“I was never into sport or exercise in my early teens. When I started college I noticed that I couldn’t remain a slim shape and was gaining a bit too much weight. I started to develop insecurities, and would stress about my body daily; this essentially started an unhealthy relationship with exercise and food.
I got into running, 2-3 miles a day on a treadmill was enough. I was seeing results and liked it. I began limiting my calorie intake to an unhealthy amount; I was losing weight rapidly but felt great. When I started Uni in 2012, I was at my lowest weight ever of 8.5stone; I continued running and limiting my calories to as little as 1k a day.
It wasn’t until the second year that I realised the damage I was doing to myself, and if I continued I would be in a very bad way; so, I joined St Paul’s Gym (now my employer of 4 years). Here I began getting into weight lifting, albeit I was a complete novice and didn’t tend to have a training plan for years. The past two years I’ve educated myself on all things weights, and strength and conditioning – here I have managed to develop a healthy relationship with exercise (AND FOOD!), and am almost happy with my physique.
The one thing I have learnt over the years is that depriving your body of food in order to lose weight does nothing but damage your mental health; without the food, I wouldn’t be able to train as effectively as I do now! I’m halfway through completing my Level 2 & 3 PT diploma and enjoy channelling my energy by helping others who need guidance and personal tips in reaching their goals.”
Thank you from the Humans of HIIT community for sharing your story!
