Sounds a bit of a cliche but my fitness journey since arriving in Hong Kong 12 years ago, has been a bit of a bumpy road… some successes and achievements: playing competitive netball for SKS and running my first 10K around Angkor Wat (the highs) sabotaged by injuries, back surgery & poor lifestyle choices (the lows)... Like many before me, I have tried most fad ‘diets’ some with success (others not so), only to do the inevitable and regain weight at a later date - so again, I found myself at a familiar crossroads, but with the added challenge of ‘middle age and hormones’!

 

Enter the ‘Dragon’… (!) … she’ll be laughing at this… as my friends (her exisiting clients) had been harping on about how amazing their PT was & that I should enlist her services … only took me around a year of procrastinating (& more weight gain/ excuses!)... to drag my sceptical self to a consultation and yep, Ally’s just the right amount of ‘fiery fierceness and measured motivation’ I needed.

 

After my initial consultation (a thorough health/lifestyle questionnaire backed up with a 1:1 lengthy dialogue) there followed a solutions based, tailored program to take into account injury, prior fitness levels and lifestyle challenges - I was walked through the myriad of nutritional information/ introduced to plant based nutrition and before I could talk myself out of it, committed to the more cost-effective HNF Package to kick start me into the summer - a 12 week personalised program of  two weekly 1:1 PT sessions in Ally’s ‘den’ coupled with periodic reviews, nutritional consultation/ support throughout & a proverbial, kick up the bum when required!

 

It’s simple. Ally’s ‘no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is, no sugar coating - but at the same time empathic’ approach, her support & encouragement in the gym and remotely via whatever medium suits (mostly whatsapp, in my case) - has kept me on the straight & narrow these past 8 weeks. Ally helps to set SMART goals and hoists you back up, if you fall off the wagon (which requires great muscle in my case) - she has a great sense of humour, leads by example, is passionate about her choices anddoesn’t push her ideals on you, yet her informed views (on plant based/ wholefoods nutrition, animal cruelty & the damage inflicted on world climate through aggressive and cruel farming methods and over consumption of the world’s limited resources), leaves you questioning your choices. Hmmm...

 

I have made changes which are not only beneficial to my own physical & mental health, but also positively impact the climate and sustainability issues of our time. I have ‘dabbled’ with minimising consumption of animal based produce, recycling & minimising waste but am now happy to say I have, with Ally’s guidance, been able to transition to a mostly plant based, wholefood diet, making my own nut milk and taking fish and eggs only occasionally. I am not 

hungry, feel 100% satisfied and am loving the experimental phase of trying new dishes/recipes and feel decidedly healthier with the added benefit of a lighter conscience, knowing that I am doing my little bit to add to the collective big bit.

 

I am lighter, quite literally - not the focus, but a great by-product of all the above - I have lost many cm’s and discovered new things about myself - I love the weight lifting element of my training - all of which is giving me the confidence to push on - who knows where this will take me - hopefully, I’ll lead a longer, healthier and happier life and be a better role model for my kids 🙏 Muchas gracias, guapa!