The Hustle of Sistah Ant

I am not quite the svelte, lean tenderoni I was when I was in college. In college, I walked to and from class, work, social events, bus stops, shopping - everywhere, even after I got my car with me. I had joined a sorority, so I had step practice, and my Freshman 8 just melted away. I wasn’t very muscular, but I was a lean, mean, high metabolism having machine.

I wish someone had told me that if you don’t have a gym membership before you get yourself on birth control, you might as well get one. Several of the girls I know gained weight once they started. I am no exception. Add that to a more sedentary lifestyle - all the walking I do now is up or down the block to the bus - and I am about 12 pounds over my college weight. It’s not the weight that bothers me, and it’s not my more curvaceous shape, which I love - it’s the sorry shape that the new weight is in. I look great in the 75% of my clothes that still fit. But I don’t want to wear a bikini anymore, ‘cause I have folds that I’ve never had before. Parts of my body jiggle after I stop moving. I have very little muscle tone. And I know that unless I do something about it now, it’s only downhill from here.

I considered joining a dance class, since I suspect that a gym will bore me. But I’ve decided to join a gym near my job and give it a shot first because of its convenient location. I hate the idea of having an additional monthly expense, but part of the reason I am so careful with my money is so that I can have a great quality of life. As my finances get better and better, I plan to go on trips. I want to go to the most beautiful beaches in the world. And I want to look good when I do it. Being self-conscious on the sands of St. Lucia will ruin the whole experience and waste the money I will have carefully budgeted to get there. Having high blood pressure or diabetes one day will totally kill the buzz of visiting Paris if I have to strictly watch my diet the whole time. Healthy people live the good life better.

I figure that’s worth $20 a month.