Why you SHOULD be eating chocolate

Ok I admit this title is a bit of clickbait, but let me explain my point.

I am not saying you HAVE to eat chocolate. You may not be a choc fan. BUT if you are like me and you have a major sweet tooth and chocolate brings you joy - you really MUST eat it.

I am going to use myself as a case study here to give you a real life example of what I mean:

Before I educated myself and became a professional in the health and fitness industry, I used to believe it was chocolate that was going to make me fat, or sweets, any kind of sugary/processed food. So I thought ok no I must forbid it all, because the moment I eat it, I will get fat. I had no education around energy balance (calories in vs calories out), all I thought was that certain foods made you fat, and certain foods made you skinny. Little did I know at the time I could eat 3000 cals of broccoli per day and still put on weight (that would however be a sh*t ton of broccoli, but you get my gist).

The more I would forbid these foods I enjoyed, the more I would find myself thinking about them all the time, and ultimately bingeing on them because I would think “oh its only this once and then I won’t allow myself so I better eat as much as I can.” Well I am sure you can guess what happened next. This became a vicious cycle, I was unhappy with how I looked, I hated what I was trying to do to change it, so it didn’t work, I would binge, hate myself for it, feel guilty, restrict, and the cycle continued.

Fast forward a little in time, and I started learning about intuitive eating - basically you allow yourself to eat whatever you want, and the idea is the more you allow, the less you want to binge. I could never get my head around this because to me - I thought I would never have the willpower or ability to have “just one”, so I didn’t trust it it just seemed too far out of reach.

Then came my holy grail - flexible dieting - I started tracking my food but my calories were super low so I still was in a bit of that all consuming food all the time mindset. But I tested the waters and allowed myself little treats here and there. To my shock, because I was allowing myself, I was not so fixated on wanting more and more, because I knew if I wanted it again tomorrow I could have!

This really helped improve my relationship with food, and it got even better when I entered a building phase, because I was actually fuelling my body properly with nourishing foods, I was not so fixated on eating all the time. It was one of those things where I did not realise how damaged my relationship with food was until I got out the other side.

BUT the bottom line is - food itself doesn’t make you fat, the quantity does. So you are better off having a little bit of choc here and there every day (or whatever your guilty pleasure is). If you were like me and you think “no way I cannot stop at just one”, adopt the mindset that your favourite food is not scarce, you can always come back for more, later today, tomorrow etc. It is not going anywhere.

Happy chocolate eating!

Lockdown is slowly coming to an end, are you ready?

This year has been a god damn whirlwind to say the least. With the end hopefully in sight, do you feel like you are happy with the person you are/have become during lockdown? Have you been working on yourself, on your health? Or have you used this as a time to chill, unwind, eat and drink lots and celebrate life? I feel like we have gone either way, and both ways are fab! Some of us have dipped in both directions, I know I definitely have!

But if you have veered more towards the direction of sitting more, eating move and moving less. It is time to get back on track. Summer is around the corner, and hopefully we get blessed with some beaut weather again from now until then like last year! It’s time to put in some work.

If you are feeling totally lost and have no idea where to start, this is where I come in. I want to help you reach your dream physique goals, and I can, if your mindset lets me. I currently have a sale running until the 12th April - 20% off my 1-1 online coaching services, for 12 or 24 week packages. This works out to be only 40 pounds per week. This is basically two takeaways a week, to transform your body, mind and lifestyle.

One of the best investments you can make, is in yourself. There will always be reward in investing in yourself in the long term, and bettering yourself, then short term gratifications. So what are you waiting for?? Head over to my shop page now and invest in the new you!

Here are some of the amazing transformations we have had over the past few months

Picture Number 1: 1 year transformation

Picture Number 2 & 3: 4 week transformation

What are you waiting for?! If you were looking for a sign and stumbled across this post, this is your sign. I can’t wait to work with you to change your life <3

Prioritise your health always

It has been a LONG year, to say the least. I feel like this has been the longest year, but it has also vanished at the same time? I don’t know if anyone else feels like this but I certainly do!

