After all of the medical drama and potential medical spending, I started thinking back to when I felt my absolute best with fibro. That would be the fall semester of my last year of law school. I was insanely busy with moot court and classes, and I had no time for myself. In order to motivate myself to exercise, I allowed myself to read fiction only while I was on the treadmill. So I got up every morning and walked on the treadmill for thirty minutes.
Of course, I'm me, so I went overboard. I decided that I wanted to burn more calories and started walking at a ridiculous incline. Ended up with tendonitis. There went my fun. But then it was spring and I had an easy schedule, so I didn't have to bribe myself. I could easily go back to being a blob. A blob with a sports injury.
Last year, we got an elliptical for free from a friend. Since we got it, it has been in our exercise room and hasn't been touched. It is, however, an awesome snuggie rack. I don't like the elliptical because my ankles roll easily and I hate wrapping my ankles.
In an instant, I made a decision. I was purchasing a treadmill and getting rid of the elliptical. You can judge me for not wanting to walk outside, but I'm sorry, Vegas mornings in the summer are still too hot for my delicate pale complexion. The more steps that are required (taping ankle for inclines, adding sunscreen, inventing sunscreen for scalp that doesn't make hair look gross), the less likely I am to do something. I also am very unlikely to get in the car and go to the gym.
I know what worked before. Treadmill in house. Bribing myself to use it. Read while on it. Set a routine. I can and will do that.
I actually did some serious bargain shopping before buying the treadmill. My only rule was that I had to be able to pay cash for it, without dipping into my emergency fund. This does, however, mean that I will be sending less to Kill Discover this month. Honestly, it's worth it. I'm sick of being sick. I'm tired of being tired. I am embarrassed to look the way I do. I do not find joy in being an obese fashionless manatee. (Wait, make that a severely obese fashionless manatee.)
Thanks to Google shopping, I found the treadmill that I wanted at another website on special with no shipping. (This is good since we will probably have to hire someone to put it together.) Total price was $599. I did not get anything fancy, obviously. It got good reviews for being a small machine. It does everything I need it to do. While I would love a precor or something fancy, I cannot afford that.
I can't deduct this from my FSA. I'm okay with that. Hopefully, this will be the best investment that I make in my health this year.
So tell me, what's your exercise routine like? This has an iPod dock, so I'm pretty sure that Party In the USA will be on in the mornings (much to Brian's dismay).
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From another severely obese fashionless manatee – who also likes Party in the USA – good for you! I’d like to get a treadmill (north TX summers not much better than Vegas); I think I’ll put that as my next savings goal.
Unfortunately, I’m also an obese fashionless manatee but I’m working on changing that. I have a trip to Europe planned for early Fall and I’m bound and determined to fit into those Parisian fashions. So, I’ve started going to BodyPump at my gym during lunch twice a week and doing cardio another 2 days. I just started the routine but it seems to be working pretty well. One day, I’ll add eating healthier but I’m focusing on one thing at a time and working out has always been fun for me so I’m focusing on that first.
Good luck with your treadmill routine!
What are you doing with the elliptical? Keeping it or selling?
Good for you with taking this step towards taking care of your health!
The elliptical is going to the first person who gets it off of my curb. The wires are slightly frayed, so it doesn’t display everything properly. I am tempted to put a note on freecycle that it is on my curb and people can pick it up there. I don’t know if this is how Freecycle works, but I don’t want responsibility for it. Now, we just have to get it to the curb.
This is awesome for you!
My current workout plan has stalled…for a few weeks now. I’m hopeful next week will be better! Proud of you girl! 
I’ve pretty much been a horrible sloth over the past 9 months, holing up in my room for days (if not weeks) if I wasn’t on a trip and I’m sure that made my fibro worse. These past two weeks of work have really taken it out of me but it’s because I’m doing more walking during the day than I’ve done in … a very very long time. That’s about it for me and exercise.
Good for you in trusting yourself and going with what works for you. Before struggling with mono for the past month, I worked out 5x a week, but was gaining weight because I was trying too hard to get my food into a ratio that others were suggesting. It’s so silly when we know what we need to do, but find so many ways to doubt yourself. Kudos!
I’ve used the treadmill twice. It’s not as fancy as the one I had (and then sold) in law school, but it works just fine. It was in my price range. I am quite happy with this decision. I slept well both nights, so hopefully that is a sign of good things to come. Tomorrow morning, I’ll walk before I go to the dentist for my second round of dental doom.