Hazel Smith: Hi Fiona, you are well known on the site for the incredible transformation you have made and we wanted to talk to you about this, as I'm sure members would love to learn more about you, so thanks for agreeing to take part in this interview for us!
Fiona Demaret: Hi Hazel, thank you for taking the time to interview me and I hope this will provide an interesting and informative read for MT members. I regularly receive emails from MT members, mainly new members asking for weight loss advice and help so I hope this will be useful to them also.
HS: First off, at what point did you realise you wanted to try and lose weight?
FD: There have been two points in my life where I have made a decision to attempt to address my weight issue. The first point was when I was about 23 years old (I am currently 33) and was at my heaviest at around 18 stone. At that time I was just desperate to lose weight and planned to do it by addressing my diet and doing some exercise. I was concerned for my health and I was also very unhappy with myself and had little confidence. I was fed up with feeling tired all the time and unfit, also I felt my weight held me back from doing a lot of the things that I would have liked to do. I felt fat, ugly, and unattractive and was depressed with myself.
HS: What made you decide to start working out?
FD: A few years later at around the age of 25 having got to about 14 stone, although I obviously felt somewhat better about myself, I still felt unhappy with the way I looked and it was then that I really started to embrace going to the gym. I had lost about 4 stone by mainly diet alone with some exercise, the weight loss started to slow down and I knew I would have to increase my exercise output in order to keep the weight loss going, so I joined a gym. I also wanted to achieve a more athletic and shapely physique and increase my physical strength. Not ever having been a particularly sporty person, I felt that joining a gym would be the best option for me in order to increase my exercise.
HS: How did you find out about MuscleTalk?
FD: I was surfing the internet for something, I actually can't remember what – but MuscleTalk came up and I started to read and then got hooked and ended up spending the whole day on there reading!
HS: What is your total weight loss so far?
FD: At my heaviest I was approximately 18 stone. I went down to 10 stone and at the moment I am around 11 stone. I am looking to get back to about 10 stone again as this is where I feel most comfortable. Unfortunately an ankle injury last year kept me out of the gym for about 4 months and hence I gained a little weight.
HS: How does your diet compare now to what your typical diet was like eight years ago?
FD: I eat smaller and more regular meals. I eat a lot more fruit and vegetables than I used to and I am more in tune with what I am putting into my body and how I react to it. For example I find that I get a dreadful energy slump after eating white rice, pasta or jacket potatoes – so I am cautious with these foods and if I do eat them, I make sure it's not when I am at work and have a lot of jobs to get through!
HS: Do you eat clean or do you allow any junk food in your diet?
FD: I have cut out the majority of junk food and fast food out of my diet, of which I used to eat a lot of back then. I still enjoy the occasional treat of course but I try to eat relatively cleanly most of the time. I do have junk food occasionally as quite honestly I enjoy pizza and chocolate etc! I do have to be careful with this though as I find junk food can be a trigger point for bingeing. That aside, I think it is very important to occasionally have the things that you enjoy as I believe that denying yourself certain things can lead to cravings which in turn can lead to bingeing.
I do also like a drink; this is an area of which I am conscious of as I am fully aware of the amount of calories in alcohol and its lack of positive nutritional input. I do try to moderate myself and do the best I can, but sometimes it can be difficult!
HS: You have successfully kept the weight off by changing your lifestyle, how do you keep motivated?
FD: Quite simply I do not ever want to go back to the way I was, this is motivation enough. I frequently remind myself what my quality of life was back then and how restricted and unhappy I felt.
HS: Do you take any supplements to aid your weight loss?
FD: Occasionally I will run an Ephedrine and Caffeine stack (I don't use Aspirin), if I am trying to cut for a particular target date or event such as a holiday. I find the appetite suppressant qualities of this is a useful tool and also I find it gives me a boost for my training sessions. I have tried one cycle of Clenbuterol, which was reasonably effective.
I think it is important to mention here that these are not magic pills and do not offer a miracle solution to losing weight. It is somewhat disheartening to see new members often posting questions about these products, thinking that it is the answer to all their problems. It is important that your diet and exercise regime are in order before contemplating the use of these products, or else it is a waste of time and money.
HS: Do your friends and family support you with your diet and training?
