My Journey to Healthy with OrangeTheory Fitness #KeepBurningYMC

After I had my Children, I had gained 2 wonderful loving little beings that I was so proud to call myself mom to. I also gained something that I really wish I hadn’t… 70lbs. You see, I always used the excuse “I am pregnant I can eat whatever I want” while I was with child, but after they were both born I just changed excuses, “I have two kids and no time to excercise or eat properly.” I had actually convinced myself of this. Convincing myself not trying was necessary was A LOT easier than convincing myself to visit a gym or eat a salad. For years, I just went through the motions, sometimes I would exercise and lose a bit but it was never enough and it never stayed off because I just didn’t care enough. 

I would struggle with stairs, I was out of breath all the time and I was not even 29 yet. 

My 29th Birthday came and it hit me. I was going to be 30 soon. In that moment I realized it was TIME.  

In the last year I have lost over 30lbs. I was eating right but not entirely limiting myself and I was walking, running and really starting to feel strong. I was so proud on my 30th birthday when I put on a size 9 pair of pants and threw out my size 14s. 

The problem is, the small lifestyle changes I have made worked for a while but now, I have hit the plateau. That is very discouraging. I needed to find something more to do. I really want to get rid of this final 30 pounds and I want to do it now. No more putting it off. 

I had driven past the new OrangeTheory Fitness in our town, quite a few times and their bright signage peaked my interest, so I decided it was time to do some research. I looked online to figure out what kind of program OrangeTheory Fitness offered and I was already excited!

You see, OrangeTheory Fitness isn’t your regular run of the mill gym experience.. no no, it’s a group personal training workout. I have always said that the only way that I would be able to go full force into the workout world, would be if I had a personal trainer! You see, OrangeTheory Fitness is a 60-minute workout that is broken up into different intervals of strength and cardiovascular training. 60 Minutes! I have 60 Minutes. 

I just HAD to sign up. HAD to. I didn’t give myself a choice.

Signing up was easy! I love the fact that you can select your classes online and sign up for them. They also offer a great variety of time slots to select so there really is no excuse. NONE. I like something that takes all my excuses away. 

What do I like MOST about OrangeTheory Fitness?

Oh, OrangeTheory let me count the ways I love your classes. 

1. All ages and Fitness Levels- You see I have always been pretty scared to go to the gym because I feel like people will laugh at how silly I look struggling to breath and possibly turning green, but at OTF I could turn orange and no one would make fun of me. These classes truly are for all ages and fitness levels. 
2. I can see my Progress- I need instant gratification, If I can’t see results in the mirror I just kind of convince myself nothing is happening and all my hard work is for nothing. With OTF, I have a heart rate monitor (OTBeat) that operates on bluetooth that I can watch during the class to ensure that I am in the right “ZONE”. Because who doesn’t want to be “in the zone?” You also receive an email after your class with the results of your workout from the monitor. YES! I may not be able to see the results right that second in the mirror but I CAN see the results in my email and that’s what keeps me motivated. It also challenges me to outdo myself next class, because I am super competitive… and I am my BEST competition. 
3. The Staff are AMAZING- The people at OrangeTheory Fitness care about you and your well being and are very great at motivating and encouraging you to do your very best. They aren’t just employees, they are family and trust me, you WANT to be part of this family!
4. It’s Just Different in a Good way!– This isn’t your boring old gym workout. This is the OrangeTheory workout! You can burn anywhere from 500-1,000 Calories per workout and also experience after-burn! The result is always the Orange effect which is more visible toning, more energy and an additional calorie burn that can last up to 36 hours POST WORKOUT! Seriously!

I am converted from NO I don’t want to go gym Jen to… OHHH WHEN CAN I GO NEXT OrangeTheory Jen.

The good news? OrangeTheory Fitness is opening new locations all across the GTA and expanding to 10 in the GTA in 2016 and adding 10 more in 2017! You can even try a FREE class before you sign up… which I STRONGLY encourage you to do. 

Follow my #KeepBurningYMC journey on Instagram and keep up to date with OrangeTheory Fitness news on Twitter  and Instagram

All opinions are of my own and not influenced in anyway shape or form. I am part of the Orangetheory Fitness Ambassador Program with the Yummy Mummy Club