Realwomen.co.nz

Well now there's the best and the worst of this site, right here in this thread. Just to be clear, the worst is someone not wanting to share an intersting aspect of her life for concern of giving offence, and people dissing someone callously. The best is the great friendships and support, and in most cases this is given unconditionally. Hear hear for that! I'm not around much because I've discovered blogging, both as a blogger and a follower of others' blogs. It's great fun! but I do check in some days and have a quick skim.

I have become a Facebook addict, mostly because my daughter is on there and that is how we now keep in touch. But do like to come here almost daily for a quick glance.

I love you ladies! Its great to be back thats for sure.

Oh, Maryanne, I wasn't sure how to put what I wanted to say. I don't think I really worried about offending anyone, it's just that my change of lifestyle is something that only a few people know about, and shouting it from the rooftops would smack, to me at least, of the sort of stuff I used to scoff at. Who, after all, has been a bigger proponent of loving yourself than me? And how does it look if I spout on about the gym? That's all I was meaning. When people are feeling a bit down about themselves, the last thing they need is someone going on about how healthy they feel etc. And it works the other way as well. But since you asked for it.........11 months ago, my blood pressure did a bit of a skyrocket act. I decided to give the gym a go to see if I could get it down. As it happens, my blood pressure is largely genetic, and being perimenopausal doesn't help. So it isn't normal, but it has gone down. There have been other side effects as well. As my body reshapes, there is less fat and more muscle (some quite astonishing ones, if I do say so myself), and yes I still go to the gym 4 days a week, at 6am. And yes, I tirade about the stupidity of weight loss programs, and I give the manager at the gym a hard time about the meals they sell, along with the BS they spout about being leaner and fitter, when what they really mean is how good skinny is. But I still feel a bit silly talking about it on a forum where there are women who come to get away from all that stuff that's pushed down our throats every day. I pay money to a place that is ostensibly a gym, but is really selling that old chestnut, insecurity. And that makes me feel like a hypocrite. So I do what I can to subvert their rhetoric. I'm happy that I'm healthy, and I like being fit, and I love my new muscles but that's just me.