Priceless ‘wedding confidence’ in 21 weeks for Michelle’s special day

When recruitment company director Michelle realised her wedding was just six months away, she knew it was time for change.

The 31-year-old had experienced years of creeping weight gain left her feeling fluffy, unfit, and out of shape.

And with a family history of heart disease, her health was on her mind as much as her wedding photos.

Watching her husband James transform at Ultimate Performance inspired her to start too.

She didn’t want to go down the Ozempic route, so she committed to an ‘all in’ personal training program. It’s been transformative – teaching her about her body, how to train with weights, and the best way to eat and live for results.

Over 21 weeks in the run up to her wedding she’s lost 10kg (22lbs) and cut 15cm off her waist.

It’s given her amazing confidence in her wedding dress as well as in her bikini to enjoy pool party celebrations with her husband and wedding guests.

Here Michelle explains the journey she’s been on with her training and nutrition that’s seen everything improve from her strength and fitness to her blood pressure and VO₂ max.

How did you feel about your body before coming to U.P.?

How I felt about my body before coming to U.P. was a bit fluffy. I think over the last two or three years post-Covid, it just crept up and up to the point where I was like, okay, we need to rewind a little bit here. I was just feeling a little bit out of shape, a little bit wide.

What motivated you to join U.P.?

A couple of things. One was my partner had joined a year before and he’d had really good results. That was my first introduction to it. Second was that I really needed an intervention. My weight was going one way, and I had a wedding six months later. It was crunch time. I was like ‘I need to do something now!’ 

On top of that, just generally for my health – my dad has suffered with heart attacks and heart disease runs in my family, so it’s something I’ve always been quite conscious of. Being overweight doesn’t lend well to heart disease, so my overall well-being was a big motivator. 

Why do you think your husband referred you to U.P.?

He’d had such a good experience and learned loads about his own body. Typically, I won’t take much advice from him – I need an expert. From the sounds of what he told me, everyone at U.P. really knew their stuff. They took the time to get to know you as a person, as opposed to just a general plan they (ordinary PTs) give to everyone. And obviously, he knew that I was wanting to do something. It was this or Ozempic. I chose the healthy route.

How did your trainer work around your injuries and dyspraxia?

I actually have dyspraxia, so it takes me a bit of time to work out what my body’s doing in relation to what I’m being told. Sometimes it takes me a few tries to get it right. My trainer knew that from the start and worked with me – giving directions in relation to my body rather than just saying ‘up, down,’ which I couldn’t process. I’d also had an old lower back injury and a shoulder that likes to dislocate. With my back, we worked around it until it got better. With my shoulder, it’s actually strengthened and improved a lot in the last six months. Now I’m more mindful of my form and little things I do that might make it worse, and I correct them as I go. Now that is stronger!

How instrumental was your trainer in your transformation?

Pretty instrumental, especially around the diet and meal plans. I made it well known at the beginning that I can’t eat ‘boring’ food, and my trainer’s been great at accommodating that and finding ways to work around it, or having frank conversations around things I just can’t do anymore. At the beginning, I didn’t know what I was doing and I was hungry, so there were definitely a few outbursts from me. She’s been really good at processing that, explaining things, and breaking it down. The long and short is, it wouldn’t have happened without my trainer.

How is U.P. different from other personal training you’ve had?

When I joined, I already had a personal trainer. The main motivation to still proceed with U.P. was that I wanted more of an education on how everything works. I want to know more about my body, particularly as a woman, and I wanted the full program – nutrition, someone I could contact every day, someone I could ask questions to. I needed more than just ‘here’s your workouts, crack on.’ I do think that’s it’s been chalk and cheese. If you look at what I did before, which was some good workouts to what I’m doing now, I actually understand what I’m doing.  I feel like much more confident to carry that out into later life.

How has your life improved since starting your transformation?

From an aesthetic point of view, it’s just nice to feel more comfortable in your own body. I’ve always felt comfortable anyway, but I feel even more so now – not checking how many chins you have in a picture or contorting yourself to get the good angles. For my wedding, I didn’t feel conscious at all – I could move freely and I felt great. I’m fitter, my balance is loads better, my VO₂ max, my blood pressure, all of it has improved massively. I’ve even slotted Pilates and barre classes back in, and I’m so much better at them now because I’m stronger. 

Tell us about your wardrobe now.

I had a wardrobe of clothes that fit me three years ago that I’d been hanging on to for dear life. I told myself, this is the last year you keep them – if they don’t fit, you have to get rid of them. Now I’ve got a whole new wardrobe I can wear – workwear, holiday wear, everything – it’s brilliant.

What impact has your transformation had on your confidence?

It’s really improved my confidence – especially around my strength and understanding my body. I travel a lot with work, so knowing what I’m doing in the gym on my own is huge. It’s also shown me that I can stick to something for a long period and make it part of my lifestyle, which I’d never managed before. That’s given me a lot of confidence. 

I can now do a push-up, and I’ve never been able to do a push-up in my life. That was a little mini goal for me that we finally got to.

How do you feel about the results you’ve achieved?

I’m really pleased. It made me feel amazing on my wedding day. You can see such a difference from when I joined, even down to my posture. It hit the nail on the head for me – feeling great on my wedding day, fitting into my clothes again, and seeing more of how I looked five years ago. I feel confident stepping out in a bikini now.

Would you recommend U.P.?

Totally. But you have to be at a point in your life where you’re ready to lock in and commit – it’s not something you do on the side. If you want an education on your own body, nutrition, muscle groups, and to build long-term tools, it’s really worth it.

Like these results? Send us your details in the form below to receive information about our programs