The Last Post

I started this blog over 2 years ago to share my fitness journey and after a very difficult and personal things going on in my life I have decided to take some time out, I will be back very soon with my new blog Lipstick on my Coffee

Sharon and I have decided to start a blog for our business Nemesis Personal Training Blog to inspire those who wish to embark in change.

Empower

A common subject on the Nemesis private client forum, is role models, inspirational people and who we aspire to be like.  Although there are women in the fitness world that I look up to or whose bodies I admire, my ultimate role model has to be Michelle Mone.

I read her autobiography a year ago to this very month, and was so inspired by everything she has achieved in life when the odds were against her.  Her book inspired me to read further autobiographies by powerful women (especially entrepreneurs).

There are far too many women out there who are unaware that they themselves are inspiring others unknowingly, and in doing so we lack the ability to empower one another.   As females we rarely tell one another how fantastic they are, or how we look up to them etc.

My friend Sarah inspires me because she runs multiple businesses, she is constantly learning new skills, she gives so much time to other people, she runs a family home and 3 kids.

My friend Katrina went through a phenomenal life and body transformation over the past few years and I am in total awe at her dedication and persistence.

In my last blog post I mentioned about comments someone made to me last week about how I inspired others that they knew of.  I haven’t had the best of months with feeling really poorly, and Its nice to hear things like that, to make me feel better, empower me and raise me up. 

Every Sunday my clients check in with me with a review of their week on plan, they may have fallen off the wagon on some days, never went to the gym etc but I always look for a positive to motivate and empower them.  There is always a positive in every situation.

If someone has lost weight – TELL THEM

If someone painted a great picture – TELL THEM

If someone has a beautiful smile –TELL THEM

If someone has beautiful earings on – TELL THEM

If you notice any positive however small – TELL THEM.

Strength | Patience | Belief

‘Sometimes you have to die a little on the inside first in order to be reborn and rise again as a stronger, smarter version of yourself’.

Everything in life is temporary, when it rains, it stops raining.  Everytime you get hurt, you heal.  After darkness there is always light.

When I reflect back on my quest to be a mummy and the 7 years I spent trying to conceive.  I never thought I would ever get over the ordeal of IVF and the heartache it brings.  I didn’t think I would be able to be around a pregnant woman without breaking down.  I thought I would never get over leaving a hospital 6 times without a baby – but somehow I did.

Sometimes we are stronger than what we give ourselves credit for.

Last year was extremely challenging for me, my life changed dramatically and all due to reasons beyond my control.  I went from having an amazing job, working in a beautiful country,  being with someone I love, passing my NVQ, a thriving new business, stunning home, having a lot of disposable income to loosing my job, having to return from Vienna, a relationship break down and moving to a new city and on top of this dealing with some personal health issues.

What had I ever done to deserve this?

Today I was chatting to someone who had also had a tough year with some similar experiences.  They had also been living a fantastic life, which slowly crumbled, but that person told me instead of focusing on all the negatives they looked at what was good about last year.

Last year I passed my NVQ and was accepted to do my Masters Degree.  I passed my Y3T and Sports Nutrition Level 5.  My business turned over an annual profit exceeding 1^st year forecast by almost 50%.  I got my first staff job in 10 years, and was lucky not to be out of employment for more than a few weeks.  I raised over £3,500 for the assisted reproduction unit, which went towards the purchase of a test tube incubator which in turn is helping other couples conceive.  I raised just under £2,000 for the Lily Foundation running a half marathon on fuck all carbs 5 weeks out from the British Finals.  I won the Scottish UKUP and went on to win the British Finals.

In the end good things DON’T come to those who wait, they come to those who are patient, working through good times and bad, for what they want most in life. It’s about courage.  It’s about being scared to death and then taking the next step anyway. Sometimes dreams just take a little time!

Steady and Slow

In order for a lifestyle change to occur and for a client to reach their goal and be able to maintain what they achieve on plan, a sustainable diet and training regime is required.

