STELLAR STAR OF THE MONTH - AUGUST, 2020
Hi, I'm Jane.
In March 2019, I had a hysterectomy after years of pain that impacted my quality of life. By September that year, however, I had reached my heaviest ever weight, thanks to those female hormones and being over 45.
Ok ok, it was also due to wine & pizza, and deep dislike of exercise. I somehow had expected the surgery to prompt a miraculous natural slim-down, but instead I was feeling bad, sleeping poorly, and unable to fit any of my clothes.
This was the perfect time to start the 2019 Stellar Fitness Transformation Challenge that Kat was running at my work.
As a lifelong "donor" to gyms (paying memberships then never going), I didn't set my initial hopes very high. In fact, I darkly recorded in my Challenge book that sticking to the full plan, particularly doing regular exercise, would be a barrier to my success.
In the end, this proved to be a "negative self-talk" myth that I happily busted over the next 12 weeks. I started by doing just one weekly Stellar Fitness class, carefully nursing long-standing RSI and pain in knees and shoulders.
I was relieved to find that Kat carefully tailors her classes to offer various levels of exercise that minimise injuries while keeping clients challenged.
I gradually added regular weekend walks to increase my stamina and slowly built strength in the Circuit classes. I recall laughing in an early class about being unable to get past my own stomach flab to do a single sit-up; now, I can do many in a row without stopping.
The Challenge tasks and eating plan also worked brilliantly for me. Turns out that I really like following clear instructions and having set goals, and Kat's daily text tips were a great motivator.
Watching the scales dip and lost centimetres grow was a terrific feeling, as I started to feel more like my old self. By the end of the Challenge's 12 weeks, I'd lost almost 10kg. Winning the Women's section of our work Challenge was a testament to the efficacy of the programme and in great part due to Kat's unfailingly cheery encouragement.
Following a bit of holiday overindulgence, I started the 2020 Transformation Challenge (that Kat was running at our work again) in February to continue working on my health and wellbeing. Lockdown put paid to that, but I was determined to preserve my fitness and mental health gains.
In addition to joining the Online Stellar Fitness Community classes twice a week, I also walked 5-8km a day around my local park.
Although my wine consumption did increase (hey, it was a pandemic!), I managed to stay in shape and actually got to the point of *needing* to exercise.
Now we are back in "the new normal", I'm doing two Stellar Fitness classes at my work, and am absolutely stoked to noticeably see how much stronger and fitter I am compared to 10 months ago.
I've even joined a few Community evening classes, where it was great to see the real-life faces of people I'd come to recognise through the online lockdown classes.
I'm on track to achieve my next goal, to reach a 20kg weight loss within a year. That will take me from "overweight" to "normal" in my doctor's eyes.
This cynic is now a convert to exercise and a low-carb, high-protein eating plan! Many thanks to Kat for her humour, patience and unwavering support on this path.
You always feel both like an individual *and* part of a supportive broader community with Stellar Fitness.
Kat's research-based approach to training, fitness and health really works, and it’s fun!