I’ll start first… One thing you should know about me is, I LOVE to chat, so bear with me!…

I come from a big family & grew up with 4 older brothers. As a kid I was a bit (to say the least) of a tomboy…

My love of fitness begun at a young age, but fast forward a few years to my late teens, & like many teenagers, I was leading a pretty sedentary lifestyle… I partied hard & burnt the candle at both ends… Which nowadays, we all know, leads to burn out…

Although… Burn out didn’t hit me straight away…

Having gone from a long distance country runner at school, I now realised that I couldn’t run a mile…

My competitive & realist side, knew that I needed to make some healthier lifestyle choices…

So, I got back into running, mostly thanks to my now husband, Phil, & began running 5km parkruns… I was quickly becoming first lady… & so one thing lead to another & before I knew it I was signing up to 10 mile runs, half marathon runs, & eventually signed up to my first marathon – Brighton Marathon in 2015, which I completed in 3 hours 14 minutes – definitely one of my favourite personal achievements to this day…

Anywho… From the age of 19 I started saving for my first house… I was working full time in Social Housing & I decided to train as a Group Exercise Instructor…. I started teaching more & more fitness classes & had been known to teach 15 spinning classes a week as a side hustle…

At 22 I was still working full time, teaching fitness classes 4 nights per week & on weekends & Phil & I bought our first house – something which needed complete renovation, but with very little spare cash, was going to be a project for us to do ourselves!…

This was the start of burn out…

Now it’s hard for me to pinpoint the exact time of burn out…. Looking back I grafted harder & harder… & more & more… For 3 years… And was burnt out most of the time!

Recognising the signs of burn out, I started practicing Yoga more regularly, & eventually signed up to a distance learning Yoga Teaching Qualification.

My life became pretty anti-social, with my days mostly consuming of, Housing Association work, Fitness Class work, House Renovation work, Yoga Certification Study… & to top it off, I also signed up to the marathon & ran between 25 – 40 miles per week!

Now if that isn’t a recipe for burn out then I don’t know what is…

I was driven…. But also obsessed! And my health began to suffer…

The rare occasion I would take a day off, I would spend it ill… I suffered viruses, sickness bugs, horrendous cold sweats, nightmares & sleepless nights…

My home life & most recognisably, my relationship began to suffer…

I think the saddest thing I have ever been told, & which was the game changer, was when Phil said;

“Everyone in your classes gets the best of you… The fun, bubbly you… I just get the leftovers”