Inspirational weight loss: Kelly Manton's weight loss journey so far
02/12/2009 at 06:46pm by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness
Today, we’re going to feature the fantastic efforts so far of Kelly Manton, a 27 year old mum, media student and vocalist from Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Kelly has kindly answered some questions for us, which we hope will inspire others to take the step to commit to a healthier lifestyle, or stay on track if they’ve already started. Kelly is half way through her weight loss journey, but with her attitude and commitment to weight loss and fantastic effort so far, we’re sure she’ll reach her goal – we look forward to again featuring Kelly next year when she’s reached her target weight!
Here's our quick-fire weight loss Q&A with Kelly:
When did you start your weight loss journey?
I began in January of this year.
Start weight:
19 stone 4lb
Current weight:
15 stone 2lb
Goal weight:
10 stone
What made you decide to lose weight?
I became very reclusive, was afraid to see my friends while I was so big. I hated the way I looked and felt! I couldn’t walk very far without getting a backache and started to fear for my health, and let’s face it - I’m not getting any younger either!
I found buying clothes was difficult, as I didn’t have much choice in my sizes, plus I found shopping for clothes at a larger size was really expensive.
Have you got any advice for people who may wish to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t look at losing weight as a diet or as a restriction to your life; look at it as a healthy and positive change for YOUR life!
Is there anything you miss about the time before you decided to lose weight?
I do sometimes miss certain foods, mostly the empty carbs; cakes, pastry and huge pizzas!
What’s changed since you started losing weight (diet, activity, friendship groups etc)?
I have started to become more confident again and can now buy clothes from “normal” shops. I can walk for hours without a single pain in my back. I can also fit in the bath with ease now (yup, embarrassingly I even struggled with that).
What’s your favourite naughty treat?
I eat lots of food which I guess you could class as naughty. I make sure I have some chocolate most days; good options are 2 finger KitKats, Curly Wurlys and treat size buttons! I also manage to have a take away now and again including Chicken Chowmein, kebab and Chicken Dhansak.
What is your experience of ‘crash’ dieting?
When I first started losing weight in January, I didn’t choose a particularly healthy way. I followed the Cambridge Diet for 3 months and although I lost weight, I didn’t eat any food as it was a food replacement plan.
After a while I decided that removing food from my day was not the healthy way I wanted to live my life.
What has been the hardest aspect of losing weight for you?
Probably at “that” time of the month when I am craving chocolate, carbs and comfort food, when I have to make sure I remind myself of the reasons why I want to lose the weight and work on a healthy but still satisfying option. It can also be difficult when I know I have been good and my weight has stayed the same or even gained a little! I have since realised that we are all different and will lose weight, plateau, and lose inches at different stages.
Do you have any tips for people who wish to lose weight?
Make sure you have a meal plan and keep a diary on a daily basis. Don’t forget to have treats in moderation so you don’t feel like you are missing out.
Any final words?
I still have a long way to go but am very proud of my achievement so far and feel loads healthier because of it. I will get to my goal!
So, join us in wishing Kelly the best of luck in continuing her journey - if you know of anybody who deserves to be featured here on Fat Free Fitness for their fantastic weight loss or continued effort, please email us!
Real life story - How Fitness Changed My Life
01/12/2009 at 08:35pm by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness
Have you found yourself stuck in an unhealthy rut, and despite your best intentions, never do quite enough to drag yourself out of it?
Would you like to commit to a healthier lifestyle, look better and feel more positive?
That’s exactly the way Angelique Kronebusch felt. She had fallen into the trap of eating badly most meals, which is easily done, and would go out drinking 3, if not more times a week. In short, she was in a seemingly never-ending cycle of unhealthiness and unhappiness.
Only the thought ‘is this it?’ prompted Angelique, now a fitness model and Personal Trainer, to change her life for the better, and she’s been kind enough to share her story with us here at Fat Free Fitness in the hope it can inspire people to a healthier lifestyle. If Angelique’s story resonates with you and your current situation, think carefully about what she says, it could change your life.
How Fitness Changed my Life, Angelique Kronebusch’s story
I grew up in a Portuguese and French family and eating is one of the things we did as a family. It was OK to pig out on sweets and treats. This kind of habit continued into my 20’s. When I moved out on my own I would eat Blizzards from Dairy Queen (like a McFlurry for us Brits! - Rich) for breakfast, French fries from McDonalds for lunch and pizza or macaroni and cheese for dinner. No joke!
I was in a long term relationship that did not help with my habits. It was also not a good relationship with lots of stress and fighting. To deal with this stress, I started to go out with friends a lot and would be drinking alcohol 3 times per week, and not just one drink either. This lifestyle lasted for quite some time.
I was on a downward spiral and about to hit rock bottom fast. I realized this one day when I woke up thinking about how unhappy I was with my current situation.
I suddenly thought: “is this it?”
I decided that I needed to do something with myself and joined the gym. I immediately fell in love with exercise. I was getting good advice from all of the magazines I was reading and getting motivation from all of the fit girls in the gym. I started changing my eating habits and staying away from alcohol more and more. I ended up leaving all the negative and unsupportive relationships in my life behind and moved back home to another province. I never looked back.
