‘I got a six-pack!’

Fiona Crossley, 57, lives in Shepperton, Surrey. She co-founded fitness studio F45 Kingston last year with her husband, Jim. She has three grown-up children.

I was a classic yo-yo dieter in my twenties. I crash-dieted frequently, and ate whatever I wanted at other times, so my weight bounced between 8st 7lb and 12st.

I used to assume that I was stuck with my pear-shaped body, but I now know you can change it. I decided to get fit about three years ago to reduce stress. I had three kids – Holly, 24, Hannah, 22 and Dylan, 19 – and a demanding job in IT. I had back pain too and nothing makes you feel older than a bad back.

Jim bought me personal training sessions for my 54th birthday. I found I loved weight-training. Now I can dead-lift a barbell 1.5 times my body weight, and I’ve even got a six-pack. Last year, I qualified as a gym instructor and in January Jim and I started an F45 fitness studio in Kingston. It offers high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes.

One of my goals was to do a chin- up. I never thought I’d do it, but on my 57th birthday I did five.

These days, I have great energy. I get up at 5am and I’m on the go all day. I’m hardly ever ill and I’ve had no side-effects during the menopause – just no periods!

I have a good diet – lots of protein, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a little of whatever else I fancy. My weight is steady at 9st 2lb.

Go to f45kingston.co.uk