“Having been on my own fitness journey, I now help other people with theirs as a Personal Trainer” – Paula

Sunday, 9th February, 2020

My Story

Hi. I’m Paula Halliday and I now work as a Personal Trainer, this is the story of how I got to where I am and a little bit about my own life before I became a personal trainer. I hope that by others reading about my own fitness journey and the struggles I have had to overcome this will help motivate them to have the confidence and drive to realise their own fitness goals and to make the start to achieve a healthier life.

You may think that because I’m a personal trainer I’ve been healthy and fit all my life, this wasn’t the case for me..

I began to gain weight as a teenager and was bullied at High School due to my weight, I didn’t particularly enjoy sport and the sports that I did enjoy were mainly boys sports such as Football and Cricket which weren’t really sports girls did when I was at school. Due to being bullied and in an attempt to my build confidence I started going to karate which I really enjoyed, to the point that I went three to four times a week. Unfortunately at a time when I was really doing well and entering into competitions my participation in the sport was stopped when I was diagnosed with anaemia and told not to continue doing any form of exercise.

During my time at college and University with socialising the weight began to creep on..

In an effort to do something about this I joined a local Slimming World where I did lose some of the weight but exercise was never a part of my world. After meeting my now husband and moving into our own house I became content with life and the weight slowly began to creep on, even the prospect of my wedding day didn’t help me to shed the pounds.

I joined gyms always with the best intentions and would go religiously for a few weeks maybe even a couple of months but then something would happen or I’d find an excuse to prevent me going which would lead to me becoming dis-heartened when the weight started going back on and then not seeing any progress I’d give up all effort. This would go full circle and I’d then realise again that I needed to do something and the same thing would happened, join a gym, start a strict diet, lose faith because the results I’d expected didn’t appear and give up. This happened time after time.

What made me change my approach..

Having suffered from depression and anxiety in the past I knew exercise would help but the major turning point for me was when I was at my heaviest weight of 15 stone 7 lbs. It was a Saturday and whilst getting out of my car I felt something go in my back, I thought nothing of it and decided to get a warm bath to see if I could relieve it only to find that I then couldn’t get out of the bath. After struggling and with help from my husband I managed to get out of the bath but was still unable to stand, due to my weight my husband was unable to carry me and the only way I was able to get downstairs was by being pulled down wrapped in a duvet. This along with the fact that there is a history of heart problems running in the family (my Dad had his first heart attack at 45) realisation hit me that I really needed to do something about my weight and fitness, something that I could maintain and something that would work and get results!

My first step was joining a group fitness class that had just started..

It wasn’t easy and I remember to this day walking into that first class and being so nervous that I would make a fool of myself, but no-one really cared and they were all so encouraging. I stuck at the class and then went from that to seeing a PT who I remained with for a number of years and even now still feel the benefit from it. It is from going to the classes and a PT that I have found a passion for exercise and healthy eating. Don’t get me wrong I still have treats, because we are all human and have lives outside of the gym but there is a balance to be found. I discovered that if you put the effort in and stick at it not only do you achieve a healthier body but your mood and general happiness improves too, anxiety levels reduce and confidence increases!

One of my biggest goals that I set myself was to run the 13.1 miles of the Great North Run..

I have never been a runner and I’m still a bit of a plodder but in January 2014 I met with a local Children’s Charity and wanting to achieve what was a massive goal for me I asked them for one of their charity spaces. Several years later 2019 saw me complete my fifth Great North Run along with other runs in between, this year I signed up to do my sixth GNR with plans for more to follow! By losing weight it has given me self-confidence, further more I am generally a much happier person and day-to-day activities that i once dreaded are no longer a struggle. Going for walks are no longer done because I feel I need to do it to lose weight but now more about getting out in the fresh air and enjoying my surroundings. All in life is now better and more enjoyable!  

My goal as a Personal Trainer..

Having been overweight, I know how this can affect your self-esteem and your day-to-day function. After experiencing how much of a positive impact keeping active and eating a healthy balanced diet played on my health (both physically and mentally), I wanted to use this knowledge I’d built up to help others, and make a positive difference to peoples lives, this is why I’ve become a Personal Trainer!

I learnt a lot through my own transformation and as a Personal Trainer with my own real life personal experiences I can really empathise with and understand my clients who want to tone up and lose weight. I want to share my story in an effort to help others make that step towards achieving their own goals and by doing so discovering a fitter and happier self.

Click here to enquire about a Personal Training session with Paula

My top tips for someone trying to lose weight are:

• Make subtle changes – If you try making a drastic change to your lifestyle right away, you may be able to stick with the changes for a few weeks to month but it will be hard to maintain them in the long run. Identify where you can make small changes, whether that’s going to bed for half an hour earlier than you usually do to make sure you get enough sleep, and you will find these small changes can give long-lasting results.
• Change your workout routine after 4 weeks or so – If you keep doing the same routine over and over, your body is going to adapt to it, so you need to make sure you are setting progressions to make your workouts more challenging as you get fitter and stronger.
• Drink plenty of water – Making sure you stay hydrated is really important when it comes to your health, so I really advise my clients to drink enough water throughout the day. Research has shown that being hydrated can affect your performance in your workouts, which in turn, affects your results, so I always make sure I drink lots of water.
• Avoid rapid weight loss – If you’re goal is weight loss, general guidelines typically recommend losing no more than 2lbs per week. Personally, I stick with a lower number and would recommend to lose no more than 1/2 -1lb per week. Taking a more gradual approach will allow you to minimise the amount of muscle you lose, and be more sustainable so you can keep the weight off for good.  

To enquire about a Personal Training session click the button below

Want to know more..

If you have any questions you would like to ask me, please get in touch. My email is: info@be-healthy.uk

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