, about the gym and the healthy-eating process.
First, gym people are weird. I like to go during the day when my class schedule allows it, and the 11 a.m. crowd is pretty entertaining. It's largely adult women wearing $200 worth of Lulu Lemon walking on a treadmill with their hair done and a full face of make-up. And me, freshly rolled out of bed with no make-up and a sloppy pony tail. The women and I present a united force against the skinny, six-packed gym all-stars who come in to lift more weight with one arm than I'm pretty sure I can squat. We are the New Year's resolution fatties who refuse to quit because we love cheesy popcorn and paralyzers. Seriously, mornings are a fun crowd.
I've also realized that I tend to eat more when I'm counting calories. I'm not a terribly unhealthy eater to begin with and I like to cook my own food from scratch, like so many healthy foods require. My problem is I like to cook cheesecakes and mini muffins and I don't understand "serving sizes." The way I see it, if it's delicious and sitting on my counter, it's going to end up in my belly. Counting calories, I eat less unhealthy food. I eat more food in general though, and I find myself starving at 9:30 p.m. and thinking "Hey, I still have 348 calories left to eat today ... peanut butter!" I'm pretty sure eating late at night isn't diet friendly, but I just cannot let those poor calories go ignored.
A healthy lifestyle isn't an easy goal for anyone. It's really required a change in the way I think about exercise and food. Rather than quitting when I'm tried during my Tuesday afternoon kick class, I stick it out, whereas old Tonaya would have given up because it was hard. And when there are grandma-baked cookies sitting on my counter ... I still eat them. Whatever. I'm working on it.
Tonaya Marr appreciates healthy recipes or diet tricks. Get in contact with Tonaya at [email protected] or on Twitter @TonayaMarr. Since turning 21, a vodka company has followed Tonaya on Twitter. That's pretty cool.
