Midlife fitness: ‘I lost two stone and eased my chronic pain’

"I work out six days a week, doing 10-15 minutes of weights." Photo / Yulissa Tagle, Unsplash

OPINION:

I’ve lived with chronic health conditions all my life. I was born with lymphoedema, which affects the lymphatic drainage system in the body. It essentially means that my body’s drainage pipes get blocked, and so I suffer from horrible swelling in my legs and feet. It can be incredibly painful and there’s no cure – I have to wear uncomfortable compression stockings when I have an episode and the fluid starts to build up.

I also have lipoedema, another chronic condition that causes abnormal fat to build up, usually in your legs and bottom and sometimes stomach. Most people haven’t heard of it, but it’s more common than you think – it affects one in 10 women. Once you know about it, it’s quite easy to spot; whenever I see a woman with an hourglass figure, a slim upper body but very large thighs and legs, like a Henry Moore statue, I think, “she has what I have”.

Dieting didn’t work

In 2020 I put on two and a half stone (15.8 kilograms) in six months. I was having a particularly stressful time because my daughter, who was two at the time, had been in hospital and then had very severe anaphylactic shock. This was in the middle of the pandemic and I just started comfort eating, like many of us did, but I put on weight very easily. My weight shot up to 14 stone 10lb, or 93.4kg, which at my 5′3″ height meant I was obese. Along with the excess weight in my legs, I had a huge, pregnant-looking belly from the extra weight gain, and I felt worn out.

I felt desperate. Then, I saw a friend who had undergone an amazing transformation and lost lots of weight with an online fitness programme called The Six Pack Revolution. I signed up and started in September 2022.

The programme starts by changing our mindset over food and exercise. It sets visualisation exercises about how to reframe the way we think about food, and away from negative phrases about our bodies, because certainly in my case, that can lead to spirals of despair and more comfort eating.

Cutting out carbs and red meat

As part of her fitness plan, Caron Pollard cut out red meat and salt.

I had to strip out all kinds of inflammatory foods, including red meat. I cut back on coffee – I was having eight cups a day. I also cut out salt, which increases water retention. I switched to a very low-carb diet based on lean proteins, like chicken and fish, and lots of fruit and vegetables, and I had to up my water intake to three litres a day to flush out the body.

Finally – a flat stomach

I already felt enormous changes two weeks in; my huge pregnant-like belly looked like it had deflated, like a balloon, and my skin and hair were glowing.

At the same time as changing my diet, I started my exercise programme. It was only 10-15 minutes a day, but six days a week. To start with I was just using body weight to do exercises such as planks, press-ups and burpees, and high-intensity exercises using battle ropes, as well as sprints on the bike to get my heart rate up. I’m on to a new regime now where I use weights to build more strength and sculpt my body.

The value of group support

Accountability is huge on the programme – you’re assigned a trainer and put in a WhatsApp group with other people who are all going through the same thing as you, trying to get fit and lose weight. You have to post a picture of yourself every Friday – not just your weight – to see how your body is changing composition.

My changes were amazing; in 75 days I lost 2 stone, but perhaps even better than the weight loss was how it affected my chronic pain. My conditions are still there – weight loss can’t cure them – but the pain has gone and my legs aren’t inflamed. I feel like a different person.

My workout week

I work out six days a week, doing 10-15 minutes of weights. I have kettlebells and battle ropes, which are heavy ropes you can use for training, installed in my office so I can do quick sessions at work. My office manager was inspired to join, so she uses them too. I also like spinning and swimming. I walk a lot too – 12,500 steps a day. But it’s also really important for the body to have one rest day to recover.

What I eat in a day

I eat three meals and two snacks a day. The rule of thumb is a palm-size portion of lean protein (chicken, fish or plant-based), an open hand-size portion of starch, and a handful of vegetables, along with a teaspoon of fats, such as olive oil or a small amount of nuts. I cook everything from scratch.

Breakfast: I wake up at 6am and have a glass of water, then make a protein shake before getting my daughter ready for school. After I drop her off, I’ll have a snack, something like homemade granola made with quinoa, or Greek yoghurt with fruit and nuts.

Lunch: Sweet potato with tuna and avocado mashed together.

Dinner: Bean chilli or lentil dahl – something quick and easy with lots of veg in it.

Snack: An hour before bed, I’ll have Greek yoghurt, walnut and banana, which I’ve whipped up and frozen previously; it’s like a little ice cream and it staves off hunger in the night and helps me sleep.

The rules I live by

Carbs: I stick to complex carbs, eg lentils, sweet potatoes and oats.

Caffeine: Two cups of black coffee in the morning.

Alcohol: It’s off limits at the moment as I’m back on the programme.

Sleep: I used to sleep terribly – I’d struggle to fall asleep and would wake up early in the morning. Now my head hits the pillow at 10 and I stay asleep until 6am.