FD: Yes very much so. My parents are pleased and proud that I have lost the excess weight; my father especially was concerned for my health when I was very large. My sister and my brother-in-law are very supportive as well, especially with regards to going to the gym and weight training as they both go to the gym regularly. My brother-in-law competed in one of the classes in Mr.Greece a few years ago and has offered me advice and guidance on my training routine.
All my friends are very supportive and often ask me for advice.
HS: Do you find people's attitudes towards you have altered, for example in clothes shops and restaurants, now you are slimmer from when you were at your heaviest?
FD: Yes most definitely! I notice this in clothes shops. I used to hate clothes shopping with great passion!! At my largest I was probably about a size 24 or 26 and so this restricted my choice of where I could buy clothes. Although I usually went to shops that catered for larger sizes, if I did go into a more mainstream high street shop I often felt the assistants were staring at me and probably thinking we haven't got anything here to fit you! I also was paranoid they were laughing at me and mocking me behind my back.
With regards to restaurants and eating out, when you are very overweight, you almost feel guilty to eat anything in public as you become paranoid that people are staring at you, sniggering amongst themselves and thinking no wonder she's so big with all that scoffing! I used to feel quite self conscious eating out. Now it is not an issue, I enjoy eating out a lot.
HS: You must have had to buy lots of new clothes in smaller sizes, poor you! Do you keep some of the bigger clothes as a reminder?
FD: Actually no I don't, I have thrown away all of my 'big' clothes. I think the reason behind this is that I never want to have to wear those clothes again and I suppose by keeping them I worry that I am keeping them as a safety net in case I ever get big again.
HS: Where abouts are you from and where do you train currently?
FD: I was born in Loughborough, brought up in Cornwall and currently I live in Bristol. I'm a member of two gyms. There is a gym where I work at the University and I also go to Fitness First. I tend to prefer training at the University gym as it is usually a lot less busy than Fitness First.
HS: Your weight loss is a fantastic achievement, do you still wish to reach a target weight and do you set yourself goals with regards to training?
FD: I am about a stone heavier than I would like to be at the moment as I find I am most comfortable and happiest at around 10 stone. I am 5ft 8 so I can carry a fair amount of weight without it showing too much! So in answer to your question, yes I do have a target weight still to reach and would like to maintain myself at that level. With regards to training, I am always trying to push the weights up a little bit heavier each time; it's rather satisfying when you reach a 'personal best'.
HS: How often do you train and do you have a training schedule?
FD: I don't usually have a set routine but I normally would aim to get to the gym at least 4 days a week, with a combination of cardio and weights workouts. If I am working towards a specific goal and target date then I will put a more structured plan into place. An example of this would be what I am doing at the moment as I have a holiday to Turkey in mid August coming up and I would like to look half decent in my bikini! Therefore I have changed my training routine and made it more structured and also increased the intensity and frequency of my sessions.
A typical week at the moment would be something like this:
Monday ~ Cardio p.m.
Tuesday ~ Weights a.m. (Upper body) and p.m. Cardio
Wednesday ~ Cardio p.m.
Thursday ~ Weights a.m. (Lower body) and p.m. Cardio
Friday ~ Cardio p.m.
Saturday ~ Rest
Sunday ~ Weights (Full body workout)
The above is not a totally rigid schedule and sessions can be swapped about, but it gives me some sort of guideline as to what I would like to be aiming for on a weekly basis.
I train with weights in the morning as this is when the gym is very quiet and I can move about freely on equipment without having to wait. Personally, this is much more preferable to me than training weights on an evening.
HS: You inspire many members and offer helpful advice, if you could pass on one piece of advice for someone who was starting a weight loss program, what would it be?
FD: Oh only one, I can think of lots! In that case I would say that it is very important to be consistent and begin with the end in mind.
HS: Other than training, what else do you like to do in your spare time?
FD: I've never been very sporty people so don't really have any sporting pursuits in my spare time. I am quite a movie buff and try to get to the cinema as often as possible, although I do find the downside of that is the temptation of the ice cream in the cinema! Also I am a member of a few car clubs and take my MG on club meets, shows and track days. I like horse riding a lot and try to go whenever I can. I also spend quite a lot of my free time on MT!
HS: What changes would you make to MT if you could?
FD: Nothing really. I did think a while ago that a forum dedicated just to weight loss would be an excellent addition as there were so many new members posting in other sections with questions about it, so it was very good to see the new forum appear.
HS: Many thanks for taking the time to be interviewed and on behalf of all the MuscleTalk members, See you on MT!!