Hi guys it’s been a stressful week but now to relax and have fun in Disney Land with the family!!! 

She did it. What a champ.

So last week you would have read the interview I did with the amazing Camille Holland. Today she competed and she smashed it. 1st place of course and lifted over her estimated 500kg total. She lifted 505kg raw!!! 187.5kg deadlift, 110kg bench and an absolutely amazing 207.5kg squat. Incredible. What a champ she is. I watched it and was screaming for her!! 

She’s a huge inspiration another girl who is an absolute favourite of mine since starting training in powerlifting is Laura Loft. She’s fast becoming a serious contender in the powerlifting world and she’s got her last junior comp in the British in six weeks time. Massive things to come from her! 

Those legs though 😍 Such a babe! I’m actually going to see her compete next month can’t wait to finally meet her in the flesh and give her a huge cuddle!  

This week unfortunately I’ve been Mega ill. I spent the night in hospital Tuesday with severe pain in my ovaries and found out I had a ruptured cyst. I suffer with PCOS and I have to go back in a few weeks and discuss options to have my womb either taken out or burned away. Annoying as I wanted to really get on with training. I have to take six weeks off soon anyway with my revision surgery on my loose skin. I’m hoping next year I will be fully recovered and smashing some PBs. Snapchat deer hospital selfie of course 😂

Macros have been all over the place this week. I’ve tried to stick to my calorie goals what with being so poorly but yeah it’s not been a great week for me. Fresh start tomorrow though. Two weeks until holiday! Had a surprise party to go to with afternoon tea today which pretty much used all my cals for today so egg whites for dinner. 😂 

Hoping to smash some training this week to make up for missing the last six days! Hoping the rest has done me some good. 

Enjoy your week! 

Aime. X 

Powerlifting, Perserverance and Personal Bests.

So as you all know I have started powerlifting recently I’m on week 7 and already making great progress. Week 1 my 1 rep max on my deadlifts was only 100kg… this week I did 16 reps with 100kg! I even got a PB last week of 125kg for my deadlift! I have also managed 60kg for my bench and got a personal best of 72.5kg on my squat today. 

For me this is massive. I was unable to squat below parallel 7 weeks ago with any weight and now I’m squatting that. I’m surprised at how strong my body is. It is so empowering as a woman to push your body to its limits strength wise. 

My new gym gear definitely helped me today too.. 

In my seven weeks on the scene I have already made lots of friends. It’s the one sport where the women are really supportive of each other and build each other up. 

As I’ve started learning more about powerlifting I’ve been looking at the top women in the competitions currently and I’ve been so lucky to have the amazing Camille Holland to interview for my blog.

So here’s her interview! 
How long have you been powerlifting?

I took up powerlifting in July 2014, so little over two years. I dabbled in weights on and off for a few years after my brother took me to the gym to show me where everything was. I loved the feeling of lifting something heavy and preferred it to cardio, but I had no idea about where I could go with it. Someone asked if I was a powerlifter while I was training once and I admitted I’d never heard of it. I got home and googled it and thought it sounded awesome, something clicked and it didn’t seem to scare me! I found a powerlifting friendly gym in Cambridge and got started straight away.

What can you lift?

My current competitions maxes are 202.5kg squat, 110kg bench press and 185kg deadlift. I’m so close to that 500kg total! I’m hoping to be the first British Powerlifting woman to reach this total raw at the Women’s British Classic this September. It’s one of those milestones I’ve been after this year, so I’ll be very happy when I get it!

What has powerlifting helped you with?