This year has had a huge effect on all of us both mentally and physically - not one person has been untouched by the coronavirus in some way, whether that be having the virus, or the pandemic causing stressors in life due to significant life changes.

At this time, it is more important than ever to prioritise our health over anything else. And by health, I do not mean our warped deception of the term e.g. exercising until you feel sick, and eating chicken and broccoli for life. This is not health, this is restriction and stress - two words that I do not think have ever been interlinked with the word health.

When I talk about health, I mean nourishing your body with a balanced diet of colour, whole-grains, and healthy proteins & fats. When I talk about health I also mean allowing yourself those less nutritional foods when you want them, I also mean exercising when you want to, to make you feel good and improve your strength, mobility and mindset, not to “lose weight”, I am talking about being active, walking every day and taking part in little rituals to de-stress every now and then when it all becomes too much.

I felt compelled to talk about this topic off the back of a coaching call with a client yesterday - we are working to try and help her shed a little bit of unwanted body fat, however she has a history of an eating disorder and a tendency to bingeing when she feels restricted. So right now, dieting down and restricting her calories is just not the right thing for her to be doing. There are four pillars of health in my opinion, stress, sleep, activity, nutrition. And you cannot work on one, and let all the others go downhill. We must be working with these pillars together. So if everything else is suffering, and you then go to restrict your calories and try and eat a healthier diet - this is just not going to be sustainable or enjoyable because guess what, stress, lack of sleep and decreases in activity levels are going to take you right back to the beginning and then some. This will lead to overeating, under exercising and a poor mindset - which will lead to increases in restriction when you fall off the wagon, which will then lead to bingeing, poor mindset, restriction, binge etc etc and can you see how the cycle continues?

This is why health is harmonious, and we cannot prioritise one pillar and let the others fall down. If you are suffering currently with high stress, I would recommend instead of trying to restrict calories if you want to shed some body fat, eat at your maintenance, and try to get as many micronutrients in as possible - these are the foods that make us feel GOOD, and as you are eating at your bodies set-point, you will not go hungry , are less likely to binge, in turn, you will feel better due to nourishing your body, you will feel better due to the fact you are not bingeing, you will have more energy, therefore you may increase your activity levels and end up burning more calories than if you were back on the binge-restrict cycle. And this is sustainable.

If your weight stays the same here so what - you are working on yourself and you can always try and decrease your calories again when all your other pillars are strong and tall. Please remember that for your nutrition pillar to be strong and tall - we need maintenance calories, we need lots of micronutrients and a balanced diet of protein, carbs and fats. A calorie deficit is a stressor, so this is diminishing your nutrition AND your stress pillar. So please only embark on this when everything else is strong, robust and ready to take on a challenge. It is never too late! So if that is not yet, don’t fret about it, do not be so hard on yourself. There is ALWAYS time. But there is not enough time to be under stress for too long. So focus on your health first and always.

When you are ready to go into a deficit, or ready to work on your health but don’t know how or where to start, this is where I come in! We are always students and we always have more to learn, so let me help you! Let me be your number one supporter and guide you along the way rather than you doing it blindfolded. I can devise you an awesome training program, give you nutrition, stress and activity guidance, we can have a coaching session, or you can join my girl gang of weekly PT, it is all about what works for YOU.

If it is something you are interested in do not forget to reply to this or send me an email.

I hope you found this interesting and if it resonated with you or helped you in any way then I have done my job :)

How I got my period back after 1.5 years

I have been dreaming of writing this post since I wrote my first post about how I was combatting my condition back in the beginning of July.

So in reality, it took 5 months of work. But it has been so worth it. I did not realise how many things I was missing out on not getting my period. My body had basically reverted back to its pre-pubescent self.

Right now - bigger boobs, high sex drive, happier, stronger, fitter, more energetic, and I actually feel like myself, I feel like a woman.

I am only at the beginning of my journey as I have only had one period now, and it is going to take time to get my cycle back to regularity, so I am not stopping here and going to revert back to old ways. I am going to keep on pushing on with all the things I have implemented. It is still a process of getting my body to trust me again.

