*Reflection submitted by Sheryl – Enara Patient for three years*
I try to absorb all of the unfamiliar terms coming from my new personal trainer. “And you can do these exercises in the weight room,” she concludes.
Weight room? I confess I’ve never been there. Her eyes open wide.
“So you’re a new gym member?”
Actually I’ve been coming here for more than 3 years….
But 3 years ago I was a different person, at least on the outside. 130+ pounds overweight with aches everywhere, I restricted myself to aqua classes, where movement was possible and pain free. It took quite a bit of courage to put on a bathing suit and get into a public pool — but I overcame my embarrassment by taking off my glasses. If I couldn’t see people, then they couldn’t see me, right? While I knew I was often the largest person in the pool, some of the blurry figures around me appeared to be large in size too, so I felt comfortable. Safety in numbers….
Then Enara Health’s weight loss program changed my size….but my mental image didn’t follow suit. Even though I was 95 lbs lighter and 10 sizes smaller, I kept going to the pool. Pool exercise was the only thing I felt capable of doing. But I did make one change: I put on my glasses!
“So why aren’t you doing strength training?” Dr. Bailony asked me (again), at one of my Enara appointments. I reached into my back pocket and was out of excuses. So to the gym I went, but this time to parts and places unknown!
I am slowly exploring exercise classes that I was too afraid to try because of my weight. And when I look around in these classes, (I do wear my glasses ), I rarely see people of size. Exercise can be challenging when you carry a lot of extra pounds.
While Gentle Yoga isn’t quite gentle enough for me, TR/X and line dancing are a blast! Thank you, Enara Health, for helping me lose all that weight and for opening yet another door. I am definitely enjoying this new adventure!
