Peta

Peta is one of our most inspirational members and recently had a big achievement by competing in her first ever local CrossFit competition. Way to go Peta! Here is just some of her story…

“When people hear my story I get asked a number of questions, often the first is has it been easy or hard? It’s been a lot of hard work, changing my routine to get up in the morning to go to the gym, prioritising myself and learning to say no, educating myself on food, health and fitness. Sometimes it has been easy to put in that hard work and at other times it gets so hard I just want to give up and sometimes I have, but I have been so lucky along the way as I have had such a great support network, from family and friends to work colleagues and health care professionals. 

When I think about all the people who have rallied around me and supported me along this journey there are just so many… from my weight watchers leader who still checks in on me to see how I am going even though I no longer follow the weight watchers program, to my work colleague who came with me to my first ever CrossFit class, to my sister and best friend who have been there for me when I have just about given up hope that I will ever reach my goal, to the 365 Performance coaches who have seen my tears a few times and who have always been there to listen and offer tips and advice and push me that little bit further, and my boyfriend who is always encouraging me to push my boundaries and step out of my comfort zone.

My support network are fabulous and I love every one of them but one thing I have been sure of since the very beginning is that this is my life and my responsibility to not only loose the weight but to become the best version of myself that I possibly can, it is me who decides to get up at 4.50am every day to get to the gym, it’s me who decides to make the time to do my food prep and equally it’s me who decides to have that choc top at the movies or that glass of wine with dinner. A few months ago one of the coaches said something to me which I have not forgotten. I was saying that ‘I had put on the weight and it was my responsibility to lose it’ and they said ‘yes but we are here to help you’. For some reason that really hit home for me as although I have always held myself accountable it’s so great to know that I have such a strong support network around me.

One of the hardest things that I have come up against over the past few years is challenging myself to step outside of my comfort zone. It’s still hard for me to not think of and see myself as the obese woman from 4 years ago sometimes the fear and anxiety of doing something that the old me would never have done has me in tears and feeling sick. Since changing my weight loss programme from following Weight Watchers to 365 Performance and CrossFit, I have struggled with not losing as much weight on the scales, but with the support of the coaches I am slowly coming around to the fact that it is not all about the scales, my centimetre measurements drop as I get fitter and stronger and I am constantly having to pull up my jeans which is equally exciting and frustrating at the same time.

When I think about my triumphs over the past few years, funnily enough it isn’t anything to do with the actual amount of weight I have lost its to do with my achievements which I have been able to accomplish since losing the weight, that the me of 4 years ago never thought would happen (these things have also been some of the hardest)…from skydiving, to falling in love, to shopping for clothes, to running in a fun run, to doing CrossFit on a daily basis and competing in a CrossFit comp, basically living life. 

What’s next…well I still have weight to lose and that can be daunting but basically I just want to keep on getting fitter and healthier and enjoying life. As my old boss used to say to me…’just think of how far you have come’ and with my goals in sight I have no doubt that one day I will get there.”

We have no doubt you will get there too Peta!