I felt a lot better and people started to notice
During the course of six months, I lost 14kg (just over 2st) and dropped my body fat percentage from 30 per cent to 17 per cent. I felt confident in my body, enjoyed clothes and shopping again, and loved that I could see the muscles I’d worked so hard for in the gym. I kept getting stronger, and my deadlift personal best increased to 145kg.
While changing my habits took a lot of conscious effort, it was never gruelling. I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing; I just got on with it. But soon enough, my friends and family started noticing. People made comments about how I’d “recently got into fitness”, which wasn’t true – I simply now looked the part too.
I was single at the time, and men I’d previously dated who had messed me around suddenly came crawling out of the woodwork, unashamedly interested again now I was slimmer. Needless to say, I told them to jog on. A couple of years later, I met my now-husband, who, like me, enjoys exercise and healthy eating but also loves pizza, chocolate and a drink or two.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve maintained roughly the same physique ever since and not lapsed into my old relationship with food. My weight has fluctuated a little over the past seven years, but I’m very relaxed about my body changing through the seasons of my life because I know my lifestyle is not perfect, but balanced.