I was always very sporty at school, I did really well in Netball, Badminton and Cross Country running. When I left school fitness took a back seat, except for Friday and Saturday nights where Amadeus of Yates Wine Lodge dance floor got hit with some of my crazy ass dancing! My only other method of cardio was that I also use to walk to work and home again as well which was a good 30 minute walk each way (in all weathers), so I think this helped me maintain my weight.
As per the norm I put on some ‘beef’ once I was in a relationship.. cosy nights in with a bottle of wine and take aways every weekend seen the scales slowly rise. I did go to the gym as and when I could factor it in or when I had a pang of guilt at how much I was eating!
As per the norm I put on some ‘beef’ once I was in a relationship.. cosy nights in with a bottle of wine and take aways every weekend seen the scales slowly rise. I did go to the gym as and when I could factor it in or when I had a pang of guilt at how much I was eating!
I always had an inkling in my teenage years that family wasn’t going to be possible for me, I had afew re occurring incidents of build-up of fluid in my fallopian tubes - of course as a teenager family was the last thing on my mind so I never really gave much thought about it. After 18 months of trying to conceive naturally (and in my early 20s) I knew something wasn’t right, so went to my GP for some routine tests which then lead to me being transferred to Aberdeen Fertility Clinic.
They couldn’t pin point what was wrong and diagnosed me with ‘Unexplained Infertility’ mentioning that it was noted I had a high level of white blood cells which could be killing off sperm. This was confirmed when with each round of IVF I was consistently getting full fertilisation of all eggs collected. I also had very good quality eggs, so the problem appeared to be carrying. Five rounds of IVF over 3 years then lead to my left tube having a build-up of fluid and literally bursting inside me, resulting in an operation for the removal of my left and section of my right tube. I did a further 6th round before deciding enough was enough.
For anyone who has never done IVF or doesn’t know the ins and outs its worth reading up about. What surprised me a lot was when I became open about IVF the amount of friends or family who knew other couples who were or had gone through the same thing was quite astounding.
The first stage of an IVF cycle involves you having to inject hormones into your body which puts your body into menopause and shut down, The next stage is re starting your reproduction cycle with more hormones whilst over stimulating your ovaries to produce lots of eggs (your body naturally produce one) in my most successful round I produced 36 eggs.
The first stage of an IVF cycle involves you having to inject hormones into your body which puts your body into menopause and shut down, The next stage is re starting your reproduction cycle with more hormones whilst over stimulating your ovaries to produce lots of eggs (your body naturally produce one) in my most successful round I produced 36 eggs.
Your hormones are 100x worse than a menstrual cycle. High one minute, low the next. Due to the nature of the treatment for alot of patients suffer from depression or suicidal tendencies. Your body bloats retaining water, and you also put on weight.
Once the eggs are removed and fertilised, Your body during this time is then pumped with pregnancy hormones to make the body think it's pregnant - your now faced with a whole different set of hormones (those experiences by women in early stages of pregnancy).
Throughout your IVF Cycle you can be injecting yourself up to 3x a day, inserting pessaries into your body every 12 hours and also popping oestrogen pills! Bearing in mind that an IVF Cycle on average can take up to 4 months, it is an exhausting and time consuming process.
Three months after the removal of my tubes, I went to a dress fitting for my bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding in Cuba which would be 6 months later. Standing in a Bridal shop surrounded by mirrors next to a Bride to be and fellow bridesmaid who were a size 6/8 and me being measured for a size 18 dress was when I hit rock bottom.
Once the eggs are removed and fertilised, Your body during this time is then pumped with pregnancy hormones to make the body think it's pregnant - your now faced with a whole different set of hormones (those experiences by women in early stages of pregnancy).
Throughout your IVF Cycle you can be injecting yourself up to 3x a day, inserting pessaries into your body every 12 hours and also popping oestrogen pills! Bearing in mind that an IVF Cycle on average can take up to 4 months, it is an exhausting and time consuming process.
Three months after the removal of my tubes, I went to a dress fitting for my bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding in Cuba which would be 6 months later. Standing in a Bridal shop surrounded by mirrors next to a Bride to be and fellow bridesmaid who were a size 6/8 and me being measured for a size 18 dress was when I hit rock bottom.
I was depressed, run down, overweight, paranoid and stressed with the years of IVF causing me to have zero confidence or self-esteem - worst of all I felt cheated of being a woman. Something happened that day in the Bridal Shop. Instead of hitting the cakes and comfort eating to make myself feel better, I got in my car and I drove to The Ardoe House Hotel afew miles out of Aberdeen and I joined there leisure facilities.
The reason I joined a hotel gym to begin with was to motivate myself to go, the gym wouldnt be full of the same people day in day out, with the limited equipment your 'ripped' gym user wouldnt be there and I could shift the weight before joining a mainstream gym! 7 months later I joined David Lloyds Gym oozing with confidence and wearing a crop top for all my gym sessions!
The toughest part of my journey would be the first 6 weeks, you really need to persevere! After the 6 weeks when I started to see the changes physically and mentally the gym no longer felt like a chore, and I started to look forward to my training.
The reason I joined a hotel gym to begin with was to motivate myself to go, the gym wouldnt be full of the same people day in day out, with the limited equipment your 'ripped' gym user wouldnt be there and I could shift the weight before joining a mainstream gym! 7 months later I joined David Lloyds Gym oozing with confidence and wearing a crop top for all my gym sessions!
The toughest part of my journey would be the first 6 weeks, you really need to persevere! After the 6 weeks when I started to see the changes physically and mentally the gym no longer felt like a chore, and I started to look forward to my training.
My lifestyle change has completley changed my life, I am happier, healthier, confident with a positive attitude.
I hope you enjoy my blog x Lainey x
I hope you enjoy my blog x Lainey x
Danielle Cowling, Mrs Sharon Aitken & Myself
Cuba 2012
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