Those of you that have known me for a long time will know that I have always been fat and happy, Dom was just Dom. However something happened overnight and I was sick of being fat, unfit and unhealthy in every way. Enough was enough!!!
I was given the number for a personal trainer and with that my story started. I explained that I was fat, unfit and wanted to change. If I remember my words rightly they were “I hate fitness, I hate everything about it, I don’t want to do it but I have to”. At that point he must have thought, I’ve got my work cut out for me here. At this point I also re-joined Weight Watchers.
I started my fitness and new healthy lifestyle journey on August 7th 2012 and have never looked back. I remember my first training session and it was hard, I couldn’t jog for more than 10 seconds and I was doing stuff that I never thought I would be able too. After 3 weeks I was totally addicted to training and looked forward to my sessions. I train with Gerald twice weekly and my fitness has improved week after week. I started running for longer and my speed was increasing.
The weight was coming off at a nice steady pace and I was starting to feel a lot better in myself. In October 2012 I stopped going to Weight Watchers because I felt that I no longer needed it.
We started setting realistic goals and this is what I aimed for and kept me on track and gave me motivation. My first goal was to be able to jog around the whole rugby pitch once without stopping. This might not seem a lot to some of you but for me it was bloody hard work. I finally did it, all the way around the pitch nonstop and I was so pleased with myself.
Eventually I came out of the rugby ground to start training for the 3k. 3k! It was only 3 months ago that I couldn’t jog continually for 10 seconds. I completed the Tenby 3k route on the Wednesday before Christmas. What a Christmas present that was, I cried all the way home.
Gerald and his business partner Kerri started a group called Healthy Helpers. This is a 12 week course where you are educated about everything you need to know about your body, healthy eating, and lots more, you are NOT on a DIET and you don’t ever have to be. It is not a diet class.
Since going to these meetings I have learnt that all these different diets on the market are not good for you. All a person needs is to be educated. I have tried every diet going and although they have worked for me at the time I have never been able to keep the weight off. I now eat more food than ever before and I am still losing weight consistently without being on a diet. I weigh here every week and have only put weight on, on 3 different occasions since the beginning of January 2013. You wouldn’t believe how much I have learnt about myself, my body, training and fad diets.
They are a great bunch of people and we all encourage one another. We go out cycling together, go for walks, set each other targets and when somebody is struggling we all rally round and support them to get through it.
In March of this year I completed the 5k run and was over the moon. Then I remembered a challenge that somebody set me Boxing Day last year, Tenby 10k! If I could do the 10k then they would run it with me. Never in a million years did I think that was going to happen. I sat down again with Gerald and we discussed it. This was in April 2013. The Tenby 10k was at the end of July. After much discussion we started 10k training and on the 29th June 2013 I completed the Tenby 10k with Gerald. I have now entered the race for life on Sunday 7th July 2013 and the Tenby 10k race at the end of July. I can’t believe it.
In less than 11 months I have lost nearly six stone. I have NOT been on any diet and can honestly say that I eat more food now then I have ever done. In fact I eat 6 meals a day including snacks. I have learnt to eat healthier and more importantly to pick the healthier options. Yes it is easy to grab a bar of chocolate or a bag of crisps but like I hear quite often, planning and preparation prevents poor performance. This is very true. I plan my week ahead and I make sure that I have everything I need to stop me making the wrong choices.
People ask me what keeps me motivated?
I have the most fantastic personal trainer, who keeps me focused and motivated. He is always there for me when I am struggling, and believe me there are many times when I do struggle. I have a wonderful family who support me so much and fantastic friends who keep me going. I also have Healthy Helpers who keep me on track. I am so lucky to have the support network that I do because it really does help, all the text messages, Facebook messages and comments keep me motivated. All the horn honking when you pass me on the road is amazing, it is just phenomenal and means so much to me, thank you.
So people, that’s my journey for the last 11 months. I am enjoying every minute of it and I am looking forward to setting new goals in the near future and achieving them. Finally I would just like to say a massive thank you to Gerald for everything he does and has done for me. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for him. Thank you for all your patience and support xx