Trying Something New

I attended the first of five Body Strengthening sessions this evening. I signed up for them with a friend to support her in her own endeavors to lose weight and become more fit (although I honestly feel that she is beautiful and extremely trim already). I have to admit that these particular classes did not overly excite me when I read the course description, but I wanted to participate for the sake of my friend. So it was with very slight trepidation that I entered the multi-purpose room it was to be held in this evening.

The write-up on the class stated that it would focus on a combination of ballet, Pilates, and yoga moves to strengthen and stretch the body. I have never been even remotely interested in ballet, have no desire to pursue Pilates after my brief encounter with planks during the 30 Day Shred, and have a distinct memory of the one and only yoga session I tried (years ago) resulting in me swearing I would never attempt such a thing again. Needless to say, I was hesitant to even sign up for the class, much less participate in it with enthusiasm.

But, regardless of how I managed during the workouts – and forgetting for a moment that I was there largely in a supportive role – I was looking forward to attempting yet another new activity. One of the best parts of losing this weight has been that I now feel much more comfortable trying things out. Before, my hesitation would not have been centered on a concern of whether I would like it or if it would align with my interests. Rather, my uncertainty would have stemmed from a fear of looking foolish, of not being able to keep up, and of having to walk out part way through the session with the glum realization that I was unable to finish. I am not saying that in the past any of those scenarios would have necessarily come to fruition nor that the fear was ever severe enough to actually keep me from doing something, but it was definitely a factor. And now it’s not.

So, in a strange way I was looking forward to the class tonight. It was one more opportunity in a very long line of fresh chances that I have gifted to myself as a result of this journey. It turned out that the class went well. I found it to be a bit slow, and more relaxing and stretching focused than I generally like my exercise to be, but it was still really nice to explore something different this evening. Stepping out of one's comfort zone is always good for the soul!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 8 glasses of water
- 1 pan-fried banana and light peanut butter wrap on a soft tortilla shell
- 1 mug toffee nut steamed skim milk
- 3/4 cup mango-vanilla yogurt with 1 cup maple almond granola cereal
- 2 egg wrap on a soft tortilla shell with grated cheese, yellow pepper, onion, and pepper
- 3 1/2 cups low fat butter flavoured popcorn
- 1/4 cup dried pear
- 1/2 cup corn with margarine
- 1 cup steamed broccoli and cauliflower with margarine
- 3/4 cup basmati rice with soy sauce
- 2 slices pork loin
- 1 piece of sweet and sour pork
- 1 mug white mocha steamed skim milk

EXERCISE:
- 50 minutes of jogging with walking warm up, intervals, and cool down (40 minutes of actual jogging)
- 55 minute Body Strengthening class