Women’s Health – Day 1 – Working ‘In’ before Working ‘Out’

To start I wanted to share with you about Working In before Working Out, so I’m sharing a little, well actually a lot about me (Linda) today as a woman who has experienced many of life’s ups and downs that affected my health and wellbeing. But who now with my beautiful husband Jean-Claude, we started ALTA Fitness 4 years ago (although JC has been in the industry nearly 30) and got married the same year. Oh and a beautiful friend told me once I should write a book one day, maybe this is the beginning.

Sometimes we have to start our fitness and health journey from Working ‘in’ not Working ‘out’ which is how I started back after a rough few years to regain my health and fitness. Some background – I met John (husband no. 2, yes this is my 3rd marriage and absolutely no regrets) when I was 26 and 3 months into dating he got news of testicular cancer and the doctor told me, maybe as it was early days I should break up as the news wasn’t so good. But I didn’t, I liked this guy a lot, and he survived and thrived for another 20 years and we had our beautiful twins when I was 41 years old via Donor IVF. Life was good, we had our dream home, careers, children and then John received the news he had Lung Cancer, then later Thyroid and Anal Cancer plus he’s kidneys stopped working so he was on Dialysis (no chance of a transplant) and our lives were turned upside down. During this time, I sought help with depression because on top of that one of my twins had been diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. But forever the optimists and living in what I called ‘hope’ John lived another 4 years in and out of hospital, lost his job during the Global Financial Crisis, I went to work full time he was the full time dad, we made it work and we had a great family, marriage and life as we saw it, we had 25 years together, but then John lost his fight and as our kids started Grade 1 we were a family of 3.

Okay you can have a cry with me now because I am….I really don’t remember much from that year but I knew I had to keep on being a good mum and luckily with some wonderful help that I started prior and after John’s death I started out with Working ‘in’. When I say working in (or within) it’s about working with what you can, going to the gym and losing all the kilo’s I had put on was not on my energy radar, I was tired, walking around in a bit of a cloud and dealing with increasing problems associated with my child on the spectrum and, all of us grieving. So, firstly I started with a group of wonderful people supporting us, I called it ‘the people who had our backs’. My mum, my sisters and brother, my friends, of who some I had just met via the kids starting primary school, my boss at the time, psychologist Betty, my son’s team (of support) and accepting the help I needed. And what came from accepting help, learning how to deal day to day, support my children, was I found a ‘peace’ with John’s dying and started taking the next steps to reengage myself with life and taking care of me.

In the later part of that year I did start at the gym, I decided to bravely take the kids snow skiing but realised I was so unfit, my weight was the heaviest I’d ever been, I had done no exercise for over a year and how was I going to take 7 year old kids skiing and carrying gear! With 4 weeks to our trip I went to a Personal Trainer with a ‘Can you get me fit to ski in 4 weeks?’ Well I was amazed, I went 3 times a week for 4 weeks and just felt better, definitely fitter and more energy. After the trip I kept going but I went about 1-2 times a week and saw some changes but it was slow but then my Personal Trainer started talking nutrition, started encouraging me more as I improved and the changes were huge and if I think about it now it was as much mentally as physically. I was able to have time just for me, I looked better which made me feel better and I was eating healthier than ever, my thoughts were clearer. I had continued with therapy for all of us during this time and I felt comfortable again in myself to get back out into the world.

Well you may have guess that I’m in a good place now, life is always going to bring us the ups and downs but I am so much better at dealing with them. I’ve made time to focus on my son and become a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Certified Practitioner so I could understand his world – I called NLP using dialogue to tap into the conscious and unconscious mind to change how we talk, think and help connect ourselves and this and his support team have taken him from daily/weekly melt downs to a young man who is thriving and independent (and not having any support except us). And when I met JC, I was in a place to give of myself and phase in a new life as a new family. And so far it’s been fabulous, we’re married, my children see JC as their Dad (they have 3 Dad’s – John Dad, JC Dad and a donor dad who we don’t know but 3 good men willing to give life and love to children). Now, whilst I still work on my ‘in’ – I eat well, I think well, I act well, I can actually work ‘out’ as well so when I do my exercise, I do it for me, I do a good ‘workout’ on my fitness 3-5 days a week and I am fitter, healthier, stronger, more engaged and happier that finally I feel I can also help others.

So if you feel you would like to take the step to a fitter, healthier, happier life and want to start with working ‘in’ on yourself before working ‘out’ at the gym, I am free to anyone who wants a 30min phone or zoom call to take the first step to ‘Working Out’ because some times the first step is to talk to someone.

Linda