So let’s start from the beginning. I am going to talk about everything I have done, in the hope that maybe I can help someone else who is suffering. But I do have to disclaim that these are the things that worked for me - we are all individual so what worked for me may not work for you, but I hope to inspire ad guide you to the period path :)

It all really started with a shift in my mindset - I had done all the doctors appointments, come up with nothing, everything was normal, and the only explanation I had was that I exercised too much and to stop/go back on the pill. This was it. I had a huge shift in mindset at this point. I was on my own, the only person that could help me was me, and I needed to make a change. This brings me onto step number one

1. MINDSET is everything. Sort of like losing weight, you have to be ready to gain. If you are not mentally prepared to do whatever it takes to get your period back, maybe don’t try yet. Shift your mentality first, otherwise you will not get where you need to be.

2. EAT I have to say I think this is what has drastically changed the most for me. I just allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted. Now I have tracked for a long time and my diet is always generally healthy. I just prefer to eat that way. By giving yourself unconditional permission to eat everything, you probably wont go as crazy as you think. Just allow yourself. The main thing I did was increase the amount of healthy fats I ate, as well as slightly higher carb. (SIDE NOTE: Food as medicine: I have included 10g of flax seeds and 2 brazil nuts per day, high in phytoestrogens). Everything still from good sources. I also allowed myself to go out and eat whatever I felt like and drank what I wanted when out for dinner. This for me was actually more about relieving stress. Food no longer controls my life, I don’t stress about tracking etc. I started by increasing to about 2000 calories per day, and I am now probably up to 2800-3000 as my body was craving more and more and I have settled here, however I am not tracking so it could be more it could be less.

3. WEIGHT GAIN this unfortunately is a must. It is also important to note that HA can happen to ANYONE. I am by no means of super low body fat and I was not when I lost my cycle. We just have different genetic set points and my body just performs better with more body fat. Gain that extra weight your body needs, this does not have to be permanent but it has to be right now. You can always think about cutting down again when the time is right e.g. no other stressors in your life, good routine, good workout schedule.

4. REDUCE EXERCISE I finally managed to cut my exercise days down to twice per week, just strength training. This to be honest was the hardest for me. But your body needs REST. Try to keep your exercise days to maximum 45 mins working time. Don’t go for PB’s, go to your capacity but do not over exert yourself. On top of this you can walk to your hearts content. I walk at least 15,000 steps per day and walking is the only form of exercise that does not actually increase stress in your body.

5. BREATHWORK I have been trying to meditate every day. Now I am no good at sitting for 10 minutes, so I am trying to do about three minutes of deep breathing every morning. This really just grounds and calms me, and helps regulate my cortisol levels. I have been practicing Wim Hof Breathing after reading Ross Edgley’s “Worlds Fittest Book”. We must recover as hard as we train. And breathing is a part of this. WIm Hof Breathing consists of 30 deep breaths, followed by one breath (hold your breath in as deep as you can until you start to gasp, then exhale), then hold your breath for 10 seconds before exhaling as a recovery breath. Repeat this up to three times. Make sure to practice on an empty stomach, in a quiet place and seated (you can get a little light headed, so I would not advise doing this out and about).

6. SUPPLEMENTS I have been taking a whole load of supplements ranging from Vitamin D to cortisol balancing supps. I am not going to say what I am taking as these are specific to me, but I would say consult a naturopath so they can decide what would be best for you and your body. I have been working with Sara Jackson @sjhealth throughout this whole process and she has been amazing.

7. ACCUPUNCTURE I have only had two sessions so far but I really believe this has helped, I am going to keep going back as this will help me on my next phase of regulating my cycle and making sure it comes back.

8. REST Now I took three weeks off work, exercise and life basically. This was the week before I actually got my period, so I think this really was the catalyst that just brought everything together. I put on the most weight in this time, and just felt so calm, rested, got a lot of sun and just felt so present. So if you think you are close, just chill completely. Now we are going into lockdown in the UK, this may be the best time to do this.

Now if you want more personalised help, do not hesitate to get in touch with me. But the number one thing I can stay about this journey is: just be happy with your body the way it is, you are perfect, and the sooner you realise that, the sooner you will get your cycle back <3

Rise, Sweat, Shine - The Complete 12 Week Guide

Introducing your new best friend! The Rise, Sweat, Shine, 12-week fitness guide.

