It occurred to me

that I only had one pair of shorts, and they were denim, and some decent stretchy shorts might be a good thing if I'm planning to go work out (I hate sweatpants as a general rule, and get over-heated in them, unless it's very cold). So...after a trip to Gabriel Brothers, I have three pairs, one black, one grey, and one purple (of course). So, yay. I did call over to Good Foods to see if they had yoga mats still, with no real success, and there used to be some in the natural foods of my Kroger, but alas, no more. I'll take a towel to a class or two and if they don't laugh me out of the place, then I'll just happily use my towel, and if they do, then I'll think about getting a proper mat. I think they're frankly overrated, but I am by no means a yoga expert. I did fine without one in my living room for years, although of course, that was carpeted. We'll see. And there's always Amazon, which I'm sure has plenty of yoga mats and exercise balls as well, some of which are built for my weight. There are a couple of classes I'm interested in that are taught at times I can go: one is a just a basic yoga class, which includes beginners (I have done yoga, but it was in my own house to videos of Rodney Yee), and one called yin yoga, which is all done on the floor and involves stretching the back and pelvis/hips--the two areas giving me fits at the moment. There is an actual introduction to yoga that is good for people with limited mobility, but it's during the day. Apparently the classes that are for the people who are more limited physically are all taught in the daytime because you're assumed to be retired or disabled and not working, which I think is a little unfair. There are plenty of people who could benefit from those classes who work 9-5 or so.

So while the back is doing better, the area around my foot and ankle is now throbbing. I'm going to take this gym thing very slowly, I think, and listen to my joints and muscles. I'll also talk to my doctor on Thursday about my back and weight issues. One of my co-workers suggested a drug that has had some success in combination with another medicine that is supposed to help 'jump-start' weight loss. I'm familiar with the drug she mentioned (she couldn't remember the other it was in combination with). It's an antiseizure medicine called Topomax. I will check it out and ask about it if it looks decent, but I know there's no miracle pill out there. But maybe something to reduce my appetite would be good, if there aren't horrendous side effects. Unfortunately, having just glanced at things, I'm not certain it would be good for me: I already take a similar drug for another condition and also have ocular hypertension that is monitored every six months; topiramate/Topomax can cause a form of glaucoma, which I might be at a higher risk for due to my high eye pressure. So I'm thinking no. But it was good to look into.