Welcome!

Welcome to my first blog post.

I thought the best way to start this would be to introduce myself and tell you about my journey and why I started my career in the fitness industry. It will also give you a bit of an idea as to what you can expect from these blog posts. I aim to cover a vast array of topics and have the ability to share my personal experiences with you.

I want these posts to be insightful and helpful, a lot of the time we feel like we might be the only one struggling in a certain area. I can assure you that you are not alone and there will be so much more to your journey than just changing your body. You will learn so much about yourself along the way, all of the challenges that we face will help us become the person that we want to be.

So where did it all begin?

Most people assume that because you work in the fitness industry, then you will have always been fit, healthy and always loved exercise. This was not the case for me, I grew up a ‘normal sized’ child and teenager, although I didn't enjoy exercise, In would do almost anything to get out of P.E at school. I did like to dance though and would spend a lot of my childhood trying to learn the choreography from music videos and recreate them (unfortunately there is video evidence of this) I use to borrow my grandparents video camera over the school holidays and dance my days away.

It wasn’t until I had left school that I began to gain weight. I had a part time job whilst I was at college and could buy things for myself, so I would treat myself to take-aways, crisps and chocolate. The weight gain was gradual, it always is. It had slowly crept up on me and before I knew it I was 15 stone and wearing size 18-20 clothes.

I was unhappy, I had low energy, low self-esteem and did not like the body I was in. I had tried many things over the years, you name the fad diet, I tried it; slimming clubs, juice/shake diets, tracking calories, Atkins (you get the idea). They would all work for a while, but as soon as I had reached the end of it I would find that I would re-gain what I had lost, because I didn’t really learn anything. I would just ‘go back to normal’ afterwards.

Something had to change…

After many years of yo-yo dieting, I decided that I would start adding exercise into the mix. Dieting alone was only getting me so far and the results weren’t lasting, it didn’t occur to me at the time that I would need to build some more health conscious habits that build a new lifestyle.

So I started hitting the gym, I had it in my head that I didn’t want to get too big so lifting weights was a HUGE no for me at the time, I just wanted to ‘tone up’. I had no knowledge of what I actually needed to do to achieve what I ultimately wanted. So I started just doing cardio, a lot of cardio and some sit ups for good measure.

Along with my new found love of cardio I had also started eating better just a bit more protein and veggies, nothing drastic. I wasn’t eating as many processed foods and I was opting to cook meals from scratch. It tasted better and I was starting to feel a difference in my overall energy levels.

I enjoyed running so much that I decided I wanted a new challenge, I decided that I was going to run a half marathon. I was training, but had not completed more than 10k in any given session. I completed the race and was so proud of myself I burst into tears as I crossed the finish line. After that I ran another half marathon and 2 obstacle course races.

I was still adamant up to this point that lifting weights was the devil and should be avoided, I had lost a lot of weight and was comfortably maintaining a size 10-12 shape. I was convinced that if I lifted weights that I would become ‘manly’ and that I could get the ‘toned’ look I wanted to achieve just through cardio. Looking back I can see how very wrong I was, but it didn’t now any better.

I went to stay with my friend in Miami for a couple of weeks, whilst I was there we took part in a bootcamp class. I had to face my fear and lift weights!!! It actually felt really good. I had left the session feeling strong and accomplished. I spoke to the instructor after the session to express my fears about gaining muscle too quickly. He had assured me that it is not the case and non one has ever gotten too big overnight and that strength training has so many health benefits other than building muscle, with that I was sold!!

This is where my love of weight training started

Once I was back, the way I trained in the gym had changed. I was no longer just looking to run endlessly. I wanted to lift weights I wanted to feel strong. After a few months of lifting I had started to notice that my body was changing. I was not getting huge muscles like I had imagined would happen. I was developing some shape. What I hadn’t realised for all that time being a cardio bunny is that I was never going to look ‘toned’. That will only happen if you lift weights and have some muscle to help shape your body.

It was at this point I knew that I wanted to help other people. I didn’t want them to make the same mistakes that I did, I completed my personal training qualification and left my full-time retail management positions to be self employed personal trainer. It was one of the scariest decisions of my life, but on the years to come will turn out to be the most rewarding job I could have ever done.

Further down the line I became an evidence based nutritionist through MNU, I knew there was more to it than just ‘eating better’ and ‘train’ I wanted to be able to support my clients in the best possible way so that they can achieve results and maintain them effortlessly. I wanted to be able to successfully coach people to create a lifestyle that helps them become the person that they want to be, no fads, no restrictions. Just them, feeling their best!!

I wanted more…

I grew hungry for more I wanted a bigger challenge. Knowing how over weight I had been in the past I didn’t think that it would be possible for me to have abs and be as lean as you would need to be to step on stage at a body building show, but I wanted to try.

I hired a coach and got to work. I stepped on stage for the first time in April 2018 and loved every second of it. I had no expectations for how I would do and I was just so proud of myself for completing the process and getting to this point. I had no idea about how the show was structured as I had never even watched a show before. I was clueless. I had no idea what the judges were looking for, why they move people around or how you get an idea on how you have placed.

Once we had finished the comparison round and we had all completed our individual routines, we were all called back on stage for the presentation of awards. We all got participation medals and I was over the moon with that. They then started calling the top 5 placings. I was called in third place, I almost cried!

After that I was hooked, I had fallen in love with the process and never missed a beat. I competed for four years, in 9 shows, taking placings in all of them.

Competing takes its toll on your body

In 2021 I had decided that it would be my final year of competitive body building. It is hard work, takes a lot of time and commitment to the sport and it takes its toll. The level of leanness that you need to achieve is not healthy and is only sustainable for short periods of time. You have to sacrifice a lot in order to get ready for a show; no meals out with friends/family, no holidays, no missed training/cardio sessions, every meal meticulously prepared and weighed out.

I also had periods of time where I would lose my menstrual cycle, your body is smart and tries to be efficient. So if you do not have the energy availability to grow a baby, then you do not need to ovulate or have a bleed. It is your bodies was of conserving energy to do all of the vital things it needs to do to live; breath, digest food, heal.

I had also picked up some binge eating behaviours, post show and in the time between show preparations (I will delve into this in more detail at a later date).

I wanted to be able to enjoy life, not have to say no to things and have the freedom and flexibility to train when I wanted and not to strict schedule, I wanted to give my mind and body a break.

Since stepping away from the stage, I have put a lot of my energy into fixing my relationship with food and accepting my body for what capable of and not what it looks like. I have put my body through a lot of the years, now I am grateful for all it has and continues to do for me and make sure I treat it with care and respect.

I hope this has helped you get to know me a little better and given you an insight into the start of this blog and the topics that I aim to cover.