I am so excited for this! It has been 5/6 months in the making. I am sure if you read my blog posts you will know that back in May/June, I was looking for 6 girls to try out my new workout programme I had created. This blog post is here if you would like to check it out. So this was the trial phase. I took the girls through the three months of training throughout lockdown and they loved it. The girls saw some awesome results in terms of weight loss and muscle tone/shape. All whilst doing it at home with access to minimum equipment, imagine the progress you will see if you take me to the gym with you and up your weights each session - sooo much!

So the e-book version is finally here! You essentially have me in your pocket as your trainer, and have access to the workouts that you can do anywhere, anytime. This will be an ideal program if we do go back into lockdown (fingers crossed we do not, but its good to be prepared).

What is included in the program?

- three levels of workouts that are each four weeks long, so total 3 months of workouts (and you can then start from the beginning, or alternate the workout weeks etc, so basically endless workouts!)
- delivered to you in an excel so you can track your reps, sets and weight
- 4/5 workouts per week, a mixture of strength and HIIT training for ultimate fat loss and muscle gain
- a private facebook group where I will post workout videos of all the exercises included in the program, as well as a lovely community of strong women to hold each other accountable. I will host live Q and A's in here at the beginning of each workout cycle.
- Macros and nutritional guidance on request. 

How much is it?

The programme is just £40 in total. The e-book, excel tracker, nutritional guidance/macro planning and private facebook community page are all included in the price. So it is a steal!

When can I purchase the programme?

The programme will be available for purchase on the 19th October. You will get sent your e-book and tracker straight away, the challenge is commencing 26th October, but you can start whenever you want! You will also be added to the facebook group straight away so we all have a chance to hype each other up and get to know one another before the challenge starts

Here is an excerpt I have written for the introduction of the e-book just to give you a little bit more insight into what this programme means to me and why I have created it:

“I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about me, my values and what I want you to achieve from this programme and the community that comes along with it;

As I am sure you know I am a London Based Personal Trainer. My day job is looking after my private clients and creating personalised bespoke programmes for them and taking them through their sessions in the gym, online, outdoors etc. I also teach fitness classes, and I find this an amazing way to spread some cheer, positive vibes, and it helps me to reach a wider audience with my message.

 My goal is to help girls achieve their best versions of themselves. To become strong AF, healthy, fit, and only compare themselves to who they were yesterday. You are one in a billion and that is so powerful. How amazing is it that you can become the best version of you, and no one else can ever take that from you.

 Piling on this, everyone’s “healthy” is different – and I am here to help you find yours. What makes you the happiest in every aspect – body confidence, mentally, physically, energetically, socially etc.

This brings me on to why I created this programme – I want to reach as many people as I can, in an accessible way, so everyone can be a part of this journey. I want to help you find YOUR version of health.”

I have truly put my heart into this and I would be eternally grateful for any support you can give. I would love to see as many girls take part as possible. Let’s change our lives together for the better, and forever!

The Fitness Industry - we need to make a change

What do you think when you hear fitness? Do you think, lean, shredded, low body fat %, abs, beauty/all of the above? If so, this makes me sad.

The fitness industry as we know it has basically turned into a glorified beauty contest, therefore if you don’t feel pretty enough, you may feel like you cant join, or are too afraid to even start.

Firstly, do not ever think you are not pretty enough or not good enough to be a part of something you want to be a part of, and this goes for anything in life. You are the only you there is, and this is a superpower. Secondly, fitness is not and should not be about aesthetics, it should be about loving your body, wanting to feel strong, be able to lift like a badass, and feel healthy whilst doing so. Notice nothing here has anything to do with what your physique looks like. A third note - the “beauty” standards in the fitness industry have become so warped and unrealistic that to even be in the running, you probably need to be on steroids, and have had a sh*t ton of plastic surgery done/face tuned your whole body and face before you post a pic on instagram. Please do not believe everything you see on social media, and even in real life.

