I was always on the chunkier side during childhood and then from college into my twenties I would abuse food and drink a lot of the time with friends. High volumes and unhealthy choices of both food and drink led to me becoming a size 16 at my biggest. I remember being on a hen do one year and all the girls that I was with looked amazing! I was absolutely fine until I saw the photos of me with them during and after the event which led me to feel embarrassed, fat and ugly and that instantly took away my self esteem and self-confidence. This was the moment that I realised I needed to do something to change. Initially I started walking to and from work which totalled approx. 8 miles a day (5 days a week) alongside starting to cut out crisps and chocolate. Just by doing this I started to lose weight and my fitness levels improved which was evidenced by my speed increasing and becoming less out of breath. Seeing the changes in myself over time based on these changes brought back some of the self-esteem and confidence that I had lost and gave me motivation to continue working on myself.

I decided to start going to the gym so enrolled with Pure Gym. This was a good start for me at the time and I attended mostly classes. I was able to learn how to perform a lot of the exercises and continued to slowly lose weight but I did find it became boring after a while. I’m a sociable person but I also need the right stimulus and the right amount of enjoyment from what I am doing to keep me motivated. I was then introduced to Dawn Breakers in 2016 which is where I found a pure passion for health and fitness and realised that I needed a community environment in order to push myself. I was down to a size 10/12 when I joined DB and continued to lose weight until I was down to a size 6 (which upon reflection was too small for me).

Finding a love for fitness made me want to help and support others in their health and fitness journey and I therefore looked into fitness instructor courses. I was lucky enough to succeed here and started teaching with Dawn Breakers Southampton in January 2018 which I ran alongside my day job. Starting this new venture was amazing but I then had to sacrifice my training time and start a new routine. I didn’t find this easy and going from exercising in the morning to 5pm was quite a big change to my routine – but I pushed on and adjusted to the change. Going back to Pure gym was the only option but my motivation dipped and my own training took a bit of a back seat. I then finally found Crossfit which I have now been doing for four years. I’ve again found my community and a place where I can push myself with like-minded people.

In regards to my journey, I’m still on it and I will be for the foreseeable. Health and fitness for me is lifestyle, it is my ‘me time’ and I want to continue pushing myself in every aspect of it. I’ve learnt that it is never easy no matter who you are or what you can do as the fitter you get the harder you push. The more you want it, the more you will go for it. I’ve had failures, I’ve had successes and that’s fine – it is all part of the journey. I can finally say I am happy with my physique and my self-esteem and my self-confidence is at its best. I am the fittest and strongest I’ve ever been and feel blessed to be able to coach people and provide a community for them to have their own journey. It hasn’t been a breeze, I have been overweight and underweight and am now focussing on gaining muscle and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and weight. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t have the support from others and didn’t put the hard work in.

Hard work really does pay off and I promise you it really is worth it. If you can enjoy the journey and have fun whilst you do it then you have the recipe to success! With 5 years of coaching experience and helping many people achieve their dreams (both
inside and outside of the gym) I am now able to take on the health and fitness world as my dream career offering both group and PT sessions that are full of energy and support. Your journey is yours and yours only so make sure you take the time and make it one to be proud of. It is a journey that will shape every aspect of your life and really will make you feel like the best version of you.