• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Thrift Store DIY

Thrift Store DIY – Upcycled Mail Holder

healing mix

Now For Mothers Healing Mix

10 Essential DIY Tools for DIY Success

30 days not drinking

How Do you Celebrate 30 Days Not Drinking?

More Posts from this Category

Life In Pleasantville

Food, Travel, Life

  • Home
  • Travel
    • Canada
      • Ontario
      • Quebec
    • Caribbean
      • Jamaica
    • Europe
      • France
      • Holland
      • Italy
    • Mexico
    • RVing
    • Tahiti
    • United States
      • California
      • The Florida Keys
      • New York City
  • Food & Drink
  • Life
    • Divorce
    • Humour
    • Parenting
  • TV & Radio
  • Disclosure
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Travel
    • Canada
      • Ontario
      • Quebec
    • Caribbean
      • Jamaica
    • Europe
      • France
      • Holland
      • Italy
    • Mexico
    • RVing
    • Tahiti
    • United States
      • California
      • The Florida Keys
      • New York City
  • Food & Drink
  • Life
    • Divorce
    • Humour
    • Parenting
  • TV & Radio

My Journey to Body Positivity With Orangetheory Fitness

By //  by Glynis Ratcliffe

0 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
otf-whitby
credit: Orangetheory Fitness Whitby

Throughout my 30s, I was happy with myself. I made time to exercise, even after my first child was born, and I ate well. I weighed myself occasionally, but not obsessively, and I focused mostly on being a healthy human.

One of the important parts about being the mom to two daughters is, for me, the choice to teach them about body positivity. I have tried my best to impress upon them that they are beautiful no matter what they wear or how they look, that beauty comes from within and how a person acts. But I’m also trying to lead by example. In the past, this wasn’t an issue, but 2016 has been a bad year, and not just for all the reasons that first came to your mind.

It started out with a diagnosis of pneumonia, just a few days after New Year’s. My recovery stretched to several months, as the cartilage between my ribs became inflamed and caused me ongoing pain. I think I was out of the woods for not more than a month, when I had a disc right at the nape of my neck herniate, one night. This sounds tough, but the disc bulged far enough out that a nerve became pinched, which led me to believe I was actually having a heart attack.

Fast forward eight months, four of which required weekly physiotherapy, and I am getting back to normal. The problem? I haven’t worked out in several years now. Let that sink in: I was healthy and active up until several years ago. Now, I’m 25lbs heavier than I was before getting pregnant with my last kid. I don’t fit into my clothes from last winter. And that has to change. I’ve been struggling with finding a way to do that, though, that stays in the realm of body positivity. I don’t want my kids to see me stepping on the scale every single day.

Thanks to my injury, I’ve been nervous to start back on any fitness regime. There are still lots of things I can’t do, and the home workouts I used to do several times a week don’t feel safe for me, anymore. I need guidance from someone who understands how to modify exercises, but I can’t afford a personal trainer.

img_6871

That’s why I was so excited to learn about, and then experience, Orangetheory Fitness. There’s a new location about 15 minutes from me, and now that memberships are available there, I’ve been going a few times a week. I have never in my life been a gym rat, but this place, this fitness routine, is changing that. It’s absolutely addictive.

First of all, this is a guided 60-minute fitness routine; a trained fitness instructor is with you every step of the way to explain what you’re doing next, motivate you, correct your form, and answer any questions you may have. But these aren’t dance moves; these are running intervals, rowing, TRX moves, weight training moves with dumb bells, all giving you a full-body workout. Literally anyone can do these classes, and I haven’t done the same exercise twice, in my workouts so far. Each class has a maximum of 24 people, and it honestly doesn’t matter what your fitness level is, when you start. I’ve worked out next to skinny yoga instructors and older men who were quite overweight. Everyone manages at their own pace.

But how do you know what your own pace is? Well, OTF actually has its own wearable tech that measures heart rate and calories burned, which displays on a TV screen in the workout area, with your name on it. You get to keep track of what calorie-burning zone you’re in, by paying attention to the colour-coding. I swear it makes plenty of sense when you’re there and your trainer has explained it.

This explains it SO much better
This explains it SO much better

All I know is that I’m burning an average of 500-600 calories during every workout, and I have more energy than I can remember having in, well, years. And instead of dreading my workouts, I find myself looking forward to them. I can feel myself growing stronger, and I am already noticing a big difference in my stamina and how some of my clothes are fitting. And that’s just in two weeks! I can’t wait to see the difference in three months.

Disclosure: This post is part of the YummyMummyClub.ca and Orangetheory Fitness  program. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Tweet

Related

Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Living, Sponsored Posts Tagged With: body positive gym, body positive workouts, can you lose weight with orangetheory, feeling better through fitness, how does orangetheory work, Orangetheory fitness, OTF, what is orangetheory

Previous Post: « All-Time Favourite Stew to Fight Winter’s Chill
Next Post: Three Things You Need to Know About Couples Swept Away Negril couples swept away negril, beach shot»

Primary Sidebar

Connect With Us Online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Connect with Me on Facebook

Connect with Me on Facebook

La Dolce Vita

Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

Bunny Bait in a Bowl

Bunny Bait – Make this for Easter

turtle cake

Turtle Cake How Can You Resist?

More Posts from this Category

Footer

Now You Know

Disaster – Are you Ready for The Worse Case?

I've been awake since 4am, when it felt like someone dropped my house on it's foundation and then the house seemed to shake back into place for another minute or so afterwards. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but …

Millicent

Dear Millicent: Mustard Stains Harshing My Oktoberfest Mellow

Dear Millicent, October is my favorite time of the year. It's not about falling leaves and pumpkins for me, but rather Beer and Bratwurst. Zigga-zagga, zigga-zagga, hoy, hoy, hoy! Bring on Oktoberfest! So here's my …

Family History Breast Cancer

One New Thing: Lower Your Risk of Breast Cancer

Ugh, breast cancer, amirite? It's sort of like a terrible sitcom in that no one can find a redeeming quality about it anywhere. But unlike Hollywood bigwigs who continue to give life to horrible television programs, you …

Back to School Fashion Trends for Teens

We're nearing the end of summer and that means it's time for back to school shopping. If you're the parent of a teen though, you know that this is an especially trying time of year. We're here to …

Got Guilt?

Got Guilt? Get Over Yourself

I go to karate classes almost every week and almost every week I walk away with more than a martial arts lesson. Often my instructor says something that makes my ears perk up and my brain start humming because what he …

How to be Financially Fit at Any Age

I’m going to start out by saying that I am historically not good with money. I’ve always had trouble keeping track of payments and looking at my finances with both eyes open, instead of the normal cringing I do. Given my …

More Posts from this Category

  • Disclosure
  • Privacy
  • Contact
0 shares
 

Loading Comments...