Those who are “fitness”, dedicate their entire lives and banks to looking a certain way. You just cannot compare yourself to them, and I don’t think it is fair that these people are dominating the industry making everyone else feel inferior, seeing as they are less than 1% of the population. I personally think someone who is in the fitness space should uplift others who may not have the confidence to make a start, they should give them that confidence to jump in head first and feel GOOD about themselves. Not the opposite. This is just a short little tangent that I felt the need to write, but please do not feel like you do not belong, or you are not deserving of being a part of the fitness industry. You do deserve a place, just as much as ANYONE else. Lets re-brand the fitness industry, it should be about progression, strength, confidence, health and happiness. Not about aesthetics and fake beauty.

I am part of the fitness industry, and I will welcome you with open arms. I don’t have abs, fake lips, I am not shredded, BUT I am strong AF, I love to lift heavy and beat myself every time, and I love to help other women do the same. I am so passionate about helping everyone chase that FEELING, let’s get you there too.

The bottom line here is, do not let anyone tell you what you can or cannot be a part of. There is ALWAYS a place for you <3

Hypothalamic Amenorrhea - how I am combating this condition

I am very nervous to talk about this as my whole livelihood is based around girls becoming the best and healthiest versions of themselves. However how can I help people if I am not my healthiest self. So it is time I make a change.

I wish I had someone to talk to about this/knew of someone who had been through this for as long as I have to be there for support, to know what to do, how long it takes to get your period back etc etc.

I have been suffering from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA) for over a year now. For those who do not know what this is - this is a condition where you lose your period for at minimum of three months due to your hypothalamus not releasing enough GnRH, this can lead to very low oestrogen levels. HA can lead to many long term problems like bone density issues and fertility problems later down the line.

From numerous visits to the GP in the first few months, to blood tests, to scans - I was basically not really given any clear guidance of what was going on. My first few trips to the doctor I was told, oh it is normal don’t worry about it just give it a few more months stress can cause your period to go away but it will come back. It got to about 8 months down the line and I decided enough was enough I needed to find out what was going on and I was tired of being told to just “wait it out”. I went to a Women’s clinic and got literally everything tested from inside & out.

The only thing that didn’t come back normal was the fact I had a few cysts on one ovary, which apparently is not enough to be diagnosed with PCOS, and my oestrogen was very low. So again, Western medicine was a bit stumped, and the answer was ‘go back on the pill’. After almost a year of trying to get to the bottom of things, the result I was given was go back on the pill, this was completely disheartening.

After this, I was confident there must be some other way, so I booked myself in to have a consultation with a Naturopath and Nutritional Therapist. I am such a strong believer that food is fuel, so I decided I would use it as medicine too. I really wanted to get to the root cause of my condition and my naturopath helped me to dig deeper.

A conclusion was made that there were likely numerous factors that contributed to the onset of HA - one being cutting carbohydrates out of my diet completely for two weeks, and largely restricting them there after for a significant amount of time. I am not saying this was the exact cause, but this was definitely a catalyst. I also increased my exercise by a lot around the same time as I started doing my PT qualification, whilst just moving to a brand new country. So there were a lot of factors. However, severely cutting carbs out of my diet lead to my restriction behaviours with food that I am only just combatting now. Improper fuel, and too much exercise has ultimately lead to where I am today, still with no period.

I think I went from eating too little carbs, to eating too little fats when I started calorie counting and ultimately putting myself in deficits that were too little and totally unattainable for my body and lifestyle. So I would just end up overeating on bad foods on the weekends, and not nourishing my body with the healthy foods that I would eat during the week. And for my line of work, and passion (fitness) - food is absolutely essential for muscle recovery and growth. However I was just thrown into the whole instagram highlight reel seeing how other people ate and thinking, oh well if they can restrict that much and still be healthy then I must be able to - this is just a vicious cycle. Remember the best diet is the one you can adhere to, not the one that you see on someones highlight reel - and let me tell you that is probably 20% of their normal food intake.

The reason I wanted to bring my condition to light and make this public is because I am sure there are other girls out there who are in the same position and need support - I wish I had read something like this when I first lost my period. Just know you are not alone. Normal girls, with normal lives and normal bodies go through this too (this condition is usually seen in anorexics, ballerinas, gymnasts etc, anyone with basically 0% body fat).

