Alice Hilton, 26, from Leeds made small, incremental changes that transformed her lifestyle – and her mental health.
I was 24 when somehow, I found myself in a horrible rut. A lot of it was due to circumstances in my life at the time – I was hating my job and just generally not in a good place. Of course, it didn't help that my lifestyle was incredibly unhealthy, and I didn't move much at all.
My relationship with food was a point of concern, too. I had no clue about nutrition or balance and would tend to binge and restrict, or follow a crash diet. My weight had been an issue since I was a teen and, thanks to my yo-yoing dieting, it was all over the place.
My turning point came when I realised I'd hit the lowest point of my life – and I wasn't doing anything to pick myself back up. My low self-esteem was a big factor. I would find reasons to cancel seeing friends because I was so embarrassed and hated being dressed up. At the end of 2019, I constantly felt lethargic, struggled with my breathing and had trouble sleeping.
I needed to do something and, having heard about the mental health benefits of exercise, I thought it was worth a shot. I started small – following some social media accounts that promoted healthy ways to have an active lifestyle. I also started walking, just taking the stairs at work and getting off the train one stop early. Eventually, I made it my goal to get 10,000 steps every day.
Mad Fitness-Mad Light 150cm Resistance Band
nike Nike Resistance Band – Medium
Once I nailed that, I was ready to level up. I'd ordered some resistance bands – Grace Beverley's Shreddy bands – earlier in 2019 in a fit of optimism that soon lapsed. A girl I worked with showed me Grace’s Instagram and she had ordered the bands because her PT said to so, so I just copied. They sat in a drawer gathering dust until the beginning of 2020, when I got up the courage to head to the gym with that friend before the pandemic.
That first session was so hard – I underestimated how unfit I was and couldn’t finish it. Squats, lunges and any kind of push-ups destroyed me. I lasted about 10 minutes and I couldn't do it anymore. I remember thinking, 'It’s okay though this is day 1 – but I don’t want to ever forget this feeling.'
Of course, the gym environment wasn't exactly welcoming either. I remember a trainer coming over to me to tell me how poor my form was, but offering no other guidance. I left as soon as he walked away – it was inappropriate and unhelpful for him to do that.
But somehow I found the courage to come back again. And again. I started going 2-3 times a week. I'd do incline walks on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes, and then follow the guides that came with my Shreddy bands. When the pandemic hit, I replaced the treadmill walks with walks outdoors, and kept up with workouts on the Shreddy app.
I tried to eat sensibly, rather than falling back into the binge-restrict cycle, but I didn't really change my diet until about 9 months in. I'd started getting blisters and ulcers in my mouth, getting extremely bloated and having trouble breathing. A trip to the doctor revealed I had several food allergies, most notably gluten. My GP was amazing and helped me put a meal plan together, to help me steer clear of gluten and support my new active lifestyle.
Here's what I eat in a day
- Breakfast: 2 eggs, ½ an avo, 2 slices of gluten-free toast or a chai/flax vegan oat waffle with strawberries
- Lunch: I love a chunky salad, so lots of mixed greens, peppers, onions, sweetcorn, chickpeas and either falafel, chicken or maybe turkey
- Dinner: This can really vary, from a Lo-Dough pizza with a side salad or fajitas or homemade burgers/veggie burgers. I also love a peri-peri chicken breast with quinoa, sweet potato, kale salad with flax and chai seeds for topping
- Snacks: Banana, pear, apple, protein bars and some form of low-cal crisps or crackers if I need something crunchy with my salad.
After switching up my diet, things improved really quickly. Within 6-8 weeks, I started to sleep better, I noticed my breathing had improved and I had more mental clarity.
My weight-loss (which had started happening within the first few weeks of my new exercise regime) also accelerated. But since I had yo-yo dieted before, losing 1-2 stone, it wasn’t until I hit that 3 stone mark I thought, 'No I’ve really done it this time – it’s gone for good.'
I still hit 10k steps every day and now strength train 3 – 4 times a week, along with 1 or 2 HIT sessions. I still have my bands that I use every day!
My new healthy lifestyle has changed my outlook so drastically that I want to help others do the same. So I took the plunge and started studying to become a personal trainer in May 2020 – I'm just waiting on lockdown to end so I can sit my physical exams.
When I started posting about my journey, so many lovely people started reaching out to me and helping them made me feel so happy! I know this is what I'm meant to do.
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Kirsti is a health and fitness journalist, a personal trainer and tech junkie. She’s a South African journalist who followed her passion for health and fitness all the way to the UK, where she now spends her days sweating it up and perfecting her form in gyms all over London.
