I must admit that I was initially quite sceptical about the “I AM” program at The Power Community. Promises of a lifestyle change and fast results are easily made and not so easily delivered from my experience. However, that scepticism disappeared quickly after meeting Erik for the first time and understanding what it was all about.

From the moment I met Erik and then later Shelley, we had a very good click and I really liked the direct, to the point approach mixed in with some real quality time to understand my particular situation and personality so they could develop something very specific for me. This was a combination of 2 hours per week training and 1 hour per week coaching/lifestyle advice. I would strongly recommend this combination for at least 3 months to get to really know yourself!

I am the kind of person who has always found it much easier to add kilos than take them off and I tend to work in cycles of losing weight and hitting exercise hard and then relaxing, enjoying life and putting the weight back on. My life motto, we discovered, is “F*ck it” (as in, shall I have another glass of wine? F*ck it, why not). This had culminated in me being at my heaviest ever weight of 91 kg after my wedding in Sep 2018 and also being stressed with a hectic lifestyle of travel, work, family and friends. That moment I met Erik and Shelley.

In the first three months I learnt that the key to my success was recognizing these cycles and approaching life in a different way where I could still enjoy the nice things but also take more of a balanced approach. This is much easier than it sounds and it is all about turning off the auto-pilot of life and making conscious decisions.

Some examples for me were;

• Saying yes to that wine with dinner but choosing not to have that whole bottle
• Choosing to walk to the gym rather than taking the car
• Looking at the content of what I was eating and drinking before I ate/drank it and making more sensible choices. Do you know how many calories there are in nuts?!
• Not listening to that voice in my head which wants me to throw in the towel after that 25 burpy and just do one more and one more..

The results for me have been nothing short of amazing and not just on the body side of things. Erik told us early on about the unique approach of the program focusing on the 4 B’s of Body, Being, Balance and Business. We quickly found out that Business was great and the other 3, not so much. By the end of the program, I had achieved the following and a lot more:

1. Body – I lost 7kg and I am still losing weight, fat and gaining muscle. More importantly, I regained my confidence in my outer appearance which in turn gave me a real sense of everyday happiness in my life.
2. Being – I have started journaling and even some mindfulness techniques to help me deal with life’s every day stresses and I find it much easier to relax with my family and not sweat some of the small things.
3. Balance – I have been keeping in touch with my family and friends much more and realising that this was an area of my life which needed much more focus.
4. Business – I have spent less time on business and more time on the other areas to bring my life back in balance and become as much of an expert/over-performer on the other 3 areas as I was in business.