Last winter I was feeling very tired and unwell. All I wanted to do was sleep, I had no energy and would eat all the wrong comfort foods to make myself feel better but in fact I then felt even worse. I run my own business so it is really important to feel fit and healthy as I need to be the one who my team looks up to and if you’re feeling good you can motivate your team better. I was sleeping for hours and still feeling tired when I woke up so I decided enough was enough and I had to take action. I heard about boot camp in America and had thought about booking a trip, then in January I read an article in a magazine about a Boot Camp in England  so I booked a week at New You Boot Camp immediately.

I was nervous but excited at the same time. I manage people for a living so the thought of being told what to do and what to eat was music to my ears. I wanted to be managed for a change!

The first day we arrived we checked into to the most beautiful cottage, this made me feel comfortable and we had our own washing machine, what a result.

First of all I was greeted by the boot camp manager and she made me feel really welcome. I then met the rest of the girls. We were weighed and measured. I was 11stone 12lbs! We then played games to all get to know each other and then we had a fitness test.

After the test we were put into three teams.

All week we never stopped exercising, by the third day I could notice the difference, my skin was glowing, I felt better already. We would be woken up at 5.30am but I made sure I was up at 5am to give me time to wake up, then at 5.45am we would go for an early morning jog followed by breakfast, then we would go swimming, cycling, coasteering, walking etc, there were different activities every day and in the evening we would go walking after dinner.

We were also given a talk on food and nutrition, one of the key things I learnt was that certain foods are highly addictive so once you stop eating them your body becomes used to this and you stop feeling tired and lethargic, no more mood swings or cravings etc.

I met some fantastic people, the girls all pulled together and I have met some great friends through the experience who I still keep in touch with.

The last day was fantastic, I was weighed and I was 11stone. I could not believe I had lost 12lbs in a week, two of the girls in the group lost a stone, some were crying with joy.

When I returned home my partner and my friends could not believe how different I looked and the most importantly I did not feel tired anymore and I still don’t 7 months later. I go jogging three times a week and stay away from sugar and wheat as much I can. The whole experience has really changed my life. I wake up early in the mornings full of beans and don’t even lie in at the weekends anymore. I am so much happier and that’s the most important thing to me.

When I returned to work I decided to pay for all my staff to have free gym membership and theres always a bowl of fruit in the office. We even have goats milk in our tea and no coffee! . I now come into work really early and still have the energy to work late as our candidates like us to phone them in the evening. Our Company turnover has increased and I have bags more energy to run my business more successfully.*