Weight Off My Shoulders

How does a month pass so freakin' quickly? During Dana's 7:10am class on Thursday I realized I had just 10 days remaining in my time with Pure Barre Burlington.

Ahhh ... 2/3 of the way through the month ALREADY.

Each class is still as tough as the next, but I can really feel a difference in my body.

I think this photo sums up my whole time at Pure Barre thus far.

Strength.

Determination.

Drive.

Desire.

Muscle.

Lean.

Toned.

Shaking.

Yes, shaking definitely is one of the adjectives I have felt from Pure Barre. But I know when you are shaking, it's working. ;)

What I have enjoyed the most from the experience thus far is pushing myself past the point of comfort and trying exercises I never thought I could possibly do. And they are exercises I can incorporate into my daily routine. Really!

I found myself "tucking the tailbone," which is a staple saying at Pure Barre Burlington, in the car while driving around the other day. ;)

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Jess snagged this action shot of me the other morning during class and I loved it because ...

... at first I was so self-conscious of how I looked in class, but then I realized I look just like everyone else. :) It is such a safe space, where I'm just one of the gang and I thank Jess and her whole staff for making that feeling for all their customers!

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Once I realized just 10 days remained I got down to business and started registering for as many classes as I could between now and then so here it goes:

Monday, December 10 - 7:10am

Wednesday, December 12 - 5:20pm with Contest Winner Heather :)

Friday, December 14 - 5:20pm

Sunday, December 16 - Noon

*Still need one more class with the other Contest Winner Robin!

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Will I see you at Pure Barre Burlington before December 16??

On November 16 I went to Lululemon to purchase a pair of Wunder Under pants I had promised myself after completing the marathon. Well I tried them on and all I could look at were my thighs and I said out loud to myself: "Hello! Thunder Thighs." I'm sure the people in the other dressing rooms were thoroughly confused by this little outburst.

After posting the picture on Social Media...

... friends far and wide commented and said they had no idea what I was seeing.

How could they not?? I mean look at those thighs jumping out of the pants! I had gone out of my comfort zone and tried on a blue/grey pattern instead of going with the ~~normal~~ slimming black option.

But as the responses came in one after another, friends continuously used the words - lean, strong, muscular and fit - to describe the thighs above.

Interesting.

While sitting in my car in the mall parking lot reading the comments (see don't Tweet, Facebook or Instagram while driving!), I asked myself: "What legs were they looking at?" I really just didn't see it!

So I put the phone away, headed to my first Pure Barre class and let the comments/compliments from Twitter and Instagram resonate. But in my subconscious I was coming to grips with the fact that those Wunder Under Pants I pined for just weren't for me.

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Over the next 10 days or so, things changed.

Ever so slightly.

With each activity I did, another one of those pesky compliments from my friends/followers jumped back out.

* I took the stairs to one of my Weight Watchers meetings a little bit faster than usual. My mind thought: "Wow, this seems easier than the last time I made this trek. Those Pure Barre classes are really paying off.

Muscles.

* I set a PR in The 18th Annual Framingham Turkey Trot Classic 5k on a course I found rather challenging. Okay, I wasn't ready for any hills and there were some. :P I thought to myself: "Something is changing in my body. Those Spin classes are really working to strengthen my legs. Go cross training."

Thighs.

* With each Pure Barre class, the exercises were getting slightly more doable. But since the exercises were being done in front of a mirror, I could actually catch a glimpse of their transformation. The "burning" in my legs was paying off. The Brain said to me: "Look at those strong legs in the mirror. THOSE belong to you."

Fit.

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My girl Nazalee on Twitter immediately pulled out the big guns. A campaign that Nike featured about how the phrase Thunder Thighs is actually a compliment.

(Feel free to click on the image above for a better look or check out the ad here)

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So over those two weeks, the little tweets/instagram messages from November 16 were breaking out of my subconscious and starting to break down through the self-negativity!

But the tweet I got that finally made the mental change was short and simple: "I see a pair of strong legs that just dominated a marathon."

Truth ... but I had to change my mindset to see that!

On November 28 I went back to the store and purchased those pants and now wear them proudly!!

Even in public! :)

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So moral of this little story?

Simple.

We need to be as positive with ourselves as we are with others!!

And of course wipe the phrase "Thunder Thighs" from the vocabulary! ;)