Discovering Passion

​If you are reading this article then I know that you have been thinking about making a change and you are interested in health and fitness.

Fitness and living a healthy lifestyle is my passion, over the years it has been very helpful and has given to me the strength to tackle much in my life.  It has also provided me with many laughs and fun times with the people I have met and trained with on both a personal and professional level.

Each month I am lucky enough to get to write this article and it is always my mission to inspire and motivate you the readers to start getting active and taking control of your health and fitness.   If I’m lucky enough someone may discover their inner passion for this lifestyle as well.  If you are reading this article then I know that you have been thinking about making a change and you are interested in health and fitness.

There was a time in my life when I was extremely unwell and I was diagnosed with Graves Disease a thyroid condition which impacted on my health and fitness for a number of years.  I had a young family at the time and to be experiencing ill health at a time when they needed a healthy strong mother was extremely difficult for me and my family.  During this time in my life I decided that once I had my condition under control I would start to do everything possible to regain my fitness and health so that I could enjoy life and my family to the fullest.  I had gained some weight during this period and my confidence was at an all-time low, I knew if I was to make these changes permanent and realistic - they had to be done with small manageable baby steps which would eventually get bigger and bigger and motivate me to become a part of the Fitness Industry.

For me, the baby steps that I took were:

To review my nutrition and make positive changes with my diet.  I eliminated processed foods, started to eat fresh, controlled portion sizes, cut back on caffeine and increase my water intake.

Walking – I started walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes, as the weeks progressed and I started to gain some fitness back I increased that to a daily walk and eventually that lead to a walk/run, which then lead into a daily run.

I bought a bike and started riding to school with my children.

I consciously increased my incidental exercise whenever I saw the opportunity – for example I would walk to the corner shop and take the stairs instead of the elevator.

As my fitness and health increased I started feeling a little bored with my exercise routine and was ready to try something new so I joined my local gym.

I found that being a member of a gym gave me the opportunity to try many different types of exercise and that encouragement from the trainers was extremely motivating and kept me focused on my goals.

Through this process over the years I have discovered so many strengths within myself.  I’ve tackled things that I never thought I could possibly do, especially after having many years of ill health and being so physically weak.  Now I am physically stronger than I ever could have imagined, every day I think about my nutrition and what I want to put into my body, my training, but most of all I get to pass this on to the people I meet each day including you!!!
 
Never feel defeated by your health, your life - change is always possible and it can start by taking baby steps just like me.