To celebrate International Women’s Day, I’d like to celebrate all of my clients, and three of them have very kindly shared their stories about how fitness empowers them. They each have different backgrounds, which I hope goes to show that whatever your background, you too can use fitness to improve your mental and physical health.
Anna, 43 years old, Full Time Working Mum of Three On a beautiful summer day in 2018 someone, a "friend", asked me if I was pregnant. I had just given birth a year earlier to my third baby and I told my "friend" I wasn't pregnant but was still fighting off the baby fat. I weighed 80 kilo's, was wearing size 16 tops and indeed my tummy looked like there was a baby inside. I wasn't very pleased with the comment but also realised I had to make a change. To be honest, I was not really "fighting off" the baby fat; I wasn't exercising and was eating whatever I liked, which included a lot of unhealthy snacks. I decided to call Andrea as I had met her a few months before through friends we had in common. One of these friends was a lady who had been training with Andrea intensely and lost so much weight I barely recognised her. Seeing her made me think I could do the same thing and was a really big motivator to start my process. I lost 15 kilo's by training with Andrea twice a week and following her diet plan. Training with Andrea is fun as she keeps changing the routines but also pushes you for maximum effort. More importantly she has become a friend and I always look forward to training with her. Her diet plan is very effective and not as limiting as I feared as I can still eat most of the food that I enjoy, just in smaller portions! Andrea taught me to be much more conscious of what and when you eat and is a great motivator. Summer 2019 I was in the best shape I had been in since my early twenties and when I went on my summer holiday I was wearing a bikini! Everyone is going through a struggle of their own, although the comments provided a catalyst for this client to make an amazing, empowering change in her life, it breaks my heart that they were made in the first place.
Gosia, 35 year old student and Beauty Therapist from Poland I work full time as a beauty therapist whilst studying Spanish. I love to cook simple, healthy foods like fish. I’m not a big fan of meat so only eat things like chicken occasionally about once a month. I have two sessions a week, and train alone three - four times a week. I’ve known Andrea for many years, and began training with her because I witnessed the changes she created for herself - she’s an amazing inspiration! I find that exercise really benefits my mental and physical health. I have a more positive outlook on life and whenever I go to the gym and work up a sweat exercising, I feel so much better afterwards because I have more energy and feel happier. I’m currently going through a divorce, and exercise really helps me to keep my mental health in check. Andrea is an amazing personal trainer, what I love most about her is the energy she gives me, she’s always positive and has a beautiful personality. I take a lot of energy from her and being with her is always fun, she’s always super professional and knows a lot about fitness and nutrition. One thing I love about training with her is that she always asks me to send her pictures of what I eat and when I exercise which motivates me even more! Otherwise I think I would end up eating rubbish so she helps me to eat healthier. This is my first time using a personal trainer, I’ve always gone to the gym but I didn’t really know a lot about exercise so she’s helped me to improve that by showing me new machines, how to exercise at homes, and new techniques like using resistance bands. There’s a lot of discipline involved and I try really hard, I cook at home and take my lunches into work.I have lost a bit of weight, but for me working with Andrea was always about how to use machines and exercise properly. Balancing health and fitness with a busy lifestyle is never easy. But once you focus, even a little bit, on improving your nutrition and fitness, life’s hurdles can become easier. It has incredible benefits for your mental and physical health.
Sally, 45 working full time in Publishing I like doing exercise, but wouldn’t say i’m a “sporty” person. I like being active and doing classes like Insanity and Pilates. In my spare time I’m keen on gardening and walking. I thought I was healthy, but I was eating all the time at work - taking biscuits, taking sweets. When I began working with Andrea, I went on what I call “The Truth Machine”. Seeing that I was overweight made me decide to begin my weight loss journey. Following Andrea’s plan was simple, I realised one of the worst habits i’d picked up was eating biscuits and sweets at work. I now snack on things like nuts, seeds and fruit which help to keep me full! I’ve always gone to the gym, but I was eating all the wrong things. When I began in April 2019, I was 74kg, I’m now 65kg. I thoroughly recommend Andrea because she’s so inspirational, knows a lot about nutrition and is such a nice person to be around! “The Truth Machine” that Sally mentions, is a body composition machine at the gym which helps to give an analysis of how much fat and muscle you have. Understanding what’s going on inside your body, can help to motivate you and track improvements.