My Fitness Journey

By the time my son was 8 months old, I knew it was time to make some changes in my life. It had been a difficult 8 months with feeding problems, little sleep and a small toddler to care for. It’s fair to say exercise and self-image were the last things on my mind. I was in a permanent state of grogginess, which I hid well with plenty of make up behind a large double buggy!!

That was until I was inspired by another Mammy (my good friend Kirsty) and her success with her own fitness. She recommended Insanity to me and I decided to give it a go. If you’ve never heard of this, where have you been?!?!?! Just kidding….it is an 8 week workout plan of high intensity interval training which works best if completed alongside a healthy eating plan.

Lent was coming up and I decided to give up anything bad….alcohol, chocolate, crisps, bread…..basically everything I loved and that I thought I needed to get through the long sleepy days I was struggling with.

And so the journey began…..I completed the 8 weeks of Insanity, lost 1.5 stone and dropped 3 dress sizes….but best of all, I felt A-MAZING!!! I even felt confident enough to take the chop with a radical new hairstyle……yes the pictures are the same person!!! Although I was still getting half of the recommended hours of sleep each night, I felt strong and healthy. No longer did I need the chocolate each night or the glass of wine I had been rewarding myself with for making it through the day….I was satisfied with a glass of sparkling water, fruit, nuts and peanut butter!!

Did I treat myself over Easter? Hell-yeah!!! I ate lots of chocolate, a fair bit of rubbish and drank plenty of wine….and then felt pretty crap afterwards. It was then that I made the decision to change for good. I still enjoy my treats once or twice a week, but I choose less damaging treats and try to live clean 80% of the time.

Since then, I have retrained as a Fitness Instructor and have made it my personal goal to inspire other Mums to get active and feel the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.  I have fun and keep moving every day with my now 2 and 3 year old, and get to share the best days of our lives with some amazing Mammies. Now it’s their turn to start their journeys, and I hope you stick with me as I help them along the way and share their stories with you.