Powerlifting has helped with all aspects of my life. Firstly, my it’s positively affected my mental health. I’ve suffered with depression and anxiety for a number of years. Lifting lets you believe in yourself and keeps you working towards a goal. You have to believe you can lift something: half the battle with lifting is the mental stuff. I’ve found this has carried over into the rest of my life – from my work, to every day thoughts that creep in and try to bring me down. I’m much stronger both mentally and physically because of lifting. Something else powerlifting has helped me with is increase my health. I have a programme from fantastic coach Rhett Milton that I stick to without fail and have built a lot of muscle (naturally). I always wanted to be active while growing up, and I thought cardio was the only way. I tried the treadmill, spinning, military fitness classes. While I got a good pump and feeling from them, I always dreaded going back again as it was so hard and I felt so unfit. Lifting weights is something I can look forward to and use it as a stress reliever! There have been times I’ve wanted to get home to bed instead of training, but I know I will always feel better for it by going. I’ve also made a great bunch of friends while powerlifting. If anyone was to look on at us, we’d look like a weird bunch: young and old with a variety of backgrounds coming together with one thing in common. Powerlifting! They’re the best kind of people to be friends with though. They know the struggles, and the highs of lifting. You can talk about anything with a fellow powerlifter (and I mean anything!). I love how powerlifting has affected the rest of my life. I’m more confident now than I’ve ever been. I love my body for what it can DO, and can use my thunder thighs for some awesome squats. I’d say I’m less flappy now – I’m able to make better decisions, I stress about the small stuff much less and know I don’t have to rely on anyone to get the lid off my jar of Nutella.
Why should someone get into it and how do they?

Personally, I believe lifting weights should be a part of everyone’s lifestyle. Young or old. Male or female. You don’t have to take up competitive powerlifting. You can lift weights just for the health benefits. The health benefits are tremendous for physical and mental well being. Take my 60 year old Mum, for example. She started lifting weights in April 2015 feeling quite down about her age and was anxious about her back ache she’d had for 20 years. A year on, she’s had the confidence to compete in powerlifting competitions and has now completely got rid of her ache as she has strengthened her back. Building muscle can slow and even reverse the effects of aging on the body. Your bones are protected from inevitable falls and conditions such as osteoporosis. If you do take up powerlifting, you will meet a variety of people, all supportive and want to see you do well. You will see a new you: one that isn’t afraid to take up space, or believe you should be a fragile & delicate. To get into powerlifting, I would recommend hiring a good, local coach who can get you started. If you can’t afford a coach, then take a look at online forums to see if you can find a training partner who can give you pointers. It’s very hard to injure yourself while lifting weights if you are following a decent programme with correct form. Lifting weights also means you get to eat. A lot.

How did you feel on your first competition?

My first competition was in November 2014 and I was terrified! I went in with only a few months of powerlifting behind me. I had no belt or weightlifting shoes. Just a singlet, deadlift socks and a pair of wrist wraps as I managed to injure my wrist the week before. Fortunately, I had a good friend with me – Abi Graham – who took me through every step. Little did I know that the people I met there and gave me guidance have gone on to become my best friends! I took first place and finished on 140kg squat, 70kg bench press and 150kg deadlift. There is no feeling like post competition high after your final deadlift! I’ve now competed 7 times since then and I’ve got another 2 competitions in September. Then I’m looking forward to several months of volume training and a little break from competing!
I’m new to it what advice can you give me?

For new powerlifters, I’d start off by saying go and watch a competition to get the feel for it and how it runs. After that, I’d definitely say don’t put off your first competition! A lot of people put them off because they don’t think they’re strong enough. Guess what. It doesn’t matter! No one cares what you’re lifting. If you’re going in for a PB, it doesn’t matter if you’re benching 25kg or 250kg. Everyone is rooting and cheering for you. It’s great to get the experience in and meet new people who can help you out as early as possible. You receive great advice from the referees if you ask for it. The sooner you start making competition mistakes, the sooner you can learn – and you can learn before it matters so much. Also practice the commands on every squat, bench and deadlift. Even if you’re saying them to yourself. You don’t want to be going into your first competition worrying that you don’t know them (trust me – I nearly bombed my first competition on commands!). Also don’t worry about cutting weight for your first competition. Go in feeling strong and well fueled. Oh and no one cares what you look like in your singlet! They’re one of those things you have to wear. No one looks good in them, but equally no one cares.

