Diarna Abbott

I joined Vision Camberwell in August 2023 after finally prioritising a long unmet goal of finishing the work I started 10 years prior (losing 25kg). I always shirked away from the accountability of having a PT, mostly in fear of disappointing them and myself through presumed anticipated failure. I took a leap and was immediately reassured by the knowledge and professionalism shown by Kyle in my initial consult. From day 1, Alex and I have gelled, which has been a further motivator in itself. Our sessions are built based on my wants and needs – improve strength through resistance training - with my overall goal front and centre of what we do. I leave every session pushed, educated and motivated, with a solid amount of laughter and fully enjoyed genuinely fun times.

Juggling full-time work in healthcare whilst undertaking a master's degree and the Lean4Life challenge was tough, however, I found showing up to the gym and the community within it modulated my stressors significantly to keep me focused on achieving all of my goals.

In 11 months, I have lost a further 8kgs and several centimetres. What has been most impactful has been the gained physical strength and improved nutritional knowledge which has been so incredibly empowering.

I may have a week where my scale results don’t match my perceived effort, but through Alex’s support I know that my progress in the gym is more than just the number on the scales, and my success is an aggregate result of application of effort over a period of time. The other equally important key has been increasing my food intake throughout the day, prioritising protein as I see I was eating less throughout my shifts, and then making up for it at the end of the work day with carbohydrate and fat-dense foods.

My goal now is to apply my growing knowledge to build my own routine and support my long-term physical life goals whilst allowing myself to bask in the freedom of occasionally enjoying excellent pasta, gelato and wine.