Advice? Please?

[NoSRocks]

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

Hey guys, I would be very grateful for any/all of your input on this: I just got a call from a slimming club I joined and had been with on and off for around 4 or 5 yrs. My membership is up for renewal and I wondered if you think I should go for it or not. At first, I was very faithful to this club and I did lose weight with them....albeit with a lot of ups and downs. I rejoined last year but only went once. i know, it sounds weird but I always think if I don't renew and then decide to go back later, it might cost me a lot more money to get my membership back - if that is even an option. Sooo.... I'm kind of undecided about what to do. I even thought I could stick to No S and do this diet at the same time! But I think its not really a long term solution whereas No S is or can be - if I ever get the thyroid meds sorted out
PLUS I only have a week or so to decide....

Decisions, decisions!

[wosnes]

I'd let it go.

[Too solid flesh]

it might cost me a lot more money to get my membership back - if that is even an option.

Given the recession, I think that the organisation would welcome you and your fees back with open arms if you leave and decide to rejoin! Might there be special offers for rejoining?

How expensive is the annual fee? Any guesses as to how many months/years of not being a member would be likely to offset the cost of rejoining? Do you feel that you get any benefits from remaining a member?

Sorry, more questions rather than advice.

[r.jean]

I also would let it go. The best weight loss strategies do not cost anything and are simple, gradual modifications to your lifestyle.

[Who Me?]

How do you figure that a membership that you use once in an entire year is worth your money?

[reinhard]

I personally am not such a fan of the gym... I've never been able to make myself go for more than a few months at a time. What's more, I know almost no one who has fared much better. I knew one guy who went avidly for many years and had the biceps to show for it -- but then he had a kid and that was the end of that.

So I'd skip the membership, since you don't seem to have a passionate interest in anything you'd need a gym to provide. Instead, I'd start with simple bodyweight (or sledgehammer weight) exercises you can do at home ("14 minutes of anything"). It's low or no cost, there's no travel time, and it's astonishing how much workout you can get in just minutes a day without specialized equipment.

Focusing on the time rather than the kind of exercise means you can experiment with the kind until you discover movements you like without deferring getting started until that eureka moment.

It also makes it easy to enlist the power of habit, since there's almost no excuse not to do it. Bad weather? You don't have to go outside. Busy? C'mon -- it's just 14 minutes. Tired? Nobody said you have to kill yourself -- make it an easy 14 minutes. Bored with your routine? Spice it up by mixing in some new movements. Doesn't matter what you do as long as it's 14 minutes.

More details here:

http://www.everydaysystems.com/podcast/ ... .php?id=38

Best of luck, whatever you decide,

Reinhard

[Blithe Morning]

I go the YMCA 4-5 times a week and have for 17 years. I do cardio machines, free weights and classes. My DH runs on their track in the winter, my 17 year old son swims daily or hits the weight room.

Really, unless you are getting this kind of use out of your gym membership, I wouldn't bother. There are better things to do with your money.

[3-0-7 girl]

My goal in doing NO S is to be a normal eater, a naturally thin person. I want to do things that naturally thin, normal eaters do in 2012.

I don't know any naturally thin, normal eaters that are on diets. I don't know one that is a member of any slimming clubs. I don't know any that go to gyms and do systematic cardio and weight traning programs. I know a few that are Yoga junkies, but that's about it. Most of them do their Yoga practices at home with DVD's, books or CD's or online Yoga subscriptions.

SO, if it was me making the choice, I'd say DUMP IT!!!!!!!!!! GO NO S all the way! If you get in the mood to exercise get a DVD or be a Urban Ranger. videofitness.com is an excellent website where people that workout at home post and you could look into that for free.

[NoSRocks]

HI EVERYBODY! Just logged in and read all your very helpful messages! Many thanks indeed! Actually, since I posted the original message, I've done a lot of thinking and also with the very helpful input from yourselves, have decided to forgo the membership. As one of you guys said, (sorry forgotten the name of the poster right now!) what is the point in getting a membership to a club I only went to once last year?? TBH, I think I was using the idea of the club as a security blanket wrapped up in a miracle solution (does this make sense? lol) which when I am thinking with my non-diet head, I realize is not true at all and if it was so good after all these years of attendance, why would I need to try it again (and again...and again...and so on ).

As another poster very helpfully put it, (sorry - haven't got your name right now) the idea of No S is to be able to eat like a 'normal' person for the rest of one's life; we know that quick fixes are just that: they don't last and are pretty much torturous (esp for sweet toothed foodies like me!) I was always going to be sticking to the No S plan anyway but I thought it might help to do this alongside No S. I realize that for me, that just wouldn't happen. I know I've been complaining/feeling down about my weight gain which I am attributing to recent thyroid meds. But I had also been weighing very frequently over this duration and it probably made me too mindful of weight losses/gains. With my eating patterns and way of thinking, that is not really an ideal place to be. The emphasis btw being for "ME" since I know that many people find daily weighing to be helpful.

Soooo... thank you guys again for all your fantastic input and advice. I have decided to put this club out of my mind once and for all.