• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Health: We're Losing a Stone a Month ; Bailey Family Hitting Fitness Target

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 09:01 CDT

TALK about sticking to a New Year's Resolution!

The Bailey family's 2005 aim to shed the pounds and get fit is running full steam ahead - thanks to a bit of help from the Evening Mail and Birmingham City Council.

Sisters Jay, Gloria, Claudette, Janet and Rose, plus Janet's 16year-old son Martin, were offered a year's free membership of their local council gym, advice from health and nutrition experts - and lots of support from Evening Mail readers as they embarked on a year of improving their fitness.

And so far they have done us proud.

Every one of the family has become a keep fit fan - working out, toning up and dropping clothes sizes at such a rate they are having to invest in new outfits.

What's more, the fitness challenge has really brought the family together.

The sisters have been joining forces for exercise classes, they took part in the BRMB Walkathon in May and next month they plan to tackle the Hydro Women's Challenge 5k run through Birmingham city centre to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society in memory of their beloved mum, Carmen, who died last summer.

Just past the halfway mark, Team Bailey are proving that where there is a will, there is definitely a way

You can support the Bailey's fund raising efforts for the Alzheimer's Society by sending a pledge to sponsorbailey@yahoo.co.uk

JANET

KEEPING fit together has been the key to success, according to 46- year-old university lecturer Janet. 'We have had so much fun,' she says. 'I did the boxercise class with Jay - it was something I would never have thought to have done but it made us laugh and it was such good all-round exercise. 'Then we did the Walkathon together and now we are all supposed to be training for the 5k run in Birmingham for the Alzheimer's Society.'

Janet, of Great Barr, has lost a stone so far although says this was never her main concern. 'I wasn't so worried about weight - it was more that I wanted to get fitter and feel better,' she says, 'and I definitely feel I have done that. I am eating much better - even my shopping is different.'

Janet also had a bit of help from some of the most unexpected of places.

'The staff at the gym have been excellent, they have really helped.

When we were first in the paper in January, I was surprised how many people saw it. Now my colleagues won't let me eat chocolate or cake at work. They even saw it in the cake shop in Hamstead village and they say they won't sell me cakes!'

And this new healthy diet is paying dividends.

'I feel so much better for it,' she says. 'Before I started my blood pressure was really high but now it is back under control.'

And the benefits are across the entire family.

'I would say that the best thing about it has been finding time to do things again as a family.

'We had such a hard year last year because of mum dying and it has been really good to have something positive to do together and something to aim for.

'We are really enjoying seeing so much of each other and doing things together

ROSE

IT consultant Rose has had to kick the late night curry habit in her attempt to shift the inches.

Rose, 42, of Erdington, had always maintained an active fitness regime but found hotel restaurants and eating with her colleagues after work too much of a temptation.

'I did a food diary with Martin O'Grady, the Alexander Stadium's senior fitness instructor, and he gave me some pointers.

'I also read You Are What You Eat by Gillian McKeith and a book about eating for your blood type. Both were really helpful,' she says.

'So instead of just going on a diet I actually changed the way I eat. I have stopped eating those curries last thing at night.

'By eating a decent breakfast and lunch and a couple of fruit snacks during the day, I don't get back to the hotel at 8pm dying for a huge meal. Instead I can make do with a small meal like a baked potato.' And this has been supported by plenty of exercise.

'I just really got stuck in at the gym,' Rose says. 'I met up with the family on Saturday mornings to do the boxercise classes and that has been really good fun. I also used the weights in the gym and really enjoyed the camaraderie there. I think doing this as a group has made all the difference.'

Rose has lost one-and-a-half stone and dropped a dress size but says she is happier about the changes to her life than her actual weight-loss.

'I feel so much better in myself than I did before and that is what is really important,' she says. 'I am also really enjoying it all. I am running a lot and I can't believe I like it.

'I started on the treadmill and am now trying to get out and try running outside. I managed 1.5km and that was a real achievement. Now I am aiming to keep improving that to make the 5k in September

CLAUDETTE

LOSING nearly three stone would mean wardrobe hassles for most of us, but not so 45-year-old Probation Service senior manager Claudette.

