... and all the hard work... LIZ MACKLEY loses three stone in three months

FAT GIRLS like me learn long before they hit puberty that they will always dance on the wrong side of the overweight marker.

So when I was set the challenge of losing nearly three stone in three months, I knew I was going to need some help.

I contacted Ronny Terry, the former performance analyst with Swindon Town FC turned personal trainer, founder of Switch Fit UK and expert with PT Magazine.

With the term ‘elite fitness’ in his strapline, I knew that if anyone was going to carve off my extra flesh without damaging my vital organs in such a short timeframe, it would be him.

Meeting Ronny for the first time was a little bit like that moment in Kung Fu Panda when Master Shifu agrees to train Po to become the Dragon Warrior, and realises that he is capable of incredible feats when motivated by food.

He emphasised that three stone in three months was an incredibly ambitious target and, although possible, would require great commitment and discipline, starting with a daily hour-long walk.

He then said that I could eat exactly what I wanted. Albeit in a particular framework. I would be eating around 1,280 calories a day but divided into 100g in protein, 50g in fat, and 110g in carbohydrate.

As a veteran of fad diets and gym-slavery, I harboured serious doubts this miniscule change to my lifestyle would work. I would be eating far more protein and fat than I was used to, and I didn’t believe the slight increase in exercise would offset it.

And then I lost 6lbs in the first week – more than I had lost in the three months previously on my own. I wasn’t as hungry either, and I could feel the regular exercise making me stronger.

There was no chance for complacency either since Ronny’s training sessions constantly tested my comfort zones with new techniques and exercises, and I forgot to be self-conscious as I concentrated on punching weights and flinging kettle bells.

Moving on from circuit training we ran up and down the steps in Okus Road and did sprints in the Town Gardens, using the street furniture for variety.

I started visiting the gym more, learned about the benefits of high-intensity training, and even began to enjoy it.

In five weeks I’d lost more than a stone.

In two months I could run 5km in 30 minutes.

In week 10, I lifted 30kg on the resistance machines, and in week 11 I came in on target, two dress sizes smaller.

But a stranger thing had happened than skipping from the obese side of overweight towards the healthy side in just 12 weeks. I forgot that I was supposed to be a fat girl.

I’ll be now taking on the five mile event in the Swindon Half Marathon, and then plan to hike for 24 hours in an epic test of endurance and willpower.

Ronny didn’t just help me lose three stone in three months or teach me how to run.

He piled on my confidence and showed me that the only limit to ambition is the boundary of your imagination, and sometimes all you need to do is be a little brave.

Cliché? Maybe. The truth? Absolutely gospel.

It takes a special kind of magic to turn a cynic into a believer and a fat girl into the creature I am today.

Switch Fit UK’s main office is based in Wood Street, Old Town.

Private sessions take place at KISS Gyms in Swindon and at various locations in London.

They may also be held in clients’ homes, workplace, and coaching can take place remotely via email.

Each results-based programme is specially tailored according to the client’s individual needs and fitness goals, which are monitored and regularly evaluated in order to ensure clients efficiently meet those targets.

Activities and sessions designed around client’s capabilities and preferences.

Prices are available on request .

For more information about Ronny’s credentials or to discuss a programme with Switch Fit UK, call 07875874231 or email info@switchfituk.co.uk.

Alternatively visit www.switchfituk.co.uk or tweet Ronny at @SWITCHFITUK for details.