Chris Seymour lost 40kg before becoming a personal trainer. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN
In the last week of the 10-week fitness challenge, we catch up with Chris Seymour who understands first-hand how getting fit and losing weight can be challenging but also life changing, having herself lost 40kg before becoming a personal trainer.
Chris said she had always been sporty, at school competing in athletics and attending swimming club, but when she became a mum she began to struggle with weight. She is mum to two children and a foster child.
"I put on a considerable amount of weight during each of my pregnancies. I lost the excess weight after my first child and didn't manage to after my second. Then following a relationship break-up as a single mum and working fulltime I found myself out of shear exhaustion buying takeaways everyday. This is when the majority of my weight piled on."
Chris recalls the days when her eating was out of control.
"Typically a day of eating would include a breakfast of cereal, a lunch of anything available at Fraser Cove from Burger King to Chinese or hot chips. The day would be full of snacks from The Warehouse as that's where I worked. In the evening on my way home I would normally pick up McDonald's or any takeaways for that matter. I barely ever cooked a meal. My evenings alone with the children would often mean lots of wine and snack foods. It's easy looking back to see how the weight piled on but it really just crept up on me and before I knew it I was 40kg heavier than my regular pre-children weight."
It was through Weight Watchers which she joined with a group of friends that Chris learned about controlling portions and choosing food sensibly.
"I signed up at Weight Watchers and used their points system to calculate what I was allowed to consume. Typically breakfast was Weet-Bix. For lunch I always had a Vogel sandwich with chicken and salad or similar with snacks in between. My evening meal consisted of either salad or veges with lean protein and some form of carbohydrates like brown rice."
Losing weight didn't just change her own life, but ignited her interest in helping others achieve what she had achieved.
"By successfully completing my own weight loss journey I had proven to myself that it was possible to completely turn your life around. It was this realisation that made me increasingly passionate about helping others achieve lifestyle changes and weight loss goals."
With the encouragement of others, she signed up and is now a professional personal trainer working at Aspire Health and Sports in Bethlehem, and works with clients one to one, and on the group fitness challenge. Clients, particularly women, are drawn to Chris' sense of fun and down-to-earth nature. She says her own journey means she never underestimates how hard it can be to achieve your goals.
"My dramatic weight loss journey helps me to understand how hard the struggle really is."
Leading the 10 and 12-week challenges with fellow trainer Ben Yabsley is one of the highlights of her job.
"I'm a people person and love being surrounded by them all the time. So for me small group training is always exciting. I'm also able to bring out my creative side when planning programmes and activities. Clients involved in the challenge receive motivation from each other and push each other to be the very best they can be. I love watching the relationships that form. During each challenge the bond between participants is amazing. The results we see in clients during the challenge is always very rewarding."
She admits being healthy and exercising is something you have to continue all your life. "I still battle on the weekends maintaining my healthy eating habits. To be honest I'll always love a bag of chips and junk food in front of a good movie after a long week at work."
But during the week she is very active, often doing back to back classes and training. "My healthiest habits now are without a doubt my clean eating during the week and an incredibly active lifestyle everyday."
She understands when clients get demotivated and 'shirk' off but doesn't get annoyed.
"When they're unmotivated and making excuses I try and encourage them and keep in contact with them through texting. It's about getting them refocused to continue the journey."
It is important, she says, not to seek a quick fix. "Sometimes clients set goals and want to see the results immediately. It's about helping them understand that good things take time and encouraging them to persevere until they start to reap the rewards of their efforts."
Chris' skill in sharing her philosophy is evident in the successes clients have achieved, not just on the 10-week challenge but on one-to-one training.
"I have had three clients in the last couple of years who have all lost over 30kg. This was an incredible achievement for these ladies and it certainly made me proud to be a part of their journey. But it's way more than the weight loss. It's the remarkable change in body shape and the soaring confidence in each of them that gets me every time."
She encourages clients to take one day at a time and not be overwhelmed by the end goal.
"My personal motto is transforming lives, one day at a time and I think that's the key."