All of this to say, I need a new job. I need a job where I work with people, but NOT the general public because let's face it, the general public are a bunch of assholes, not to mention ignorant and impatient. I need a new job that is less stressful. It's no wonder I am the 5th manager in 2 years. Who would want this job!??!
One imperative aspect in my finding a new job is weight loss. There are many reasons, one being I have no confidence at this weight. I don't feel comfortable in my body and could not walk into a room and own it. At this weight, everything looks ill-fitting, awkward and unflattering. Additionally, there are the preconceived opinions about us fatties. Fat folk are lazy, lacking ambition, apathetic, or why else would they not lose weight.
My job keeps me so stressed and wound-up and it's constantly in the back of my mind. I begin to dread Monday mornings and starting a new week on Friday afternoon. Is it just me or is there something incredibly wrong about that?! Everyone knows how terrible stress is on your body and mind. However, it goes so far as to affect all my relationships, in particular with family and friends. By the end of the day, I am so beyond sick of answering phone calls that I want to liberate myself of it by smashing my phone into thousand pieces. Even if it is family or friends who call, I feel overwhelmed and don't want to talk. It's like I can't handle being on the phone hearing anyone else's problems, because that's all I do, ALL DAY LONG!
This coming week, I will start going to the gym. I would have started this week, but excessive cramps had me feeling miserable and glued to my heating pad most afternoons. I am hoping that exercise can be a stress outlet. Please adrenaline and endorphins take some of this stress out of my mind!
The few minutes I lay in bed this morning, before deciding it was all for not, I thought back to my fabulous gym in Madrid, and only wish I could find such a place here. The actual gym/work-out portion of the facility was not impressive. In fact, by American standards, it was lacking. Having very few of each piece of equipment, and not much space. However, it was all I needed. They offered plenty of group exercise classes as well.
What it did offer was a very nice lap pool with around 8 lanes, and most impressively, a spa. The spa had 6 saunas, a few dry and wet ones, and one Turkish spa... my favorite! The heat and steam were almost unbearable in the Turkish spa at first, and the overwhelming smell of essential oils like eucalyptus was intense yet incredible. I would make my way to the benches and lay down, and bear the heat and steam as long as possible, focusing on breathing and relaxing. After that, I would visit the salt water pool, only if I didn't have freshly shaven legs, OUCH! I would float with increased buoyancy from the salt, enjoying its healing properties, in particular on my poor, broken out face. After thoroughly rinsing off, I dipped into the massage pools. It was dimly lit with relaxing music. Each area had powerful jets that with a push of the button would stream down on you, massaging different areas. They had massage jets for, head, back, thighs, calves, buttocks, arms and you just swim from station to station enjoying each. It was fantastic. Sometimes after swimming laps, I would dip in the hot tub upstairs to relax.
After a nice workout and relaxing hour in the spa, I would shower and dress in their immaculate locker room. I was always taken a back from the carefree nudity and would myself dress in the shower area behind fogged, rippled glass and strategically placed towels. My own little joke was to change the scale from kilos to pounds, and just imagine all the skinny bitches of Madrid see the number read back 110, and promptly freak out!
It was worth the ridiculously high cost and having to wear a swimming cap. Another beautiful thing was I didn't understand the language. So, I wasn't bothered with insecurities like, "what are they whispering about me??" I had no idea and didn't much care. However, I do remember and understand when some of the staff told me how much weight I seemed to have lost. Si, si me bajo el peso!!!! That was very encouraging. Although, I remember thinking part of it was going from wearing super baggy collegiate tshirts to much more form-fitting graphic tees.
So what about here? Is there anything half as fabulous? Please? Just a little oasis of tranquility and health? For now, I guess I will have to accept the no frills of Planet Fitness and it's very modest pricing. However, if I were to find a spa/gym such as that, I would be willing to dole out some dinero!
The few minutes I lay in bed this morning, before deciding it was all for not, I thought back to my fabulous gym in Madrid, and only wish I could find such a place here. The actual gym/work-out portion of the facility was not impressive. In fact, by American standards, it was lacking. Having very few of each piece of equipment, and not much space. However, it was all I needed. They offered plenty of group exercise classes as well.
What it did offer was a very nice lap pool with around 8 lanes, and most impressively, a spa. The spa had 6 saunas, a few dry and wet ones, and one Turkish spa... my favorite! The heat and steam were almost unbearable in the Turkish spa at first, and the overwhelming smell of essential oils like eucalyptus was intense yet incredible. I would make my way to the benches and lay down, and bear the heat and steam as long as possible, focusing on breathing and relaxing. After that, I would visit the salt water pool, only if I didn't have freshly shaven legs, OUCH! I would float with increased buoyancy from the salt, enjoying its healing properties, in particular on my poor, broken out face. After thoroughly rinsing off, I dipped into the massage pools. It was dimly lit with relaxing music. Each area had powerful jets that with a push of the button would stream down on you, massaging different areas. They had massage jets for, head, back, thighs, calves, buttocks, arms and you just swim from station to station enjoying each. It was fantastic. Sometimes after swimming laps, I would dip in the hot tub upstairs to relax.
After a nice workout and relaxing hour in the spa, I would shower and dress in their immaculate locker room. I was always taken a back from the carefree nudity and would myself dress in the shower area behind fogged, rippled glass and strategically placed towels. My own little joke was to change the scale from kilos to pounds, and just imagine all the skinny bitches of Madrid see the number read back 110, and promptly freak out!
It was worth the ridiculously high cost and having to wear a swimming cap. Another beautiful thing was I didn't understand the language. So, I wasn't bothered with insecurities like, "what are they whispering about me??" I had no idea and didn't much care. However, I do remember and understand when some of the staff told me how much weight I seemed to have lost. Si, si me bajo el peso!!!! That was very encouraging. Although, I remember thinking part of it was going from wearing super baggy collegiate tshirts to much more form-fitting graphic tees.
So what about here? Is there anything half as fabulous? Please? Just a little oasis of tranquility and health? For now, I guess I will have to accept the no frills of Planet Fitness and it's very modest pricing. However, if I were to find a spa/gym such as that, I would be willing to dole out some dinero!
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