Zest Magazine Article : August 2006

In early 2006, I was approached by Zest magazine to be in the summer issue as a "Success Story". Having been an avid Zest reader for many years, I was incredibly flattered and the end result is shown below.

The words are slightly "airbrushed" in some parts of the story, but the essence is true. 

It was great fun being interviewed, as well as having my make-up and hair done and then professionally photographed. I still cringe when I see my before photos !!!!!

Shelley Blackhurst, 38, had a love-hate relationship with food, and spent most of her adult life in size-22 clothes. Now she’s 7st lighter and has a new career as a personal trainer….

Eating always played an important role in  my childhood. I was really close to my maternal grandmother who was a fabulous cook and I used to spend  a lot of time with her in the kitchen.

My weight first became noticeable when I was about ten. I was plump – bigger than my younger sister Sami, who’s naturally much leaner. My mum wanted the best for me, which for her meant being slim, so she took me slimming clubs in my teens. But it didn’t really help me lose weight – I liked my food and had a big appetite.

Starting a career in the catering industry when I left school didn’t help. Surrounded by food and alcohol, I gained 2st in matter of months. I weighed 13st and would think nothing of eating six éclairs at sitting.

I managed to lose about 2st in few months in time for my 21st birthday though crash dieting and frantic exercise, but it didn’t last long. By the age of 23 I back up to 13st again.

I was a classic comfort eater. If I felt stressed or unhappy, I’d eat. When Mum died in 1990 – she’ been ill with cancer for about a year – I turned to food to help me through it. I had a bad relationship break-up and turned to food then too. I’d try crash dieting, frantic exercise or slimming pills, but I’d always end up regaining anything I’d lost. By my early 30s, I’d ballooned to a size 20.

Pregnancy and girth.

In 2001 my life turned around when I met my now husband Stuey while I was on a trip to Australia. My weight has never been an issue between us – in fact he used to tell me how much he loved my curves. He truly loved me just for being me.

We had a dream wedding just six months after we met, but when I saw our wedding photos I burst into tears. I looked enormous in my size-22 wedding dress. Six months later I became pregnant with our son Ethan now four. I ate huge amounts for the nine months and gained even more weight. I tried to avoid being photographed after birth as I hated the way I looked.

The turning point came in 2002. My mother-in-law had put a big photo of Stuey, Ethan and I in frame and rather than thinking what a lovely picture we made all I could see was how huge I looked. It was a wake-up call. I knew I had to lose weight for my health, for my happiness and as result for my son.

I joined a slimming club and managed to lose a couple of stone in a year but my weight plateaued after that and I gave up. Looking back the plan didn’t work for me because I didn’t address the underlying cause of my eating.

Then I heard about Light Life www.lighterlife.com through a friend and I joined in May 2004. It’s a weight-loss programme for the clinically obese and the for the first few months you eat very low-calorie but nutritionally balanced meal replacements such as soups, shakes and bars. The programme also involves regular group work and counselling to get to the root of your eating problems. It helped me to examine my relationship with food and identify that I tend to associate food with love and use it to dull my feelings when I’m feeling stressed. The therapy gradually teaches you to distinguish between emotional hunger and physical hunger. You’re also given advice on maintaining your weight through exercise and good nutrition. It was exactly the formula I needed.

Exercise has played a crucial part in my weight loss. I’d joined a gym a couple years before, back in 2002 and did one exercise class a week. But once I’d started losing weight, it gave me the incentive to increase the number of classes I attended. At first it was hard work and I’d stay at the back of the class trying to keep up. But as I lost weight and became fitter I was exercising four or five times a week both in classes and on my own in the gym. I loved the feeling that my newfound fitness gave me so much that I decided to retrain as a personal trainer and qualified in April 2005. I did an intensive course with the YMCA which took me nine months and involved practical exercise as well as theory work. I felt I wanted to help women struggling with their weight just as I had. In fact, my bigger clients say they feel more comfortable with me as a trainer because they know I can empathise with them.

Tackling a triathlon

I have also started running and swimming and in May 2005 I ran my first 10K race. Completing my first triathlon last August was another achievement. And in June last year I trained as Bodypump instructor.

My eating habits have changed too. Gone are the endless slices of bread, the crisps, the fatty foods and the creamy sauces. It’s as if I’m discovering food for the first time – pineapple tastes so good! Everything I eat is served with lots of vegetables or fruit. Now breakfast is porridge or fruit, lunch is a bean or tuna salad and supper is usually a low-calorie fish dish. I’ve also discovered beans, lentils, pulses and nuts. They’re so good for you and I love creating new dishes with them.

My husband is proud of my achievements and apparently Ethan runs his own little Bodypump classes at nursery! He must have picked up the moves from watching me practise at home.

My relationship with food is a much happier healthier one but I still have to work at it. I’ve finally learned that eating well is about balance and that exercising is a far better way to boost your mood than seeking comfort from food.

Being a fit and healthy size 12 has given me incredible confidence. And these days instead of being the very overweight one with the baggy workout clothes hiding at the back of the exercise class, I’m the slim confident one taking the class.

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