My Background

OK here goes.....similar to a lot of woman out there I have been on most of the diets on the market over the years - Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Atkins, Rosemary Conley, The Cabbage Soup Diet, Slim Fast, taken loads of slimming pills and lost loads of weight!

Growing up I was always larger than the other girls but more in a bone structure kind of way, I had a woman's body at 12 whereas my friends were straight up and down. I danced 4-6 times a week so weight was never an issue until the real hormones kicked in (about 16) and the curves grew! Saying that I had an great figure until I was about 21 then I settled down too young and started the usual comfort eating of take-aways and microwave meals. I think this is where it all started. Between 21-29 I put on 3 stone then lost 4 stone to be a healthy 12 stone, at 5.7 (and a half - its counts you know) I was wearing a size 12-14 and was happy with my body, I looked good and I felt good this is when I met the love of my life Matthew just before my 30 birthday. We instantly fell in love and the comfort eating days soon came back! Over the following year I gained another 1.5 stones. The weight battle starting taking its toll again and I soon became depressed when none of my beautiful figure hugging clothes would fit. I cried night after night and even turned to anti-depressants to make me feel better about myself but nothing up until then work.

FIT FARM

At my most distressing moment I decided to start looking into attending a boot camp, I was desperate for motivation. I came across Fit Farms UK which was located in the Devon Hills, a whole week of exercise enough to put anyone off but not me (I think I have a deep sadistic appetite for hardcore exercise!) I was accompanied by a friend from work who was not 100% but she also wanted a change. Those 7 days changed my life forever in a way I learnt how much the body was a work horse and how the giving up bit is all in the mind. I lost 1.7lbs in about 3 months and was really on top of things until...........I fell pregnant! Now don't get me wrong I was happy to fall pregnant but I just knew 6000% that I would follow the footsteps of the rest of the women in my family and gain lots of weight! I have to be honest that scared me, I think I was more scared of the weight gain and the lack of control to my body than actually giving birth. I do realise a baby is a blessing so I do not want to appear ungrateful I am just giving my honest account of how I felt inside.



Me at Fit Farm June 2009



My blessing Joshua

LOSING CONTROL

Five stone I gained through pregnancy, the first 6 months I was terribly sick apparently my body was allergic to the pregnancy hormone and was over realising histamine which is why I was constantly sick so not much weight was gained by the 6 month mark, the weight started to creep on after 7 months and by 9 months and 1 week I weighed in at a whopping 18 stone 7 pounds. I nearly died of shock, yes I had a baby inside but I never expected to reach that sort of weight. After a healthy Joshua arrived weighing in a huge 9lbs 13oz I soon dropped 1.7 stones quite quickly, no-one warned me of the "jelly belly" though I remember having a bath and thinking that I would NEVER have a flat stomach again, I still think that but I am going to try and prove myself wrong! Shortly after my 6 week check I immediately started weight watchers with my aunt and friend, it seemed to take forever to lose just a pound. I did lose over the next 6 months but it was only about 9 pounds in total, I was so upset and felt more unhappy than ever. I also was suffering with post-natal depression so every negative feeling I had about myself was magnified. At one point I wanted to cut the fat off my legs (obviously this did not happen but I felt like doing it). Everyone would tell me how great I was looking but inside I just wanted to cry, I would see reflections of myself and to be honest did not see me looking back. I felt out of control and it was starting to affect my relationship.

THE TRIGGER

I left Weight Watchers as I feel it is a great diet for maintaining weight but for me it is just not strict enough, as soon as someone says you can have a cheeseburger and chips but then nothing else for the rest of the day then I WILL eat that cheeseburger and chips! I gave up the battle for a while as the weight was not shifting, I even went to the doctors as I was confused as to why it would not shift after Joshua, the doctor advised me that it can take up to 2 years after pregnancy for the body to return to normal! Great just my luck!  The trigger time came after Christmas 2011 when my weight had creeped back up to 17st 6lbs I convinced my aunt to start Rosemary Conley with me (we had done this together in the past and it was sucessful) with Rosemary Conley the principle is to eat less than 5g of fat per 100g plus you exercise (Zumba) at each weekly class.

My aunt is flying and up until her holiday last week (March) she had lost 21 pounds (Well done Jane) I on the other hand had lost 16 pounds which I know is a good amount but I then went back after having a few weeks off due to a chest infection and I had put 5 1/2 pounds back on. I was so upset, it is one thing to go up and down a pound or two but to have a set back of 5 1/2 pounds was enough to make me realise that I needed to totally change my exercise regime (or lack of) otherwise I would never shift this weight. Its not that I am impaitient but as a lot of other women feel when you put so much effort into making sure you are following the rules it really is heartbreaking when you dont see any results. Also I do like being involved in the Rosemary Conley Zumba classes (not as hard work as mainstream Zumba) and I like the ladies at my class but it just does not inspire me or push me, half the time I am looking at the clock to see if we are close to finishing!

CROSSFIT

About two years ago a good friend at work told me about a new fitness programme/class called Crossfit which originates from the USA and combines the best of a lot of sports and exercises which military personel and top atheletes are followers of. When I first looked at the Crossfit Reading website I thought "OMG not in a million years would I do that" I was impressed with my friend doing it but it looked barbaric and completely out of my league!



However, during the last two years I have been updated via Facebook on Crossfit Reading's progress and how great my friend and his collegues looked so about a month ago I started to consider if this was something I could do, my problem was getting to Reading I already work full time, have a 20 month old child, a partner and a household to run, to take another 45 mins just to get there would just not work for my family (I would never see them). Just as I was about to start looking into a Fit Farm again for later this year my friend informed me that a Crossfit branch was opening in Camberley! Immediatley I was interested I went straight on their website and sent an email enquiring about prices. I received a speedy reply with prices and an inviation to come and have a look! I was very nervous but I was also encouraged by my friend that it was "Life changing" how could I not go after that? So I replied and agreed to meet the owner at "The Box" (Crossfit jargon for the etablishment lol) it all happened on Friday 30th March 2012.

This is the start of my journey which I hope you will enjoy following, I may fall flat on my face but I hope to succeed and finally get to my goal and internal happiness.