The Balanced Plate

Calorie counting apps are useful to see how many calories you consume each day. But none of them…

• Have a qualified PT inputting your data to ensure that you are not going too restrictive with your daily calories
• Provide information on alternatives to your current diet
• Create workouts in your very own exercise library on your app specific to your goals
• Enable you to talk through your difficult days and have a live conversation with your PT (which happens to be me!)

I have created this challenge because I am my everyday client. I want to feel better and fit into my clothes but I also like cheese and biscuits on an evening washed down with a glass of wine. I work hard and want to indulge sometimes. And this is where I can help. I can prove that we can still enjoy the food we enjoy without guilt. I can show you how to balance the necessary nutrients alongside the other foods too. Nothing is banned, not if WE take control.

Not only am I professionally qualified to help my trainees, but I live through the same anxieties as them. My takeaway habits have been out of control. I’ve had moments where I’ve gone through two, three, four packets of crisps on an evening. I created habits of eating chocolate every night after my main meal and I’ve had times where I haven’t given myself any days off of drinking alcohol for weeks. I became a personal trainer because I felt that I could connect with people like myself. I knew that if I could do that, armed with the knowledge of how to fix it, then I could help others.

Guilt around our food is the biggest obstacle. If you eat the high calorie food that takes you over your daily calories then I say,”I hope that you enjoyed it! Own it, you ate it. Now move on.” No guilt needed. We just try and get your next meal back on track.

I will probably have to check my takeaway, crisps, chocolate and alcohol intake again in the future. I have goals. I am confident at staying on track. But I’m human. I slip into old habits and when I do I’ll deal with it in the way that I know how. I don’t look for perfection from myself or my trainees. I look for effort and honesty.

The Balanced Plate Challenge has, by far, been my greatest online training success to date. The results have been amazing. But like anything that’s worth doing it isn’t always easy and the path is not linea. The challenge doesn’t stop there which is why I’ll continue to develope The Balanced Plate beyond its 4 week challenge. And like every challenge that I set for my trainees, whatever they achieve, this is just the beginning. Imagine what they can do moving forwards.