Exercise

Does your wellness center have a website?  I was thinking that if these kinds of places are not already out there, that there is probably a need for them now in any sizeable city.  Do a lot of people have wellness centers or something similar where they live? If they do, do they actually go to them?

I go to a community center where every other human in my community goes. No special population. Just people who feel like moving. http://www.riverwinds.org/ It's especially gorgeous nd especially cheap-- and why I live in a different state than I teach in-- it's that good a thing.

Hey Bert, I used to belong to Curves, which is a "gym" just for woman (30 minute circuit training).  And, although it was catered  to all woman, mostly obese women went.  I loved this idea when I was starting out at 428lbs.  I was self-concious and Curves offered me a place to feel comfortable in my own skin. I don't know if something like that would work for men??  Anyway, three years and 200+lbs lost later, Curves just didn't do it for me.  I was bored there and needed more.  I did alot of research and went to check out ALOT of gyms.  Many of them seem very "showy" and fake--people there to show off, look good, etc. rather then just get a great work out.  BUT I did find a select few that I really did like.  They were either affiliated with a community center or a hospital.   What I liked the most was that it was obvious people were there to work out and get healthy (and a big difference I saw, and this may be silly, but it was with what the people were wearing--no silly little shorts or half naked girls or men wearing tiny tank tops or tight muscle shirts)  They had reg. workout clothes on and were all sweating like pigs.  I  ultimately ended up going with a life-fitness center affilitated with a hospital near my house and where I work. I absolutely love it and go to work out 5-6 days a week at 2 hour stretches.   I love the groove, power, nia, step, water aerobics and pilates classes.  ( I do swim somewhere else though, because this pool is too small- I go to a univeristy pool that has an olympic size pool to do my laps) Here's the website if you wanted to look for comparisons near you.   http://www.galterlifecenter.org/

I've said it before, an' since you missed it, I'm gonna say it again. First: people look harder at women than men-- and I am a woman. I was a 368 pound woman-- with very hangy arms, more divots in her ass than an 18 hole golf course, and knockers the size of human heads. And I swam often, and still do every day. I'm not one of those "letting the *******s win" kind of people. And if I stay in my house out of fear, and don't do what my body needs or wants, who's winning in that scenario? The other thing is to play out that fear fantasy. "People will know I am fat." Here's a wake up call: you're fat in clothes too, and everyone knows it. It's no secret. And if for some reason people cared enough to be terribly offended by the sight of you, how many are also rude enough to say anything? And since when do you care what people think? It's that kind of muddy, fearful thinking that KEEPS us fat. It's an oppression we put on ourselves. The idea of a pool for the obese-- might be comfortable, but I'll tell you something else: I am not going to be marginalized. You know I do a lot of work with size acceptance-- what I *don't* do is hang out exclusively in those communities and never have. While it brings some safety with it, it also further "ghettoizes" me, as if I have no place in the bigger world-- and I don't think that's how I want to live my life-- in a safe but segregated world. In 39 years on this earth-- I have had exactly three comments made by strangers while I was in a swimsuit. One was a 6 year old girl (negative), one was a 13 year old boy (I think he said something like, "WHOA!"), and another was a slightly smaller woman who "admired my courage." This in 10 years of public swimming. I survived. People may look, as they like to note differences-- I know I do. They might initially express shock on their faces-- it is shocking to see something new. Once in a blue moon it may hurt. The novelty wears off fast, though. By staying in your house, and missing out on the experience of exercise, weightlessness, and the joy of being in water, you're letting other people leech the life out of you with your full consent. Frankly, I wouldn't stand for that ****

 

I didn't miss anything.  I've been thinking a lot as I walk about how many people there are who are in a situation like I was, where last year I could barely walk at all, and what got me to the point where I can now walk more than four miles a day. What could have made that easier?  I wonder if you have to reach a place where "enough is enough" which has happened in yours and my case, and you bootstrap yourself into a healthier lifestyle, or if that path could be smoothed.  There are obvious common threads, are they addressable?

Sorry-- I thought we'd discussed it in your absence. Mea culpa. There probably *is* a nicer way to go about things, but the fact is, the number of obese people who would use such a facility would probably not financially justify its existence. I think even under the best possible situations, there is a general fear and mistrust and insecurity about our physical persons once we've lost control of them. Mos****er aerobics classes I have been in have been made up almost entirely of overweight and or elderly people, even in large gyms. Easily 75%. It's my hope that I will be teaching classes in a year or so specifically targeting overweight people. I'm working on the plans now, if only the body would comply. Can I get a little wellness here??? Another thought-- maybe if it was easier you wouldn't have found the PUSH, you know? Maybe the adversity is part of the drive, somehow. I know the fact that the world is not ready to help or mollycoddle me only makes me work harder-- but yes, I know I might be unique. What could make it easier? An understanding of obesity and size acceptance, from within and without. Understanding that even if your life path includes obesity and overeating, that exercise makes your life considerably easier and healthier. Physical education programs that promote lifetime physical fitness for the individual instead of team sports that leave half the class dormant, and a portion rejected completely.  Increased useful physical education in the schools in general. Parents who model a lifestyle that includes regular physical activity. Teaching our children to be accepting of differences instead of being judgemental and divisive. It'd all help. But for now, it's down to the individual, and it's hard. We can do hard things. We will.

You're in luck, Bert!  These sound great...and cheap! E.V. Davidson Community Center Carl Cowan Pool 3124 Wilson Ave. 865-971-4746 Cost: $2/person/visit Family Swim: Monday 6:00-8:30 p.m. Aqua Aerobics: Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:00 p.m. Water Walking/Cardio: Tuesday & Thursday 6:00-8:00 p.m. Teen Swim: Wednesday 6:00-8:30 p.m. Lap Swim: Monday-Thursday 4:00-6:00 p.m. South Knoxville Community Pool Old Maryville Pike 865-577-7591 Cost: $2/person/visit Hours: Monday-Friday 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. and Monday & Thursday 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Adaptive Center Pool 2235 Dandridge Ave. 865-525-9080 Cost: $2/person/visit Hours: Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. ***This one offers a LOT of courses for people of many ability ranges---but their hours SUCK--- check this out!****

This is an interesting question for me because I have never kept myself from exercising.  Even at 350+ I was pretty active.  I went to the gym at least 3 days a week.  I think that exercising is what helped me "maintain" my weight.  I think if I had been sedentary I would have kept growing and growing and growing. I go straight from work to the gym 4-5 days a week now.  It is something I do only for ME!  My son comes with me so it's also an added bonus to have him being active as well. I sometimes wonder what people do with the time between work and dinner.  If I didn't go to work out I don't know what I'd do.  Well, I'd clean and shop and cook dinner of course, but that 1 1/2 hours a day is MY time!!!