Healthy Inspirations ticked all the boxes – support and encouragement, diet, exercise, education – and had my doctor’s recommendation.

I have increased my understanding of food groups, what I eat and when – become more conscious of my water intake, sleep and stress levels – increased my activity – feel more comfortable within myself and more confident to try new things – and of course, now fit into clothes that are a size or two smaller than before

When people ask “Wow, what have you been doing?”, I don’t hesitate to let them know that Healthy Inspirations Maitland has been my inspiration to make and maintain positive lifestyle changes.

With a busy life focussing on family and full-time work, I never really thought a great deal about my own health and fitness. Over the years I have actually spent a lot of my time away from work driving my 3 sons to their sporting activities, watching them train and play, but not doing any of that myself. Also, too much snacking, not paying enough attention to what I was eating and working all day in front of a computer led to some gradual weight gain.

My doctor always emphasises the importance, not only of maintaining a healthy weight, but of maintaining flexibility and muscle strength as we age and as HI provides a program that supports this, it was one she recommended.

With that in mind, I had thought about joining HI many times and had subscribed to their newsletter, but it wasn’t until a relatively minor health issue arose that knew it was time to take action to improve my overall health and fitness.

This occurred in the year after my youngest son left school, which meant that I now had some time to focus on myself, so, although a little unsure, I took the step of investigating how the HI program would work for me.

The HI team were immediately very friendly, understanding and supportive and I felt comfortable with the healthy eating plans. I also became more aware of the importance of staying hydrated, the connection with sleep and stress and the need to incorporate more activity into my day.

I had never been to a gym before, but gained the confidence to complete the HI circuit and when my regular weigh-ins and measurements continued to show positive results, I was motivated to revise my initial goal. My changed eating habits have now become the ‘norm’, I feel more comfortable and look forward to exercising everyday.

I have met some lovely people along the way, and it is reassuring to know that support is always there whenever I need it to keep on track.

Thank you to the HI team at Maitland for the inspiration and support!