Last night, or rather all day, I was amped for Spin class.

There are three nights a week I like to go to Spin-Monday, because the teacher is really agressive and the music is really loud; Tuesday-because the teacher (a different teacher) is a little crazy, but plays good music; and Thursday, because the teacher is the same as Tuesday night.
I've tried a couple of the other Spin classes at the gym, but they weren't a good fit for me. As any avid spinner knows, there is a BIG difference between a class you like and class you hate and the instructor makes all the difference.

For instance, I cannot stand to go to the Friday night class because the instructor wears a very strange tight outfit, plays the most terrible music from the 70's and talks the ENTIRE time, explaining what muscles you are working as you spin. For some, that might be interesting, but for me, I just want to get wrapped up in the spinning.

Either way, last night I was so excited for spin class. My pal and I have been taking these classes for a couple months and we usually go together. Only Monday night, she said she didn't feel good. Last night, she "didn't feel good" again. So, feeling a little lonely, I offered for Jon (my boyfriend) to come. As he was driving home from work, he said "I'll be home in ten minutes...I'll come just this one time because you want me to, but I don't want to go every again." Basically, he had a bad attitude about it from the start, but still I wanted him to experience it, and thought maybe he would like it enough to continue going with me.

At my gym, these "popular" classes I like to go to get filled up real fast. So, when there's a six o'clock class, you need to be there a half hour early just to get a seat in there. Lately, the instructor has even asked the girls at the front desk to stamp your hand so that the people who sign up get a seat.

Long story short, the class was at 6, Jon got home at 5:37. We got out the door at 5:45 and got to the gym at 5:50. And the class was full.

We could have done something else at the gym, but I was super bummed. I put a little pout on my face, and told Jon we were leaving, walked to my car and cried a little. Looking back, I think this was a pretty silly reaction to not making it to a spin class which I am going to take in two days just the same, but I think I was mostly sad because I really have been trying to make a conscious effort (this week) to discipline myself back to going to the gym everyday and with the structure of a Spin class I know I can do it. Sometimes, when I'm by myself on a cardio machine, I lose the will to go the full 30-45 minutes and tell myself, "It's okay. You can get off. No one knows you and how long you've already worked out."

I did end up taking a 45-minute walk with my dog when I got home, which would have been great exercise if my dog knew how to walk normally haha. But I think next time I'll save my tears and try to make it to Spin class earlier.

Hi!

As a new member to Weight Loss Buddy, I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself to the rest of you buddies.

A few quick facts:
My name is Ariana, I am 23 years old, and constantly trying to lose weight.
I live in Albany, NY (though I grew up in Kinnelon, NJ) with my boyfriend, a roommate, Ashley, and a little dog (a Puggle) that we call Izzy.
For the past year, I have been a reporter at Spotlight Newspapers, a weekly community-oriented newspaper, and cover all the workings and happenings of Colonie-a town that was at one point the largest town in America.

Now to the parts that would interest you:
I LOVE chocolate, and candy and food all together. But mostly chocolate. I have a serious sweet-tooth that I've tried several times to kick with the help of Splenda- in fact, I put Splenda in my coffee every morning and then eat at least one cookie/brownie/candy bar somewhere throughout every day.

Several times over the past five years I've tried to lose weight, and I'm not going to lie-I was very sucessful once. After my first year of college I gained a little more like the Freshman 50 (as opposed to the Freshman 15, get it?). So, after Spring Break I got hard to work at dropping the extra baggage.
I started out going to my college gym (I graduated from SUNY College at Plattsburgh) every day doing about 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and stretching after. I also rearranged my entire diet, which was very hard to do with an all-you-can-eat meal plan at the college dining hall, cutting regular soda (one of my favorite things from my prior life) out completely, and choosing salads over hamburgers. Two months after I started, I regulated my workout routine, adding an extra 15 minutes to my cardio, and exploring other machines, like the stepper and treadmill, taking two days off to recoupe per week from my more intense workouts, and using weight machines to strengthen my arm and leg muscles.
I read health magazines and stayed current with new health tips, learning new abdominal exercises and showing them to my friends at the gym.
By the time I returned to school the next Fall, I had dropped 60 pounds! I felt like a totally different person, and everybody came up to me and told me how great I looked. Most importantly, I felt great, and really really healthy.

But then, by the end of my Senior year my college courseload got a little more stressful, and even more to blame, I got a boyfriend. Getting a boyfriend, in a way, is like being sick with the flu for a week and not looking in the mirror-you really let yourself go. Don't get me wrong-I love my boyfriend and we have a great time together. But he is 6'4, and eats and eats and eats.

And what did we do together?

We ate and ate and ate!

Almost two years later, I look at myself in the mirror and I don't see the same girl that went back to college feeling confident and proud of what I had gained by losing. I see a person who has lost the motivation and wants to gain it back more than anything, despite my boyfriend, who, did I mention eats Taco Bell three times a week.
So now, I am hoping to get back on track and get back to the healthy state I already know I can achieve. But it is no fun to climb a mountain alone, so I am hoping to have you buddies as my backbone. Together, I am confident we can help eachother get back to where we want to be.