KimonoSoul said:
Not to sound like a broken record - but you really don't need a scale to check your progress. Just see how your clothes fit...see what all you can do as you get stronger. Also, if you can find a pilates class somewhere, that is excellent...you work all of the muscles that you don't use, even during a normal strength training workout...you also stand up taller, because you realign your spine. You also are using your core muscles the entire time, and your bodies own natural resistance. I've only been doing it for about 6 weeks, and already I can see major changes in my body.
Me, I like to see progress in a measurable fashion; it also tells me if I'm slipping and that spurs me to be more active, or more careful, or both.
Clothes? Last year, when I moved, I pitched a lot of my "tween'" sized clothes because I thought I'd never wear them again. With no work, I can't afford to buy new ones, so what I'm wearing right now actually makes me look bigger because they're so roomy - my shirts tend to billow in the wind, and I have one pair of jeans that are almost at the point of slipping off me altogether (now there's something the world really doesn't need to see - my thighs!).
I can't afford to join a fitness club where they offer pilates, and buying the video wouldn't help, either, because I simply don't have enough floor space in my living room (books, books and more books! priorities, eh!), and besides, I know me well enough that I won't do workouts at home. I should be doing my aikido stretches between classes, but I don't.
So, it's aikido for me, bicycling because I can't afford public transit, and walking. And no more chocolate covered almonds!