I qualified as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I am now a fitness model and figure competitor in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada and have been in the industry for 4 years – I love my job. I live the fit and healthy lifestyle and lead by example.
I am a positive role model in my Gym helping people with weight loss and setting them back on the right track. There is no excuse for sabotaging your body. Your body really is your temple and you should treat it well. Eat lots of protein, good clean carbohydrates, fruits and veggies. Drink lots of water.
Do not starve yourself. Have a treat once in a while but remember a treat is a treat, not an everyday thing. You want to look good and feel good? It is never too late to start. Start now, what is your excuse? If you are waking up every morning thinking “is this it?” like I was, it is time for a change.
Do not listen to the negative comments about your lifestyle change; people in our lives can be surprisingly unsupportive. Trust me, I know firsthand. Go to the gym, and if you’re worried you won’t stick to it or need some guidance and motivation, hire a personal trainer to help start you on the right track. Clean the junk out of your cupboards and your fridge and fill them up with healthy options.
Do it now. It is not too late.
__________________________________________
If Angelique's story has spurred you on to make a change for the better, please get in touch, if only for advice - why put off what you won't do tomorrow when you can make the change today?
Follow Fat Free Fitness on Twitter here for the latest in diet, health and weight loss: @fatfreefitness
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Please do check out the blogs on the right – have you read them yet?
Angelique Kronebusch
Angelique's Personal Training website
Follow Angelique on Twitter @MsFitBC now!
Did you win our Nintendo DSi and the Biggest Loser videogame competition?
27/11/2009 at 07:04pm by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness
You may have been aware of our recent competition to win a brand new Nintendo DSi courtesy of Fat Free Fitness and the people behind the The Biggest Loser USA, the videogame based on the hit NBC television series.
Our particularly high-tech technique for picking the winner (we delved into the Fat Free Fitness Hat of Dreams with the names of the 1,300 competition entrants) has resulted in 1 main winner who wins the Grand Prize of a new Nintendo DSi and game, and four runners-up, who will each receive a copy of The Biggest Loser USA for the Nintendo DS.
Thanks to all who entered, and congratulations to the following people, who will win a brand new game, and one less present to buy this Christmas if they decide not to keep it!
Grand Prize winner:
Michael Jones - Newcastle
Runners-up:
Sharon Barnard, Gloucester
Sherie Buck - Norwich
Kelly Manton - Staffordshire
Mel Taylor, Cheltenham
Thanks to all who promoted and participated in the competition. For those who didn’t win this time, don’t worry, we’ve got some fantastic prizes in the pipeline – keep an eye on the blog, Facebook page and Twitter account.
Merry nearly Christmas from all at Fat Free Fitness!
Meet the world's first personal trainer robot - Bandit
20/11/2009 at 08:18am by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness
Developed by students at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering, 'Bandit' is a personal trainer with a difference. He/it is a robot that has been designed to instruct people through workout routines using vocal encouragement and articulated arms, aimed to demonstrate the principal behind different exercises.
The fact that he's essentially one robotic, apparently sarcastic (and particularly creepy) version of Chucky minus a mop of ginger hair doesn't help poor Bandit make a good first impression, I'm afraid.
Check this video out and tell me you'd like this little guy taking you through a session... I think the fact that he has lips that look like they're made out of those red pencil sweets 8 year olds regularly overdose on is a reason to be weary!
Techies the unhealthiest workers in the UK - coverage for Fat Free Fitness!
17/11/2009 at 09:03pm by Rich Leigh, founder of Fat Free Fitness
A study we commissioned has thrown up some really interesting stats, showing that people who work in IT exercise the least - we've got some great coverage for it, including on Yahoo News, The Times Online and more.
Here's a selection of the coverage from today...
Yahoo News
The Times Online
Computing
The Register
V3.co.uk
Computer Weekly
PC Retail magazine
Women in Technology
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Fat Free Fitness Weight Loss
Launched in 2009, fatfreefitness.co.uk is the UK's only weight loss specific personal training agency. Fat Free Fitness helps you stop dieting and counting calories, by teaching you how to improve your nutrition, increase your activity and exercise levels and lose weight. Fatfreefitness.co.uk is a great way to lose weight and save money. fatfreefitness provides you with expert diet, fitness, exercise, gym and personal training advice and support, similar to ivillage.co.uk, weightlossforall.com, thecolumn.org, weightlossforgood.co.uk, tescodiets.co.uk and weightlossresources.co.uk. Win diet, exercise and fitness products by entering fatfreefitness.co.uk competitions. Fatfreefitness.co.uk is not a weight loss support group like Weight Watchers weightwatchers.co.uk or Slimming World slimmingworld.com. Fat Free Fitness is updated regularly with new information. Fatfreefitness.co.uk and weight loss expert, personal trainer and fatfreefitness.co.uk founder Rich Leigh disagree with and discourage fat loss tablets, diet tablets and weight loss aid tablets, fad dieting and crash diets such as the Atkins diet, the Cambridge diet, the cabbage soup diet, the Beverley Hills diet, the baby food diet and all other carbohydrate and calorie restricting diets.
