Nothing is
more humbling to a chunky girl (and even more, one that has recently lost a
good bit of weight) than going into a barre classes with a bunch of skinny,
toned belles of the barre. If you’ve never been to a barre exercise class (here
locally it is Pure Burre) allow me to describe it for you, in my own Dawn Ray
of Sunshine fashion. Before I begin, however, let me explain that I actually
like the class. And that’s big for me because I’m not exactly a fan of exercise
of any kind, truly. There is retail space in front of the studio, and they sell
athleisure clothing that is so popular these days. Leggings and tanks with cute
sayings like “Barre So Hard,” “J’Adore Barre,” “Eat, Sleep, Tuck, Repeat.”
“Meet me at the Barre” and my personal favorite, “Belle of the Barre.” Now,
keep in mind I went to these classes in December before I even had surgery and
really liked them. And of course, I found those tanks annoyingly cute. Like a
Taylor Swift song that I didn’t want to like but kept singing loudly in the
car, and at work and at home, I didn’t want to like them, but they were so damn
cute I couldn’t help myself. And of course they didn’t fit me. But I
digress….
These classes
are intense. The Pure Barre motto is Lift, Tuck, Burn (LTB) and you do a
series of yoga, pilates, barre, ballet type exercise and really work your core,
arms and legs. The 55-minute class is filled with small movements (“tiny up,
tiny down”) that hurt like hell and make your muscles shake. In fact, they encourage you to “find your
shake,” and let’s be honest, the only time I’ve ever wanted to “find my shake”
was at Sonic. You start each class with a warm up, which is honestly, one of the most challenging to me. I start out strong, and then we get to planks. In what world are planks considered a warm up? Anyway, I push through the warmup the best I can and then we get to the weights. Very small weights, thank God. Remember, small motions, with isometric holds in between. PAINFUL, but effective. Then we go to the barre. Ahh, the barre. I never thought I would say anything positive about a bar(re), unless I was sitting at one with a drink in my hand, but the barre is the centerpiece of the entire 55-minute class. It’s where you work your legs, arms, core and seat (they say seat rather than butt or some other term because as my friend Kelly says, “they keep it classy.”) This is where you really lift, tuck, burn and find the shake. Again, tiny movements to work these parts of your body—I’m talking one inch – but it works and I’m sweating like I’ve just run a 10k (okay, I’ve never fully run a 10K or even a 5K, but I have to imagine that I would sweat a lot.)
Once you feel like you can’t LTB anymore, you move to the other leg and work that side. Then, you grab your mat and do floor work up against the wall. You use the barre to push up with your arms and you do these tiny torture movements with your legs. Your legs and everything else feel like jelly, then the lights go dim, the music changes to a softer, slower tempo and you move the mat to the floor. Thank God!! You’re almost there… or so you think. It’s time for ab work. Hey, at least you get to be on the floor. But I promise you, tucking and squeezing your abs and seat aren’t exactly resting and winding down. The instructor is encouraging, she always gives some shout outs to you, like “great form, Kelsey” or “keep it up, Kim” or “one more change, ladies, this is where it really burns but is totally worth it.” (and yes, she sounds exactly as you have imagined it your head.) Truthfully, I love to hear her call my name, even if it is “great correction to your form, Dawn.” But damn, they are all so nice and supportive. And tiny. They are all so tiny and toned.
I know I took
the long way around for this update, but I wanted to provide a little glimpse
into how my life has changed since this surgery, versus just talking about food. This is and
always has been about more than food for me. It's been about inactivity and frankly, being lazy.
I know I haven’t posted many pics
of me, so I decided to do that so you could see my progress. I’ve decided to
take these pics on the first of each month to make it easier to keep track.
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| August 23, 2016 Surgery Day |
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| September 1, 2016 9 days post surgery |
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| October 1, 2016 39 days post surgery |
Even though I had a humbling (and sobering) look in the mirror last night at the barre, I'm making great progress. My next doctor's appointment is October 13 and I will consider that my official weigh-in 6 weeks (or so) post surgery. It should be noted that my home scale says I have lost a bit more than 30 pounds since surgery, and a bit more than 45 pounds since mid-July. I've got a long way to go, but I'm feeling better and looking better. Except for when I leave barre class, then I'm just a hot Southern mess.
