Seana, a Freeletics user, shares her wonderful weight loss transformation journey with Women Fitness.
Freeletics is a high interval training app that combines full-body routines and exercises with running for a complete fat-shredding workout. All workouts are designed to last between 5 and 45 minutes.
There are over 700 workout combinations available with the free app. All workouts in the 15-week coaching program come with video guides so you can see how moves are performed for both beginner and advanced athletes.
Lets hear her story.
Women Fitness:
When did you realize that you needed to lose weight?
Seana Forbes:
The moment I realized I needed to lose weight came shortly after I moved to Munich from Glasgow. I had just finished university and was looking for my first graduate job. I never really realized how unhealthy my student years were until one morning I woke up, took a look in the mirror and felt totally and utterly shocked at my reflection. I still remember this moment like it was yesterday. I always knew I was a little chubby, but for some reason on that day, I felt huge. It then dawned on me how much this was affecting my entire life. I had started getting anxiety even from just walking down the street. I had also become a lot more reserved and lost my drive. Now looking back, it’s clear that this was all down to my weight and years of fast-food, alcohol, late nights and no exercise – the average students lifestyle in the UK.
Women Fitness:
How has your weight loss journey been? What were the milestones that you had to overcome?
Seana Forbes:
If anything it’s been more rewarding than anything. Saying that, it’s also been the most demanding, testing challenge of my life. At the beginning I was super motivated and couldn’t wait to see results. But after a few weeks when I still couldn’t see anything I began to doubt if all the hard work, pain and early mornings were even worth it – of course after week 7 or 8, when I started seeing big changes, I realized that it was.
The biggest obstacle was nutrition. Because I have such an emotional connection with food, and because I had never watched what I ate before, or educated myself in calories or macronutrients, I had to learn from scratch. It was really really difficult to change my eating habits and routines that I had built up over almost my whole life and deny myself foods like pizza and chocolate, that previously made me happy. But instead of dwelling on what I couldn’t eat, I focused on what I could. I began to research healthy versions of my favorite foods and sugar-free cake recipes. This satisfied my sweet tooth and also sparked my passion for good, fresh food and cooking – before I was never interested in cooking and could only make the basic egg on toast.
Women Fitness:
What was your fitness regime like during this period?
Seana Forbes:
For the first few weeks I trained with Freeletics Bodyweight 4 times per week. Towards the end of the 15 weeks, this increased to 5 sessions and I added one or two runs per week. Now I train 5-6 times per week and I constantly switch up my training methods – bodyweight, running, functional training, weightlifting, pilates, swimming, hiking…I try to do as much as possible.
Women Fitness:
In a typical day, what is your diet like?
Seana Forbes:
I stick to fresh ingredients and prepare everything myself.
– For breakfast I usually have a large bowl of quark (low-fat curd) and yoghurt with fruits – like banana, pear, peach, apricots – honey, nuts and coconut flakes.
– If I feel like a snack, I’ll usually have some dried fruit, a natural protein bar or a handful of nuts.
– Lunch is my biggest meal of the day. Sometimes I’ll prepare something warm like a vegetable curry with cauliflower rice from the Freeletics Nutrition Coach or an omelette with feta cheese and broccoli on the side, but most of the time I love to have a huge salad with things like goats cheese, asparagus, spinach, strawberries and walnuts. I don’t eat any meat, just fish so sometimes I’ll also prepare some prawns or salmon with vegetables.
– Dinner is more of an energising snack and usually consists of things like boiled eggs with cottage cheese or carrots and hummus or an avocado, tomato salad.
– If I am preparing for a run, I’ll usually add more carbohydrates to my daily diet and eat things like oats for breakfast.
Women Fitness:
Who/What do you consider the greatest motivation behind your healthy weight loss journey?
Seana Forbes:
I think my biggest motivation is myself and seeing what I’m capable of. If I was just doing this for someone else, like an ex-boyfriend or to be in competition with someone, I would have given up ages ago. I kept going because every time I looked in the mirror or achieved a new goal I was making myself so proud. I was so surprised at what I was capable of. It’s such an incredible feeling to discover strengths within yourself that you never knew were there. This feeling pushed me to continue and is the reason I’m still going today.
Women Fitness:
How do you plan to maintain your healthy weight & body?
Seana Forbes:
For me it’s not a chore anymore. I do it now because I enjoy it. I continuously set myself new goals – last year I ran my first marathon and this year I’ve registered for my next two. I’ve found sports that I enjoy and discovered a healthy balance with my nutrition that I can stick to. It’s all about finding the balance and not taking things too seriously. If you train consistently and stick to healthy diet, you deserve to treat yourself from time to time.