Inspiring TRANSFORMATION

DANNI-ELLE KNOWLES • WAS 155.2kg • NOW 72.9kg

Dani-Elle Knowles, 51, from Glen Waverley in Victoria, initially had no intention of joining the gym. In July 2017 she’d called into Vision PT in Blackburn to discuss a training plan for one of her children. “I’d long since given up on believing I could be anything other than ‘big, beautiful and curvy’. But her sister had just got engaged and that meant a dress for the destination wedding and the usual squeeze into the aeroplane seat. So when she did actually sign up, she was reticent to set a weight-loss goal as she thought it was out of her reach.

“Kimberley [my trainer] asked me what my ultimate goal was. I said it was to become a size where I could ‘comfortably’ fit into the aeroplane seat by the time we had to travel for the wedding.”Together, Knowles and her PT set small, tangible goals but in her mind she didn’t believe she would ever fulfil her wildest weight-loss dream of being a size 12. Knowles was resigned to being a size 28, even though it came at a price.

“I’d accepted the fact I was big, and would never know what it was like to wear a size 12. There’s a certain level of freedom in giving up. However, I was in physical pain with every single step. I ran out of breath walking to the mailbox (five metres up a very small slope) and had to pull myself up the three steps to my front door every single day. My driver’s seat was pushed so far back the kids used to fight over who had to sit behind me and I couldn’t be a passenger in another vehicle because the seat belt wouldn’t fit.”

From day one at Vision PT, she felt supported. “Even when my burpee consisted of reaching down and touching my toes, people took the time to really get to know me.” As her weight dropped, what Knowles loved most was how much better she felt. “I’ve gone from not being able to walk to my mailbox without feeling exhausted to being able to comfortably complete 10km runs without batting an eyelid.”

Regular gym sessions with her eldest son as well as cooking with her youngest son and spending quality bonding time with her husband and daughter is a bonus Knowles believes is far greater than any number on the scales.

“It took a lot to rewire my mental image (and it’s still a work in progress), but I now approach my home life, my work life and my gym life with the confidence and knowledge that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to.”

“My favourite meal is the quick and easy chia pudding on the MyVision app. There’s a library of meal options, which is so useful when looking for new meal and snack ideas.” Lost 82KG

“The real return on investment is that I no longer sit on the sideline of my life.” “Since training with Kimberley and the Vision team, I now know that when I have a break from tracking my macronutrient intake, it’s just a short-term blip. It doesn’t set the trend for the rest of the week, or even the rest of the day. It’s just one meal.”

“Whenever I hit a rough patch or start to plateau, I immediately talk to Kimberley [my trainer]. She is a constant source of tips on how to get back on track.”