Sometimes our awesome members send in their stories about their journey at the gym. We LOVE receiving them as it makes the work we do all the more worthwhile. This time, we received a lovely testimonial from one of our amazing members Clare from our Colchester club. Read more about her story -

"The end of October will mark 6 months since I joined Fitness4Less and I finally feel like I’m getting a handle on my health, which is great. I’m 54 and had put on a lot of weight since the menopause – and the pandemic. I was also in denial about how much weight I’d gained, although my clothes certainly weren’t in denial! I’d tried running to lose the weight as it’s an activity I enjoy, but that on its own just wasn’t enough, I knew I needed to go back to strength training. I used to enjoy the gym, but hadn’t been for 15 years, so finally took the plunge in May.

I was starting to feel that this was it, I would have to embrace being bigger as part of my age, but I’m so glad I made the effort to join Fitness4Less. I was drawn in by a May day offer. Joining a gym after such a long absence can be intimidating, I was so nervous to walk in, but it’s one of the friendliest gyms I’ve ever been in, with both staff and members being inclusive and encouraging without judgment. The classes are excellent – I prefer classes as, even now, I still don’t have enough discipline to push myself on my own, I need the guidance of a class! I hope I’ll get better at solo working out, but I enjoy the classes so much it doesn’t really matter!

When I joined I thought it would be amazing if I could lose 10kg, although I didn’t hold out much hope. In 6 months I’ve lost 13.5 kg and I feel great! But it’s not just about the weight, it’s about getting stronger and feeling healthier and having more confidence. I’d like to pass my thanks on to the staff for the positive impact you’ve made on my life, I hope you realise the difference you make to so many individuals, of which I am just one. I’m really looking forward to continuing this fitness journey.

This is the best before and after photo I could find – I realise that I was so self-conscious about how I look that I haven’t taken a photo of anything except my head for years! But I think you can see the weight I’ve lost in my face! Plus, losing this amount of weight gave me the confidence to finally have my hair cut, which I’ve wanted to do for quite some time, but I was hiding behind it." - Clare

Would you like to share your fitness journey with us?
Email info@fitness4less.co.uk with your story - we'd love to hear all about your progress!