1. The new RLWH dietitian
I mentioned that I had lunch with an RD last week in Friday’s post and she has now officially joined our team! You’ll hear more from Crystal in an upcoming blog post here in the next few weeks. She will also begin taking new clients in about 4-6 weeks. She studied at Simmons College and also did her dietetic internship there which focused on intuitive eating and eating disorders. She’s also been under the wing of Marci Evans for a good while. If you don’t know Marci, know that she is a must know RD in the eating disorder world and an incredible teacher. I’m really looking forward to what unfolds for Real Life Women’s Health in the near future and am really thankful Crystal is joining us!
2. Why Not Belonging to a Gym Has Been Good For Me
I tried out several gyms and fitness studios during our first few months in Boston. I haven’t had any sort of gym membership since March or so of last year. We had a small, no frills gym in our apartment building in New York that I would use from time to time for weights or when it was raining, but I mostly ran/walked outside or did barre3 online. When we moved to Boston, gyms and fitness studios were a touch cheaper and I took advantage of new student specials and trial periods to check some out. I joined a gym in January knowing that I had 30 days to back out and ended up backing out after a few weeks. And then all the studios I tried were great, but I just don’t like doing the same thing all the time which is what justifies a monthly membership – I thought about individual classes but only a handful add up to the same as the monthly membership.
I’ve realized that I feel pressure to exercise when I know I’m paying for it…if that makes sense? I feel like I have to get my “money’s worth” and so for me, it creates a lot of outside noise. I’ve learned that I like to move as frequently or infrequently as I like and at anytime of the day that works for me – not just when the class starts/ends – and without the pressure of knowing I’m paying $$. So I just threw in the towel and was like, I don’t think this is going to work for me. I like walking, running, jogging and biking outside. And I like Barre3 online classes and the occasional Fitness Blender circuit I can do at home or outside in a park. I do love yoga and I love the YogaWorks studio here in Boston – my favorite by far! I did 2 unlimited weeks there for a new student special and found I don’t want to do yoga that much to justify a membership so instead I drop into their $5 community classes if I’m feeling like yoga and those are great. For me, not having a membership has allowed me to exercise in a more intuitive way. That’s just my experience, but it took me a while to actually realize that. There are occassional days where I feel like going to a gym and lifting weights and getting on the elliptical, but not often enough to justify a membership. I would love to hear your thoughts or your experience in the comments on this!
3. Newest Podcast
I got to meet Paige in person for the first time back in March at the MEDA conference and we became fast friends. When she invited me on her podcast I quickly said yes. I really enjoyed doing this podcast because we talked about things I haven’t talked about on other podcasts. I talk about hormones frequently on podcasts, but Paige asked me questions that I haven’t been asked before and it was really fun for us to converse together around those questions. If you’re looking for a good listen this weekend, I hope you enjoy this episode!
4. Favorite Recipe Blog
Momma Coale actually introduced me to Damn Delicious blog and I love it. Her recipes don’t have any dietary labels, calorie counts or anything like that – she just makes really good food that any person could prepare. I’ve only made a handful of recipes from this site, but I’ve never made one that I didn’t love. Scrolling through her recipe index gets me excited about cooking and food and I’m into food blogs like that.
5. Start of our next IE group
Our first intuitive eating support group is well under way and has been an amazing experience for Liz, myself and the women participating so we have decided to start another group on June 28th! You can read more about the details of the group here, but for 10 weeks the group meets via video at 7:15pm EST | 4:15pm PST on Thursdays.
Liz, our therapist, facilitates the group and I’ve gotten to join as a listener. I led groups during my first couple years as an RD, but haven’t done any group work since so this is not my expertise. Liz on the other hand leads these groups on an ongoing basis and from my experience in the group, you can tell this is her cup of tea. I have the privilege of working 1:1 with really brave and incredible women everyday and I love that work. The women in this IE support group are no different. It was so cool to hear them processing their experiences, what they’re learning and challenges they are facing with Liz and the group and for Liz and the other women to be able to dialogue through that with them and provide support, empathy, encouragement and advice. Not feeling alone in your journey is so powerful and I really enjoyed being able to witness the positive effect of a safe community and group support. You can read more about the benefits of making changes in a group setting here if this resonates with you. And if you’d like to join our next group, email us at [email protected] and we’d be happy to answer any questions and get you started. There are limited spots and our next group won’t start until the fall, so if you’re thinking about the group I’d encourage you to follow your gut 🙂
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This was a breath of fresh air today! Thank you!!! 😊😊
I have a gym membership, but it really works for me. At first I was calculating how many times I would need to go in a month to get my money’s worth because I hate spending money, but now I love it. I don’t recommend the gym to all my clients, but for me it really works. These are the reasons it works me: I have a toddler, work as an RD full time and my husband is in a doctoral program for physical therapy full time, and I’m getting a masters in human nutrition part time. This all boils down to my time is limited!! By the end of the day I have no desire to workout as I really miss it.I used to wake up early and workout quietly in my living room, but it is hard to jump quietly to keep your child asleep. haha So I go to the gym early in the morning. I found that I love to lift weights.It makes me feel good! They gym provides me with all the weights I could ever want to lift. Now that I really enjoy going and found my groove of what i like and dislike doing there, it is always refreshing! I’ve also made some gym pals from seeing the same people each day which provides extra encouragement.
I also love damn delicious. I could stare at that website all day!! The food always looks amazing.
The gym definitely works for some! And there are some days where I do wish I had somewhere to go and move. Having a place to exercise outside of the house can be so great!
