Going
From Flab To Fab While Being Over Forty Part One
Such
is life, you get older, your children are grown and sometimes if you are not
careful you GAIN weight! I have always had to keep an eye out for my weight and
yes I have been a yo-yo dieter for the majority of my life. The only time I
lost weight in the blink of eye was when I was in my twenties and also with my
first prescription for phentermine which for me was magic in a bottle! All I
had to do was pop a pill in the morning and go go go, then for dinner I usually
had a glass of Metamucil. Seriously! I dropped from a size 12 to a size 8. Was
I in heaven! However I had many side effects caused by this type of dieting
let’s see…
Not
be able to sleep
Acidic
stomach
Constipation
(hence the Metamucil)
Rapid
heart beat
Just
some of the side effects, but hey I LOOKED good! There is no way in this world that
this type of crash dieting can be maintained. So I stopped taking the diet
pills and at no time did I ever exercise unless you count dancing and walking
Lola Belle, but nothing strenuous or calorie burning. So little by little the pounds came creeping
back on. And yes they will!
Also
being married may have had something to do with my somewhat laissez faire
attitude towards my weight. After all I was comfortable. Those were the late
thirties. I would yo-yo between 135-165 pounds.
Then unfortunately I hurt both of my knees, so that was a good 6-8
months of recovery. Can you see where we are going? After my knees got better I
was still okay but could not exercise at all.
This
is where the story starts to become sketchy because I cannot tell you when it
started not to really matter what I weighed? Stopped counting carbs, stopped
worrying about calories and pretty much just ate what I wanted. Plus I had a
terrible experience with Splenda (Sucarlose) which landed me in the hospital,
so no more sugar free products for me.
Now
we can fast forward to right now, today! OUT of control weight! And guess what,
when you get past forty you cannot just not eat for a week and drop weight,
this weight is STUBBORN! Have you ever
not looked at yourself from the side? Only from the front? Oh and forget about taking pictures. Yet even
with all of this going on inside of my head I did nothing. I knew there was a problem I had just not
“bottomed out” yet.
Enter
Claudia Balfe-Taylor! Let me back up and explain what I do, write and cover
events in Las Vegas, coordinate Special Events, marketing and Public
Relations. Going to shows and events is
wonderful, BUT there is a catch, yummy fried delicious food at many events!
Very hard to say no to fried mac n’ cheese and open bar. So yes enter Claudia,
she worked for a prominent Public Relations firm in town and was now following
her passion, opening/marketing a Yoga studio.
Well Claudia you are going to read this and all I can say is THANK YOU!!
I pitched her the story of “Going From Flab To Fab While Being Over
Forty.” This story would chronicle my
journey of change. Little did I know
what a change it was going to be. After
a few false starts, Claudia suggested that I start off with the Tru Yin which is a TruFusion Yoga signature class: “This music-filled, 90-minute,
heated yin class is great for all levels, improves flexibility and provides an
opportunity to create stillness of mind as it eases students into the hot room
without an intense cardiovascular experience. It is a great first step into hot
yoga but is also a perfect injury-recovery class or option for students who
would like to work on their flexibility in order to take their overall practice
to the next level.” This class is taught
by her husband Mark Balfe-Taylor and he is fantastic! The patience of YODA!
Back
to the class, my first session what did I do wrong? Let’s see…
1. Did not take out my contacts
2. Came from an event where we ate (little
bites but still) and drank champagne
3. My towel was two small and I only had
one!
4. Forgot my flip flops
So
enter first time Hot yoga student Carole! WOW first of all please do not eat
a good 3-4 hours before you go! Second of all I literally felt every potato
chip, fry, taco; you name it oozing out of my pores. The stinging sensation of
dripping sweat literally blinding you cannot be explained. Plus the fact that I
had never been a fan of exercising and to top it off in a room heated to 105°F
(≈ 40.6°C) with a humidity of 40%. Well
let’s just say that my first session was a challenge, because I had neglected
my body for so long it had forgotten me also. What I am trying to say that if
you lose touch with your body it forgets what it is capable of. A healthy body
has certain flexibility and a range of movement. In today’s world with
computers, television, mobile devices I think that a huge majority of us forget
how important it is to keep in touch with your body. Starting off with Hot Yoga was the perfect
avenue for me to begin with, in the heat your muscles heat up and you are more
flexible.
So
yes the first class was a challenge but I have never ever backed down from a
challenge and I went for the full 90 minutes. Was it hard yes, did I ache yes.
And as Mark teaches it is good to ache it is not good to feel pain. What also
struck me right behind the eyes with the force of a 2X4 is you cannot hide in a Hot Yoga class, meaning there is a mirror and you cannot wear much clothing to cover
up. Other than yoga pants and a loose top all of my years of excess were right
in front of my eyes. That was a hard sight, but something that I am thankful
that with Claudia and Mark’s generosity and their belief in this story that I
finally had the courage to face.
When
I left my first class I was exhausted but elated! I HAD done it! I had lasted
through the entire class albeit with little breaks but I had done it! The
second class was another milestone, I MADE it again. And yes there are women
and men in our class of all shapes and sizes and ages. If you are
self-conscious like I am please believe me; you will not have time to concentrate
on anything other than how your body is feeling and how your body is reacting
to the different poses. Last Thursday
was my third class and after Tuesday’s class we had requested neck and
shoulders. Silly me I had approximately 5 hours of sleep the night before but I
thought how hard can neck and shoulders be? TRUST ME…HARD! It was my most
challenging class so far and I felt like quitting, but once started on this
journey I could not quit. So I just took some extra time-outs and cleared my
mind and kept my breathing even and finished.
Two
other very important aspects to yoga; it clears your mind. In our world today
we are expected to wear multiple hats and to accomplish multiple tasks and
sometimes it can be overwhelming. When our minds are clouded like this I
believe that this affects our judgment regarding exercise and food choices and
how this affects our bodies. Yes it is easier to grab a burger than think of
eating healthy, because it is convenient. Hot Yoga has cleared my mind and
now I am able to look at food as nourishment not as a past time. The only way
to a healthy you is with diet and exercise and it has taken me over forty years
to get to this point.
I am
on the path to healthy living and to healthy choices. This coming Tuesday 8/13 will be my fourth
class. Already I am feeling lighter and I can feel the changes in my body and
in my mind. What I need to remember is that it did not take me a month or even
two months to get to the shape that I am in but with hard work and determination
I can be the me I have always wanted to be.
Do I still go to events and eat; yes I just eat smaller portions and
make better choices.
I
sincerely hope that you will be come back and read more about the process and
next time I will be writing about the various poses and how they feel and of
course I will always have hot yoga tips. If
you would like a stronger and healthier body try a class!
7520
West Washington Ave. Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV 89128
(702)367-9642
www.facebook.com/pages/Summerlin-Yoga/
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