Sarah: I avoided exercise – now I have a gym body!

Long shifts in a busy hospital left nurse Sarah relying on unhealthy convenience food to get through the day. But after discovering the feel-good power of exercise and healthy eating, she’s totally transformed her life
Published 29 May, 2018
"I started doing weight training and loved how my body became more toned and athletic. "

Start weight: 16st 12lb | Weight loss: 5st 2lb 
Current weight: 11st 10lb 
Height: 5' 7" |  Age: 37
Meeting: Stevenage
Coach: Mandy Bryan

I’d been overweight

my whole life, always snacking on the wrong foods at the wrong times. When I started my nursing job in my 20s, I worked odd shifts and relied on packets of crisps and unhealthy ready-meals to get me through.

I hated socialising

because I felt as though I was the fat, ugly friend. I threw myself into my work instead, taking shifts over Christmas, New Year, birthdays... it was my way of hiding from the world. When I was pregnant with my daughter, my hips hurt so much I had to use crutches towards the end. And after Isabelle was born I was shocked to see my weight had ballooned to nearly 18st.

I needed to get fit,

so I started going out walking for 15 minutes a day, which soon built up to an hour. Before long I could feel my body changing. Clothes felt looser, I was getting a slimmer waist. I started running, and it made me feel free.

I joined a local gym,

but I was petrified at first. I signed up for a 10-week programme with a personal trainer and it was a revelation. I started doing weight training and loved how my body became more toned and athletic. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to do a course and qualify as a personal trainer, to help others change, just like I did.