Resolutions Update (more chubs, but with a plan!)

I had the very jarring experience of having to put on a bathing suit for the first time all summer last week.  Needless to say, it was a very unfortunate reminder of just how poorly I am doing on one of my resolutions.

But, with that came a renewed passion to get in shape for bathing suit season 2012 (or possibly late 2011, if anyone wants to have a Caribbean Christmas, I am totally game).

I started counting calories, which has always been the most annoying thing ever, but made less annoying with a future phone app.  It has a whole bunch of brand name/restaurant name food on it - and the internet, at this point, pretty much has a calorie count for everything.  ALSO, in some parts of the world, they are required to post calorie counts in fast-food restaurants right on the menu.  This is totally something that Chicago needs to jump on.  Terrible and awesome at the same time (Chicago specializes in that particular combo).

Of course, the minute I realize I need to put on a bathing suit coincided with the minute I went on vacation, when eating as much as possible, all the time, became the name of the game.  It was very frustrating to attempt to count calories, only to be over my "limit" by my mid-morning snack.  So of course, I picked happiness and ate whatever I damn well wanted.  Happily into my work trip (which started exactly 12 hours after my vacation ended).  Eat eat eat.  And still no exercising.

Anyway - the plan is to quit the gym and find other ways to get exercising.  I realized recently that I hate the gym.  I hate everything about it.  There is no good quality except that it makes me skinnier and sometimes they give away free smoothie samples.  Even though my gym is incredibly convenient, and nice and affordable - the act of going to the gym makes me pretty miserable.

I'll probably give it another month, but I am on the hunt for other exercise options.  Now that its not blazing hot all the time, I may revisit the notion of biking places.  And if I can finally stop dragging my laptop everywhere, it makes the walk to the red line (when I punk out on biking) much much less miserable.

And I want to do other things.  I have a boot camp groupon that I am saving for October, and I am researching dance studios and yoga huts (or whatever they call them) that aren't crazy expensive.  Any other brilliant fitness ideas (that aren't "stop complaining and go the the gym like a grown-up") would be awesome...

So while I am quite sure that whatever silly fitness goal I made back on 1/1/2011 will never come true.  But no harm in putting my game face on for next year.

Also, apparently there are still 130 days left in the year.  In case you were thinking that you're running out of time... you totally are.