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It’s time for me to really get in shape! (I joined the National Body Challenge)

January 4th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in Life, WWW

Being the couch potato that I am, I was recently made aware of the National Body Challenge, a national get-healthy/get-fit program being held by the Discovery Health network, via television commercial. Wooo! After signing up, participants are given a whole bunch of shiznit that you wouldn’t think would be handed out for free, but is.

The main reason I joined is because participants are each given a trial membership to Bally Total Fitness for up to 8 weeks (woo that’s a whole lot of saving right there, and much better than the usual 1 or 2 week gym trials), assuming you activate said membership by ~~Jan. 5, 2008 (tomorrow)~~ January 15, 2007 (I was just informed of this date extension by a PR rep…. so double check that when you actually sign up at your local Bally’s). You also get free exercise tips, diet/health-conscious recipes and meal plans, and access to a plethora of health-centric articles, tools, videos, etc. designed to teach you a thing or two as well as to boost participant morale. Hell, you can even join in on their “kick off” days being held tomorrow and the day after at malls from coast to coast.

I hate to admit it, but I have been so unmotivated to get into shape and lose all this weight that I put on. When I gave birth almost two years ago, it didn’t take long for me to lose a lot of the weight I had gained from the pregnancy. Then when I stopped breastfeeding about a year ago (Hello, retained calories!), I went from about 10 lbs up from my pre-preggers weight (a weight I was not happy with, but could deal with) to about 25 lbs up from my pre-pregnancy weight (a weight I absolutely detest). Standing at a towering 5 foot 2 inches, an extra 5 pounds (or the loss of such) is easily recognizable, and coming from an outspoken (cough cough) family, it’s been fairly easy to develop a tough skin, what with all the weight I’ve put on and the comments, jibes and jokes I’ve had to put up with. (Ugh)

However… it is not (wholly) vanity that is fueling my desire to get shape, get fit, be able to fit into my favorite jeans and dresses again. There is a history of diabetes in both my mother’s and biological father’s families, with an extra punch of the risk of heart disease on my mom’s side…. definitely scary.

I’ve always meant to start dieting. I’ve always meant to eat healthier… Well, it’s a new year… it’s a new beginning (hmm.. in more ways than one). I’ll probably be heading over to Bally sometime today or tomorrow to activate my membership.