Sexy Thang

Tonight in class, one of my compañeras said to me, “You lost a lot of weight, huh?…You look good!” I was totally caught off guard — in a good way!

While I have increased my flamenco practice time in the last few months, I’ve probably only lost about 5 lbs. I hadn’t realized I was thinner until friends noticed — which, if you think about it, is kind of funny when you realize that other people remember your ass used to be bigger.

I also noticed changes in my body last month when I put on the flamenco dress I first wore last December. It was way too big for me. Oh, listen to me — this sounds obnoxious, doesn’t it? Like, “OMG, look at me, I’m sooo skinny!” Ugh. Sorry. But the point is, flamencking has done wonders for me inside and out.

I was very thin my whole life, up until age 30 when my thyroid broke and I packed on 30 lbs. in a matter of weeks. From then on, it wasn’t as easy losing lbs. or keeping them off. I was no longer the skinny girl; I was an average girl and sometimes even a — gasp! — thick girl. Yes, I have been called thick, which is lame anyway, because even at my heaviest I was never more than a size 6.

The issue, I suppose, was that I wasn’t a healthy 6 or even a healthy 4. My small frame held fluff and puff which made me look bigger than I was. And I was never the muscular type to begin with. Since I started dancing a little less than two years ago, I’ve slowly, steadily, burned off some fluff and built up lean muscle. Don’t get me wrong, things that jiggled still jiggle, just not as much. There’s definition in my arms and legs that I never had, even back when I was a 24-year-old gym bunny.

What I’m trying to say is, I’m feeling pretty sexy. Yeah, I said it — what?

I’ve felt great on the inside since I started this journey — the sheer passion of the art, its challenges, and the feeling of accomplishment I get when I learn something new are enough to make my heart dance. I hadn’t been paying attention to how my body looked. And now, to realize I look better … Olé!