Not losing much these past couple of weeks, but I will eventually! What matters is that I am having so much fun finding myself! This is exactly what my counsellor told me to do. Try new things and find out what makes me tick. “What is the worst thing that can happen?” she said... “You may not like it, so move on!”

That is exactly what I am doing. I have tried many new activities in the past few months. Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Cross-Fit, Kickboxing, Triathlon training... I am sure there are more but I can’t think of any now.

I have wanted to try yoga for years but never did because I thought I was too fat and that I would look weird in there with all the skinny little munchkins. Guess what... I was the biggest lady there, but I don’t think anyone gave a crap! They were all there for themselves and could care less what I was doing... I was the only one obsessed with my chubby cankles and doughy middle. Everyone else was concentrating on their breathing and staying in their mind boggling poses! It was a blast! I don’t go to yoga regularly but I really enjoy it when I go and feel comfortable and welcome. Now I am one of the people that concentrates of my breathing and holding my poses instead of even caring if my triceps are jiggling.

Zumba is another exercise that I had heard great things about from friends and coworkers but I felt far too uncoordinated to even attempt. I kept trying to round up someone to go with me (as all the friends that I knew who went lived in another city) but no one was brave enough to go with me. They all said the same thing, “I can’t dance!” Good Lord, neither can I! My husband will attest to that, I promise. (We have the wedding 1st dance video to prove it!) But I figured, screw it! I am on a new journey and I am not going to let a little latin music and hip gyrating beat me! I finally got up the courage to go to Zumba all by myself! It took me a few classes before I didn’t look like I was having a grand mal seizure, but I finally got the hang of it and really enjoyed it. There were women of all shapes and ages there and it felt like a party. We were all laughing and smiling at the pure joy of dancing our butts off.

A new Pilates studio opened up in my small town a couple of months ago, and before it was here I thought Pilates was just a mat workout. I was not prepared for the torture device looking “Pilates apparatus’s” that were awaiting me when I showed up for my first private session. (If you are not sure what I am talking about, go google Pilates apparatus... weird looking things) This was an activity that I can honestly say I was not so keen on. I found it a little slow and boring. The instructor taught me some really great tips about how to engage my horrifically weak core, but I missed the group atmosphere of other classes I had taken. Pilates, I am sad to say, has been crossed of my list.

Cross fit was challenging and had the group atmosphere that I really enjoy but I have to be honest and say that I think I would enjoy it more and be better at it if I lost a majority of my weight and had more endurance. I actually sprained my ankle horrifically in September flipping a giant tire and then pounding it with a big sledge hammer (I rolled my ankle running to the opposite side of the tire to flip it over again). I am not going back until I am in a lot better shape and then I will show that tire who is the boss!

Now I will talk about my new love... Kickboxing! I always knew I had a violent streak in me! I was the captain of my high school girls rugby team and always loved tackling the opponents! I actually happened upon kickboxing by accident. One of my friends signed up for it and asked if I wanted to come with her and I said sure... not really knowing what I was getting into. I was thinking I was going to an aerobics class like tae-bo. Something non-contact like air punching and kicking. No, no, and no! I have wound up in a full on learn to punch, kick, elbow, uppercut, jab, knee... you name it and I am now doing it! Wow, very unexpected but ridiculously fun. From the second we step into the room at 930 until we leave at 1030 we are moving full tilt. Our warm ups are ridiculous and made me want to die the first class and by the time the 1st 20 mins is up I am drenched in sweat! Then we beat on each other relentlessly (with pads and gloves of course) for the rest of the class! Am I insane for loving this so much? Perhaps but right now I don’t care! My elbows are covered in bruises but I have a big smile on my face! Right now kickboxing is the sport for me!