Could Gerri be my new Jeff...or Emily?

I went to my second spin class in Detroit yesterday. I thought it started at 6:30 so at 5:25 I was gonna make something quick to eat before I went as it had been several hours since I had eaten anything. My plan was to spin then run. At 5:35 I was still reading all your lovely comments on my blog and quick looked over at the gym schedule and realized to my horror that spin started at 6!! DANG IT! I still have DDH's schedule locked in my brain!

I have heard from Twiggy that this spin class fills up! OK, if it fills up like DDH does, there is NO WAY I am getting in if I only walk in 10 minutes early! But I decided to try anyway. I tossed aside the computer, grabbed my IPOD, grabbed my water bottle, threw on my shoes and coat (No Coach I didn't zip it this time....was in a hurry) and ran out the door with mom yelling ...."HEY, where you going?"

I got to the Y expecting an instructor named Chris. Not sure if it was a guy or girl but was actually hoping for a guy. ( See, I have my own judgements...that a guy will be tougher) I got Gerri instead who is most definitely female. She is cute, she is fun, and she encourages the class to sing along with "Wanted, Dead or Alive", which I did! But more importantly, she did not judge me. She ASKED me if I had taken her class before as I was setting up my bike and she was finishing helping someone else set up theirs.

Me: No I have not spun with you but I have spun with Ann and I.....

Gerri: Oh if you have taken Ann's class, you can do mine easy, this is beginning spin!

Hmmm....well that was different. Not judgment of what I can't do, but judgement of what I can. Sadly it is based on Ann the Legend and not the truth of my history with Jeff and Emily. But hey, I will accept that!

I didn't get any one on one conversation about keeping up or backing off. I didn't get encouraged to quit. What I got, what all of us got really was an instructor who was teaching basic spin. She addressed all of us about taking it at our own pace, how to use the little gadget thing on top of the handlebars that tells RPM's and time and distance, and what she means when she says she wants a 5 for resistance, and we all got encouraged to no matter what keep your legs moving even if you are taking a break. It was good. No one felt singled out. But better than that, I got a really good workout in. She pushed me and because I didn't feel judged but actually encouraged by her, I WANTED to work harder. Despite it being a beginning spin class, it felt more like a Jeff or Emily class. Not quite, but close.

She approached me after class and asked me how I liked it and made some comment about Ann The Legend. I smiled and told her that actually, her class was harder than Ann's was for me and asked her when she teaches again. She looked surprised but pleased and told me her class schedule. 11:15 AM on Sundays. Guess I need to find a church with a 9 AM service so I can go!

Now a word to the wise. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT go to a spin class without any food (aka energy) in your system! In GR, I had taken to eating a whole grain bagel with peanut butter before a spin class. But I ran out the door without that. I got a little light headed at times and did have to stop my legs and pause for a minute. I knew it was because I had hardly eaten anything all day. In a spin class I can easily burn 900-1200 calories. That is a lot to burn without anything in your system to start with. You would think that I had ample fat to supply myself, but I think the body needs something to start on while it burns the fat...that is my theory anyway. I have no hard factual evidence of that. Needless to say, I didn't attempt to run. I didn't weigh in until 4:30 and typically I don't eat much of anything until I do...which explains why I did not have anything in me for the day and which is why I usually weigh in the morning!

Speaking of my weigh in. It was interesting because on Monday I was getting dressed or something and thought...Hmmm...my body feels different. Smaller in some ways. I could actually point to the area that looked and felt smaller somehow. But given my eating and exercise for the week, I KNEW there is no way possible that I had lost. In fact, I was expecting a gain but holding out hope for a goose egg. SO I gave myself lots of self talk. Don't get all hopeful, you will then just be disappointed by reality. Just own what you did and take the consequences like a man...err ummm a WOMAN! I worked out Monday night and just for "shits and grins" I jumped on the scale there even though that will not be my official weigh in scale. It said I was down almost 4 LBS, with my shoes on and at the end of the day!

IMPOSSIBLE!!! I refused to believe it, despite knowing that this scale was fairly close to my last known GR weight last week when i tried it! Yet I had a glimmer of something going on....could it be???? NAHHHH I don't deserve that! I did nothing for it!

So yesterday I went to my new regular weigh in scale. 313 came up. It actually kept fluctuating between 312.6 and 313.2 and everything in between. NO way!!!!

I got off...and got on again...same thing.

I got off....got my CAMERA out of my pocket and got on again. Same thing.

Umm nurse???? When was the last time this thing was calibrated? IS it accurate? Yes, yes it is....we just had it calibrated this week! Well dang...that means it was calibrated YESTERDAY since it was Tuesday! I know the photo is hard to read, bit it actually says 312.9. You might be able to click on it to enlarge it and see it better!

Well HOT DAMN!!!! This is definitely a mercy week! I didn't deserve it, but I will accept it.

Side note: Adam says it is probably residual loss from my body working so hard before. It doesn't know not to burn them calories, plus added muscle burns more calories. Makes sense...But I am gonna just go with the Jesus theory. He showed me mercy and grace....