New and rambling!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-28-2006
New and rambling!
9
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 10:27am

Hi! I guess what has brought me here is that I have been inspired to get back to some sort of regular workout routine. This is what started it all: my space! I had no idea what it really was (duh I know) but decided to explore it yesterday. I didn't go to my highschool reunion but I found *many* people that I graduated with on there. I thought it was only for teens, I am in my early thirties. I really got a kick out of seeing people I had gone to school with anywhere 4 years older than me and 4 years younger. Many of us are parents, many divorced, many married, a few still single and childless. What stuck out to me was that the ones that appeared to have the best attitude and had aged well were the ones that listed themselves as "athletic" and mentioned health, nutrition, and some sort excersise i.e. triathalon, marathon, motorcross (a prior cheerleader!), yoga, etc. They had the pictures to back up their brags. The ones that seemed, well...bitter and haggard (is that mean?) were the ones that didn't appear to uh...workout ;) They weren't as positive or happy in their write-ups and they definately had not aged well. I guess I sort of thought everyone who had kids would be the women that hadn't aged well (I have two) because it does take a lot of out of you having kids. But interestingly it didn't seem to matter, there were some single childless women that hadn't aged as well as some mom's of two and same for the guys. I decided it had to be about overall health and especially excersise.

I was never athletic in HS although I enjoyed snow skiing and swimming. I became a runner in college which slimmed me down but sadly after getting married and having kids I have not kept any sort of excersise routine. I bought some pilates and yoga DVD's that I haven't used yet and I am planning on joining a gym this week. I guess I have been inspired to get back into shape. Not only for the physical vanity aspect but because it's a great stress reliever and attitude boost from what I remember. Anyway I know it's a long ramble but when you haven't seen anyone you went to highschool with for 14 years then find them it's a real shock! Anyone else have stories of long lost friends they have seen after a long time? The only other story I have is after I became a runner in college and had lost about 60 pounds (no joke) I was working at a local restaurant during college break and some guys I had gone to highschool with came in and couldn't get over how different I looked. It felt really good to me. It's memories like that that make me want to do it again! I have about 26 pounds to lose to get there again. Please share your thoughts!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-18-2005
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 11:04am

Glad to have you on board!

The WeatherPixie <
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 11:20am

Welcome to the board! What a great story - it sure shows you the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle! I mean, we can say it over and over again, but to have you tell us about the visuals really brings home the fact that we need to take care of ourselves!


You don't have to be an athlete to be healthy and fit, and remember it is one step at a time! Little changes can yield great results!


Take a look at our journals section and see what people are up to, and how they are charting their progress!


This board is a fabulous resource for support and information, the women here are fantastic!


iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2003
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 11:41am

Hi and welcome! I know what you mean ... I live in the Chicago area and went to a huge high school here and occasionally still run into someone from school. Some look almost exactly the same to me and others (particularly the guys for some reason, maybe because of baldness, LOL) seem to really have aged. I'm sure taking care of yourself physically has quite a bit to do with it.


This board is really supportive. Like Miranda said, taking small steps can make a huge difference over time! I'm finding that doing exercise I enjoy in some way (I love walking and yoga, and have started Pilates more recently) is a great for my overall health and my mood.


Hope you like it here!


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 4:41pm

Pssst!- back at ya' ~welcome to the 30's board!!!


You really do make a great point, and something we when we've fallen (and are having trouble getting back on) the wagon need to remind ourselves about. One does feel good, really good, not only physically I think, but also mentally (alive) when exercising and generally taking care of yourself.


You've come across our board at a great time......look out for a challenge, starting next week (regular posters, take note!!)


Looking forward to having you with us :-)

Shelly's Creation!
The Express Yourself Package
Get Fit, one step at a time!

_____________________________________________________

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-28-2006
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 6:15pm
Thanks for the welcome everyone! I look forward to joining in. I have been thinking about starting a routine for some months now and I think that was the final kick in the butt I needed. I was really shocked to see faces I hadn't seen in years. And some of the men were balding, but what I noticed is if they were in good shape you didn't really notice it so much. One was a firefighter and one did triathalons and they both were balding but you didn't really focus on that because of the way they looked overall and they had the best attitudes. Same for the women. The ones that were single mothers but were in great shape seemed to have very positive attitudes and didn't look tired or "rode hard put away wet" like you would think someone would look if they had a couple of small kids and had to take care of them without a partner. Not to be offensive, I have kids myself, but you always think the mothers are going to be the ones that look tired, out of shape, and aged and the single women are going to look well rested, neatly kempt, and ageless. Not so much! I did notice the more tired and unhealthy/overweight a person looked the less happy they seemed in their journals and profiles regardless of education, marital status, or parent status. It was an eye opener for me. I am going to look out for the challenge next week :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-28-2006
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 6:23pm
I am sure if I bumped into some of them they would be thinking the same thing about me. We just see ourselves everyday and don't realize we are aging. It was a real shocker because most people have close up pictures of themselves and several of them at that. You see the crows feet, the thinned out faces, the balding hair, and who hasn't kept up with brushing their teeth ;) Some of the women apply their makeup way to heavily, some have gained a lot of weight (when they use to be the head cheerleader). Then some were the ones that were never in great shape in highschool but started working out afterward (one lady that went into the military) and she looks sooooo much better than she did in highschool. Of course there are a couple of girls that look the *exact* same way which is also shocking after looking at all the people who don't. I really want to start on my tapes as well I have several yoga ones which I think I might enjoy. Please recommend any that you find non-boring and fun. Sometimes DVD's can be a hit or miss as far as how fun they are to do.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-28-2006
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 6:31pm
Thanks for the welcome. Maybe I am just nosey but sometimes it takes seeing other people and what they are doing to get inspired. I am going to definately check out those journals. I think you are right that you don't have to necessarily be an athlete which is good because I don't think I could ever be one. I would like to feel good about myself and feel healthy again. It's a whole other feeling and confidence booster to know you are within your proper weight range and your body is functioning well. It's been so long since I was there. I think we relate to the world differently and I think the world treats us differently as unfair as that may be. I really need to do this. I am sort of looking at the people in highschool that have done well as far as health and fitness to inspire me. And of course meeting people on this board to do the same would be wonderful.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-28-2006
Mon, 10-30-2006 - 6:34pm
I would encourage anyone to go on there and check it out. It's pretty fun, especially if you have not gone to any reunions. They have lots of pictures of reunions on there I noticed. So although I didn't go I got to see all the pictures :) I have a few different work out tapes and I have to say some of them are really boring. I always like to hear about the nonboring ones though since I get snow bound in the winter.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2001
Wed, 11-01-2006 - 11:30pm

Hi and welcome to the board!

I just went to my 20 year highschool reunion this summer and it was just as you had described looking at the My Space site. After highschool I moved across the country and when I am home at the holidays I rarely run in to my old classmates. So to meet up with so many people at one location was incredible! Like your class, the guys in my class really hadn't aged that well and the girls were a wide variety - some had gained a lot of weight, some had aged pretty poorly. Fortunately I was one of the "you look just like you did in highschool" girls! lol Now I personally know I've put on weight but I'm also very good at hiding it :-)

Again - welcome to the board and I look forward to getting to know you!

- Vanessa