I feel the SAME way (re: gym memberships!). I’ve belonged to gyms off and on in the past 2 years and any time I’m paying for a membership, I start feeling anxiety about going to the gym/going enough. It felt like a moral decision to go or not go. Finally I realized there is almost no part of me that enjoys formal exercise at a gym and just made myself stop thinking about joining a gym. I get movement by working with our livestock, going on walks, and doing specific yoga/stretching exercises. It feels much more intuitive 🙂
I’ve always felt a lot of pressure when getting a gym membership too. It is dangerous because in the past I would feel guilty and less of a person if I wasn’t taking advantage of my gym membership. Also want to just bring to your attention that damn delicious does sometimes have diet talk in the blog posts before getting to the recipes… but the food always looks amazing!!
Oh man, I haven’t come across that but I’m new to the blog.
I found Classpass worked really well for me because I could go to a yoga class one week and a spin class the next. They also have options where you can just go to a gym and lift weights. Not sure how much it is in Boston, but it’s a pretty good deal in Dallas.
I’ve cooked from the Damn Delicious blog for years and love it! Her cookbook is also beautiful….any time I need some meal planning inspiration I flip through It!
I also dropped out of my gym at the beginning of the year and I feel like it’s been the BEST decision. It was stressing me out thinking I ‘needed’ to go to the gym after work some days (even when I was exhausted) just to get my money’s worth. Instead, I’ve been enjoying walks around my neighborhood while listening to podcast and going for a longer run on Fridays when I’m less busy and stressed. I’ve also been connecting with our $5 independent classes in the community. I find I enjoy a group workout about every other week, but to even expect every week is unrealistic. Yay for another podcast episode! I may or may not search just for your name (and some other professionals I like) in the podcast library routinely just to see if there’s anything new! I know what I”ll be listening to on my walk this evening!
I totally agree about that gym thing and find that doing other movements feel more intuitive for me! Also excited to check out hat podcast- just downloaded it!
My parents raised me to be very frugal so the idea of wasting money on a membership I don’t use causes some anxiety. I found a studio in my town that offers 4 class/month packages (not a membership that keeps you enrolled each month) and punch passes that are good for a year. Now I feel like I can go when I truly feel like kickboxing or weight training, not out of guilt or obligation.
While I do enjoy weight lifting sometimes, I more consistently want to ride my bike, walk or kayak. Thank you so much for introducing me to gentle and mindful movement.
I love that! I was just talking to my roommate how Class Pass was the least intuitive thing for me. Planning to take a Friday class on a Sunday because I had to use up credits…. Ended up dropping the membership because so far, I haven’t been able to predict the future haha. Thank you for putting it out there!
That was my big thing with Class Pass too, the cancellation fees!!
I hope you also follow her on Instagram… her stories about her dog are always adorable!
I can understand your feeling towards the gym. Sometimes the atmosphere isn’t for everyone either. I like going to the gym in the winter months, but come summer I like to do my workouts outside and I usually start training for some sort of running race! I have found that at-home workouts are really nice! I follow Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube and have a Beachbody on Demand subscription. Beachbody is a great source for workout videos; so much variety and you can do them anywhere!!
If I could find something affordable month to month I would love to have a gym available for the cold winter days when I do crave getting on the elliptical or lifting weights inside – I hear you on winter vs summer!
I love #2. I stopped going to a gym and paying $1000+ each year and I haven’t gotten out of shape. In fact, I might be in better shape! I started to exercise more intuitively and let go of “having to go.”
I just love these posts! Keeps me focused on what’s important. I do not have a gym membership – I hate the travel + prep time it adds to work outs. I like to just get it done in thirty minutes and move on! I struggle with finding an activity I intuitively enjoy – I know when I engage in mod-high intensity cardio, my anxiety, energy, and sleep benefit. But I don’t enjoy it while I’m doing it. Maybe I’m just a lazy person but laying on the couch trumps workouts every time so it always feels forced.
It can be hard to find exercise you enjoy – I hear you! I’d encourage you to think outside of the traditional “exercise box” – what about biking outside or dancing or rock climbing with friends or even carrying groceries or cleaning your house – that is all movement!
I definitely relate on the gym membership! I actually haven’t been to a gym regularly since college (when it was included with tuition)…I love the freedom and flexibility of running, walking, and biking outside instead! I hate exercise when I’m in a gym, but LOVE being outdoors 🙂
Totally with you Audra and LOVE being outdoors too – especially now that the weather is warm!
I totally love your thought on nixing the gym memberships! It is so much more freeing and feels a lot more natural/intuitive to just move in whatever way you want whenever you want to/can and not be tied to a gym or studio! Also saves ya money 😉
I’m going to have to check out the Damn Delicious blog! I love blogs that have great recipes that don’t give calorie counts. Eat, Live, Run is another one of my favorites.
I’m really fortunate that I work for a university and can go to the university rec center for about $150 a year. It makes it really nice to go to classes when I feel like it but not feel like I’m wasting money if I don’t go. I do occasionally end up working out next to my own students, which can be weird, so maybe I’ll consider something else after a while. For now though, it’s a great deal!
I totally miss college rec centers! If I could pay $10-$20/month that would be great!
I really agree 100% with not having a regular gym membership. Right now I’m doing Crossfit classes twice(ish) a week, but I truly want to do them. I don’t feel like I HAVE to work out like I did when I had a gym membership for a short time.
Can’t wait to listen to the podcast! Aw man I used to use Damn Delicious for recipes ALL THE TIME! I totally forgot about it; funny how that happens haha. But yes her recipes really are great. I feel totally similarly to you with workout classes. That’s why I always preferred doing workouts at home via videos.