Personal Trainer
IAO Level 3 Diploma in Fitness Instructing & Personal Training
I guess my story starts about 35 years ago (yes I am that old!) As a child and as a teenager I was always into my sports. Hockey, netball, tennis, running, throwing, swimming – if there was a club or a group for it, you could guarantee to find me there. All I ever wanted to do was teach PE but for various reasons that wasn’t the direction that my qualifications took me in and I wound up tired of education at 18 years old and entered the world of work leaving my PE teaching dream behind me.
I remained actively interested in sports and trained/played hockey a number of evenings each week during the winter and replaced this with tennis in the summer months. As often happens, life became busier, we moved from Birmingham to Norfolk and gradually I became less active and more bogged down with increasing responsibility at work, often travelling from early in the morning until late in the evening. Over time, when my choices were ‘gym and cook something healthy’ at 8pm at night versus ‘takeaway and a bottle of wine’ at 8pm at night, I opted for the wrong thing and gradually piled the weight on, going from a clothing size 10/12 to a size 20/22 before I even realised what had happened.
Me after completing the NNUH 100 mile Sportive in 2018.
This picture was my last ‘before’ picture taken after I’d had my ‘moment’ and the day before I joined Slimming World and changed my life for good.
I managed to stay at that size for around 10-15 years. Periodically, I would try the latest diet or fad to come out, do ok for a couple of weeks, then give up at the first sign of temptation! I tried to convince myself I was happy as I was but in reality nothing could have been further from the truth. It was no fun to catch sight of my reflection in a shop window; I HATED the mirrors in Next! – and I had to breathe in before reaching down to tie my shoelaces. Still I carried on as if nothing was wrong.
During this period of my life, I suffered with my mental health as well. I never connected the dots and didn’t believe the two were remotely related; I know different now. Throughout my weight gain, I continued to participate in sports but was a lot less active than I had been in my younger years. I’d still play hockey for example but if I had to run the length of the pitch I needed a good few minutes to be able to get my breath back. An asset to any team hey!
“Periodically, I would try the latest diet or fad to come out, do ok for a couple of weeks, then give up at the first sign of temptation!”
My Moment
In October of 2016, I had what I can only describe as “my moment’. I was on holiday with Charlie and her parents at Center Parcs in Woburn. Our lodge was on the second row -behind the big lodges that overlook the lake so we were not too far up the hill at all. It was about our 2nd or 3rd day there and the four of us were walking back to the lodge together. Charlie and her parents were carrying on a normal conversation; however, I could barely breathe, let alone talk. I remember feeling so angry that I was less fit than two 60+ year olds and realising this was it – enough was enough. That “moment” was so powerful that I came home and the very next day I joined Slimming World. I’d tried it before but I’d never felt the determination I felt that day. I KNEW this time would be different. I also knew it was nutritionally sound and basically just a case of good, clean, healthy eating. Three weeks later, I was over a stone lighter and my journey of self re-discovery had begun.
I joined the gym, took on PT with Charlie and went from strength to strength. I loved Spin classes, Les Mills Pump classes as they involved weights, and I very quickly started to write programmes for myself and my friends to complete when we trained together.
Me in April 2017 completing my first ever half marathon having lost over three and a half stone at this point.
Ride London 2017! Feeling the pain at the 85 mile rest stop!
“I soon realised this was a passion and that maybe, just maybe, there was more to life than HR and Recruitment!”
Nine months later, in August of 2017, I hit my weight loss target. I was over 5 stone lighter, I felt amazing, and I was the fittest I had ever been in my life! The same week that I achieved my target I also completed the 100 mile Ride London bike ride and two months later went on to compete in the Amsterdam half marathon. To say my life had changed completely was an understatement.
In November of the same year, I was asked if I might be interested in becoming a Slimming World Consultant. I attended a meeting to find out more about it; after all, this had changed my life – how amazing would it be to be part of that journey for others? I was quickly sold on the idea and went on to take over the Horsford group in January of 2018 alongside my full time job in the Civil Service. I soon realised this was a passion and that maybe, just maybe, there was more to life than HR and Recruitment! I took a second group in April 2018 and changed to part-time at work with a new focus now for the future. Today I run three Slimming World groups which I love – in Horsford, Spixworth and Mile Cross.
By now, I was also a confirmed gym addict and owned more pairs of trainers than any other type of shoe. I was speaking to a good friend whilst out running who happened to be a tutor with a fitness company and I was asking her about qualifying as a Fitness Instructor and a Group Studio Cycling (spin) instructor. As we ran, she asked why I wouldn’t go on and do a Level 3 Personal Training Course – after all, I’d be halfway there and I should think about it. I came home and over the following weeks, and after conversations with those closest to me, I realised that at 45 years old, the dream I had when I was a teenager was about to find a pair of wings – I was possibly going to be able to be that “PE Teacher” but with adults rather than children! I decided that yes – I would go for it!
The Rest is History
The rest is history. I qualified as a PT in 2018 and went on to work as a mobile PT for some time before moving to become based at Phoenix Gym in Norwich. My passion is resistance training and weights and I am currently completing my Level 4 Strength and Conditioning qualification which sits perfectly with me. I also enjoy boxing and am looking to qualify as a Boxercise instructor in the near future. I also enjoy running and cycling and generally anything competitive! I love finding new ways to work out and finding new exercises and constantly changing things up and making things different. I also have a love/hate relationship with HIIT training – who doesn’t!?!
Having been overweight I’m not stupid enough to think that I’ll never struggle again. That’s just not true. Whenever I have a bad day or a good day, my first instinct will always be to celebrate/commiserate with calories. I understand what we go through as slimmers – the mindsets we have to constantly deal with and the struggle that we face – often daily. Whilst I lost my weight with Slimming World, there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to diet. So long as you are in a calorie deficit it will happen and I can help you find the way that works for you whilst ensuring that your body receives the sustenance it needs. Please don’t think that just because I’m also a Slimming World Consultant I’m not qualified to provide sound nutritional advice both inside and outside that plan. I am – and it’s about finding what works for you – it’s not about what worked for me.
My favourite before and after. Same bridge, same town, but two years apart.
Me at Amsterdam after completing my second half marathon in 2 hours 11 mins. I was overjoyed!
It’s also important to not underestimate the relationship between our weight, our exercise regime and our mental health. As someone who is no stranger to both anxiety and depression, I am also able to understand and empathise with those for whom this is a struggle too. There were many months where the gym environment wasn’t something I could consider simply because of the number of people I’d have to see there so I understand first hand the struggles anxiety can bring. If you’d like to just have a chat and see if I can be of help to you with any of your goals, please get in touch – I’d love to hear from you and support you in your journey to achieving them.