Weekly exercise routine Monday, wednesday and friday am – 40-50 minute morning brisk walk. Tuesday, thursday and saturday am – Walking lunges using 5kg dumbbells, squats using 10kg dumbbells. Assisted wide grip pull-ups, body weight. Lat pull down, 26kgs, seated bicep curls using 5 kgs, triceps bench dips, body weight. Shoulder raises using 3kg dumbbells. Once a week – Core and ab exercises.

I’m a really, really active and busy person. My work and social life are full to the brim... But that also means that my cup and plate were usually too. With so many client lunches, dinners and then drinks with friends, I found that I was so busy consuming that I had stopped exercising. So, I put on weight.

I hadn’t realised (except for being slightly uncomfy in my jeans) until I went shopping for a dress for a ball and had a really unfamiliar and awful feeling...Nothing quite fit and I shopped all day thinking that I was having bad luck with the dresses, until I finally realised that the extra few kilos I was carrying had become a problem.

I have a beautiful friend who is a trainer (Melody Carstairs from www.extremebodygym.com), so I called her to ask for advice and she suggested the 12-Week BodyBlitz Challenge. It sounded like hard work and a lot of time (which as I mentioned is not something I have a lot of), but I never wanted to not be able to shop again so I took up her challenge.

What a challenge it was! I decided to do the early morning 6am sessions so I would not be tired from work. Getting out of bed in the morning was a major struggle. I was quite lethargic from lack of exercise, so the first few mornings were absolute hell! So I began five days a week of cardio and weight-training, healthy eating and more importantly training my mind to think positively.

After 12 weeks I am able to handle stress and am feeling brighter and stronger than ever. The physical changes are great, but I also feel a sense of achievement from having committed and completed such a life-changing challenge and proved to myself that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Best of all, I’m feeling confident, secure and optimistic – like the best version of myself that I could hope for!