Dear FF Diary,
Being back home makes such a big difference! I am already making better food choices and sticking to a plan than before.
In one of those weird coincidences in the universe -- synchronicity or whatever youj may call it -- I ran into an old
Pilates teacher at the organic food market. I was there buying groceries for the week, and apparently she's there every Saturday (never saw her before!).
I had been talking about her to my mom and friend last night about her, because she had always made an impression on me.
Her name is Nicole, and I met her at this local
gym -- I went to take the exercise classes, not actually be a member, and I had heard about
pilates, but didn't really know much about it. I had been taking
yoga in the city I had just moved from, and in that class every once in a while the teacher would say, "This is a
pilates move now." And off we would go... and I liked it.
So, when I saw the class, I had to take it, and this woman was just starting off her studio. She still taught mat classes at local gyms while she got her stuff straightened out, and Nicole always seemed to take some pity on me.
Well, I don't know if it was pity or not, but she seemed to have a soft spot. Not a "We're going to be BFF" spot, just kind of like she wanted to help, but didn't know how to approach me.
So, she taught me
pilates. And told me that I was probably embarking on one of the best
exercises ever. She told me she had worked with people who were morbidly overweight and had made them change their lives, implying that because I was only overweight I would see results faster and easier.
I loved her classes -- she was an excellent teacher, and she's always had a way of motivating you.
She left that
gym, and I also moved out of the neighborhood.
A year or so later I looked for her again, and I found her in a different
gym in another part of the city, and I started attending classes there. It was harder for me, because of parking and timing, but I did the best that I could. But it just wasn't the same. She suggested spinning then, because she taught both classes.
One day, I went to the
gym, and the
pilates class was gone and instead there was a
yoga place in it's stead. I asked the front desk what happened and they told me they didn't know -- Nicole just stopped coming.
I started taking
pilates classes elsewhere, finding a wonderful Australian woman who had been a ballet dancer before, and she seemed to know her stuff. She worked with a personal trainer who had set up his own
gym in my neighborhood. Eventually she left him, and opened up her own studio (they had a fight over finances and she had set up quickly but that's a whole other story).
In my classes there, I found out that the world of
Pilates teachers is actually quite small, and I discovered that Nicole had gone full-on ahead with her studio. I looked for her again, and while I loved my
pilates classes with the Australian, I started taking the spinning classes at her studio.
I was there for a year, but I discovered that between the spinning and
pilates classes, I was spending a lot of money. A new
gym had opened, and I did the math, and it just seemed like it was the right time to move on -- this
gym had both
pilates and spinning classes.
I discovered there is a difference between being in a small studio versus a huge
gym. But the benefits were also great, and I think it balances out at the end of the day. I am still taking
pilates outside the
gym, at the Australian's studio, but not as often as before. In part because her classes are full and sometimes I can't fit in, and because I've started doing other classes that interfere with the times she has.
Anyway...
I ran into Nicole at the Farmer's market, and she recognized me, asked me where I was now (I told her the
gym) and we starting chatting. She's a quirky person, so we didn't talk for long, but I mentioned that I was once again trying to lose the weight, because I had the exercise down, but I wasn't getting anywhere with it.
She told there things:
Eliminate: Dairy, Sugars, and Wheat.
Damn.
I can eliminate the sugar. I don't know if I can eliminate the dairy or the wheat. Sandwiches are my life saver when I need a quick meal and I don't have the time!
But it was nice to talk to her, and it was nice of her to give her advice. She does have an awesome
body, and one of her trademark phrases after spinning classes -- "Eat little, be little."