It is so important for us to listen to our bodies, and I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I am going through feeling uncertain, and letting it get to a point where the effects are almost irreversible, and harder to come back from. If you are in my position, over a year on with no period, you can get it back! You may just have to put in the work, and be okay with taking a step back, as well as gaining a few pounds. Shifting your mindset is the hardest part, especially when you have been dieting/over exercising for so long, you believe this is the way it is meant to be done. But your body is literally telling you that the way you are living your life means you are not fit to carry a baby. Something needs to change.

Here are the steps I am taking to help heal my body and gain back my cycle:

• EATING what I want, when I am hungry, until I am satisfied. Now when I say what I want, I love eating healthy and my body craves healthy food, so I am nourishing my body, and am conscious of this - remember you have to use food as medicine. Roughly I am sitting anywhere between 2,000 - 2,500 calories per day. I have a very active job so this is probably around maintenance/just above for me.

• Introducing more HEALTHY FATS into my diet. From trying the keto diet last year, I almost went the other way and basically cut out any form of fats from my diet for the fear of the caloric content. However, fats are absolutely essential for hormone growth, repair, and rebalancing. I have added 10g of flax seeds to my morning oats, as well as two brazil nuts per day as conscious change as these are phytoestrogens (oestrogen boosting foods). I have also started cooking in olive oil and coconut oil instead of using spray (and my food tastes so much better), lastly, I am not being so stingy with my avocado portions hehe. This is all I am doing in terms of increasing fats and it is making a massive difference. I feel satiated after every meal, do not feel the need to snack or binge, and I have more energy (fats are your long term energy store). On top of this my skin is bloody fantastic, huge bonus for me.

• SUPPLEMENTS - introducing these slowly, just one every couple of days as I if I have any adverse reactions, I want to know what is causing this. I have started taking a Vitamin D supplement, a fish oil/evening primrose oil blend, I am also going to introduce some pre and probiotics, a hormone balancing supplement and an inflammation/stress easing supplement. I will touch more on these as I introduce them.

• EXERCISE - this will be my biggest challenge, however my overexercising is a serious contribution to my HA. I absolutely love exercise and being active in every way, however the recommendation for me at the moment is to exercise three days a week and reduce my steps from 10,000 to 5,000 per day. This is not forever I am sure, but just until I have everything back on track. Considering I teach 12 classes a week, as well as have private clients, my job just requires me to basically be exercising all the time. This is why my food is so important and that is going to be my main focus. Hopefully when lockdown eases and gyms open again I will not be required to actually pretty much do all my classes, as most of them are online. At the moment, I am doing all of my classes purely bodyweight, on top of this I have just started resistance training again twice a week, with a bit of skipping here and there. This sounds like an awful lot still as I am writing it down, I still have work to do but its a slow process for me considering I am actually a fitness addict :’D

• there are a few other little things I am implementing like educating myself with books, dry body brushing to boost circulation and reduce inflammation, little naps here and there if I feel tired etc etc etc.

I am very excited to document this, and I truly believe I will be able to get my cycle back without having to go back on the pill or doing anything artificial. I will document the whole process and anything new I learn from my experience and educating myself, as I would love to have had something like this from someone I know, or just to know that I was not alone and there are others around going through the same thing. So if you are, or know someone that is suffering from what they think might be HA, then please reach out, read this, and share with anyone who needs to read this. Even if you are not suffering, but you feel stressed, burned out, overworked, anxious - these are all signs that your body is telling you to slow down, take a break, and maybe there is something in your life you need to change, not forever, but for a little while. Our bodies talk to us and we mustn’t ignore what they have to say <3

Rise, SWEAT and Shine - Phase 1

I have created a program that is in a sense 12 weeks long. However, I will take my girls through it in four week phases. Before I release this as a guide, I want to take a handful of girls through each and every workout to ensure it is perfect, and delivers everything it says on the tin. The program is designed for girls with the following goals:

