Parents sit outside taekwondo classes, reading, looking at their phones, watching their kids. I do the same during my kid’s class, even completing CEUs for my acupuncture license while I wait.
One day after my adult/teen class, a parent was watching me take off my belt and fold it into my bag before heading out to my car.
“Wow, that’s a really long belt!”
Said Little Red Riding Hood to the Big Bad Wolf. 
“All the better to wrap around my ginormously fat body, my dear.”
No, I didn’t say that out loud. I just smiled politely and inquired about the weather, ignoring her belt comment.
But I will for sure think twice about un-belting in front of anyone ever again. Because apparently my current belt could tether a hot air balloon. Maybe help tie that 25’ Catalina alongside the dock during sailing lessons. Perhaps Samuel Clemens would have liked it to find the ‘mark twain’ depth on the Mississippi.
I’ve chatted with this parent before, and I know she didn’t mean to be insulting. But it still was a little jarring, and I have no idea what emotion on my face in that moment.
It highlighted my discouragement that my weight loss is still slow. Shifting weight is hard work, and it seems every day requires diligence.
I’ve been doing a lot of ‘leg’ work to get better at, well, everything in class. Kicks, stances, poomse all require strong legs. For March, I’m going to add pilates / core workouts to see if I can’t get to the point where I need a smaller belt.
To turn this into a positive, I’ll use this a new goal and motivator: may my orange belt be a size smaller.
