Nathan: Hi, I’m Nathan from the DVCC and I’m here with Gurpreet today.
I’m just going to be asking her a few questions to get an insight into how she’s got such great results, and speak about any difficulties she might have had because I’m sure there will be literally thousands of people who will be listening to this who will find it very, very useful.
So Gurpreet, if you could please introduce yourself, and how long have you been at the DVCC?
Gurpreet: I’ve been here about 4 months now and I’ve *lost 10.1lbs of fat; I’ve *added 3.3lbs of muscle and I’ve *lost 5.4 percent body fat.
Nathan: Good from you; congratulations, very well done.
What were your struggles with weight loss before the DVCC?
Gurpreet: My struggles with weight loss; I’ve never been really able to maintain weight loss, it’s only because I would do exercise for a while and then go back to my normal eating patterns and then put on the weight.
And then over the last 3 years I have got an injury and I’ve not been able to lose weight because I’ve not been able to do a lot of exercise; so I put on a lot of weight. So I was the biggest I’ve ever been before I came here.
Nathan: You mentioned your injury; you were quite concerned about that when you started with the DVCC. How did you feel that we adapted your sessions well?
Did you ever feel you were being pushed to do stuff that you know that you didn’t feel comfortable doing, with your foot?
Gurpreet: No, never. I think you guys have really taken on board my concerns. I think my confidence was very low and I think that you guys helped build that up.
Actually I’ve been able to push myself, but I also know my limits and I would always let you guys know; but you always find alternative ways to do the exercise, which has been great.
Nathan: Because it must be quite scary, coming into a place, not really knowing what to expect, and having an injury that you are quite concerned about.
Was that one of your main concerns when you joined the DVCC?
Gurpreet: Yes, because I went back to my original gym and obviously being in a class full of 30-40 people, I don’t think the instructors gave me the individual attention; and I think coming here you guys have really helped with that, because I was really scared to do anything actually to tell you the truth.
Nathan: I bet you were.
Gurpreet: My confidence means… you know; I’m happy to come and try and push myself, which has been great.
Nathan: Good, I’m glad we’ve been able to help you in that way.
So, had you tried to lose weight before, and how did it go? You mentioned that you were kind of losing weight then kind of going up a little bit; you weren’t really sustaining it.
Gurpreet: Yes, I’ve not stuck to any diet, such as like Weight Watchers, I’ve just tried to control it through taking out crisps & chocolates, things like that.
But then, because I’ve got a stressful job, I’m at work quite late, I go back to like binge eating biscuits and bad stuff that I shouldn’t do. And exercise, some weeks I’d stick to a routine and other weeks I didn’t.
But coming here that has helped, because I enjoy it because I can see the progress, I want to do it more.
Nathan: Ok, that’s good. So it would normally be exercise based that you’d go for to try and control your weight, ok. Had you ever done any diets before?
Gurpreet: No.
Nathan: Not one; never?
G: No
Nathan: Ok, and what does your lifestyle look like now compared to before the DVCC?
Gurpreet: I am eating a lot more meat – I wasn’t eating a lot of meat before; because my family is vegetarian. So I’m eating a lot more meat and I’m feeling a lot more stronger because of that I think; I’ve definitely got more energy. So yes I’ve definitely got a lot more meat in my diet, I’m not having so much processed food.
I’m cooking lots of stir fries and fresh stuff in the evenings which is helping. And I’ve realised that it’s actually quite quick and easy to do, whereas before …
Nathan: You would think it would take quite a while. Ok, so that must have been quite hard for you to deal with, starting to eat more meat when your family don’t.
Could you speak to me a little about that, have you had any problems with that at all?
Gurpreet: No, because I’m cooking more at home as well with them. My dad’s diabetic anyway, so I’m using more coconut oil and more vegetables; so I can make the meat separately and make vegetable stir fry and then give him the veggies and then add meat in, so it’s quite easy actually.
Nathan: So it’s benefited your family as well as yourself.
Gurpreet: Yes, and my mum, in the Indian cooking, has been using coconut oil and obviously it’s all veg based anyway, so it’s not so bad, their lifestyle hasn’t been so bad.
Nathan: Good, I’m glad to hear that. How has the DVCC helped you, how would you say?
Gurpreet: It’s helped in lots of different ways. It’s helped with me understanding the relationship between food and weight; obviously the understanding of why exercise is important for different various parts of the body; and I think it’s helped me more confidence wise, doing exercise and the confidence to do other things like the mud run, which I never thought I would be able to do,
I never thought I’d be able to run properly again. And I did, I did it all.
Nathan: You did, you smashed it.
Let’s talk about the mud run quickly; how did you find the mud run?
Gurpreet: I loved it; loved every minute of it.
Nathan: Awesome.
So for anyone listening to this, the mud run – we did a Warrior Adrenaline race quite recently – there was a team of 30 people with the DVCC. It was an obstacle and mud run; G, what did you enjoy most about it on the day?
Gurpreet: I enjoyed running because I’ve missed it – I’ve not ran for two years – two and a half years actually – so I enjoyed that part of it.
I loved the fact that the team was so supportive; some of the obstacles frightened the hell out of me and it’s just nice that everyone pitched together and helped each other over various obstacles. I knew my limits, which obstacles I couldn’t do, so I didn’t do those, but I did a lot more than I thought I was going to do.
Nathan: Good, well done.
Looking back 3 or 4 months ago, I suppose that would have been a kind of wild imagination for you to be doing a mud run in 4 months time, is that right?
Gurpreet: Yes.
Nathan: So do you have any specific tips, with nutrition or exercise, that you could share with anyone who is listening today who might be trying to lose weight themselves?
Gurpreet: Definitely stick to your exercise routine - and eat clean. Fresh meat and veg.
Nathan: Ok – awesome. Any final words before we wrap this up, G?
Gurpreet: I love DVCC, definitely!
Nathan: Awesome – and we love having you G; thank you very much.
And if you’ve been listening to this interview I hope you’ve found it helpful; G I want to thank you very much for your time.
This is Nathan from the DVCC in Milton Keynes; have a great day.
