"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.