How were you doing before the lockdown?
I was feeling ok, I didn’t feel I had let it slip too much. Early this year when I first started at Element I had dropped 6-7kgs and was feeling quite good about myself.
When work stopped, the gyms closed and I wasn’t really looking after myself at all the next eight weeks was a mixture of uber eats and alcohol!!
The most active I was, was walking up to the bottle shop to buy more booze because I had run out. It was May 28th, four days after my 36th birthday that I decided to take some
progress shots and was disgusted by what I saw. I knew the gyms were opening
again a few days later, but I felt tired, fat and disappointed in myself. At the same time I had a number of health issues that needed attention, almost all of these related to carrying the extra kgs.
The journey started with getting back into a routine with the gym and taking the guesswork out of the nutrition by ordering a weekly order of YouFoodz. When the gyms closed down three weeks later, I had dropped 7kgs but still wasn’t tracking my calories as I had always hated
to do so and knew I would become obsessive about that as I have with other toxic addictions in my life. After some advice from some professionals I decided that an aggressive calorie deficit could be achieved. It took time to get used to, and the first three weeks was hard and I cracked many times, but the weight was coming off and I could see results. I allowed myself to rest when my body needed rest especially when I was not sleeping well at the start.
This lockdown had to be different, so with the equipment hire I was able to get
access to the virtual classes and it has been awesome, although I have slept
through some classes I booked the adjustment to working out at home this time
has been enjoyable.
What sort of results have you been able to achieve?
The results so far have been amazing. Not only physically where I started this at 124.6kg (.1kg off my heaviest ever) and today weighed in at 110.1kg but my clothes are fitting better, I am sleeping better, I am just feeling better. I am happy, but not satisfied.
What classes do you like most at Element. In club or virtually?
I am a big fan of the reformer pilates, in fact the only reason I joined Element was for the reformer classes. So naturally I really enjoy the mat pilates class although this
lockdown I have tried Yoga which I enjoyed and also the resistance training.
Although my fitness still needs a bit of work, i have been enjoying the resistance training classes.
What have been your go to dishes for healthy eating and weight loss?
My go to dishes have been many. I LOVE my food!!! I have tried to make healthier versions of some favourites. The main one I have gone to a lot is my lamb wraps with king oyster mushrooms, onion relish, lamb rump, feta, spinach, and the low fat protein wrap. 444 cal 89g protein 22g fat 14g carbs!! To satisfy my sweet tooth I have gone to fruit and yoghurt for my snacks. The big key for this for me is not take away the things I love, I have learnt to understand what a serve is and how many calories it is and work it into my daily nutrition.