Thought of the day – Setting goals

When I started working with Davinia, I hated what I saw in the mirror and photos and dressed to hide my figure. I knew I needed to loose weight and improve my fitness but didnt know where to start. I needed someone to help guide me on making changes that worked with my lifestyle and hold me accountable. In the 12weeks I have been working with Davinia I have lost 7kgs, I feel much more confident in my appearance, I actually enjoy trying on new outfits and have the tools that work for me to continue my health journey. It really is the best investment you can make for you and your family, giving you the kick start you need for a healthier & happier future

Sarah T.

A few months ago I weighed the heaviest I ever have: 13 stone, and felt stressed and uncomfortable with a very bad work life balance. I found Davinia’s website by lucky chance and decided to commit to two sessions a week which had the added advantage of curtailing two late nights at the office. Davinia right from the beginning helped me to a new and helpful perspective on food and eating. She steered me towards understanding the myriad reasons I was overeating, how to examine what you eat without becoming too obsessive and how to eat with enjoyment and for health. And the exercise with Davinia was fun, tough and felt hugely beneficial - the feeling of satisfaction and relaxation after a session was amazing. I am now feeling healthier than I have felt for a long time, my clothes are loose and comfortable and I weigh 11 stone 6. I look forward to my sessions with Davinia but not just because of the results but it’s also an opportunity to absorb some of her positive energy and outlook and forge ahead to ensuring I can be active and fit past retirement. Thanks D!

Sue - Watford

If you think you can do it alone & you can’t, this works! 2nd time back, 9 years apart & I’m fitter, leaner & mentally in such a good place because of this amazing woman. Davina has boundless energy that makes you want to succeed.

Tracy W.

A massive thank you to you Davinia for the last 12 weeks! You are truly fabulous! Before I came to see you I was feeling overwhelmed with how to make changes to make me feel better about myself on the outside and inside! You have been an amazing support and coach to help me work towards my goals and achieving this. Not only losing weight and inches but also to feel mentally stronger and learn to love myself a bit more. You are so full of energy and positivity, it has really given me an energy and focus to achieve my goals. I love our weekly sessions both for the training and the chats 😃 your messages throughout the week and affirmations are also excellent to keep me on track and focused on myself and those goals. You are always so honest and give great advice I trust. I would absolutely 100000% highly recommend you to anybody looking to make the changes in their body and mindset. Like I was recommended to you the same! I can’t wait to carry on the rest of the weeks seeing you, the best mentor and coach a girl could ask for. Thanks for everything. Loads of love and kisses xxxx

L. Larkin

Just had my last session with Davinia today! This has been the most life changing experience I’ve ever had to improve my health for the better. Not only have I lost an amazing amount of weight but I have learnt the skills to keep It up outside of my sessions and feel completely prepared to continue my journey to my goal! I now have the passion for fitness after years of dreading the thought of working out or even eating a salad! Davinia you truly have been incredible, thank you so much 🥰 xx

Abigail.

Where do I even begin, working with Davinia has been amazing and has been the greatest start to 2022! During the pandemic I managed to get into intermittent fasting and go for walks during the day. But I started a new job which turns out was very emotionally and mentally draining. I lost sight of everything- i no longer found time for myself, i lost focus on what i worked towards during the pandemic and I had no accountability so didn't stick to anything When i reached out to Davinia within the first minute I knew she was the right person who was going to help me change for the better. We spoke about where I was at in my journey, what I've tried, what i wanted to work towards. She knew what questions to ask and very quickly figured out what techniques would work best to support me. We worked on work- life balance and the simple but effective changes i could make to my routine. Every morning without fail there was a positive affirmation and a message asking what my wins were for the previous day. Davinia celebrates your wins as if they're her own... she's the best kind of cheer leader ❤️❤️ Since working with Davinia I've managed to work on my self-discipline, break down goals into manageable chunks, in a space of a month i feel lighter, healthier, happier. I can't thank you enough and I'm so excited for our next session ❤️❤️❤️

For years I have struggled with my weight with yo-yo dieting (atkins, low carb, intermittent fasting, weight watchers, slimming world etc) and trying out every latest gym/fitness fad or app. I would be super regimented and focused for a few days then I would get frustrated, annoyed or disheartened and then rebel and eat 'naughty' things and give up on exercise. When work was frustrating I would also comfort eat crisps (family size packs!) and could easily polish off a bottle of wine as a 'treat' to myself to forget the stresses of the day. All this was made worse when a) I broke my ankle and then b) ate and drank a lot to make lockdown more interesting and with minimal exercise. I gained a stone in weight with each of those events. As we approached the easing of lockdown restrictions and a summer to be able to go out and see people, get out of my leggings and trackie bottoms and get dressed up nice again, I was suddenly anxious about my 2 stone weight gain (on top of a weight I wasn't happy with), wearing nice clothes that now didn't fit and seeing people again. I was worried about what they would think/say when they saw me and the weight I had gained. Back in March I did a virtual juice retreat which was great as it was a quick health boost. It was a week of no work, lots of yoga and fitness zoom classes and lots of time for reflection. I learnt to love juicing and the energy and good health feeling it gave me and I did lose some weight. But after that week ended and I was back to my daily routine, I was starting to get back into my old habits and the weight I had lost was starting to creep back on. I realised I needed to change my mindset. I KNEW everything I needed to do I just couldn't find the right attitude in my head to stick to it for longer than a few days. I found Davinia's number online and saved it for a few days procrastinating about calling her - worrying that it would just be another thing that I would start and give up on. One Saturday morning I was feeling fed up and frustrated with myself and I spontaneously and nervously called her. We talked for almost an hour but it flew by! I felt like I was chatting to an old friend about my frustrations with myself and my behaviours. She seemed to know me and my behaviours and suggested why I might be sabotaging myself and what emotions were possibly going on under the surface