What are your long term goals in powerlifting?

One day I’d like to be 84+kg World Champion with one world record. Okay, all the world records. Until recently I’ve been afraid to admit this because it seems so far away right now. But that’s okay. I’ve just competed in my first world powerlifting championships where I took 8th place. I’m a very long way off and there are always very strong new lifters coming out of nowhere. But that’s the dream. Girls gotta dream right?!
If you could go back and tell yourself one thing at the start of all this what would it be?

Oooh there are several things! The first piece is STRETCH! I’ve only recently started stretching on a regular basis and I think not stretching or working on mobility has hindered my performance to some extent. In my first 18 months or so, it didn’t feel like I needed to – my lifts were flying up with beginner gains and I was skipping along without a care in the world. Then BAM. “Hey, let’s screw up your shoulder and arm, and throw in a bursitis in the glute for good measure! One month out from two competitions!”. Thank goodness for my excellent sports massage therapist! I’d also tell myself to have fun and stop stressing. It’s important to remember that this is something you do in your spare time and it’s meant to be enjoyable!

Camille will be defending her British title in Horncastle on the 18th September and I’m so excited for her! 

Thank you so much Camille for your excellent answers and your time. 

Hope my readers have enjoyed this first interview and there will be more to come in the next few weeks! 

Thanks for stopping by 

Aime. X 

 

Haters gonna hate… Just don’t start hating yourself.

Doesn’t matter what you do your always going to encounter some haters. People who like to troll or are super jealous of your achievements. People who cannot be happy for you and sometimes it’s hard to ignore them… But you must. Otherwise you’ll end up hating yourself. I really don’t understand the need for someone to comment on things if they don’t like it. 

Take for example this 

 This woman has obviously worked very hard. I doubt she gives a damn about your opinion. But surely if you’ve nothing nice to say don’t say it? 

A man. That’s always the small minded idiots comment on a muscular woman. A man. No. She’s a woman. Just a super muscular woman. That would be like me going up to an obese woman and calling her a blob. Oh you look like a blob. That’s not right and it’s certainly none of my business to comment on her appearance. 
So next time you go to comment on someone profiles or Instagram just take a second to think 

1. Is my opinion a nice one and worth sharing. If yes post away. 

2. The effect your words will have on the person. Sometimes things you say will stay with someone for life. So choose your words wisely.  

3. Just don’t be an asshole. Put yourself in someone else shoes for a second before commenting.  Just because it’s the internet doesn’t mean behind the computer is a robot. It’s a human being. A real person with real feelings.  

Aime. 👍🏻✌️

Sometimes you just need to get away.

After having my stories in the sun and mirror online My blog traffic has gone up! So thank you to all the new followers and visitors to the page! 

This weekend I celebrated and we did a last minute mini break to Devon and Cornwall. Friday I found a fantastic deal on groupon for the half moon inn £45 for the night and breakfast in Devon. We could even bring our dog Charlie for a £5 charge. Bargain. 

We spent the very wet and rainy afternoon at Bude beach walking Charlie. He had the time of his life. They have a sea tide swimming pool there too which is really cool. I jumped in fully clothed as we forgot to bring any swim gear of towels but were totally soaked from the crazy weather anyway! 

The food photos are of all the meals we had there. Dinner was so delicious. The menu list was huge! I had a dick rolls for starters and a crab salad for my main. The portions were huge. I totally pigged out and let myself go this weekend even had some wine. My scales says I’m a couple pounds up but I know this is water retention and I’m not even panicked like I used to be. I’m sure by the end of the week il have lost it again. That’s the joy of iifym style eating. I don’t have these huge restrictions and I trust the process so I don’t panick when I gain weight. 
Sunday we become members of the national trust for only £10 a family a month it’s actually well worth it. Dogs are allowed to walk on the estates and my kids love exploring and so do we. 

