During my childhood I was always the enthusiastic child who wanted to do a million things at once. I played football, hockey, rugby, netball, and attended a dance lessons. When I moved on to secondary school, I turned my focus to athletics and hockey and continued to dance numerous times a week. Towards the end of secondary school education, I did less physical training and by the time I attended college it had almost come to a complete stop. This was largely because I frequently suffered from both chronic pain and extreme fatigue.

At the age of 17, after a 2-year battle with my GP and multiple trips to A&E, I was finally diagnosed with Endometriosis. This is a condition where tissue resembling the lining of the uterus grows on the outside of the womb, commonly on the ovaries, bowel, bladder and even on the liver and lungs in rare cases. This causes excruciating period pain and also scar tissue, making the normally mobile internal organs of your pelvis stick together.

During my childhood I was always the enthusiastic child who wanted to do a million things at once. I played football, hockey, rugby, netball, and attended a dance lessons. When I moved on to secondary school, I turned my focus to athletics and hockey and continued to dance numerous times a week. Towards the end of secondary school education, I did less physical training and by the time I attended college it had almost come to a complete stop. This was largely because I frequently suffered from both chronic pain and extreme fatigue.

Rather than bore you with a lengthy list of side effects I will simply list a few facts about this condition:

*The NHS consider it to be one of the most painful health conditions.

*There is no cure for the condition.

*It causes internal scarring, lesions, adhesions, ovarian and other cysts.

*It can have devastating mental as well as physical side effects.

* Endometriosis is responsible 40-50% of infertility.

* There is little knowledge or treatment for the condition, therefore getting help is extremely difficult.

I resumed my training after my first surgery. I was following fitness DVDs, eating healthier and even tried fad diets but started to get impatient when I saw little change. In fact, I had no idea what I was doing and why I was doing it!
This motivated me (at the age of 22) to enrol on a course and successfully qualify as a level 3 Personal Trainer.
Working in the fitness industry was initially extremely exciting, however my confidence suffered a severe knock. Yes, I became thinner and developed more muscle, but I kept comparing myself to other PTs displaying amazing six packs! Watching their training regimes, I remember thinking that I could not meet their standards. I was becoming more and more frustrated because my regular health set-backs meant that  I kept having to start my health and fitness journey from square one and I also thought that no one would take me seriously as a personal trainer because ‘I didn’t look the part’.

The next few years continued to be a frustrating vicious circle of intense training followed by operations and treatment and another long road to recovery. However, these quick fix ways to fitness were not maintainable or sustainable. It made me realise that it is not always about how you look but more about how you feel! It opened my  to the fact that there is limited training information available for people with pre-existing health conditions or injuries.
More recently, I have invested time training with professionals who have provided me with a maintainable training plan revolving around rehabilitation and nutrition. They have encouraged patience and provided  the right support for me to reach my goal in a healthy way.

My journey so far has taught me so much about fitness training and nutrition and has re-ignited  a desire in me to help people who feel unheard or misunderstood because of underlying health issues.

In conclusion,  I do not just tell you how to exercise and what to eat; I empathise, I motive and I respect an individual’s needs.
What initially started out as a personal mission to get fit again and find my elusive six-pack has turned into a desire to help people feel good in their own skin whilst overcoming any special issues they may have.