It took an unflattering holiday photo for Travel Consultant Jennifer Butler, 29, to realise how unhappy she was with her body.But joining a gym wasn’t the solution.
“It was July 2000 and I’d come back from a holiday in Cairns with some friends.I’d had a wonderful time, lazing about on boats, swimming and eating seafood.I couldn’t wait to get my photos back.But when I flicked through them, my heart sank, I didn’t look fat, I just looked big – too big for my height of 1.7m.I’d always been pretty fit and thought i was a lot slimmer and more toned than I looked in those photos.
I wanted a fitness and weight loss program to tone my arms and back more and get some definition in my legs.The thing was, I hated gyms.I’d been to a few and to me, they were just about people posing.The machines looked intimidating too,so I didn’t bother going again. But how could I tone up without joining a gym?
When I thought about it, I realised that I’d been unhappy with my body for years.I hated summer, as it meant showing lots of flesh in next-to-nothing swimmers. And I hated the look of myslef naked, even though I didn’t have a boyfriend to see me. Although I wasn’t comfortable with my body, I tricked myself into thinking I was fit; I ran regularly and even completed half marathans. My friends and family knew me as a mad anti-fat person.
A typical day was cereal with skimmed milk and a skimmed milk coffee,lunch would be steamed rice and soy sauce and dinner would be potatoes and meat or pasta. For snackes, I would have a muesli bar, toast, fruit and more coffee.
I wouldn’t touch chocolate, chips, and biscuits, so I was confused as to why I wasn’t any slimmer!
Then a few weeks later, I moved house.To save money, I decided to walk to work everyday, which took over half an hour.After a few weeks, I began to notice a diffrence, my trousers felt slightly looser. “From just walking?” I thought. I then realised that my body might just need variations in exercise.
I found a site on the internet called getfit.com.au. There, I could sign up with a personal trainer and do a six-week program, purely by email and phone contact. It wasn’t that expensive – $197 for the course. It sounded ideal so I went for it.
The trainer, Dean, devised a program for me, consisting of walking and weights four times a week, instead of just running.He also gave me tips on changing my eating habits, like having complex carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, and bread for lunch instead of dinner, so they wouldn’t sit in my stomach all night.
I found out that by doing the same exercise at the same pace for years, my body had simply reached a level where it couldn’t change. It was up to me to vary my routine and push myself to do more. So I bought some free weights and started to do lunges, squats, and arm exercises at home, with repetitions of 12, three or four times a session. And I still hadn’t stepped foot into a gym!
The results were staggering. After the first month, my clothes felt looser and within three months, I’d lost five kilos. It was easy after that. My body started to change shape completely. The free weights were giving me definition in my arms. I started to get that curve in the back of my thighs and I noticed a difference to my back. It became far more defined and muscly and I felt great inbackless tops.
Changing me eating habits did wonders. I’m down to a size 10 which is perfect for me.I would probably struggle to run a marathan now but since I’ve found the exercise that works for me, I’m going to stick with it. I also met a man too, running in a local park. He loves my body and I feel really comfortable with myself and how I look naked. With my new bodyhas come a newfound confidence. I love summer and am the first to walk slowly to the sea instead of running in, hoping no-one will spot me.
I love wearing sexy, fashionable clothes likehipsters and skimpy tops – things I thought I’d never be able to fit into. The great thing is that I haven’t lost weight in a crazy unhealthy way.I don’t live on cigarettes, diet coke and fat free frozen meals.I just have a healthy lifestyle.It’s about making simple changes to your eating habits and finding an exercise routine that suits your body. Just look at me!”
