'I regained my figure and my self-esteem'

Jan 30 2007 By Jane Hall, The Journal

Losing weight is never easy. And taking off the extra pounds that linger after pregnancy can be especially challenging. Jane Hall speaks to one mother who has won the fat war, thanks to the unique approach of personal trainer David Fairlamb.

Dressed in unforgiving, tight black stretchy leggings and a figure-hugging T-shirt, Sue Williams' red glove-clad right hand connects viciously with the punch bag.

Her face screwed up in concentration, her feet do a neat dance on the floor as she draws back her left hand to follow suit.

Punch after punch rains down on the object of her ire. Her anger eventually sated, Sue, panting after her exertions, stands back and smiles.

At 5ft 9in tall and a trim size 10, there isn't an ounce of excess fat on her lithe body - hence the reason she can get away with donning skin-tight gym gear.

In her fifth decade and the mother of three children under the age of 10, Sue boasts a figure that would turn women half her age green with envy.

Yet it hasn't always been so. The 44-year-old still remembers with a shudder how she used to squeeze her hefty 13½-stone figure into size 16 clothes.

Like many women, Sue's battle of the bulge began following the birth of her first child, Gina, now eight. The arrival of five-year-old Adam, followed by the unexpected addition to the Williams' household of Joseph three years ago, only added to Sue's weight woes.

The former human resources manager for Marks & Spencer, who is now a full-time mother, recalls: "I used to be a naturally lean size 10.

"Then, following the birth of my first child, the weight began to creep on. With the arrival of Adam I struggled even more to get back into shape until nine months after the birth of Joseph I had shot up to a size 16.

"I was 13½-stone and the weight just wouldn't budge. I was leading a busy life as a mum but it didn't leave much time for me. And I'll make no bones about it, I do enjoy my food and drink. I love chocolate and I love wine."

Sue, who lives in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, and is married to Gary, 45, a company director, continues: "I have never been very good at dieting; I have a weak will where food and drink are concerned. But I was becoming more and more miserable not being able to find anything to fit me and not wanting to buy bigger clothes.

"Nine months after Joseph was born I was still wearing maternity clothes and becoming more and more depressed about my weight. I had totally lost my confidence and, as a mother of three, felt I was no longer a person in my own right."

Sue's predicament will strike a chord with millions of other mothers. While pregnancy may be a wondrous experience, the aftermath can be a different story. And it's often the inability to lose the postpartum padding that plays most on women's minds.

Pictures of celebrity mums such as Geri Halliwell, Catherine Zeta Jones and Tom Cruise's wife Katie Holmes, looking trim, slim and glamorous within weeks of giving birth does little to help the feelings of inadequacy.

Losing weight is never easy at the best of times. But shedding the extra pounds accumulated during pregnancy can be especially challenging.

Breastfeeding is said to help. But, while many women who breastfeed do lose weight because of the energy it takes to produce milk, this is by no means always the case; perhaps because you need to eat more to keep your strength up.

This was certainly Sue's experience.

"I breastfed all my children but my weight ballooned. I breastfed Joseph for a year and didn't shift any weight at all. Added to my problems was that, as an older mum, I felt age wasn't on my side."

Resigned to being pigeon-holed as frumpy and 40 rather than a `yummy mummy', the turning point for Sue came when a friend recommended she seek the help of personal trainer David Fairlamb.

A promising 800m runner tipped for the top in British athletics, who had won a sports scholarship to America but whose career was brought to an abrupt halt after suffering a serious back injury, the former King's School, Tynemouth, pupil began working one-to-one with clients in the US.

Back in the UK, he gained professional qualifications in advance personal fitness training, along with certificates in sport psychology and life coaching.

Now 35, he runs the region's only one-on-one gym, based at Tyne Metropolitan College's Tynemouth Campus whose team of experts available to clients includes Newcastle-based dietician and public health nutritionist Dr Amelia Lake.

What makes David Fairlamb Fitness unique is that it is private access only with no annual fee. Consultations are by appointment only and paid for as you go along. This means that only one person at any given time would use the fully-equipped gym - which has access to a dance studio, Astro turf football pitch and supervised running sessions on nearby Long Sands in Tynemouth.

