Recent Posts
Featured Posts
3 dress sizes in 12 months........
My name is Siobhan.
I had put on weight slowly after I got married in 2012 and even more after having my son.
Severe sleep deprivation due to my son being a terrible sleeper for two years and being so tired every single day was the perfect storm. The weight just kept piling on. I would go through bouts of ‘being healthy and dieting' and I would lose a couple of kilos here and there...but the weight never stayed off.
Once my son finally started to sleep through the night, I started to feel like my old self again. I knew I had to do something about my weight as I was sick of the way things were. In March 2017 I went to see Sue at It’s Her Gym. Sue is a straight shooter, calls it as it is (which I really appreciate) and is very supportive. Sue has been so helpful when it came to improving my diet. I remember thinking ‘but I don’t eat rubbish/takeaway/junk food all the time, why am I so overweight?’ My initial consultation with Sue put me onto the right track with my diet and exercise and it has made a huge difference.
In 12 months, I have lost 18kgs. It was slow and steady, some months were better than others. It was a lifestyle change for me. No crash diets, no starving myself or going hungry, no training twice per day at the gym. I needed the changes I was making to be sustainable and achievable. I will still go out and have an occasional drink with friends and eat a slice of cake at a birthday party, I also have pizza for dinner every now and then. The difference is that I no longer have a glass of wine most nights after work and I don’t snack after dinner when watching tv - they were just bad habits I had to change. When I'm at a party, I choose one nice thing (usually cake) to eat and then stop at that. If I am out for dinner, I always ask for my meal to have extra salad or veggies and no hot chips. All these things really do make a big difference over 12 months.
Initially it was really hard. I was sore when I started at the gym and it took a while getting used to not eating lots of bread, pasta and white rice. It does become so much easier though and you get better at knowing what to eat. I now really enjoy working out, which I never thought I would.
Here is what has worked and still is working for me:
I train at It’s Her Gym 4 times per week, non-negotiable (unless I am sick). For me, it is a 6am session before work (I'm home well before 7am!) three times during the week, and one Super Saturday Session.
What I eat? The biggest thing for me was to cut down on starchy carbs - Sue told me I was a Carb Queen. I eat brown rice and sweet potato a couple of times a week but I avoid bread, pasta and white rice. I avoid ‘low fat products’ only eating full fat dairy and coconut milk/cream.
Breakfast- I eat breakfast everyday, which is either short cut bacon and eggs (no bread) an omelette or a healthy protein smoothie with berries.
Lunch- I always have leftovers which I take to work and reheat. If I don’t have leftovers I will have a salad with a tin of tuna mixed into it.
Dinner- some of the things I cook all the time are:
chicken curry (korma, green, massaman) cooked with full fat coconut cream, served on veggies, no rice.
Curried sausages with loads of veggies
Spag bol, with lots of veggies hidden in it, served on steamed veggies rather than pasta
Sausages or burgers from the butcher with veg or salad
Chilli concarne on steamed veg
Salmon and veg
Shepherd’s Pie (using sweet potato on top)
Snacks- Greek yoghurt with berries/rice cakes with peanut butter/almonds - it's basically Sue's Idiot Proof Diet and my whole family can eat the same meal. I just have to add some starchy carbs if the boys in my life want them.
Sue says......
"When I first met Siobhan I was full of admiration for her having taken that first step in our door. She was about to return to work, she had a young child , and she had a very firm idea of how she was going to improve her health and fitness. It would be slowly, on her terms and it had to be sustainable for the rest of her life.
Her first training sessions? I could see she was right out of her comfort zone. It was all totally foreign to her - every single bit of it - but she was the hottest, reddest, sweatiest person in the room. She was willing to learn and she made a point of being almost right under my nose in every session.....or was that because that's where one of the air-conditioning vents is??
Siobhan knows that she has done something wonderful for both herself and her family. She took her investment in her IHG membership very seriously and epitomises what we stand for.'
Thanks Siobhan for being a part of our Tribe. That activewear sits well on you xxxx
Is it your time to get started? If you're ready, we'd love to hear from you.
