What a couple of years it's been! I did my Personal Trainer qualifications, although for one reason and another, I'm still finishing off my specialist course. I've set up business training clients in their own homes and running two exercise classes a week for beginners. My clients are all a lovely bunch of ladies and they say I am an inspiration to them, which is amazing! They've all seen my "before" photo's and know my journey, so they know that I know their struggles.
I've been doing lots of cycling and happily cycle 30 miles at a time now. I've got involved with a British Cycling scheme called Breeze, where I lead short bike rides for beginners, which is very enjoyable and rewarding. I've also qualified as a walk leader, but haven't had the time to lead any walks yet. These ventures led me to meeting a lady called Nadjie who is a Breeze area coordinator. Recently I worked with her on a separate venture leading social bike rides and walks at Fairlop Waters, which was amazing. I hope to work with her on another project next year.
Although my fitness business is growing, it's taking time and so I looked at other ways to bring in income on the side. I knew that I wanted to keep within my goals of staying active, being my own boss and having flexible working hours. I found two similar jobs that suited my requirements; parcel deliveries for Hermes, which involves lots of walking and Just Eat deliveries, which involves lots of cycling. This has kept me very active, along with the Personal Training work, on some days I've burned over 4000 calories according to my Garmin watch!
In the last 12 months I've lost 2 stone, bringing me back down to the lightest weight I've ever been. I'd like to lose another half a stone, but I'm more than happy, right now. Yesterday I was doing a workout and did some step ups on to a high bench. I surprised myself with how easy I found it and remembered back to when I started, when I couldn't step up even half that height without holding on to something for support. It feels great to be able to move my body with speed, power and stability and without pain (most of the time).
I ran another half marathon a couple of months ago. The last one I did was awful as I was full of injuries and ailments and I wasn't sure I ever wanted to do another one after that. I talked myself into doing another one as I didn't want that to be the lingering memory. I ran a good race and felt great through most of it (well as much as one can in these things). I absolutely smashed it and knocked nearly 15 minutes off my PB!
I've learnt so much about nutrition since starting my PT training, although not from the course itself, but through my quest to broaden my knowledge. My Personal trainer eluded to the fact that I would eventually find out that everything I learned on the course would get tipped on it's head but I didn't really understand what he meant at the time. He was spot on though. Wow, what a can on worms the world of nutrition is! Especially in relation to public health and government guidelines for healthy eating. It led me on quite a journey of discovery, which I'm still on, but it's changed the way I eat a lot. Annoyingly, my qualifications only allow me to give nutrition advice in line with government recommendations, which is incredibly frustrating, so here's my disclaimer: I'm not advising anyone to follow my new diet without first seeking guidance from a medical professional or registered dietitian. Knowing what I now know, I've switched to a low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet. I've stopped snacking between meals. I've recently introduced extended overnight fasts (between 12-20 hours). I feel so much better eating this way! I don't feel hungry every 3-4 hours like I used to, I don't get energy dips, in fact I have more energy, even when I do long bike rides and runs. My pains are much less. My skin is much better too. As I said, I can't and I'm not recommending you try this way of eating, but I would definitely advise you to look into it and see if it might benefit you as it has me. Let me just say that fat is not the demon we were led to believe it was, it does not "clog the arteries" and lead to heart attacks, nor does it turn straight to fat in your body.
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