Whether you stand to lose 6kg or 60kgs like Bec, her story can inspire you and give you hope. There is always a way. Bec hopes that by sharing her story she can help inspire others to make positive changes too. Thank you for sharing your story Bec. It's sure to help others along there journey. You see, that's what happens when you have success, you want to spread the word. You want to lift everyone up and say, 'see if I can do it, so can you!'
A few things stand out for me in Becs' story. One is her motivation. It's her big 'Why?' You see most of us have certain goals. We want to lose 5 kilos, we want a flatter stomach etc. but I think to achieve real success there's needs to be a bigger reason why you want those goals. Bec's big reason 'Why' was her daughter. Her reason to make a change to her health was for her daughters benefit. Her main source of motivation stemmed from love :) how great is that. How fantastic is it that Bec's such a positive role model for her daughter. What greater gift can you give someone.
I've always loved training Bec. She's never missed a training session and works so hard. Each one she turns up to with a smile on her face, knowing that with each day she was getting closer to her goals and most importantly enjoying the journey. It's been amazing being a part of your journey Bec. I feel so privileged being able to work with you to help achieve your goals. Thank you for giving me so much credit, but it's you that's put in all the hard work and you deserve all the success. I'm so proud of you and I just know that you'll make a difference in so many lives by sharing your story and with your new career as a food coach. Keep on being you and keep on being awesome. xx
Enjoy Bec's story...
Growing up I was always overweight, I can't even remember a time that I wasn't.
You always hear people say, "I don't know how I let myself get so big" but I won't say that because I know exactly how I managed to get that big.
Apart from playing netball there was no other physical activities that I par took in. Put it simply I was lazy. Even at netball I was a lazy player. I mainly played Goal Shooter and that didn't require much moving around.
It also didn't help that I loved my food, and I certainly wasn't eating a lot of healthy foods either. Lollies, chips, chocolates,soft drink, hot chips, basically anything that was bad for you and that contained a large amount of sugar I indulged in it.
Probably my first "attempt", and I use that word loosely as it wasn't my choice, at weight loss was towards the end of primary school when my mum signed me up to weight watchers. That, however, didn't last long. I just didn't want to do it and didn't think I needed to.
Over the years I would lose some weight, nothing significant, but would end up putting it back on plus some more. In my mind I wasn't ready to try and lose the weight and the more people, i.e my mum, told me I had to, the more I was against it.
I think the biggest habit I got myself into was not eating breakfast and most days lunch, then just gorge on whatever I could get my hands on when I got home from school. Plus there was a lot of soft drink and little, if any, water.
Looking back on it now I can definitely say I was an emotional eater. I'm not, nor have I ever been, the most confident person. Although at times it wouldn't appear that way because I could hide behind the fat girl who didn't care. I usually wouldn't give away too much in terms of emotions and was quite guarded, so I'd bury my emotions in food.
Another factor in my emotional eating was my mum and her desire for me to lose the weight. I would get upset that I wasn't the daughter she wanted so I would eat. I know she was only concerned for me and wanted me to be healthy but at the time I didn't want to hear it. The more she tried to talk reason, the more I would eat. This became a vicious cycle that went on for years.
After I had my daughter I guess I fell into a bit of depression. I would have anxiety attacks just trying to walk out the front door, so yet again I turned to food and hid my feelings behind eating.
I never really had that lightbulb moment, that defining moment that clicked and set me off on my weight loss journey. For me it happened over a couple of months. My daughter had started walking at 8 months and was getting to be extremely active. So the decision to lose weight became easier because now my daughter relied on me to be fit and healthy.
The changes started out small to begin with. I started eating breakfast and would take my daughter for walks everyday. Just by making these couple of changes the weight started to come off.
Over the next few years my walks became longer, I was eating regular meals and trying to reduce the unhealthy snacks and soft drinks. My nutrition and probably my portion sizes still weren't the best but the weight was coming off. I had roughly lost 30kg in those few years and decided it was time to step it up and the only way I knew how to do that was to join a gym.
