My Soul Cries Out by Sherri L. Lewis

Author:Sherri L. Lewis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Urban Books
Published: 2013-06-05T04:00:00+00:00

In four weeks, my Full-Figured Fitness Class was so popular, I added extra time slots.

I started each class by going over the basic steps slowly before doing the routine. For some of the women who were really out of shape, I showed a modified version so they would still get the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a whole class. I used the bomb house music mixes, and sang and called out the instructions to make it fun.

Talinda came almost every day. She brought a few of her friends, and after a while convinced her mother to come, too. She and her mother could pass for twins. They had the same pretty face and the same big hips and butts. Made me miss Mommy.

Talinda introduced me to her mother after class. “Gosh, Monica. You’ve lost weight since I started taking your class. Can you help me out with a diet?” Talinda asked.

Next thing I knew, I was doing dietary counseling with several of the women in my class. We sat on the floor in the aerobics studio after our workouts. Alaysia came in one day as we were finishing.

After everyone left, she said, “You know, you should start a formal class. You can put together a handout with nutrition information and recipes. Only don’t do it for free. I’ll talk to Jim and figure out a way to get you compensated. A lot of people have joined this gym that never would have if you weren’t doing your classes. He needs to give us more money.”

I was contracting with the gym through Alaysia’s business. “I don’t want to charge the women. I want to get them the information so they can live healthy.”

“That’s not the way you run a business,” Alaysia said.

My eyes widened. “Oh, now you want to run it like a business.”

She laughed. “For real, girl. I think you’re on to something here. You should get your personal trainer certificate and start working one on one with some of these women.”

“What’s a fat girl gon’ look like being a personal trainer?”

“The same thing she looks like teaching the most popular aerobics class in the gym.”

She had a point. Even though my class was a full-figured class, I had skinny girls and quite a few men in it, too. The classes were so packed, they started a sign-up list half an hour before the class began.

“Besides, have you looked in the mirror lately? You ain’t Twiggy, but I don’t think you should call yourself a fat girl anymore.”

“Whatever.”

“Naw, for real, though. You’re shaping up. In fact, why don’t you get on the scale?”

“I thought I wasn’t allowed to get on the scale.”

“That was four months ago when you were studying yourself in the mirror every day to see if your thirty-minute workout made you lose an instant fifty pounds.”

I smacked her arm. “Shut up, Alaysia.”

I was nervous about getting on the scale. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. What could it hurt?

Everybody turned around when they heard me scream, “Oh my God! I’ve lost forty pounds.

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