I was feeling really badly about myself and the way I looked last year after the scales tipped past 200 lbs and I was no longer fitting into any of my clothes. Even at 5’9, I could no longer hide the extra pounds, so I committed to making a change. I’m down 30 lbs since I started at The Studio (MDR) in October and the progress came amazingly quickly. It was 10 lbs per month for the first three months, which is a very healthy 2.5 lbs a week. By December I felt great with the progress I had made, and have since just been maintaining my results with 3 classes a week. I don’t do any other form of exercising anymore since this hits all the body parts and keeps my heart rate up for the full 50 minutes.
I’m so glad I found The Studio (MDR) and I am thankful to my best friend who had taken a few classes and introduced me to it. I thought the studio looked upscale, and the classes always looked full so that was a good sign! All of the studio locations are convenient to my apartment too, so the only thing holding me back was my fear that my current fitness level wouldn’t quite work with all the core exercises. I started by just doing what I could and the teachers were really helpful in offering modifications, and little by little I noticed after a few weeks of taking classes that I started to get stronger and was forming lines on the sides of my abdominals. Both made me really happy and feel encouraged!
After committing to workouts 3x a week I started making better nutritional choices that have helped me see results faster. Now I try to avoid bread at least 5 days a week, but I allow rice because I love sushi! I also cut back on drinking which is really hard when you’re single and dating, but I make it work. I keep everything I want to eat in my diet, just in moderation. I still eat anything I want, I just try to eat a lighter dinner if I had a treat like Yogurtland in the afternoon. I still eat pasta (no more than once a week) and ice cream (no more than once a week). Not feeling deprived allows me to actually enjoy the journey. It’s all about being mindful and finding a balance.
My practice keeps getting stronger thanks to the support of my instructors Stephanie, Olivia and Melissa - their instruction has helped me conquer poses I didn’t think I’d be capable of. For instance, one pose that I used to hate but now I love is ‘Teaser’. But I still HATE scrambled eggs, and I make it known that I hate it with lots of eye rolls and disappointed groans!
Overall I feel so much stronger physically and way more confident from where I started in October. I’ve noticed definition in my shoulders, arms, waist and legs. I plan to start taking a 4th class every week starting soon, so I am excited to see how much better my results will be!