Kayaking

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage" - Anais Nin

Current Weight: 213.8
BMI: 39.1

"What if I can't get my fat a** in the boat?"  I thought to myself when I signed up for the Kayaking class.

And many more times between then and the start of the class.  I was excited.  And terrified I would humiliate myself.

I canoed and kayaked as a kid and absolutely loved it.  So when I was thinking of activities I can do to get myself active again, paddling was one of the first to come to mind. 

Paddling across a foggy lake on a quiet autumn morning...paradise.

Texas summer heat...not so much.  But you take what you can get.

Luckily, fears generally tend to be greater than reality.  My fat a** fit quite comfortably in the boat.  What I didn't anticipate was that my fat BELLY made difficult some of the minor gymnastics required for getting said backside into the boat WITHOUT ending up in the drink.

Once in the kayak, I had a blast.  Things I learned as a kid came back quickly and I learned many more techniques to use when out on the water.

I'll tell you, I'd rather be out on a lake paddling than in a gym any day.  And althought it didn't even remotely feel like it at the time, it was definitely an extensive full body workout.  (one I felt for several days after!)

All I can say is never let fear stop you from doing what you want to do.  I know...easier said than done.  I have found I have many regrets for not doing things I was afraid to do.  But I regret NOTHING I feared but did anyway.

Unfortunately, I don't have a waterproof housing for my camera so these pictures come from  kayakpower.com, the wonderful people hosting and teaching the class. (many thanks to Grace, Todd, Mike and everyone at Kayakpower.com for your time, attention and expertise)