Even though I had lost this weight and I was feeling fitter and healthier, I still lacked in confidence so the only logical gym for me to join was an all female gym where I would at least feel comfortable enough to train at. So in 2011 I joined Fernwood.
I will admit that to begin with my motivation for going to the gym was the fact that I was paying a membership fee. It felt like a chore and I was just going through the motions and not really pushing myself.
That was until I met Tysha.
The day I met Tysha was the beginning of the new me.
Tysha took over as my trainer a few months after I had joined the gym when my original trainer left Fernwood and I have never looked back. She made me realise that I was capable of doing things I never thought possible. Because of Tysha and her training I discovered how much I actually enjoyed going to the gym and working out. It no longer felt like a chore and my motivation wasn't just the membership fee anymore. I was going to the gym because it made me feel good and I was enjoying my time there.
Tysha's training sessions were hard and they definitely pushed me but having Tysha believe that I could do it made me more determined, more motivated to prove to both myself and Tysha that I could actually do it.
I gained a lot confidence from my training with Tysha and decided that I would enter the 8 week challenge the gym had running. I felt it would be a good way to improve my fitness with the added boot camp sessions on top of my regular pt sessions with Tysha. I was also entitled to food coaching sessions and felt this could be a huge benefit to me as I could understand more about good nutrition.
Seeing the food coach really helped and made me aware of the bad nutrition choices I was making. I learnt a lot from these sessions and managed to implement changes to my diet.
During the 8 week challenge I had lost 3.5kg and managed to lose 46cm all over, which won me the award for most centimetres lost. I never expected to be in contention for any of the awards, as I was using the challenge as a way to improve my fitness, so I was quite shocked when it happened.
Since joining the gym I have lost another 30kg and feel fitter and healthier than I have ever been.
Most of the credit for my transformation has to go to Tysha. Words cannot express my gratitude for what she has done in helping me to get to where I am today.
Like I said before, the day I met Tysha was the beginning of the new me. She is definitely someone I look up to, respect and aspire to be like. It's because of Tysha that I realised I wanted to get into the fitness industry. Her motivation, passion, knowledge, patience and belief in me made it possible for me to achieve what I have already.
I would, and still do, get nervous before a training session with Tysha because I knew it would be hard and that it would challenge me. And as always I would leave feeling fantastic and with a sense of accomplishment.
Tysha has helped me both physically and mentally. And although I'm still not that overly confident person, she has gotten me to see myself differently and recognise the changes I have made to my overall health and fitness. She has made me realise that I am now a good role model for my daughter and with the changes I've made through diet and exercise I am setting a good example for her.
I will admit though I still have my struggles and my days when I still see myself as the girl who was 60kg heavier but I know I just have to keep reminding myself of how far I've come and what I've already achieved and that I'm not that person anymore.
When I first started training with Tysha I hated training in front of the mirrors and felt so uncomfortable seeing my reflection but it's now something I've gotten use to and it doesn't even phase me anymore seeing my reflection in front of me.
If someone had have said to me five years ago that I would lose 60kg and that I would become a gym enthusiast I would have said, "Yeah right" and just laughed.
I probably would have said the same thing if someone had have said to me two years ago that I would end up working at the gym.
Well here I am 60kg lighter and working at Fernwood as a food coach. I am the fittest, healthiest and happiest I have ever been. And now when I'm stressed, angry, upset I turn to the gym instead of turning to food.
I'm at a stage now that I know if I have a setback and can't train for an extended period that I will be ok because my nutrition is fairly spot on and if I do treat myself I know when to stop and not to overindulge. I have worked really hard to get to this point and I'm not willing to give it up so easily.
Hopefully my weight loss journey is able to inspire others and reaffirm to those doubting themselves, that yes it is achievable. I won't lie it is hard work and at times very challenging but once you're in the right mind set and committed to the journey it is definitely worth it and the end results speak for themselves.