We started off at Drogo castle. It was amazing seeing all the old paintings and how they used to live such grandeur! We did lots of walking with Charlie our dog too. In the afternoon on the way home we stopped at the Axminster wildlife park. So many animals there and some id never seen before.  My favourite is the capuchin monkey. Managed to capture some great photos. 

I tried to keep my bad eating to a minimum on Sunday I had salmon and eggs for breakfast. Had a few snacks throughout the day and a subway flatbread with turkey for dinner. I find subway really good for macro options. I normally go for a salad or flatbread. The salad is always a good portion. 

Yesterday we took the girls and their friend out to another national trust place mottisfont house. Lots to do for all the children and the house was incredible inside! Everyone had a brilliant time. I fitted all my macros in even had an unplanned ice cream fitted in my calories! I haven’t been to the gym since Friday. I felt bad for not going yesterday but by the time we got home I was so tired from all the walking and chasing after the kids. I have bench session with my coach today so il make up for it. I’m also straight back on plan. This morning was oats and strawberries like always. I find it easy to stick to the same breakfasts in the week. Less hassle and prep time. 

Today we are off to Kingston lacy with a picnic.. Another national trust place! Definitely making the most of it 😂have made sure I’ve pre planned my foods for today’s picnic. Tuna sandwiches with cucumber and a snack of whole grain crisps and some egg whites. 

Best go and make this picnic and get out in the sunshine. 

Thanks for reading. 

Aime. X 

How did I begin? What made you want to change?

I often get asked: 

1. How did you begin your weightloss journey? 
2. What made you want to change? 
3. Is there a quick way of losing weight? 
4. What do you do in the gym?

These are probably the four most common questions I get asked and now I shall answer for you! 

1. My weight loss journey began the morning after a great night out. My friends and I had all been for a night on the town and I thought I looked great id even bought a new top from Evans. Size 28 and I felt confident enough and happy…. Until the next morning. 

Here’s the photo. 

Wasn’t until my friend posted this on Facebook that suddenly my confidence and happiness had gone. I didn’t recognise this person in this photo. This sad unhappy bloated face looking person. I have always thought of myself as a self confident person and bubbly… I looked at this and I didn’t feel it. I didn’t know this person yet this person was me. I had to do something about it. So I did. I stopped with the excuses like il start next week and I got down to it. In that moment when you truly hate yourself enough to change… Remember that feeling. That feeling will push you to your goal. You never want to feel like that again. 

2. What made me change? Well for one that photo certainly did. 😂 and secondly I didn’t want my daughter growing up and following in my footsteps. Seeing how unhealthy I was and seeing that being this big was normal. It is not. I’m all for body love. And I believe that the number on the scales is just that. A number. I believe you should love yourself no matter your size but I also believe you need to be healthy. You need to respect your body. You need to nourish it and take care of it. You have only one body. Use it wisely. I wanted to be a positive role model for my daughter. 

3. Is there a quick way to lose weight. Yes! Of course there is. Shake diets and low calorie diets that work quickly but also competely eat away at your muscle tone and make you skinny fat and miserable and makes your excess skin even worse. I honestly hate these kind of diets. I know I’ve been there many times! Speaking from experience.. Do not do this to your body. Do not mess about with metabolism like this. Go seek proper help. A macro coach a nutritionist even slimming world or weight watchers is better than low cal and shakes and the lot. The weight never stays off when you return to normal eating… Ever. It’s not possible to live forever like this and even worse it makes you miserable. Eating well doesn’t mean you have to stop eating out and enjoying life. It just means making more sensible choices! 🙂 I eat so much stuff. Food is my absolute vice. You won’t take it from me. 🙊🙊🙊

