The Joy of Movement (Or Lack Thereof)
Plus: An Update From Last Week's Post
I LOVE exercising. Love it, love it, love it! Oooh wait…hang on….
Hmmm, just checked my calendar. Yep, turns out it’s Opposite Day.
So yeah, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do LESS than exercise. I’m also just not an active person. I’m a true homebody, and love nothing more than reading, getting caught up in a show, scrolling through social media, playing Wordle or Connections (last Wednesday’s Hoda & Savannah Connections clues were a doozy!), or puttering around the house. And when I’m out of the house, I’m not drawn towards active things. I go to restaurants, movies, live performances, and I still love buying books in person at the bookstore. (The colors! The smells! The tactileness of it all!) But when I’m making plans with someone, the words, “Wanna go to on a hike?” or something similar will never come out of my mouth. N.E.V.E.R.
My forty-fifth birthday is three short months away, and I’ve been having lots of feelings about middle age; mainly, I feel I need to move more so I can be healthy as I get older. My nutritionist suggested it would also help with the lethargy I’ve been experiencing lately. She said, most importantly, “Don’t make movement about losing weight. Make it about feeling good.”
I look at my mother, a former tennis player SO incredible that she was featured in the pages of Sports Illustrated, and see how her love of tennis well into her eighties has had a positive impact on her overall health. It’s made me realize the key is to find movement I enjoy, which has proven difficult. Here are some classes I’ve tried, along with a Larry David-level list of gripes for each one: tennis of course (too expensive to reserve a court in NYC), virtual classes (I always find an excuse not to do them), ClassPass (I was uncomfy at the hard sell studios gave to get me to join), ballet (kinda boring), spinning (read about that shit show here), boxing (my body just doesn’t move that way?), trampoline (the fun wore off after five minutes), tap (I got discouraged when I couldn’t keep up), strength training (snooze), barre (PUNISHING), and pilates (this SNL sketch says it all).
“Don’t make movement about losing weight. Make it about feeling good.”
And so, in the spirit of wanting to feel better, especially as I get older, I’m on the search for movement that A) I enjoy, and B) is sustainable.
In order to enjoy myself, I need variety. So I’ve looked into things I’ve either liked or have wanted to try - yoga, aerial silks, jazzercise (just for the side ponytail/headband factor ALONE), Citi Bike, or an indoor “surf” class.
And in order to build a sustainable habit (although what I’m about to say may seem counterintuitive), I’d like to go easy on myself and be ok with not sticking to a rigid schedule. If I really want JOYFUL movement to be part of my life, I can’t force myself to do it x amount of times per week, because I’ve done that in the past and have ended up hating it and quitting altogether.
I’m also obviously very interested in a body positive environment. So far, I’ve found Power Plus Wellness and, through
I’ve discovered Lauren Leavell. I plan on checking out both of these options, but am open to others, too. So if anyone has recommendations on how to get in enjoyable movement or even how to develop it into a sustainable habit, I’m all ears! We’ll see what happens…!THIS WEEK’S BRAIN CANDY 🍭:
The Philharmonic has a REALLY COOL series called Film Concerts Live, where you go see a movie with a famous soundtrack while the orchestra performs the film score live. It’s the most magical thing. ✨ I took my bf to see one of his fave movies, ET, last weekend for his birthday. I live in NYC, but they do this all over the country. Check out their website here.
Ever since learning The Bear is coming back in June, I can’t stop watching silly videos about it, like the one below:
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Speaking of The Bear, how sweet is this vid of Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri at a baseball game? (To quote someone in the comments: Don’t do it. Don’t give me hope.💗)
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And even some more news about The Bear - Ayo Edebiri’s on the cover of Vanity Fair. Loved the tidbit about a moment she had with Jamie Lee Curtis during the famous “Fishes” episode (which was THE BEST HOUR OF TELEVISION I’ve ever seen, hands down)! Read the article here.
OMG, this guy wins father of the year! Check out this text a man sent his daughter after she was broken up with. So beautiful, articulate, and loving. 💗
The still below is from this lil’ video of Mike Faist (a third of the saucy Challengers trio 🔥) tap dancing. The talent! The cool shoes! The beanie! Love him. 💗
Ok, so the hat’s a little, ummm, big. BUT, ever since this pic of SJP filming And Just Like That this week came out, peeps have been commenting on her Dr. Scholl’s sandals. And I’m loving this article about Carrie Bradshaw potentially being responsible for the comeback of a COMFORTABLE shoe! 🙌
As an old soul, I’ve been feeling this way since my mid-twenties:
✨✨Happy Birthday to my boyfriend, Sean! I love you today and always, but especially when you listen to me recap Real Housewives episodes with genuine interest (or at least, you pretend to be genuinely interested, which I appreciate).💘
And Now, An Update From Last Week’s Post:
Last week, I wrote about being too self-conscious to show my body in photos. After thinking about it, my inner voice went like this: Am I just NEVER gonna show my body in photos?! Ever?! GET OVER IT! This is what I look like now! I know that’s not quite the “gentle voice” I was taught to use in eating disorder treatment, but I guess it worked for me because I’m happy to say I feel good about the two pictures below from this past weekend (although there were tons I deleted in the process)! CHEESE! 📸
Those pink gloves!!! and how you styled everything is so good and inspiring!
So hear me out. Peloton isn’t super body inclusive, BUT they have so many different types of classes I never get bored. Depending on how I feel in the morning, I’ll run or walk on my treadmill (I only have the app, no equipment), yoga, Pilates, or strength training (there’s always good music to accompany), cardio dance, or even running or walking classes for outdoors to keep you company. I can stack classes depending on what I want (I.e. 10 min core, 10 min arms, 20 min of yoga). They also have meditation. There are also a ton of instructors too so you can try a lot of different folks out. So there’s my suggestion! Peloton literally saved my life. Silly I know but the truth.
Or, you could take your tap dancing and put those little clacker things on the bottoms of cute shoes like Mike did in the above video!
I went to see Vertigo with my boyfriend for one of the live philharmonic orchestra concerts in january and it was SO fun!!
also my favorite form of exercise is walking haha. I feel you about exercise. I want to find some low impact gentle exercises!