- body recomp (shed fat, gain shape & muscle)
- get stronger - learn about the right calories, macros & nutrition for your body
- want to learn how to lift properly & effectively
- gain confidence inside & out

What do I want my girls to achieve:

Most importantly, this is a workout challenge to make you feel good. To help you get strong, toned, challenge yourself and damn proud for completing it week by week. It wouldn’t be a workout designed by me if the lower body days did not have a booty focus ;) If you have any other specific goals you want to hit in this 4 weeks, we will go through this in a 1-1 chat and discuss what we can do to get you there. Everyone is different and I wouldn’t be doing my job properly as a trainer if I didn't help you adapt this program to your goals, lifestyle and body type.

This workout guide is all about about creating strong, confident and empowered women who feel ready to take on anything life throws at them! I want to build fearless, powerful ladies who are not afraid to show off their progress! You should be proud to show off how far you have come. I will work with you individually to alter your nutrition to complement your physique goal.

The program is essentially 12 weeks, but in 4 week phases (3 levels - I am hoping by level 3 we can take it to the gym but we will see).

The program starts at home, a total of 6 sessions per week and I will take you through the sessions each week (if you can’t make the live session, you will also be sent the workout plan).

When will it start?

The First Phase of the program will run from the 25th May through to the 21st June. You will then have the option to rejoin for Phase 2, which is also going to be four weeks - but it’s going to be a big level up, and you will most likely see some real long term results during this phase.

How much will it cost?

Phase 1 will be 90 pounds to join - this includes 6 sessions per week run by me, in a small group environment (via ZOOM) so it is essentially 6 small group personal training sessions per week, for four weeks. This works out to be less than 3 pounds per session. As I said on my instagram, this is super good value as it is sort of a trial run.

What if I cant make the class?

The classes will run at the same time every week, and we will take a vote when I have all the girls on board as to what time suits everyone the best. If you cannot make a class on a certain date, I will then send you the workout plan, and a recording of the class you missed.

What else is included?

You will be added to my private Whatsapp group with all the other girls - community is EVERYTHING. You are so much more likely to adhere to your plans, and get great results if you have a strong army of like minded girls behind you, you are not in this alone.

This gives you access to me at all times, so if you have any questions, need extra help, or anything at all - I am there (of course you can also always message me privately as well).

Structured programming - I have spent a long time creating this program, and going through the relevant progressions, tailoring to everyones at home needs. This is not just a random fitness class six days a week. We will work through progressive overload, and get you that desired shape.

We will also go through a nutrition crash course (I firmly believe no one can achieve the proper results they desire without a basic understanding of nutrition, macros and calories). From here, we will determine what macros are suited for the amount of weight you want to lose, and your body type.

Weekly weigh ins - you do not have to post these in the group, you can just send to me personally, so we can track your progress. If you are not a fan of the scale, pictures are great too. In fact - encouraged. If you wish to take part, I would love to have your before and after pictures - I know they will be fab ;).

Being Kind to Yourself

Why do we part take in exercising and dieting? To feel better about ourselves - so why turn it into something we hate or dread, therefore won’t be able to sustain long term by adhering to restrictive diets and stupid exercise regimes that will burn us out?

I listened to Body Kindness this morning written by Rebecca Scritchfield and it really sparked a lot of thoughts for me surrounding the way we have been conditioned to perceive food and exercise due to the diet culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has not read it.

We believe looking a certain way, or earning a certain amount of money is going to make us happy, in actual fact, only 10% of our happiness comes from these surface layer factors. A whopping 40% of our happiness comes from our daily choices - so if you choose every day to restrict yourself from things you love, the long term happiness reward will be less than the happiness you would be feeling if you just allowed yourself these pleasures, in moderation. 

You can do this and still achieve your goals. 

I don’t know about you but I bloody love food - it is such a pleasure for me, why would I want to take the enjoyment out of something I love for a physique that will probably leave me once I have finished dieting in a worse place than when I started. No thank you. 

Is it just me, or when you diet, all you can do is fantasise about bingeing on a whole heap of bad food. But if you don’t restrict anything, your body will actually start craving healthy food. Yes you will have days where you want chocolate, or pizza, but this becomes the exception not the rule. Whereas, with dieting, it is kind of the other way round. 

