HOW I GET FIT DONE
How one reader broke her yo-yo dieting cycle for good
Growing up, my aunties would always tell me I was ‘big-boned’ – it wasn’t great for my confidence, especially as I knew I needed to lose weight.
But rather than commit to changing my lifestyle, I would yo-yo throughout my early twenties. After every crash diet, I’d celebrate my weight loss with cake and, before long, I’d find myself back where I started. At my heaviest, I weighed over 10st, which, at 5ft tall, meant I was borderline obese.
It was only when I saw a photo of myself at a friend’s wedding in early 2017 that I realised things had to change. It wasn’t just my size; I was shocked by how unhappy and uncomfortable I looked. I knew I needed to break this unhealthy cycle.
I’d never done any exercise before – I’d been scared of looking like an idiot, so I’d never really tried – but I worked up the courage to join some group circuit sessions at a gym near where I live in Hitchin in March 2017. Being in a group made me feel less embarrassed, and having an instructor gave me the guidance I needed.
The real turning point came a few months later, when I tore a tendon in my wrist while treating a patient at my London clinic. I needed two operations, which saw me signed off work for three months.
Far from putting me off exercise, my injury only affirmed my desire to look after myself. I just had to find a programme that could accommodate my injury.
So, in October 2017, I started training with PT Andrea Watson-blake at Raw Performance Gym in Hitchin. Having a trainer suited my lifestyle. I’m a busy person – I own two osteopathy businesses – and I needed someone to hold me to account and manage that side of my life for me.
I committed to three sessions a week with Andrea, focusing on cardio and leg resistance work on the machines, which suited my injury. Strength training was a game changer for my body composition – my clothes started feeling looser and I was developing noticeable muscle definition – especially when my wrist healed four months later and I could do upper-body exercises, too. Mondays were leg days – I’d do leg extensions, leg presses and supersets with pulse squats and walking lunges. Thursdays were pull days, involving lat pull-downs, rows and lower-back extensions. Fridays were push days, with incline presses, overhead presses and tricep push-downs.
Andrea also helped me overhaul my diet. Eating a macro-focused, caloriecontrolled diet featuring lots of lean meat and green veg, my weight dropped slowly – some weeks, I’d only lose half a pound. But Andrea kept me motivated by reminding me that the number on the scales was just that, and while I was losing fat, I was also building muscle. It took almost two years to reach my target weight of 9st, but I was feeling strong and confident long before that. Getting fit helped me be a better osteopath, too – not only am I stronger,
I’m also better equipped to help clients with exercise injuries. I still strength-train twice a week, and I do two 45-minute Hiit-style sessions, either at home or at the gym. Chasing a number on the scales motivated me at first, but tuning into how eating well and training make me feel has kept me going.
It’s a cliché but it’s true – health is a journey, not a destination.
POWER TUNE Kanye West’s Power is the ultimate song to lift to
PROUDEST PB 240kg leg press – that’s quadruple my body weight
POST-WORKOUT FUEL Protein pancakes with berries and a drizzle of honey