A Little Discovery

Last night I busted out my "Chalene Extreme." I had stared it a few months ago, got into the second phase, but couldn't continue. Partly because I was teaching so much, partly because I was (and am) doing Bikram yoga, but mostly because I was SO FREAKIN' BORED!!!!!!
I bought it because I kept hearing how women should lift heavy weights, and that it leads to greater fat loss, and that it was a good stepping stone to P90X (which I had also tried multiple times but kept injuring myself). But...
It was SO BORING!!!!
The SAME EXACT warmup for every workout...all 16 of them.
Having to do the same 3 workouts every week for 3 weeks.
And an instructor who, um, likes to chat. A lot. About how good you're gonna look in that swimsuit! But ONLY if you give it 100%
And, OK, the biggest turnoff? Inside the studio there are multiple video screens showing continuous images of very fit people, mostly women, POSING. So you HAVE to see it during the entire workout, every workout.
UGH!!!!!!!
Last night I did one of the interval workouts. it was a very good workout, but I knew right away that it was gonna be a LONG 40 minutes, because right off the bat I was annoyed. And I kept on being annoyed for the entire thing. Which just reminded me of how annoying I find the entire series.
It's not Chalene's fault, really. And I DO enjoy her Turbo Jam and PiYo! It's just that I've realized that I don't want to be part of this whole working-off-the-calories mindset any longer. (And she DID mention that, at the very beginning. "We're gonna work off kunch! We're gonna work off dinner! We're gonna work off some of tomorrow!" Probably why I was so annoyed to begin with.) And I DEFINITELY don't want to be part of the "Lok at me! I'm hot! I'm also REALLY insecure, so I want you to SEE how hot I am and TELL ME how hot I am, dammit" mindset. It's just TOO L.A./"Real Housewives of Orange County" for me.
The ENTIRE time, she was talking about the physiques of the other exercisers. There's one woman who, apparently, recenly had a baby. Which is wonderful! But she's very thin and cut, and the instructor kept going on and on about it. Plus, this exerciser would look DIRECTLY into the camers whenever it came remotely close to her, and it just gave me bad memories of being an actress and all the desperation tat goes along with it.
But that's just me.
What's really important here, for me, is that I am no longer going to waste my time on things that aren't useful/important to me and mine. Some people find that buying a bikini or a pair of utlra-skinny jeans is a good motivator. Fine, terrific, good for you. Me? I don't give a crud about skinny jeans or bikinis. I'm not trying to look 25. I wouldn't want to be 25 again for all the riches in the world! (And at 25 I was anorexic, so I'm not gonna look that way again, regardless.)
Yes, I want to lose weight. Yes, I want more energy. But I'll look to my diet for that. I exercise because I enjoy it, it keeps me calm, it keeps me happy, and it it keeps me healthy. Pilates will help prevent a lot of age-related disorders. Yoga does the same, and also quiets my mind (NOT an easy task, lol!). Spinning is just plain fun, while walking does all of the above. I lift weights, but I'll stick with lower weights/higher reps, because that's what works for me and I enjoy it. Besides, Pilates and yoga use my own body weight AS WELL AS resistance, so I'm stronger than I've EVER been.
I refuse to work out in order to "burn off dinner." I'm human. I have to eat. If I don't, I will eventually die. Hunger is a natural human response. It is not something to fear. Food is not the enemy.
Geesh!!!!