Diet culture has labeled foods as healthy and unhealthy, however I do not like to look at it this way. There are some foods that will make you feel good physically, and some foods that will make you feel good mentally - and I believe it is important to have both. 

Why are we conditioned to believe some things are healthy and unhealthy - this gives the unhealthy foods a sort of ‘forbidden fruit label’ creating anxiety around them if you do eat them. This anxiety around food is actually the most unhealthy part. And conditioning us to believe we should absolutely stay away from these foods, makes us want them more! So strip these labels! 

Food is not there to add to your stress, there are plenty of other life factors for that. Food is there to be enjoyed, so let it be just that. Listen to your body, and I guarantee most of the time, you will opt for the “healthier” option, because when we eat intuitively and recognise the kinds of foods that make us feel good physically, we are more likely to choose them more often. And these foods can be different for everyone, we are all unique. 

So please do not associate your meals with guilt. 

This brings me onto my next point - exercise.

Another thing that stood out to me in Rebecca’s book was the astonishing amount of people who only engage in exercise to counteract the food they are eating. I have to say, I put my hands up to be guilty of this, and I didn’t even realise I was until listening to Rebecca’s book. Especially during lockdown, I feel like we are all engaging in tons of extra exercise to counteract our food choices. This is totally the wrong way to look at it. 

After realising that I was succumbing to this maladaptive mental thought, I asked myself - what does exercise really mean to me deep down? 

My answer: it is my absolute passion, it is my life, my career, my therapy, my meditation, my escape, my happiness and lastly, it is my boss bitch moment. Truly exercise really makes me feel like a strong, powerful boss a** bitch. So why in the hell was I associating this with my negative mindset towards food?! (Little side note, I know I have said all of the above, but I am only human and I still have a negative relationship with food due to the way we have been conditioned by diet culture and the fitness industry - it is ever improving and adhering to intuitive eating, allowing myself to have whatever I want etc etc is really helping. But there are sometimes where I just feel like I need to restrict everything - I am in the process of practicing what I preach, but I am not an expert there yet). 

An example of me forcing myself to exercise during quarantine due to consumption of food: I, as with many others, have been jumping on the excessive cardio train. I started running - and to be honest, I hate running. I don’t enjoy it when I am doing it, and I just feel tired and sick at the end of it. But I thought I had to because my movement has gone down so much. But then I thought to myself, it is stupid to engage in a form of exercise that doesn’t make me happy when my relationship with other types of exercise is so positive and strong. And let me tell you - WALKING is now my new best friend. BQ (before quarantine), I would probably walk around 15,000 steps per day between gyms. And it was my me time, and I missed this. So, every morning now, at 6am I wake up, and take myself on a 5k walk. It is amazing, I bloody love it. It’s quiet, no one is awake yet, just me, my thoughts and my podcasts (I get all my education now in my morning hourly walk, for business, mindset, nutrition, fitness etc). So I am learning, it makes me feel good, sets me up for a productive day, and I am getting more steps in than if I was running, that’s what matters more to me. Exercise doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be a chore, just move your body in a way you love. 

If you find yourself feeling as if you are forcing yourself to part take in some form of exercise, maybe step back and think why? And what alternative can you do that you love, that will have the same outcome?

This is such a ramble, but I just want to wrap up following on from this with my last little point I took away from Rebecca’s book - which is body image vs body kindness. What we see in the mirror is always going to change, and is never going to be the same as that girl you are comparing yourself to on instagram. So instead of fixating on what you want to change, be kind to your body. Focus on the change you have already made, how far you have come, how your body has changed for you, and how it will continue to change, if you are just kind to it. 

Lets put a bulldozer to diet culture and live well because we love our bodies and we want to be kind to them, and help them be the best they can be, not “eat healthy” in diet culture terms (restriction, stress, anxiety, binge repeat) because we hate our bodies and want to change them. 

Your body is uniquely yours, please don’t ever think you want or need to change anything, just think about what you can do to make your body (and mind), the best version you can make it.