Hey ,

As a personal trainer and owner of the company I always want the best for my members and clients. My mission is to make as many women as I can feel incredible through training and helping them realize they are good enough and they can achieve their goals.

Time and time again I hear women say ‘I’ve tried everything’, it must be my body, it must be me, why can’t I change shape, poor me, etc. Now I know what it’s like to struggle with weight, at the age of 11 or 12 (I can’t remember the specifics) I was marched to Weight Watchers as my parents were worried about me – I never had a chocolate bar out of my mouth, (in fact food in general, I never had out of my mouth) I was teased walking down the streets and was ‘the fat kid’ at school – kids are mean and these things never leave you, even into your adult life.

So I get it, I’ve been there, and it’s tough but if you want to make a change you need to address your weaknesses, not play on them. Now some of these may sound harsh but here is a list of weaknesses that many of us use to excuse the fact that you cant reach your goals – the excuses have to stop!

I emotionally/stress eat
So many of us emotionally eat and it is usually a certain trigger that will set it off, whether that is boredom, stress, feeling sad – If you know what the trigger is then rather than hitting the snacks, make a conscious effort to change the habit and call a friend, listen to your fave song, do a puzzle, do a dance – basically you need to try and substitute food for an activity and stop using the excuse of ‘I am stressed so I eat’.

I have an addictive personality, once I start I can’t stop
Now, this was me with chocolate.. and crunch cremes (dam those biscuits); once a bag was open I would eat them all in one go. If you know you have a weakness for a certain type of food, then do yourself a favour, don’t buy it, don’t open it and don’t tempt yourself. That saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ really works. The best way to stop yourself from eating rubbish is not to have it in the house.

I eat what the kids have so it means I don’t eat well
Using your kid’s meals as an excuse is pretty common amongst women, and I know that it can be tiring to think about making yourself something else after you have just done the kid’s meals, but what the kids eat I guarantee is not going to be nutritious enough for you; a lot of kids food isn’t nutritious, will make you feel sluggish and will hinder your goals.

I don’t have time to eat healthily
Now I am a can’t cook, won’t cook kinda gal but that doesn’t stop me eating healthy. There are so many healthy options that you can whip up easily, Nowadays, fish, lentils, quinoa etc can all be whipped up in the microwave in minutes, or if you are really busy whack something in the oven for 20 mins, whilst its cooking go and do what you need to do and then have your meal – There are ALWAYS OPTIONS!

I eat what my partner eats and they eat crap
Firstly, if you know your partner eats crap all the time, and annoyingly doesn’t put on weight then you need to have a chat to get them to support you, frustratingly many men tend to burn calories three times faster than women due to their body type so you either need to make sure your portion size is less than theirs or make a conscious decision to adapt your meals. My partner often has curries – In this case, we cook the chicken and before he slops a curry sauce on it Il take half the chicken and make a salad or have it with veg. On the other hand, if your partner is a woman who still eats crap and doesn’t put on weight then they are most likely in the EXTREME MINORITY of women that I like to call a lucky skinny b*tch, life ain’t fair, but that’s life for ya!

I am getting older so I find it hard to lose weight
OK so this one is tricky – yes technically we do put on weight when we get older but this is down to a few factors which can be overcome.
We lose muscle mass: So after the age of 30 we can lose up to 8% muscle mass every 10 years; however, years ago strength training was never at the forefront for women but it should be the main focus for all women to help slow down the fat process. The less muscle we have, the slower our metabolism becomes, hence us finding it harder to lose weight, so basically keep up the strength training as part of your lifestyle. Studies now show that women should strength train at least twice a week building up weight and intensity as you progress.
Menopause – Menopause can affect our muscle mass so it is important to weight train throughout to ensure to keep the muscle tone to help resist weight gain. A decline in oestrogen after menopause also means that weight gain is more prominent around the belly, in this case, a review of your nutrition is required to help reduce the dreaded belly fat. Many women also get stressed throughout menopause, which in turn increases cortisol levels increasing your cravings for sugary things which store around the belly.
Using age is just another excuse, like lots of things we have to adapt to our changes and make small adjustments to help us stay on track

I don’t have time to exercise
If you are reading this you have access to loads of my 15-minute burners – My fella takes longer than that to do his hair – no excuses!

The list goes on ladies, but basically, if you are not reaching your goals then things need to change. You need to create mindful choices that are going to positively impact your lifestyle…and not for just a week or two. It is never too late to change. You just need to reflect on the past couple of weeks, be honest with yourself and make small manageable changes.

It’s not easy and it can be tough at times but once you get used to the changes you will adapt to the routine. Keep thinking of those goals!

You are in control and I am here to help you.

Speak soon!

Clo