by Viki C, December 2003

After our summer vacation in Italy, I was so depressed about the pictures I had brought back of myself. They were absolutely awful because I had gained so much weight after my daughter was born – 30 lbs to be exact (I am not proud to say). Then I started to look for a place where I could work out or had some type of aerobics program that I could join. In town I didn’t see any right off, and of course when I tried calling around not enough people spoke English to help me. So I turned to the Internet; there I could at least translate any page for the information I was looking for. One of the requirements I was looking for was day-care, since I had to go during the day while my husband was at work. I was so lucky to find Shaping Up in the Blankenese home page.

I started going there in mid-August. The aerobics classes they offered were more for people who were already more advanced in their training than I was. But the great thing about the classes was the instructors. They were very understanding, and they spoke English. Dani and Julianne are the best!! I will have to admit during some of the sessions I tried my hardest to keep up, but it was a bit hard for me since I do not speak German, am terribly out of shape, and kept getting confused with the instructions in German. I was all over the place; now that I look back, it was kind of funny.

I talked with Julianne and told her I just couldn’t keep up with the classes, and she suggested that I join the 12 week Inform program. I had to wait a bit for the next opening since it is very popular, so until that time I did the senior classes in aerobics and biking. Those seniors put me to shame. By September I was ready for the 12 week Inform program which is designed to retrain your mind about your body.

First I learned how to eat. It starts with three meals a day and snacks in between. Then after that came a specified workout for me, which included cross trainers and weights. The idea here is to build muscles to burn fat. I even went as far as to go through a doctor’s exam to find out how fast my metabolism burns fat and what my perfect workout (heart rate) should be during exercise so that I could burn the most fat.

One of the great things about this program is that Julianne has made some special exceptions in my case. For example I meet with her personally once a week while the rest of the group meets together at the same time the day before. She knows I do not speak German, so she has set aside one day a week to go over what the class did in English for me. The best thing about that was I got the one-on-one help I so desperately needed.

I started Inform in September, and now, after a loss of 13 cm, I feel like a new person. I have more energy and my bad habits of snacking during the day are almost gone. My clothes are not so tight anymore, and I can do more with my daughter, like run around the park after her. This is one of the best programs I have ever been a part of. I try to go at least three to four times a week. I know that’s a lot, but for the energy and self confidence it gives me, it is well worth it. The best part is that my daughter loves the daycare, and I have met some new friends along the way. I recommend this to anyone and everyone. If I can do it, anyone can do it.