Former Yo-yo Dieter Ditches Slimming Clubs, and Discover Fitness Success with a Nuffield Health Personal Trainer.
Emma Dunne, 47, a teaching assistant from Ivybridge, was able to give up slimming clubs, drop two dress sizes and improve her running with the help of a personal trainer from Nuffield Health. What’s more, she’s managing to maintain a healthy body without having to resort to fad diets.
Already a member of her local Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centre, Emma went to the gym and ran regularly, but she wanted to lose weight, get fitter and enjoy life at the same time. Was that possible?
It turns out that with the help of Nuffield Health’s Sam Quinn, it was. Emma went from a size 12 down to a size 8, lost a stone and a half and smashed her running personal bests across the board. She was also left with more energy, better sleep and increased confidence.
‘I wasn’t huge, but I wanted to lose weight. I’d been going to slimming clubs for five years and while I lost weight with them, I put it back on again. I wanted to get into shape and be able to maintain it whilst also enjoying my life. I didn’t want to be a person who was always in the gym,” Emma explains.
Emma hadn’t lifted free weights before and that’s something that Sam got her doing during their weekly sessions. ‘I always assumed that it would be cardio that would help me lose weight and had no idea that lifting weights would help me immensely, which it did.
‘I did a lot of deadlifts, back squats, leg press, etc. We were mainly working on my legs and upper body with some core and sometimes a bit of interval training on the treadmill.’
When teaching assistant Emma started working with Sam in 2018, her personal best for a 5K was around the 30-minute mark, for a half marathon it was two and a half hours. Her new personal bests are 24 minutes for a 5K and 1 hour 53 minutes for a half marathon. She’s doing her first full marathon in 2024 and last year, she took part in a relay, running from London to Paris (Emma completed 40 miles over four days).
‘I was amazed at how my running improved, not only that, the work I do with Sam has meant I haven’t sustained any injuries, while others in my running club, have.’
Sam encouraged Emma to track food intake using an app and suggested cutting back a bit on the carbohydrates and increasing protein intake.
‘I was worried that I would ruin my progress if I had an event to go to, but Sam assured me that I could still lose weight and enjoy life. I was eating a lot of fruit when I went to slimming clubs and he suggested I eat a bit less as it can contain a lot of sugar.’
Emma lost a stone and a half and went down two dress sizes; she also felt a lot better. ‘I had way more energy which surprised me because I was running more,’ she says. ‘I didn’t wake up feeling sluggish and the quality of my sleep was greatly improved. I wasn’t a bad sleeper to begin with, but I really noticed the difference.
“My confidence levels rose too. I looked so much better and shopping for clothes was easier because I didn’t have to worry about hiding lumps and bumps.”
Emma still works out with Sam once a week, adding: “People ask me why I still go, when I am happy with my weight and fitness level, but I know that when I have somebody with me, giving me instructions and encouraging me, I work out properly. It’s not the same when I go to the gym on my own. Sam’s instruction has been transformative and while I am really happy with where I am now, I want us to continue working together.’
Poppy Watt