Frumpfighter

Last March when my husband’s job was cut and our household income was instantly sliced in half, one of the first family budget cuts I made was canceling our gym membership. Spring was coming (of course it snowed for another month) and I planned to walk and ride my bike for exercise.

I had a pretty good walking regimen going but then the flood hit, I was too stressed, and a host of other excuses got in the way. I vowed that when we had more money, I would join the gym again. Walking is good exercise and clears the mind, but it just doesn’t compare to huffing and puffing away on the stepper and using the weight machines.

The stepper and treadmill give great cardio workouts.

Now, in my quest to slim down, shape up and get my life back together overall, I have finally rejoined the gym after nearly a 10-month hiatus. My husband is in the middle of getting his masters degree in special education and just started a new job. We’re not quite where we were financially last March, but the membership is a good investment. In what it costs per month for the gym membership, I can cut eating out and out non-essentials to make up for it.

I have gone back into my former workout routine – but at a much lighter pace. The past two days I’ve done 15 minutes each on the treadmill, stepper and recumbent bike as well as lift weights. I’m at about level 3 on the machines – compared to level 10 last March. Whew! Level 3 has been quite a struggle. But like the rest of this journey, I am going to ease my into it to prevent early burn out or injury.

While reading a magazine (Glamour, I believe) on the recumbent bike today, I came across an article about increasing your metabolism. Here were a few tips:

1. Don’t starve yourself. Eat several small meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism stable.
2. Get plenty of sleep and go to bed and wake up at about the same time each day.
3. Build muscle as it burns calories faster than fat tissue.  

Any other tips that work for you?