As I look around the gym classroom

I see so many body types. My body step and my body pump classes are great classes to look around. If I take classes during the day, during the week, it's mostly stay at home moms - so most are between 30 to 50 years old. On weekends and evenings there will be more men and more younger, single, childless women. And the latter usually means shaped differently. While some women are really lucky with childbirth leaving their youthful bodies intact, most of us are not so lucky. But even with the young men and women, no one is perfect.

Today I was taking body step. The class was really small because for some reason classes on Friday are always low on attendance.  There were about 12 of us there. All of, amazingly, about the same age - around 40-45 years old including the instructor. I don't usually get a spot in front of a mirror, but today I was - just one person back. I was dismayed at my belly fat and arm fat. Man, I've come so far to still see so much blubber staring back at me. I am by far the heaviest person in that room. These women are more fit than me and leaner than me. But then as we were going around the class, I started to really pay attention.

There is this one gal in class who is amazingly fit. She has the most gorgeous pair of legs - toned and muscular, but in a gorgeous way. Her arms though are lacking the toned look (must be a runner/stepper and not working upper body?) and she has a slight pooch around her waist. Then, another gal: very tall and very thin. A true ectomorph body type. But, she is flat chested and not much shape. Another gal is a trainer and her body looks fantastic, but when you look - again, not much shape, but boxy. Everyone has something they probably don't like - some imperfection - a pooch, thin hair, scrawny legs, etc. What we see in the magazines is not reality. Even in a room with very fit women, not one of those ladies had a perfect body. And I haven't been in a class yet where I did see perfection - no matter what age.

So again, I'm trying to soak this in. So... my arms are flabby. So, I have loose skin and still more weight to lose. Everyone else has something they want to change too.

Stats for 9/23/11:

Beginning weight: 255.6  Now: 182.0
Exercise total hours in 2011: 270
Total miles walked/biked in 2011: 790/1000