CLIENT STORIES
Tracy Lawrance
Aged 50
Nutrition Advisor Trainee
Wife & Mum
Ive always eaten healthy (or so I thought) but I've always suffered with acid reflux, tummy bloating and IBS.
I've followed lots of diets in my life generally taking forever to lose weight, but then I put it back on as soon as I start re-introducing foods I’d omitted, within a couple of weeks!
I had been having PT sessions and attending fitness classes regularly for a few years when Gemma suggested I go back to basics to see if we could work out why I had tummy issues.
Gemma put me on a 6-week programme. I went back to basics, eating plain food at the beginning, then re-introducing food groups one at a time. I omitted ultra processed foods, and included more vegetables and complex carbs in my diet along with exercise. It has without doubt been life changing. Once you get your mindset around the different foods and how they fuel your body, it becomes second nature. I actually eat more than I used to and I don't get hunger pains.
My acid reflux has gone, my tummy only bloats when I have over indulged and my IBS is under control. EVERYONE has commented on how good I look and asks how I’ve done it. It’s been a year now and because my body recognises that I feed it well 80% of the time, it remembers it so that when I have nights out/holidays, it reverts back to the new ‘norm’. I no longer count calories as I now know what I can eat and how best to fuel my body.
I am now attending nutritional courses to further my knowledge and gain qualifications and l'm looking forward to sharing this in our Wellness Club.
If I can do it, anyone can!
In 2022 I was invited to go on the Gemma Tossell Fitness Retreat. I declined; this is a decision I still regret.
Why did I decline? I could list so many reasons. But mostly it was because I felt so unfit and unhealthy. I was embarrassed! I thought that I would feel intimidated and unable to keep up with everyone else. The last time I had seriously exercised was over 20 years ago.
During 2022 my menopause was just awful, my doctor advised me to make some lifestyle changes to my diet and include some exercise to help with my symptoms but I did neither.
In 2023, I decided to go on the retreat - a decision I will never regret. I was ready to make some changes. That May, I joined a group of the loveliest women and off we went to Spain. I learned so much in that week and made so many new friends.
Today, 10 months later, I feel healthier, fitter, happier than ever! I sleep better and best of all - I have dropped a dress size!
I cannot say that I love to exercise, as that would be untrue. I just fit in as much physical activity as I can around my busy work, family and social life. This includes online Personal Training and completing classes from Gemma Tossell's online Holiday Hut along with walking wherever I can. What I can say I love about exercise is, the feeling of achievement I get after a training session. Exercise for me is now a regular part of my new healthy lifestyle. I've seen myself improve, seen my body change and my measurements decrease slowly but surely.
Nutrition was another big change for me. I was encouraged to make small changes with my diet - what I ate, how I cooked it, the right and wrong things to eat etc. I got so much great advice on nutrition and a clean way of eating from both Gemma and Tracy. This was a game changer for me. I would never have thought that eating healthy unprocessed food would have such an effect on how I felt. I did not notice the benefits overnight, nor in a few weeks. For me it took a few months.
Now 11 months on, I feel less bloated, have more energy and my clothes fit better as I have dropped a dress size! My skin is great and best of all-so many people have noticed! I receive so compliments on how well I look and it has given me much more confidence.
Overall, I just feel so much better than I did, I cannot say that I stick to it 100%, I do have weeks and weekends away on holidays where I do indulge, I like a wine or three at the weekends etc, but I always drop easily back into my healthy eating without a second thought. It feels like second nature to me now.
My new way of life, for life.
Zey Jennings
Aged 55
MD of Rhinestone HQ
Wife, Mum & Nan
Sara Smith
Aged 52
People Manager
John Lewis & Partners
I’d just turned 50 and was struggling with menopausal symptoms when I first reached out to Gemma about joining a Kettles class.
I’d been thinking about it for a while but I’d lost a lot of self confidence, was worried about my fitness level and so the thought of joining an established class was very scary!
I needn’t have worried, I was made to feel so welcome by Gemma and a lovely group of ladies on that first session. Gemma offered different levels of the exercise so that I was able to join in for the whole class.
Bootcamp classes came next and I was hooked! What’s not to love about exercising in the fresh air, with like minded people and as a bonus, building friendships along the way!
In January 2023, I started PT sessions with Gemma. Again, the doubts crept in but with Gemma’s constant motivation and ability to make you feel fantastic, it gave me more confidence in my ability.
Naturally, as part of the sessions, we discussed diet and lifestyle and Gemma made suggestions on some simple changes to my current meal planning. She made me understand how important it is to not just eat the right amount of calories, but to ensure I hit the correct macronutrients in my body to make it work more efficiently. After 3 months my body shape had changed and I could see and feel the difference, it was an added bonus when others could too.
After years of being obsessed with the number on the scales, it took me a while to stop regular weigh in’s (something that I still struggle with after holidays etc) but, my fitness journey is about so much more to me than weight, it has improved my mental health, my self confidence and without wanting to sound dramatic I finally feel like myself again!