'I have always yo-yo'd with my weight so my wardrobe has clothes from sizes 12-24 in it,' she says. 'I had gradually gone up the sizes - but now I am going back down them again.' And she is so sure she is back on track that she is even considering dumping the larger sizes in the hope she will never need them again.

'I think the changes I am making in my daily life have really made a difference,' she says. 'In the past when I have reached a target weight I have given it up, but this time I think it will be different.'

This is because fitness instructor Martin O'Grady has been helping Claudette look at what she eats.

'We did a nutrition assessment and I have really changed my eating habits,' she says. 'Before I didn't eat breakfast or lunch so my metabolic rate was zero. I am now making sure I eat those meals every day and this is really helping.'

Claudette, who lives at Five Ways in Edgbaston, is unable to take part in the Hydro run as she will be at a wedding but she is ensuring she keeps up with her sisters in the gym. A fan of the cross-trainer she has also hit the treadmill.

'When I had my assessment I was told I had to lose six stone,' she says. 'Looking at what I eat as well as the exercise is really making a difference. I don't think I will give it up once the year is over

JAY

IT was baby sister Jay who nominated the family for a year of fitness, and she has ensured they all stick to their aims.

The 36-year-old internal communications officer, from Handsworth Wood, says they have really enjoyed their new challenges.

'I have been swimming at Perry Beeches Pool, we have been doing the boxercise classes at the Alexander Stadium gym and we decided to do the BRMB Walkathon. I can't believe how much we have all been doing.

'To begin with I had a training schedule but now I am just setting myself mini goals. The next goal is the 5k race which we want to do in memory of Mum.'

Jay, who has so far lost nearly a stone in weight, toned up and dropped a dress size, is hoping to make this year's fitness challenge a change for life.

'It is realising how you can work fitness into your daily schedule,' she says. 'Before, we were always too hectic. Now it has just become a part of the weekly routine

GLORIA

JEANS were always a no-go for Gloria as she felt they did her no favours at all. But having lost a stone and dropped a dress size she is seriously considering the possibility of a bit of denim.

Gloria, a 38-year-old civil servant from Perry Barr, has taken up a whole raft of exercise activities this year - even dusting off her old keep fit videos to ensure she manages to reach her weekly targets.

'I think we have all really got into keep fit,' she says. 'I have been to the gym, done keep fit classes, gone to boxercise, done plenty of walking - all kinds of things.

'There has always been the excuse of not having enough time but I even bought some new fitness videos and that means that even if I come in late I am still finding time to do 30 minutes of something. I think the incentive is that we can all see it working so we feel committed to keep going with it. I was told to lose two stone and I have now lost a stone and can get in a smaller dress size.

'But what is important is that we all feel a lot better. I changed my job and feel I have a lot more confidence at work but I also look and feel better and that makes such a difference.

'And what I really like about it is that we are all doing it together. We are getting to see more of each other and doing different activities with each other. I may go to a boxercise class with Jay then do something else with Claudette.

'I hope this is long term for all of us as we all feel a lot better

MARTIN

FITNESS has not been Martin's prime concern for the past few weeks as he has been sitting his GCSE exams at King Edward's School.

But he has managed to find time for one new hobby - cycling, after his aunt Rose decided to buy him a bike.

'I hadn't cycled in ages but it is really good fun,' he says. 'Before that I was going to the school gym and doing some stuff there. It has been a bit on and off though because of all the work I had to do in school.' Martin, who is to start studying for A-levels in English Literature, Drama, Economics, Politics and General Studies in September, is hoping to get on his bike during the summer holidays.

Martin's main aim was fitness rather than weight-loss but he is discovering that the two go together.

'My aunts keep telling me I have lost weight but I haven't seen it,' he says. 'I am more worried about just trying to do more exercise and improve my fitness

Source: Evening Mail; Birmingham (UK)

More News in this Category