Welcome to Triber Tales, our ongoing blog series featuring bari stories told from our clients’ points of view. These are tales of hard work, dedication and a whole lot of sweat; these are a testament to the mental and physical potency of getting addicted to your workout and having a strong, close-knit community at your disposal. This week, we’re turning the mic over to Triber Laura.

When I embarked on the baripeel journey, I was nervous that this was going to be like the time I signed up for the expensive gym, but never went — or the time I promised myself I would learn to love running, but didn’t. After moving to NYC four years ago, I gained about 15 pounds and found the city to be so intense that I could not focus on caring for myself. I gave up on goals during the past few years here and didn’t want that to happen this time. What I realized during the first week of peel that made this experience different from previous fitness endeavors is two-fold: Bari is full of inspiring, motivating, brilliant instructors who actually give a shit about me and that this time, I wasn’t reaching for success alone. I realized that I had my gorgeous best friend/Maid of Honor, Tess, by my side. I had a huge group of Bari Tribers who were all in this challenge with me. And I had incredible trainers who made coming to class a happy, sweaty occasion every single time.

My motivation did not waver throughout the weeks, which shocked and excited me. I stayed focused and continued to challenge myself every time I stepped into class – which isn’t hard when little hotties are kicking your ass. It also helped that during week one, I lost six pounds and continued to lose a couple pounds each week after that. Today, I am down 13 pounds! I have to attribute a lot of that scale movement to the Bari food. During peel, I completely changed my diet. I went from eating a ton of gluten, processed food and dairy to eating clean. I also cut out caffeine completely for all six weeks. Guess what? My chronic headaches and stomach problems disappeared. I was losing weight and feeling lighter, stronger and healthier. It is amazing how this transformation changed my life. (I am considering another detox in June if anyone wants to join me).

The best part were the reactions from people in my life. My fiancé is so supportive of how hard I have been working. I mean, this benefits him as much as it benefits me! I’ve been using social media to spread positive energy and health, which has inspired people in my life. Of course, haters gonna hate, but I just laugh them off (they’re just jealous of how happy I am). I went to a wedding after week five of peel, and everyone said something to me about how toned and thin I looked. A few guys told me they “weren’t hitting on me or trying to be weird,” but asked me “uhhhh, did you lose like a lot of weight?” Haha – YES. Yes, I did. (Then my fiancé got jealous, and I loved it.)

Although baripeel is officially over, I am just getting started. This is the beginning of my new life: my life full of sweat, kale, muscles, positive energy and Bari.

XOXO
Laura Tubbs (soon-to-be Mrs. Maher on 11-08-14)