All our plans allow clients to macro track – however during the course of the plan we encourage clients to review the macro break down of the food sources they consume, as well as giving on-going nutritional support and advice.    We encourage portion control via sight when our clients choose to eat out at their favourite restaurant, and understand self-control when it comes to the naughty foods.  This in my opinion allows a client to slowly wean themselves off macro tracking at the end of their plan following a reverse diet, ensuring the client maintains their results long term.

There are plenty of before and after pictures on the Internet of what a client has achieved in 5 weeks progress – but in order for such dramatic results those people are unlikely to be following a diet that is sustainable long term nor will they be likely to maintain the results.  These people will not reverse out correctly and tend to binge eat after being on plan.  It also shocks me the amount of people who do not give their clients on going education on nutrition or understanding why they are changing parts of their plan.  Surely if your paying someone for support to get you to your goal you want to understand why changes are being made?

We have a diverse range of clients at Nemesis, but the clients that face the biggest challenge are those with children.  All of our mummies on plan juggle a job, a house, children’s activities such as school and clubs and they still manage to macro track and not let it effect their day to day life.   Preparation after all is the key to success. 

I don’t see how a diet tracking points or juicing can work with family life?  We encourage our “mummy” clients to be creative in the kitchen and make recipes, which the whole family can enjoy.  Making yourself isolated while achieving your goal is one of the worst things you can do and the likelihood is that you will resent it or fall off the wagon.  Wouldn’t it be more sensible to achieve your goal over a slightly longer period of time to fit in with your life?

Aggressive plans in my opinion only work for people who are single and have no dependencies and are able to commit 100%.  When embarking on a plan with tight time frame clients fail to understand the constraints they are putting themselves under.

Another thing to remember is Photoshop, filters and a good angle with complimentary lighting can make anyone look fantastic – and nobody posts a “bad” picture of himself or herself do they?  You can also upload a photograph taken 6 months ago to make it look like it was taken that day, or tag yourself in your photo at a gym when really your sitting in McDonalds tucking into some pancakes.  Don’t be fooled by everything you see on the Internet.  Concentrate on your own journey and remember steady, slow and consistency will get you there.

General Update

Although my blog is mainly related to fitness and nutrition sometimes I do like to share other things going on in my life.

I completed my first semester at Uni and walked away with an A in Project Fundamentals and a B in Project Organisational Behaviour.  I am now into semester 2 which runs until May.

I am trying to raise NemesisPT profile and we are currently away to embark on some marketing campaigns.  Nemesis is now 1 years old and we have had to do very little marketing to generate clientele due to reputation and word of mouth, which is fantastic for a new business.

I have been over in Vienna doing some sight seeing as well (some holiday snaps below).

I have eased off training and macro tracking due to some personal issues.  I just wanted to simplify my life at the moment.  I do plan to get back into a routine this week and bring some normality back, but its been great to have some time out, and let my body recover from a very hectic 2 years of training and dieting.

Reflection

Sometimes we have no control over obstacles that life throws at us.  Life doesn’t run smoothly all of the time, and you should always expect the unexpected nothing can be perfect and plain sailing. 

It’s almost 12 months since I was paid off from the job that I loved, the people I enjoyed working with and the life I had in Aberdeen.   Then to loose my 2^nd job working in a beautiful city which challenged and motivated me.  There has been days in the past 6 months where I would quite happily lie in bed and not participate in life and for those close to me they know  I found last year very challenging and difficult.  My life changed so much and I made a number of mistakes that I am paying the price for as well.

The past month I run myself right into the ground, tired, exhausted, constant migraine’s I couldn’t shift, not sleeping, not eating, emotional mess and then something happened that I didn’t see coming which added more stress to the situation.    The last 2 weeks I have had to take some time out from work, training, nutrition and just life in general for a much needed rest and refocus.

Someone told me last week that although things seem really bad now, 12 months down the line I will laugh about it, and everything is just magnetised because its all come at once. 

I still believe there is always a positive (not for every negative) but a positive worth zoning in on to bring you out of the hole.  One thing for sure my positive I have no control over and as they say everything happens for a reason. 

The past 2 weeks has made me realise that if something is bothering you, there is no point ignoring it because it won’t go away and you need to address the issues for change to happen.    I am always telling my clients the same thing when they embark on lifestyle changes, so I guess I need to listen to my own advice!