Recently I got sucked into an Instagram ad for one of those services that promises you can get GLP-1 medications for less than what they normally cost. I used to take one, because my old insurance covered it, but my new insurance doesn’t. As someone who’s struggled with their weight for a long, long time (more than 30 years), I can tell you that GLP-1 medications do actually work. They make it impossible for you to eat too much without feeling sick. I’m still hungry all the time, and I was on those meds, but at least I was eating less. They were working, too; I had lost a little weight, and probably would’ve lost more had I been exercising.

Anyway. The Instagram ad. After going through the whole screening process, they said I was eligible for an injectable GLP-1 for $150 for the first month and then about $275/month after that. While that is still less than the stated price for those medications, that’s a lot of money. More than I can afford right now. I’d need to be making a lot more to be able to afford that amount without changing my standard of living.

Since I’ve been off the GLP-1 medication I was taking, I gained 12 pounds. But worse than that my shirts have started to not fit as well as they used to, and I’m getting further and further away from my goal of taking down my box of 3XL shirts that’s in the guest room closet and finally being able to wear them. I haven’t been able to do that since 2013, when I was at my lightest in this century.

So I decided to start exercising last week. And boy does it suck.

A few years ago I bought an elliptical machine off Facebook Marketplace; I think it was originally $2500 and I got it for $800. It works great, except that there’s an issue with the screen connector that makes the colors flicker. I suppose I could fix that… or I could just put a towel over it and call it solved. I put the elliptical in the living room, where I could see the TV, and there it sat, unused, for years. Until last week when I finally got on it again.

For four years I regularly walked my dog, and I never saw any health benefits — I didn’t lose weight, I didn’t increase my energy, I didn’t start enjoying myself. The only good that ever came of it — besides my dog’s happiness — was that, during my PMP journey, I used the walks to listen to PMP education podcasts that I’m sure helped me to earn the certification. But I stopped walking her when the depression set in over losing my job last year, and I never got back into doing it. At least with the elliptical I can exercise in the coolness of my home while watching Chopped (or some other 40-minute-long cooking show). I still sweat, but I don’t feel quite as miserable afterward.

The worst part about exercising is that it takes a while for it to actually show results. I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks now and I haven’t lost any weight; nor do my clothes fit better. I’ve tried to improve my eating habits as well, but like I said, I’m hungry all the time. All the time. Wasn’t the weight loss surgery I had in 2021 supposed to fix that? Because it didn’t. I just ate less food more often.

I suppose I’m going to keep doing it, though. I need to lose enough weight to fit into an exit row seatbelt, because when work sends me places I have a free seat upgrade to a “preferred” seat, which includes exit rows. But you can’t use extenders in exit rows — it’s against regulations. I suppose I still could, because I have my own extender that I… er… borrowed… from Delta about ten years ago, and no one would know, but I think the airplane staff are smart enough to figure it out. And of course I want to fit into my shirts a little better. But usually I exercise for about three or four weeks, don’t see any results, and give up on it. Not sure if that’ll happen this time or not, but I guess we’ll find out.

Still. It sucks. A lot.