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HOW THIS BARRE3 INSTRUCTOR LET GO OF CONTROL AND LET IN TRUE TRANSFORMATION
“Try running.” “Join a gym.” “Don’t eat that.” Laurel Staton-Smith spent years listening to others tell her what she needed to do to be healthier—and while she occasionally followed their advice, nothing ever took. So how did she find her way to a healthy lifestyle? In her own words, Laurel shares how letting go of control made space for greater happiness and true fulfillment.
SEEKING CONTROL
I’ve always been a really driven person, particularly academically. I studied constantly, I got good grades, I went to graduate school. You know that student who’s disappointed when she gets a 98% instead of 100%? That was me.
I had control over every aspect of my life—except eating.
I’ve loved food my whole life, and I just had such a lack of self-control when I was around it. From my sophomore year in high school to my sophomore years in college, I gained 60 pounds. I was excelling in every other part of my life, but at the same time I was so unhappy in my body.
People around me tried to help—some in gentle ways, like trying to get me to run with them or try out a gym; others in less-gentle ways, with comments about my eating habits. I appreciated their intentions (for the most part), but sometimes being on the other end of help felt more like being pitied, or judged—and there’s nothing motivating about that. Instead of helping me, their efforts just heightened my shame around food and my body.
My work situation was another trigger. When I started my nursing career, I was on the night shift. I worked long hours, my schedule was completely different from everyone I knew, and food was one of my few comforts, so I indulged when I wanted to. As a nurse, I was supposed to give health advice, but it’s hard to preach health when you feel really unhealthy. I felt like a hypocrite in my career.
MY TURNING POINT
Movies are so good at giving that pivotal moment with the big “aha,” but my shift was more gradual than that. About two years ago, a few things happened right around the same time.
I switched to pediatrics—my true love—and got off the night shift. I also met a wonderful guy who loves me for exactly who I am.
And I discovered barre3.
I had driven by the barre3 studio so many times before I even considered going in. To be honest, I thought it was just a bunch of skinny girls wearing cute yoga clothes. There was no way I’d fit in. Confession: When I finally decided to give it a try, I was so weirdly anxious about going into the studio that I actually went shopping before to buy workout clothes that “looked the part!”
I knew that if I did just one class I might quit after the first day, so right away I bought a one-month unlimited pass. I’m so glad I did, because I truly don’t know if I would have gone back after that first class. It was so hard! I walked out of the studio during the workout and nearly fainted—but I went back in and finished the class. I had signed up for a class the next day and honestly would have cancelled it if I had remembered to do it in time. Instead, I walked in and said to the instructor, “I’m so sore I can barely move.” She was amazing. She told me she’d help me with modifications throughout the class, and that’s exactly what she did.
That first month I went to class 20 times!
I had never stuck with something like that before. For me, seeing the same people regularly was a huge draw. It was such an accepting group of people—so different from what I had assumed before I stepped into the studio. I also loved that I could sign up for classes in advance to keep myself accountable. But ultimately, the thing that won me over is that barre3 met me where I was—and continues to do so today. There’s no failure, only progress.
FINDING A NEW HEALTHY: BODY AND MIND
Ever since that first month, I’ve made barre3 a priority—so much so that I became an instructor a few months after that first class. I also started focusing on eating whole foods, not because I was on a diet, but because I loved them.
It’s funny: I actually didn’t start barre3 to lose weight; I did it because I wanted to be healthier. But between the workout and my new eating habits, I naturally lost 30 pounds in the course of a year.
And the changes go far beyond just the weight. My confidence is so much stronger now. I struggled with body image for so long that it felt normal to be unhappy physically.
Now that I feel good about my body and have so much more energy, I’m just a holistically happier person.
I also feel so much more authentic in my career. Being in pediatrics, I often see teenage girls. Sometimes when I’m working with a girl who’s struggling with her weight, I tell her about my journey. Letting myself be vulnerable like that feels really good. I’m not saying I reach everyone when I talk to them about it, but when I can help someone, it means so much to me.
THIS IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION
As a lifelong achiever, I enjoy the prize at the end—the good grade, the diploma, the coveted job. But there’s no “end” to this story—and honestly that’s one of the things I struggle with. The love of food isn’t gone, and sometimes I’m scared I’ll go back to the unhealthy habits I held onto for so long. But part of what helps is knowing that I did this by myself, for myself—not to please someone else. It took strength to go to that first class (and maybe even more strength to go to the second!). That strength is mine, and now it’s just about trusting it to take me where I want to go.
