By Liana Jacob
MEET the exercise coach who used to be petrified of the gym but has now discovered a passion for weight lifting that has helped her shed four-stone despite INCREASING her calorie intake.
Exercise physiologist and transformation coach, Georgie Thomas (26), from Adelaide, Australia, has always been interested in the human body. But having insufficient knowledge in nutrition and health previously meant that she didnât realise how unhealthy her lifestyle was until she looked back at old pictures of herself.
Eating takeaways high in carbohydrates lead Georgie to reach her peak of 12st 13Ibs and a UK size 14, she used to consume 1,200 calories a day mostly from unhealthy food.
One day she realised how ill she felt and wanted to feel confident, so she found weight lifting and shrunk down to a slender 9st 2Ibs and a UK size eight. She now eats 1,600 to 1,800 calories worth of healthy food a day.
âI definitely had a lack of education of nutrition and I was not aware of health, for so long I didnât even realise how bad I was until I would see pictures of myself and just feel sick,â Georgie said.
âMy upbringing definitely wasnât filled with healthy food, there was a lot of takeaways and food very high in carbohydrates with minimal exercise.
âI was petrified of the gym; completely embarrassed to work out in front of anyone.
âIt was just so hard for me and I couldnât think of anything worse than working out. I would look in the mirror and hate what I saw.
âI was so sick of always feeling down and upset by it. It literally took over my life; every time I ate, I would feel guilty and I never wanted to go out because any outfit I put on made me feel horrible.
âI hated summer because I never wanted to be seen in a swimsuit; I would compare myself to others and whenever people were at a pool party or at a beach I would stay clothed.
âI could never wear shorts because my legs would rub together. Iâve deleted so many photos from when I was younger, I was just so ashamed of who I was.
âI tore up any old photos from old cameras from back in the day and I didnât want to associate myself with that person.
âI just wanted to feel good and confident. I wanted to be comfortable in my own skin and to be happy. I never had that before and knew it was up to me.
âI tried so many programmes and I played around with high protein, low carbohydrates, I crash dieted then fell into vicious cycles of relapsing because they were so hard and unrealistic.
âIt wasnât until three years ago that I really learnt about nutritional cleansing, intermittent fasting, using the right supplements with whole foods to fuel your body and actually nourish your body rather than depleting it.
âYou donât have to fear carbohydrates, girls.â
She is now exercising five-days a week and lifting weights, while eating more.
âThere is a confidence in me now that is just unshakeable, knowing that I have lost the weight I have and feel the way I do now literally makes me feel like I can do anything in life,â Georgie said.
âBut itâs even the small things, I freaking love summer now; bring on denim shorts, bring on bikinis. There is honestly no better feeling.
âTrust me we all still have our days where we feel off but I just need to remind myself how far I have come.â
While she has a new-found confidence, the process of weening off indulging in the food she would eat before was difficult for her, as well as having the courage to join a gym.
âI am a normal chick; I love wine, I love chips, I love the occasional double cheeseburger. So, not eating delicious food all the time was hard for me,â she said.
âPushing myself to exercise was hard when I sucked at it and actually believing in myself that I can do this.
âSometimes you have to remember what your goals are and believe in yourself more than anyone else would.
âI remember telling my ex-boyfriend that I was going to lose three-stone two pounds and he laughed at me, in my head I was like âOK challenge accepted, watch me.â
âMost people kind of look at me in shock and say something like ‘oh my God that is crazy’ and most people never picture me big.
âEveryone is so supportive and always saying they are proud. Itâs such a good feeling, especially from the ones you love the most.
âFind someone that you can relate to and get them to help you, don’t feel like you are alone, there are so many people who have been in the same position as you and can help.â
For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/georgiethomas/