Gemma Naughton spent years trying to lose weight. At her heaviest she weighed almost 19 stone and had to wear a seatbelt extender whenever she flew abroad.
The 37-year-old tried all kinds of diets over the years but nothing seemed to stick. That was until she plucked up enough courage to join a gym and start classes with a personal trainer – eventually going on to shed an incredible seven stone.
Gemma, from Newton-le-Willows, south of Wigan, says her amazing weight loss journey started with a simple programme which initially focused on increasing her calories to help fuel her new training plan.
She started doing 7,500 steps a day and trained at Absolute Body Solutions twice a week, which also has a gym in Manchester city centre. Despite having no gym experience Gemma began losing weight drastically and went from a size 26 to a size 12.
"Before I didn't do anything - no exercise, no fitness,” she said. “If I went for a walk I would get out of breath really quickly, It was just uncomfortable and I didn't want to do it.
“I decided to start some sessions with Connor after I saw the incredible results that my mum had achieved. From day one I absolutely loved it, from the atmosphere in the gym to the total support I got in and out of the gym. It was the best decision I ever made to start my weight loss journey with Connor."
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When Gemma’s weight loss began to plateau, her personal trainer Connor changed up the plan by increasing steps and activity rather than reducing food and calorie intake. Once she was hitting her new 10,000 step goal, on top of her training, Gemma's weight began to drop again.
Over the rest of the programme, Gemma’s plan was consistently reviewed and adapted to ensure her weight loss progressed at a steady pace. Around seven months into the plan, Gemma was given a period of rest to allow her to destress from the training and dieting, because Connor says "a stressed-out body is not good for effective weight loss".
By the end of her programme, Gemma was still maintaining her two sessions in the gym with Connor along with four cardio sessions per week, and 12,000 steps a day. At the start of September, she hit her 100lb weight loss target and celebrated with her mum Suzanne, 55, who has also lost two stone and drastically reduced her diabetes medication.
Gemma said: "I started seeing things change and I think that was what motivated me to keep going. I think that's where I went wrong before - I wanted to do everything in one go.
"You've got so many bad habits you can't change them all. Connor, every few months, would give me something different to do - just doing some steps each day or changing a little bit of my eating - rather than doing everything at once.
"The way I think about exercise and think about food has completely changed. I cook all my meals, I pre-prepare everything every few days."
Gemma has now dropped seven dress sizes, going from a size 26 to a size 12. Gemma said: "The best thing that happened was when I was on holiday, when I didn't have to get an extension [seatbelt] when I sat down, which was the best feeling ever because it's so embarrassing - that was one of my highlights.
“When I started, I was a size 26 however when I just got my latest pair of leggings, I bought a size 12. It sounds really cheesy but coming here is a real laugh.
"When people say they ‘like’ exercise I thought, how can you say that? but for the first time I am actually really enjoying it.”
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