LOOK BEYOND THE WEIGHT LOSS FOR THE REAL STORY
What changed in the 6 years between these photos?
Left - aged 47
By 47 I’d been struggling with my weight for a few years.
I was doing keto and 5:2 fasting for my holiday. But within a few days of wine at lunch and dinner I was bloated and puffy.
Day to day, I felt constantly stressed and overwhelmed, yet the more I struggled, the harder I was on myself. Ignoring the exhaustion and telling myself I needed to work harder.
I knew menopause was around the corner, and my mindset was to fight it.
Centre - aged 51
By 51 I’d stopped fighting menopause and instead, I studied it, reading as much as I could, wanting to support the process and learn what my body needed now.
Dieting had gone out of the window. Battling food exhausted me. My body didn’t want to be hungry and deprived, and it certainly couldn’t tolerate fasting.
What I needed now was less stress in my life, my overwhelmed brain couldn’t cope with it so I tried to make life easier in any way I could.
That meant changing careers, taking on less work (even earning less money), socialising less, doing fewer chores and going to bed most afternoons.
Slowing down was what I needed more than anything. And I let it happen.
Right - aged 53
Then something changed.
I’d been in a quiet, comfortable place for a couple of years, but now I had the urge to get out of my comfort zone.
If I was completely reckless (and single and childless) I’d have sold the house and bought a round the world ticket.
Still searching for an adventure, I booked myself in for a tough 100 mile race across Scotland.
It forced me to have a good hard look at my lifestyle. The truth was I was in a rut. My fitness was plodding along, and the biggest thing that was holding me back was my eating habits.
The 2 stone that had crept on over the past few years wasn’t just to do with hormones. I was an emotional eater. Whenever I felt stressed, anxious, frustrated or stuck, I ate.
I didn’t want to be sat on my sofa eating because I didn’t know what to do with myself, or because I didn’t have the confidence to go and do things for myself.
It wasn’t my body that needed training most. It was my mind.
The photo that you see of me at 53, is a product of pushing myself out of my comfort zone and breaking some deeply engrained habits.
How I feel on the inside has taken me by surprise. My confidence has gone through the roof. And I don’t mean body confidence. I mean my confidence to do hard things. I feel tougher, stronger, more capable, and as a result of that I’m working on so many new and exciting projects.
I’m excited about the future and it feels more precious. I feel like I want to grab it with both hands and don’t want to waste a single second of it.
If you want to know more about my journey, what gave me the motivation to do this and exactly what I’ve done, watch this short video to find out more. I hope it inspires you to start your own journey.
Let me help you create your own mid-life transformation.
An 8 week programme to help midlife women win the battle with food, start strength training and find a better way to support your body through midlife to get lean and strong for good.