Every body has a story

As a Personal Trainer and Pilates instructor some people may assume that I have no body issues and I can eat whatever I want.

But actually, if the truth is known for a large part of my life I did have body issues and like most people I tried every diet under the sun (except for the cabbage diet – yuk).

Since my teenage years I have been told that I was fat. It started at school because my so-called “best friend” was very slim. When we walked around the school grounds the boys used to sing the Laurel and Hardy theme tune to us. Of course, everyone thought it was funny, except for me!

I got married when I was 20 and my husband (now ex) frequently told me that I had a big tummy and I needed to lose weight. My self-esteem and confidence fell to an all time low.

As you can probably imagine both of these stories left me with a life long struggle with my body image.

Fortunately, when I started my fitness journey 20 years ago I realised that actually neither of those statements was true and I began to change my mind-set with regard to how I looked and, more importantly, how I felt about myself.

I became fitter and slimmer and my confidence grew, and after many years I finally fell in love with my body and the person I am. I became a Personal Trainer and Pilates instructor and now feel very comfortable in my own skin.

Unfortunately, many people have similar stories to mine and as a consequence they don’t like their body. We start to hear and believe what people tell us, leading to years of self-loathing and unhappiness. This can impact all areas of our life.

At SmallerKnickers we speak from the heart when we say we understand how you feel.

We can help you overcome your negative beliefs so that you can create a positive outcome with your weight and start to live the life you have dreamt about.

By Debbie Lake
Personal Trainer, Polestar Pilates instructor and GP Exercise Referral instructor
Partner of SmallerKnickers and Director of Let Your Body Talk UK