Benefits of fitness...to me!

If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle has been the theme throughout. Weight loss is a casualty, if you will of fitness and exercise.

This past year, I've had many 'aha' moments as I've continued my journey.  Simple things I enjoy are so much easier with less weight. While I don't live by the number on the scale, I do weigh myself weekly. With that being said, I don't let the number on the scale be the only measurement of progress. Here are but a few recent 'simple things' that have made me want to continue to lose inches.


° attending Warriors games this season. I've always felt like a stuffed sausage sitting in those seats! Lord help me if I have my jacket and a bag. Feeling comfortable is highly unlikely.

° wearing clothes these days is fun! The constant tugging and pulling of my pants is so annoying! I should invest in suspenders to hold my pants up!



° my skirts now play ring around the rosey! Manufacturers put tags on clothing for a purpose to identify the front/back of the article of clothing. When my skirt swivels around, it's not comfy, at all.

° recent travel has been nice, too. I mean, I have a little room in the seat and the arm rest stays in its downright position. Again, I'm usually a stuffed sausage in the seat and I'm constantly pushing the armrest down. Pretty embarrassing when I'm not traveling with family.


° airline bathroom use has also become less stressful.  You see, for a germaphobe  like me, touching public restroom anything is just gross to me. I mean, I use toilet paper to lift the bathroom seat. An airline restroom is not a large space. Struggling to get all of my width into an airline restroom without touching the walls is difficult. What a discovery when I no longer had to shimmy myself in there!

All of these discoveries display my progress in a way so absent from the scale. What a motivator to keep going. To keep waking up at the crack 'o dawn to get my ass beat (with love) by The Inner Athlete trainers. To keep finding moments where I can see my progress without getting on the scale.

Make time for yourself!

I've been working out at The Inner Athlete off and on for over a year. The Inner Athlete is a private fitness studio and the cost is a bit more than what I'm used to paying as a member of 24 Hour Fitness. I can assure you that the level of service and fitness experience at The Inner Athlete is not at all like 24 Hour. And that's a great thing! In my previous position, I couldn't always make the classes or I was too tired to workout.

Last summer, I left that job and was unemployed. Funny thing...now I'm off work and couldn't always afford to attend classes at The Inner Athlete. In fact, I cancelled my 24 Hour membership.

With time on my hands, I told myself I have NO excuse to not workout. With my hiking group, Black Girls Run chicks, and #keepupwithalondra challenges, I had an arsenal of fitness activities to busy myself. I had time for those 7am weekday walks at Lake Chabot or to meet a hiking buddy for a Tuesday morning hike. I also committed to utilizing the gym in my complex. Alondra's challenges in many instances required use of the gym...(insert groan, here). The gym and all of the equipment scares me. I'd rather walk, hike, or use my light weights and bands at home and call it a day!  Ultimately, I made the time to get my activity in for the day.  After all, I did have a goal of rocking a 2-piece swimsuit in Hawaii, which was fast approaching.