Everyone who knows me knows that I’m in love with my barre class. I’ve been going 4-5 days a week for 15 months now, and these are my results.
I gained 50 pounds when I was pregnant with Lyla, and on my 5’3” frame it really showed. I didn’t exercise at all while I was pregnant, I gave in to my cravings, and was eating an extremely unhealthy diet.
My “before” pic was taken August 4th, 2017. I was 7 days postpartum. I can’t remember what event I was dressed up to go to, but I can tell you for sure that I would’ve rather crawled under a rock than be seen by anyone at that point. This is still a really hard picture for me to look at … I was so bloated from all the postpartum hormone changes, and after giving birth had only lost 8 of the 50 pounds that I gained while pregnant. I’m still a little embarrassed for people to see this picture, but I think it’s important to show.
My whole life I was always on the more petite side, and therefore never felt the need to work out. But, as I hit my 30’s, and had two pregnancies in the span of 2 years, my body completely changed. The quick weight gain and loss of two (almost) back-to-back pregnancies left me with excess hanging fat, because I already had poor muscle tone from not ever really exercising.
After having Lyla, I was really embarrassed by my body. People would say I looked fine and that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, but this was not the body I was used to. So, I decided to make a change.
When choosing which exercise program I wanted to start, I chose barre because I wanted to lose weight, gain lean muscle, and gain strength and flexibility. I’ve always been extremely inflexible; I couldn’t even come close to touching my toes at one point.
So, I started going to CenterBarre. At first, I was so embarrassed by how inflexible and weak I was in comparison to these barre goddesses in the class!! I had to go on the special lower barre to stretch my leg out because I couldn’t get it on up on the regular barre. BUT the important thing is, I kept going back, because I wanted what they had.
Over these last 15 months I have had such a transformation in mind, body, and spirit. I feel so strong and healthy; it is truly amazing. I never thought that at 33 years old, and as a mother of two, that my body would look better than it ever has…but it does!!!! I’ve gained so much strength that even lifting my two kids all day long NEVER throws my back out. That’s pretty amazing! And I cannot even explain what it’s done for my anxiety, I used to be so anxious that I could barely leave the house, and when I would talk to people my face would turn red because I was uncomfortable in my skin. That is all now behind me!
To anyone thinking about just starting out with a program, don’t think about it- just do it! It’s hard, it’s scary, but it’s so worth it. And honestly the time has flown by, I feel like it was just yesterday that I was looking in the mirror, so sad about the reflection looking back at me. Now, I have a body that I can be proud of.
Thank you, CenterBarre!!! – Aimee
