a post about working out

During my last Ask Brooklyn post someone asked what my fitness/diet routine was like. And it made me reflect on how I could improve. 

At the time, we were going to the gym 3-4 times a week for around 45 minutes. So I decided it was time to kick it up a notch. I set a goal to attend the gym 4 times a week and told the husband I'd like to work out for an hour each time when possible. I figured that would add a little more than one additional work out a week from before. 4 times a week with an extra 15 minutes every day adds up to another hour of exercise! And honestly adding that 15 minutes each day doesn't seem like that much.

While Mr. Jolley and I were long distance dating, we both gained a bit of weight. Neither of us are morbidly obese, but I ate a lot of Wendy's and Chickfila that I'm now paying for. Combined with no exercise, my body was probably at it's worst when we got married. Pretty backwards huh?

My motivation for going to the gym right now is Gossip Girl. As sad and pathetic as that may seem, it gets me to the gym. Last Saturday I begged Mr. Jolley to go to the gym with me so I could see what happened next on Gossip Girl.

Because I have a grandma body, running hurts my joints. So that's why I just walk on the days I don't do classes. But since we are paying for a membership that includes classes, I set a goal to go to 2 classes a week, plus I get a better workout during classes because they kick my butt! This week will be Zumba tonight and Yoga tomorrow. Every other day we work out, I have a date with my ipad, Netflix, and Gossip Girl ;)

The hardest thing about all this is I am hardly seeing results. I'm not KILLING my body at the gym every time, because if I did, I'd hate going to the gym. Even going to the gym 4-5 times a week now is a HUGE change for me. And I talked to Mr. Jolley about how I want the changes we make to be LIFESTYLE changes, even though it will take longer to start seeing results, I want the way we workout and eat now to be something I can continue. I don't want to starve myself for immediate results. So we cheat sometimes and eat out, but we usually split meals. I haven't given up Coke, nor do I really plan to. (I know someone should ground me.) And I eat low fat ice cream at least every other day. But i'm taking better care of my body than ever. I'm sleeping better, feeling better, and slowly getting my body back where I want it. 

How do you stay motivated to go to the gym?