Think you’d like to take your barre3 journey to the next level as an instructor? Learn more, here.
“Try running.” “Join a gym.” “Don’t eat that.” Laurel Staton-Smith spent years listening to others tell her what she needed to do to be healthier—and while she occasionally followed their advice, nothing ever took. So how did she find her way to a healthy lifestyle? In her own words, Laurel shares how letting go of control made space for greater happiness and true fulfillment.
SEEKING CONTROL
I’ve always been a really driven person, particularly academically. I studied constantly, I got good grades, I went to graduate school. You know that student who’s disappointed when she gets a 98% instead of 100%? That was me.
I had control over every aspect of my life—except eating.
I’ve loved food my whole life, and I just had such a lack of self-control when I was around it. From my sophomore year in high school to my sophomore years in college, I gained 60 pounds. I was excelling in every other part of my life, but at the same time I was so unhappy in my body.
People around me tried to help—some in gentle ways, like trying to get me to run with them or try out a gym; others in less-gentle ways, with comments about my eating habits. I appreciated their intentions (for the most part), but sometimes being on the other end of help felt more like being pitied, or judged—and there’s nothing motivating about that. Instead of helping me, their efforts just heightened my shame around food and my body.
My work situation was another trigger. When I started my nursing career, I was on the night shift. I worked long hours, my schedule was completely different from everyone I knew, and food was one of my few comforts, so I indulged when I wanted to. As a nurse, I was supposed to give health advice, but it’s hard to preach health when you feel really unhealthy. I felt like a hypocrite in my career.
MY TURNING POINT
Movies are so good at giving that pivotal moment with the big “aha,” but my shift was more gradual than that. About two years ago, a few things happened right around the same time.
I switched to pediatrics—my true love—and got off the night shift. I also met a wonderful guy who loves me for exactly who I am.
And I discovered barre3.
I had driven by the barre3 studio so many times before I even considered going in. To be honest, I thought it was just a bunch of skinny girls wearing cute yoga clothes. There was no way I’d fit in. Confession: When I finally decided to give it a try, I was so weirdly anxious about going into the studio that I actually went shopping before to buy workout clothes that “looked the part!”
I knew that if I did just one class I might quit after the first day, so right away I bought a one-month unlimited pass. I’m so glad I did, because I truly don’t know if I would have gone back after that first class. It was so hard! I walked out of the studio during the workout and nearly fainted—but I went back in and finished the class. I had signed up for a class the next day and honestly would have cancelled it if I had remembered to do it in time. Instead, I walked in and said to the instructor, “I’m so sore I can barely move.” She was amazing. She told me she’d help me with modifications throughout the class, and that’s exactly what she did.
That first month I went to class 20 times!
I had never stuck with something like that before. For me, seeing the same people regularly was a huge draw. It was such an accepting group of people—so different from what I had assumed before I stepped into the studio. I also loved that I could sign up for classes in advance to keep myself accountable. But ultimately, the thing that won me over is that barre3 met me where I was—and continues to do so today. There’s no failure, only progress.
FINDING A NEW HEALTHY: BODY AND MIND
Ever since that first month, I’ve made barre3 a priority—so much so that I became an instructor a few months after that first class. I also started focusing on eating whole foods, not because I was on a diet, but because I loved them.
It’s funny: I actually didn’t start barre3 to lose weight; I did it because I wanted to be healthier. But between the workout and my new eating habits, I naturally lost 30 pounds in the course of a year.
And the changes go far beyond just the weight. My confidence is so much stronger now. I struggled with body image for so long that it felt normal to be unhappy physically.
Now that I feel good about my body and have so much more energy, I’m just a holistically happier person.
I also feel so much more authentic in my career. Being in pediatrics, I often see teenage girls. Sometimes when I’m working with a girl who’s struggling with her weight, I tell her about my journey. Letting myself be vulnerable like that feels really good. I’m not saying I reach everyone when I talk to them about it, but when I can help someone, it means so much to me.
THIS IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION
As a lifelong achiever, I enjoy the prize at the end—the good grade, the diploma, the coveted job. But there’s no “end” to this story—and honestly that’s one of the things I struggle with. The love of food isn’t gone, and sometimes I’m scared I’ll go back to the unhealthy habits I held onto for so long. But part of what helps is knowing that I did this by myself, for myself—not to please someone else. It took strength to go to that first class (and maybe even more strength to go to the second!). That strength is mine, and now it’s just about trusting it to take me where I want to go.
Think you’d like to take your barre3 journey to the next level as an instructor? Learn more, here.
