Lost 8.3kg, reducing her body fat by 4.6%
2020 was a terrible year. Aside from Covid, I turned 60 & the big birthday bash I had planned on a Greek Island had to be cancelled due to Covid. I had reached my highest weight ever, and then injured my right knee whilst walking, and it was looking like surgery would be required.
I decided I needed to get fit and healthy, that I would try to lose weight and strengthen my leg muscles, to see if this would help the knee pain and avert surgery. I was already eating quite healthily, sticking to a higher protein lower carb diet, but the weight would not shift so I decided to join HI.
Over the years I have joined various gyms, and knew that my body responded well to exercise & weight training. My only concern was making sure to attend the gym regularly & I chose HI as I live in Belair and worked in Blackwood, and that the circuit only takes 30 minutes to complete. I knew that I would have no issue committing & attending regularly, as it was on my way to and from work. If I drove past without stopping, I almost felt guilty!!
When I started, I decided my weight loss goal was 12 – 15 kg, but as the weight started to come off, and clothes started to fit better, I realised that I had over-estimated how much I needed to lose, & re set my goal to 10kg. After 7 mths I had lost close to 8kg and was fitting into all my favourite clothes again, which was a great feeling! Since Xmas, I have not been actively trying to lose weight, as all the clothes I wanted to fit back into now fit really comfortably, and some are even getting too big as my body shape has changed, but some extra weight is still coming off each week without me really trying. I stick to the eating plan, attend the gym during the week, but let loose on weekends as we have an active social life. So you could say I am now on a 5-2 eating plan & routine but with much healthier habits.
Along the way the weekly weigh ins have been great, and have kept me on track. The coaches have been great, and very supportive, and not judgmental if you have not lost anything or if some weight has crept back up again. They talk you through why this may be happening and offer suggestions of things to do to get back on track.
I find that I now have a lot more energy than I used to & have muscles too! I feel more confident and my knee has improved dramatically. Surgery is not even a consideration anymore which was one of the main reasons for joining.
If you are serious about losing weight in a friendly and supporting environment, where you are surrounded by women in the same position, give this a go.
My 3 top tips are:
- Set realistic goals – these can be changed as you go along. You may find that you don’t need to lose as much weight as you thought to fit into that LBD!
- Commit to the program & make your gym visits part of a daily routine – whether that is every weekday, every other weekday etc
- Don’t be disheartened if the weight comes off slowly – it will happen, and remember that it took time to put on the weight, it will take time for it to come off too.