4. What do I do in the gym. 

When I first started I did a couch to 5k app this gave me the confidence to then join the gym.from there I decided I wanted to weightlift. I did some research and started Jamie easons live fit training programme on bodybuilding.com it was really handy. They have step by step videos of exercises and I even googled the ones I didn’t know. The internet is a great tool for learning on the gym floor! Don’t be afraid to get in there and start lifting. So I did this for 12 weeks and it really worked for me. I tried other programmes too afterwards then began researching different exercises and came up with my own things to do. Recently I’ve got myself a PT coach Luke Andrews at Exclusive PT to teach me powerlifting. For me I want to be as strong as I can. That is my goal. There’s nothing more attractive to me then strength in a woman. Not like he man style but knowing a woman can handle herself and lift heavy is great! If your ever in doubt where to begin go to the gym speak to some trainers and get informed. Research on the Internet or use apps on your phone to help you learn the exercises. Even home DVDs are a start. Jillian Michaels 30 day shred is killer! 

Any ways I’m off to gym right now so will catch up with you all Sunday if anyone has any questions for me catch me here or on Insta my handle is fatgirlfightingfit or my email is aimelaws@hotmail.com 

Have a great weekend people! 

Aime X  I’ve added some before and after photos down below and some photos of me all through my journey! 

So I’m in love…with the heavy weights.

I was absolutely buzzing this week after my squat and deadlift session with my new coach Luke.. Here’s his website he does online coaching too! http://www.exclusive-pt.co.uk

I managed to get depth in my squats and I’m working on the technicalities of it all before loading the weights on with him. Saying that though the day before seeing him I managed to deadlift 105kg for 3 first time ever! So I was happy. Once my form is on hopefully il be aiming for 150 😬👊🏽💪🏻 I really feel empowered lifting heavy. I think all women should give it a go for sure! You’d be surprised just how strong we are. Also I’ve found the girls in the powerlifting team I’ve joined to be so amazingly friendly. Nothing like my old gym where everyone was fake! 

A little photo of my practising my deadlift form. Head over to my Insta to see more fatgirlfightingfit is my handle 😉 

So I purchased a wig for my Friday night outing with my best mate Chris. I really loved it. The colour is beautiful and I got lots of compliments! I always want to change my hair so I’m thinking for now wigs are the way forward with out damaging my hair! I’ve actually strained my neck so badly from head banging. 😬🙀
This week I had slightly lower calories for my macros and had been doing so well but Friday and Saturday has been a little bit sinful so I’ve got to be immaculate now and work hard in the gym! Went to pizza express for date night again the pizzas are soooooo good and low cals! 

So my little one has been up to mischief already this summer holiday. She’s been taking my makeup and colouring her face! Also how grown up does she look on her first school uniform! 🙀 scary. I feel so old. 

Any ways hopefully will be smashing some pbs real soon and getting my form spot on! 

See you next Sunday! 😘

I’ve done it. I’ve taken my first steps into powerlifting…

For years I’ve sat and admired strong women. Power lifters and body builders and always wanted to be like them. I’ve never had the confidence. My mobility has always been an issue for me and I fear squatting deep and heavy but yesterday I met up with Luke at exclusive PT at Broadstone the Junction Gym. He’s a powerlifting coach and he trains some girls I know. One of them being a tiny little powerhouse weighing 52kg but benching 75kg!? That’s mental. Really inspiring so I decided to get serious and I’m going to be training with him with the focus to compete sometime next year. I just need to believe in my abilities and really push myself. 

Being overweight for years had taken a terrible toll on my knees and hips. I think this is where the fear comes from. I find squatting deep a real problem. My calves are tight, my quads are always doing the work and I can’t activate my glutes or hamstrings properly. I’m going to commit to stretching and foam rolling daily to help improve.

I was impressed this morning. Since my surgeries last year press ups have been an issue I couldn’t do more than 2 properly today I did 15 in a row! Progress. I feel I’ve come on quite a bit strength wise. I was only benching 40kg two months ago and now I can do 55kg for a one rep max! I really struggle with the patience side of things with lifting. I just want to be the best and the strongest and the only competition I have really is with myself but I totally beat myself up about it. 

