There was only one reason and it’s because I moved house, further away from 23W! There’s no other gym I’d rather train at, so I took the opportunity build a home gym while still having access to 23W’s coaches, the 23W community, online resources and newsletters.  Not training in a group environment so not having others to motivate you. You need to be really disciplined and self-motivated but of course, this isn’t always the case! My fortnightly calls with Ange help keep me on track, and I’m still able to do my weekly check ins to keep me accountable. Not having the face to face interaction with other members and not seeing the 23W coaches on a regular basis. I’ve been going to the gym for years and have been to so many of them. This is the best gym I’ve ever been to and I don’t use the term lightly.. Ange and the team have built such a strong, solid community of women who share the same mindset of wanting to train, lift heavy and stay fit. I’ve learned so much about health, fitness and nutrition since being a member and I’ve never lifted as much in my whole life – nor did I even realised how much I could lift! Ange and the team are so passionate about what they do and more importantly are invested in their members and genuinely want the best for them which is so inspiring. I love ticking off the boxes on my app as I train, and I can fit a training session into my work day. There aren’t any set times I need to train as I set these times for myself. Having Ange as my coach – she is amazing! I also go into the gym for a PT session every now and then to make sure my technique is right.
 My initial goal was to lose body fat, so Ange put me on a calorie deficit where I lost 500g of scale weight each week. I tracked my macros and stuck to them to the tee! I also had a few scans to check my progress which has shown that I’ve lost 5% of body fat overall so far! I’ve also learned so much about different types of food and about having a healthy balance. I’ve gotten great results and Ange has helped me gain a long term outlook on my fitness goals now. My next goal is to build muscle.Discipline is the key. Making time for exercise is a must – if it’s a priority then you will make time for it. If you don’t make time for something (whether it’s exercise or something else) you haven’t made it a priority in your life. It’s important to know and understand “why” you exercise to keep you going. Definitely tracking my macros (and sticking to them) and weighing my food. Sounds tedious – and it is when you first start but then you get the hang of it, just like anything else and it becomes easier and takes less time. Meal prepping makes life so much easier! I wanted the results so I was 100% committed. My fortnightly calls with Ange helped so much as I had someone to talk to and keep me motivated and accountable. I trust Ange! I enjoy a challenge and taking risks and there’s only one way to find out right? So I took the plunge and guess what – it worked! There was no point thinking about something that worked on paper so I had to find out for myself. I know the calorie deficit worked but I couldn’t live like that forever. It was so hard to get my head around it at first – eat more and not put on weight?? But again.. I just did it and took the plunge. My body scan proved that eating more doesn’t mean you put on more body fat! My scale weight has gone up a bit but I actually lost body fat and put on some muscle mass. I’m now eating almost 1000 calories per day more than I did when I was on a deficit. What I found from eating more is that it actually requires more planning and thought around what types of food you should include in your diet to get a healthy balance – overall. Overeating is so easy to do. I’m guilty of this! I’m learning how to have a better relationship with my food by including the “bad stuff” such as chocolate and ice cream in my diet,  but in moderation. I’m still tracking my macros for the moment as it helps me to stay in control of my eating while I work on improving my habits. My advice would be to give it a go and set some realistic goals. If something isn’t working you can always change it. Be flexible and allow for mistakes along the way because they can always be fixed. Never assume something until you have all the facts and work with them to achieve your goals.  |
