I remember the day I walked into Ballys with a friend of mine sometime in 2001. I was currently a member of a very nice Women's only gym but Ballys was closer to where I was living and my friend was a member there. I wanted a gym buddy and it was cheaper than the gym I was going to.

Although I was a dedicated gym member for at least a year, I didn't really lose any weight. My food probably wasn't where it should be. Going to Ballys wasn't always consistent but I did have times where I made a true effort.

In 2004, I hit the gym hard, every day. It was a major commitment when I didn't have other commitments. I lost 70 lbs in 3 months with a mixture of a whole foods/low protein diet and my gym membership. Then I stalled and struggled. I did make an effort to go to the gym but it was half hearted and my food also wasn't quite there. I even tried enlisting friends but no one wanted to play with me on the torture devices (as they referred to them).

In 2005, I started dating DH and of course my world was turned over. We started living together and I tried to get him on a gym routine. After a month, he didn't like that he didn't have a lot of chill out time. I went to the gym on my own but only half heartedly. We decided to buy some weights and a bench for home and we did do home workouts.

In mid 2006, we decided to get married and I had to lose weight so I devised a workout plan with exercise videos and a mixture of our home weights. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months with cutting back on food and my workouts. There was no gym for me.

Late 2006, we bought an elliptical and got married. The elliptical mostly replaced my exercise videos and I still used our home weights.

It is 2007 and I haven't been to the gym in a year. We moved into a townhome, got a dog and I walk/run my dog every morning or go on a long hike with her. The elliptical sits in the corner waiting for me to climb upon it but I am guessing the first ice will drive me to that. Sadly, the weights and weight bench also sit in the corner. I get motivated enough to use them once in a while but not often enough.

On the positive side, I have lost 144 lbs and half of that, I owe to Ballys.

On the negative side, I am paying for a gym membership I don't use and don't foresee using unless they open up a new gym near me. Their current gym isn't in the most convenient spot and is actually one of the smaller Ballys.

On the positive side, my membership is cheap. I just got a notice to pay $100 for next years membership. It is a nationwide membership so no matter where I go, I always belong to Ballys.

On the negative side, I don't use it.

On the positive side, I go home every day and cherish the time I get to spend with my cat, my dog and my husband. I think exercising with my dog everyday is the best thing I could do.

I am in a quandry and think it would hurt me emotionally, a little, to give up my gym membership.

$100 for a year!!?? Dang! That's amazingly cheap. I'd hang on to it. Even if you hardly ever go, you always know you can, and who knows, they might open one closer to you. Or you might travel somewhere where you'd want to use the Bally's there. Or you might change your mind about wanting to get back in the gym. I pay $50 for a month! $100 a year is almost unnoticable in the big picture. That's my vote!

OMG! Thatīs a good price for a gym.. I payed $140 for the month (in Chile gyms are really expensive). If I were you I would pay the $100! Maybe youīll get motivated again.. or if you go just once a month itīs worth it anyway!

I donīt know if itīs the "right" answer, but if I were you I would keep it!!!

Guess it would depend. Can you afford the 100 dollars? If so keep the membership you never know what will happen in the future. If you can't afford the 100 dollars drop the membership.

nelie~at least you gave it a shot (and a very good one at that!!). I can't even get myself to walk into the gym (2 doors down from my office) to sign up. I want to but like you, I enjoy my time at home with my family. And like you, I run with my dog 3 mornings a week and walk him once a week for a very long walk. I think my cardio is good at least!!! I also have a few free weights in the extra bedroom and a NordicTrak, but they are a case of "out of sight, out of mind" and they see little use. Besides that, being outdoors with DH and the dogs is a lot more fun that being stuck in the extra bedroom with no TV to while away the workout.

Whatever you decide to do, you have to make the decision that is right for you. (But at $100 per year, that is a super bargain, and you never know what the future holds.)

True, I know it is a good price. I just didn't know if I should hold onto a gym membership that I don't use but it is true, I never know what the future may hold. I am also a little frustrated at the sucky Ballys that is close to me... they really do need to build another one but land prices are at a premium.

What is sucky about it?
Just curious.
In general I think most gyms have better equipment than most people have for home use, and you can probably get a better workout there than at home, unless it's a really sucky gym!
(I can hardly believe I'm saying this because I was a gym non-attendee for several years but now I am back into the fold.)
P.S. Congratulations on your amazing weight loss!

Nelie, Ballys is in bankruptcy and it's highly unlikely they will be building any new gyms in the forseeable future. There's much more of a chance that they'll be selling off gyms in certain markets. Don't hold onto your membership in hopes of a new Ballys in your area.

Meg !@$!@#$@!$!@

Spiny,

It is small. It has a variety of cardio machines but that is really the main emphasis. The free weight section is small (tiny!!). It has no pool. Ok my main beef is the free weight section.

Maybe I've been spoiled by other Ballys that were big, had pools and large free weight sections.

Nelie - as a former Bally's member I will tell you that I have gotten the $99 offer too....about every 3 months for the last 5 years. I rejoined for a year and then let it lapse and I still get the offers. (actually I got an offer for $65/year limited to 2x/week which at the time was perfect since I only went anywhere NEAR the place 1x/week) If I could get there even once a month I would rejoin but its too far from my house (it is near where I used to work)

So...I guess my 2 cents is....if you decide you want Bally's again...the offer letter will probably still come later for the same deal and you can get it then.

On the other hand it is so cheap that if you think you might want to dive in occasionally...what the heck! Seriously, most places that is 2 months membership tops.

Also, read the fine print...I think on mine the $100/year was only good at one location, it wasnt a multi-location price, although upgrades were available.

Nelie, can't you just freeze it? I did that with mine for a few years when I moved away from the gym. And then when/if you want to use it again, you pay up and go. Or, you can just never renew it.

Ballys will only let you freeze your membership if you have a medical excuse or you move more than a certain number of miles away (I think 25 but I'm not sure). Unfortunately, Nelie says there's one close to her.

Nelie - I'm a Ballys member. Each time the paper announces their real or imminent bankruptcy, I ask the manager what that would mean to me. He insists that our gym would stay open because it's busy and making money. Don't know about yours.

He told me that Ballys sends offers like that to a "random set" of members who haven't attended in a while. Ballys makes money because most people who accept the offer continue to not attend. Those who accept and then start attending aren't able to renew at that price. Those who accept and continue not to attend, will get the offer again next year. Classic Catch 22.

I recommend that you accept and commit to yourself to go ten times over the year. Your cost will then be only $10/visit, and you'd have the satisfaction of NOT receiving the offer next year. Then you can show them by declining to pay $42/month for a "sucky gym".

Congratulations on your terrific loss and good luck whatever you decide.

XXXXXXX 7 XX||||| 14 ||||||| 21 ||||||| 28 ||||||| 35 ||||||| 42
Completed Beck Program-day 9. 33 to go. Keep going!

$100 per year is probably a great price if you actually go to the gym. Do you have a flexible healthcare spending account? Sometimes those can be used to pay for gym memberships. Also check with you healthcare provider, DH's insurance thru work pays the full price of our gym memberships and we got to choose from a large list of gyms. Maybe you could pay nothing to not go to the gym, like I do.

I think I am convinced to keep my gym membership. I think I am going to try to make an effort to go, probably on the weekends when there is more time. I could also drive to the bigger Ballys that isn't as close if I saw a class or something there.