This came up on my time hop feed today! 2012 after I gained all the weight back I’d lost from slimming world! Weighing 19 stones in this photo. Slimming world Intially helped me but seriously it doesn’t teach portion control, nutrition and synning an avocado at 15 Syns just seems ridiculous to me. I’m currently working on macros my coach at Shannon power lifter has given me. They’re working I’m slowly losing some weight finally and I get to eat balanced and healthy and not deprive myself at all. I even managed to fit this in for Thursday date night last week! 

Pokemum strikes again

Sorry for the long silence AGAIN! I’m gonna make this a weekly thing I’ve decided. Every Sunday evening I’m going to document my weekly finds and foods and keep on track. 

Summers here. It’s been such a hot weekend. I’ve spent the weekend with my family we’ve been Pokemon hunting. Yes. We like to Pokemon and anything that encourages people to be activate is surely a good thing. Here’s me being a pokemum!! I was into Pokemon years ago the first time round so had this onesie years! It’s crazy how it’s come back so popular. 

Talking of active we’ve been to the new bounce park at ferndown. Was so much fun. A big room full of trampolines! Was boiling and of course I joined in too. It’s £10 for an hour each and £2 for a pair of their socks. Kinda pricey for all of us but it was fun anyway . 

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Another good place we went to recently and local to us is the new forest water park for my eldest tenth birthday. 
So much fun jumping on the inflatable bouncy things. Was hard to keep pulling yourself up out the water but a great hour spent. Will definitely do again. 

Ive been doing macros for the last week after changing from doing strict bikini pro dieting. It wasn’t for me. I’m not good without my food. It was making me miserable. 

Those flavour drops 😍 for breakfast I’ve been having 50g oats with 12.5g chia seed 100g strawberries and the drops and a protein shake. Chocolate brownie flavour from my protein is the absolute best. 😍

I’m also obsessed with prawns at the moment. Love them. So good and high in protein. 

I never eat beans and toast normally but since doing my macros I struggle to get so many carbs in so I bulk up with oats, cereal and nimble bread and beans. 

I’ve just discovered my protein flavour drops and I’m obsessed. I have them in oats every morning and my coffees and Greek yogurt. So nice. The best flavours are toffee,maple and white chocolate. 

I’ve been doing volume training for the last two weeks and started practising my deadlifts I managed a PB for me which is 4x 100kg before I’ve only managed 80kg so I’m pleased I also managed to get a 55kg for 2 reps on chest bench. 👍 my squats are terrible though it’s my nemesis. No matter how I try I can’t activate my glutes and my knees always hurt. So working hard on this. 

That face though 😂 deadlifting isn’t pretty. 😂👍

Before and after tummy tuck. I had Just a tuck with no liposuction and no muscle repair. He said I didn’t need it which surprised me after having two children. It made recovery quicker though. I still don’t like the line crease down the middle where my skin isn’t so tight but it’s a lot better then it used to be. I also have a lot of stretch mark scars still so won’t wear crop tops or things showing my tummy too much which is a shame as its the smallest part of me!! I definitely had different expectations of my tummy tuck to the reality. 

Me before my tuck last year and this morning 9months post op. booty gains? DHere’s some recent photos of my progress. I weighed in this morning at 12.2 was 12.4 beginning of the week. 💪🏻I had a couple of nights off too. 😬 

It’s been 9 months since my tummy tuck and I’m already wanting my leg lift done. I hate my inner thigh skin so much but it’s very expensive. The surgeon quoted me £8000! 🙀 it’s definitely something I’d have done right away if I had the money. I feel like my legs really let me down now. No matter what I do it just hangs there as a constant reminder of how fat I used to be. I hate summer because I don’t like wearing shorts. Or skirts. I live in jeans!! Honestly I own like 20 pairs. 😂
I’m starting to do body balance and yoga again to try and improve my mobility and flexibility. If anyone can recommend any good yoga videos please do! I’m so tight everywhere. Like a 90 year old lady 😂

I’m gonna leave you with this and I promise to be back next Sunday. 😍

Aime. Xx