Jon Stanton

I'm not a fan of gyms. Throughout my weight loss experience, I focused on losing weight as cheaply as possible. Gym memberships, no matter what the "incentives" end up being costly - if you stick with it.

I try to encourage people all the time that it is possible to lose weight and become healthy without paying a fortune. Walking is free, other than the expense of good walking shoes now and then. I lost all of my weight for a grand total of maybe $300 in shoes and an Ipod.

However, I also frequently tell people that when it comes to exercise, it's best to do whatever "works for you." For some of you, that might be working out a gym. If so, I say go for it, so long as you can stay committed for the long term and you can afford it.

Recently, I've been spending some time in a gym. To those of you who know me, it's no secret that my dimensions and alignment are a tad bit...shall we say, "interesting." Basically, my posture, alignment and overall shape is a mess. The years of being overweight affected how my bones and muscles developed, not to mention the sheer stress while I was so overweight as an adult also took its toll. As a result, when I did lose weight and started developing muscles, they didn't really develop correctly because of my skewed alignment. So, I decided it was time to see if something could be done about it.

Thankfully, my girlfriend knew about Roxanne Dawson at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center. Roxanne is a certified personal trainer and massage therapist. I also refer to her as my "stretcher." I knew things were going to be interesting when she began evaluating me and I heard phrases such as "Oh my God" and "I'm not sure I've ever seen someone as tight as this." Basically, she found muscles that were either very large, but not aligned correctly, or very small and tight when they should be large. As I said...I'm a mess.

My girlfriend bought me a round of sessions with Roxanne for Christmas, and I've been seeing her weekly. Since she works at the Hannah Community Center gym, I also purchased a gym pass while I'm working with her. I've quickly learned something else about gyms - they can be intimidating.

Between rolling off the stability ball and basically looking like I have no idea what I'm doing (because I don't), I've certainly been humbled. I'm writing this particular blog for two reasons. First, if you are self-conscious about going to a gym and if that's your excuse that's holding you back from getting healthy, than take it from me - get over it. There's going to be someone else there that doesn't know what the heck they're doing either, and everyone started somewhere, so don't let that stop you.

If you're reading this, on the other hand, and happen to be a gym pro, may I suggest that you do your best to not make the newbies feel like dorks? I've endured my fair share of stares the past couple of weeks. I know I'm a curiosity, but put yourself in the other person's shoes and realize we all have to start somewhere and anything you can do to make newbies feel more comfortable would be a great act of human kindness.

Stay tuned to find out how I come out with Roxanne. We're making progress. I may never be "straight as an arrow," but I'm making progress, and that's what's important!