For all of my adult life I have been either dieting or rapidly gaining weight. If I look through photos of myself, I can see the up-and-down pattern that has gone on for so long. I recently bought a book called Losing the Last 5kg, and spent the next four weeks being grumpy, hungry and telling myself that I could get through it. And I did. I lost 5kg. But the following month I put all of the weight straight back on and felt worse than ever. I felt out of control and so angry with myself for not being able to stick to that weight.

I had read stories of many clients of Ideal Bodies Online and many of them stated they had previously been a lot like me, but had finally found a way off the rollercoaster. So, I figured it was worth a go because it really felt like it was this or I would give up completely.

I went into the challenge very clear on what I wanted. I didn’t want a ‘quick fix’, and I didn’t want to smash myself for 12 weeks and see how thin I could get. I wanted to learn how to look after myself properly and find balance in my life. My goals didn’t revolve around numbers on the scales, they were about my behaviour and about the way I felt about myself.

One thing that really appealed to me about this program was the one-on-one mentoring. I had Leanne, who I could email with all of my questions, and I know that is what made this work for me. Having someone to help me work through my issues, someone who I could vent to, and someone who could remind me that one little slip-up doesn’t mean I’ve failed. I needed that voice of reason. I have realised I am a very ‘black and white’ person. I can be a perfectionist, and if I don’t do something 100 per cent perfectly I feel I should just give up. I have learnt that sometimes good enough is good enough. If I am consistent and eat the right things most of the time, then the occasions when I don’t won’t matter anyway.

The 12 weeks was certainly a journey. I was sick a few times, we had a trip to Bali, and in the last month I had to work long, 12-hour days. I was exhausted. There were a lot of reasons to make excuses not to continue. But having Leanne to remind me that I had committed to this, I knew I had to do my best. I had to learn to do this when real life gets in the way. When getting to the gym became difficult, I bought weights that I could use at home a couple of days a week, then I’d go to the gym for the rest. Training with my partner was great, as guys tend to be able to push themselves a lot harder, and I did my best to do that, too.

The nutrition was the biggest learning curve for me. I thought I ate a pretty healthy diet, but I had cut calories far too much. Now that I know what I was doing, it’s no wonder I could never maintain it! I have learned to love protein and how important it is. I struggled a bit with the protein at first, but now I have found ways to have it that I love, and I am happy to continue eating this way. My partner couldn’t believe the amount of food I was eating, and I think he quietly thought that there was no way I could possibly lose weight eating this way. He didn’t say anything at the time, though. But now he tells me he is amazed at the amount of food on this plan. That is what I’ve learned, plenty of food is good, it just has to be good food.

I lost almost 6kg during these 12 weeks, and for the most part it feels like it has been too easy. I have not been hungry or had that horrible shaky feeling I had whenever I was losing weight before. I realise now that when I had cut calories before, I was just slowing my metabolism down, starting a big, viscous cycle once again. I’ll never do that to myself again. My partner was very supportive of me and is so happy that I have finally beaten something that was a real struggle for me. We now go to the gym together and the kids even join in at home, too.

I feel happy to have finished this 12 weeks feeling strong and in control. I am not fearful of gaining weight again; I now know what I need to do to get things done.