Kate Perry

I have been training with Davinia since September 2020 and I can honestly say it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made. When I was younger, I had always felt ‘chubby’ and my weight did yo-yo, but I also did a lot of exercise (dance classes and rugby) so it was easy to drop half a stone here or there if I wanted. Looking back, I now realise I was never fat. I was probably a size 12 but my best friends were natural size 8s, so I was always comparing myself to them. When I started with Davinia I wasn’t in a good place mentally, physically or emotionally. I had put on weight slowly and steadily since having my daughter and son and then piled on a lot more during the first national lockdown. My little family and I had been through some very tough times and I had fallen into the habit of comforting myself with chocolate and wine most evenings. Size 18 clothes were now a good fit and it took me forever to find something I felt ok wearing. I didn’t feel good about my appearance, I constantly worried about what people were thinking of me and I shied away from social situations. Bumping into an old friend was my idea of a nightmare. I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that I would always be large. I looked at larger women on social media and thought to myself, “they are happy being that size, so I should be happy too”. I dreaded things like family gatherings with people I hadn’t seen for a while because I knew they would notice my weight. BUT after constantly joking and laughing off conversations that ever brought up health and weight, I decided that eventually enough was enough and I knew I had to do something as I was becoming more and more unhappy. So, I took the plunge and booked to start a weight loss package with Davinia after she was recommended to me by a friend. I remember our first conversation on the phone. I was nervous and had a lot of self-doubt about whether I could get any weight off, but I remember when I got off the phone saying to my husband “it’s like we’ve known each other for ages”. She made me feel so comfortable and I genuinely looked forward to our first meeting even though I felt apprehensive and nervous too. That first meeting was emotional! We talked a lot about my goals and my thoughts and beliefs about myself. I cried. But Davinia made me feel like it was ok. I had started my journey by just being there and for that

Nikki

Having had personal training with Davina many years ago I reached out to her recently as I was feeling a bit ‘stuck’ but couldn’t quite identify why I was feeling this way. After a chat we agreed that coaching rather then training would suit my needs best. Through these coaching sessions Davina has has given me the tools to break down why I was feeling ‘stuck’ . In our coaching sessions she listens carefully and is always able to help me get to the root of what is holding me back and then provides the tools for me to identify what I want from my life (short and long term) and how to create realistic goals to get me there. New to the world of self discovery she has broken things down into manageable sizes and encouraged me to push my self bit by bit. I have discovered so much about myself and Davina has a way of seeing things in me that I hadn’t seen before. Davina as a person is extremely warm and caring and gives her support daily not just in her sessions.

Paula McDonnell

Before I started working with Davinia I felt very unmotivated and low in confidence. However, it didn’t take long for that to change once I started working with her! Personal training with Davinia is an amazing experience as you learn so so much from her. The support I got from her was amazing. There’s no way I would of reached my personal goal if it wasn’t for her! She showed me support every step of the way and kept me motivated the whole time. I loved how she pushed me out of my comfort zone to help me achieve my best not only physically but mentally too. Since working with Davinia I’m in a much better place as I’m more aware on how to eat more nutritious foods, I’ve learnt a lot more exercises and I feel a lot more confident not only in my appearance but also mentally stronger. As a result of training with Davinia I also feel a lot more motivated and have learned new skills and lessons with her that I can carry with me through life. An example is creating a vision board. This has not only had an impact on me but my whole family as they have joined in doing it with me, but personally I feel like this is an amazing thing to do as it keeps you motivated to reach your goals and gives you something to work towards (this is just one of many things that I have learned from her). For anyone thinking of working with Davinia I would say 1000% do it!!! Before I started training with her, I thought that it would take me weeks to achieve my personal goal however after just one session with her, that changed instantly! I felt so motivated to work even harder with her to reach my goal and achieved it in the shortest amount of time possible! I was so impressed that I could loose the weight that I wanted to in such a short amount of whilst still enjoying everting single minute of the exercise even though it wasn’t easy, it so worth it!!

Rachael Allen