Clients can choose to book a male or female trainer and home visits are an option. Many would-be gym users are put off because of the pre-conception they will be the only unfit and overweight person slogging it out next to scores of body beautifuls.

Sue admits she didn't expect much of the introduction.

Not only did she harbour the all-too-common belief that it's only the rich and famous who can afford the services of a personal trainer, but she adds: "I've been a regular gym user over the years, but I never went.

"After the first couple of weeks I was never very good at motivating myself. I don't particularly enjoy exercise but I have always understood it is a necessary evil."

But her desire to rid herself of what she calls her dreaded "jelly belly", as well as charge up her energy levels for her family's sake, persuaded her to give David the benefit of the doubt.

And she hasn't looked back. "I lost 17lbs very quickly and began to feel much more like my old self - confident with lots of energy.

"What I liked about David was that I had to commit as he works on an appointment-only basis. That's not the case with an ordinary gym - whether you go is up to you. But, with David, I had a day and a time and I felt I had to go. Within six months I was seeing a big difference and quite quickly I was back to a size 10.

"It's not just been exercise, however. Diet and lifestyle is a very important part of David's approach. And he is very intuitive.

"Sometimes, when I have had a hard time because of the kids, he has realised and that has dictated how far he has been prepared to push me."

At £35 for an hour's session, David and his team's services aren't the cheapest weight loss option. But Sue believes the cost has been worth it.

"Of course I feel it is money well spent, otherwise I wouldn't keep going with it. There is nothing worse than feeling fat, lethargic and lacking in confidence.

"But considering all the money I have spent on gyms and never gone, seeing David once or twice a week is not a lot more expensive.

"And I feel great. My body may not be perfect but I feel it is about as good as it can get for my age. I feel a lot happier, am more confident and have dropped three dress sizes."

David believes Sue could improve still further.

"Sue has proved that having three children - later than the `norm' - does not stop you losing weight quickly and also regaining your figure. When she first walked in here she was overweight and wouldn't look up. She had no confidence whatsoever.

"Now her life has been turned around and she walks out of here feeling on top of the world. I believe she will even get into a smaller dress size than before she was first pregnant."

But how does Sue's family feel about her transformation? "The children and Gary would love me however I looked," she says.

"I have never been under pressure to lose weight - for me it was the need to regain my self-esteem and once again be a person in my own right."

* David Fairlamb Fitness can be contacted on 07713 640 899, www.davidfairlambfitness.co.uk.

All new members receive a free consultation, which assesses their whole lifestyle, before being matched to a personal trainer who will develop a programme tailored to their needs and goals. Members also have the option of seeing the dietician.

While Sue Williams was desperate to lose weight, she says women must be patient:

"It's my belief that you can't lose weight until nine months to a year following the birth.

"My advice to any new mum worried about her weight is to enjoy being with your baby and not to push it. When you are ready to lose weight you will know.

"I started nine months after having Joseph. I continued to breastfeed and enjoyed my baby, but I knew the time was right to regain my body."

David Fairlamb explains that the body's metabolism naturally slows down post-birth. "A woman's body goes through the biggest shock it could go through naturally and it does take time for it to settle down," he says.

David offers the following advice to new mums wanting to get back to fighting fitness.

* Exercise only when you feel the time is right.

* Don't push your body before it is ready. "If you go back too early you run the risk of causing long-term damage."

* Don't go back to the gym and push yourself into the ground. "Everything's been stretched. Work yourself up gently." Avoid high-impact exercises or sports that require rapid direction changes. Avoid vigorous stretching too.

* Don't aim to initially lose weight - go back to feel better mentally.

* Don't think losing weight is a race. "The whole point is to do it sensibly. You will come back stronger and fitter."

* Don't be too hard on yourself if your plans go awry. "Just do the best you can, and remember - you will get more time to yourself as your baby settles into a predictable routine."

* Tummy and pelvic floor exercises can be done during other tasks, sitting or standing.

Sue Williams suggests walking, with your baby in the pram, rather than using the car for short trips as a means of taking the first step to fitness: "After the birth of my first baby I walked and walked and would regularly do the five-mile round trip between my home in Tynemouth and my mother's in Whitley Bay."