I’m Georgie.

I’ve always been a fairly active person as I have horses, however, once I hit my mid-twenties my metabolism got the better of me (or I just ate more) and year on year I started gaining weight. I was 100% in denial about how big I had got and just bought bigger clothes!

I started training with Pete in January 2019 as wanted to work on my fitness. I’d been a member of many gyms all my life but never stuck with anything! I was so nervous that I dragged my buddy Hannah along with me, and we attended our 1st Boxing class together. We both loved the Fox Den straight away and still train together to this day.

For about 9 months I was quite happy doing 2 – 3 classes a week and not focusing on diet at all…

One day, my yard manager offered me to ride one of his horses who I was in love with, but the reality hit me I was too heavy.

The realisation at 17 stone, I was borderline too heavy to ride my own and that’s the day I decided I needed to make a change… Enough was enough!

Over the next year, I followed the Slimming World plan online – the group classes are not for me! But, I needed structure and to change my mindset into eating cleaner foods. SW helped with this (sorry Pete) for 6 months, and then I switched to calorie counting.

In December 2019 just before Christmas, I was made redundant and instead of resorting to pizza & chocolate, I resorted to exercise. I used 3 months of Garden Leave to train with Pete 5 days a week, I kept myself busy with housework and I saw my horse every day, oh and I played golf (the true lady of leisure). I was determined to not let this set me back to my old habits. By the time lockdown hit, it was harder as we couldn’t go out to exercise but I’d already broken the habit of boredom eating.

In a year I lost 3 1/2 stone, my fitness levels have rocketed, and found my confidence again… and I’ve never looked back.

That my weight gain took all my confidence away… and getting it back has given me a new lease of life. I’m not longer the person hiding quietly in the corner hoping no one notices me.

I’d still like to lose another 2 stone and tone up more, but I’m not really in a rush to do it as such. I know over time I’ll see results and I’m more focused on how I feel, and the energy I have day to day.

Plus I really enjoy exercising now!

It excites me to know how far I’ve come but also, how far I can go! There are so many exercises I’ve not mastered yet and the buzz from doing an exercise I once thought was impossible is hard to explain.

My future goal is to be happy and enjoy life, making the most of every opportunity I’m given.

My favourite class is Boxing… this is where it all started for me! Boxing classes are fun, you work hard without even realising it and of course, it’s great to be able to “vent” on your punch bag or partner 🙂

The least favorite session is Weights related exercise as they tend to feel like they are at a bit of a slower pace and I just find them a bit boring… and they really hurt!

The reality however is sometimes I burn more calories in a weight session than cardio and I know overall they are helping to improve my strength so I stick with them.

One piece of advice I would give is never to focus solely on the weekly result on the scales and always think bigger picture. So many people get disheartened by “only half a lb” or maintaining or even putting a 1lb on one week! Have a take-out, a bar of chocolate, etc but be aware of balance. Consistency is key and those 1/2 lbs add up over time and help get you where you want to be. Slow and steady and manageable wins the race.