2025-05-05 – News – www.theguardian.com
All my attempts at exercise had ended in failure, so I decided to lower the bar. Five years later and I’m a much stronger, healthier and more self-confident person
For years, I loved smoking, slurping large glasses of wine and gobbling wings from overlit chicken shops. I tried to be healthy: I would make overnight oats; get only the small mixed sushi from Wasabi; and drink prosecco because someone said it was keto-friendly. I even did Veganuary back when it was such a gruelling feat of strength to be vegan for a month that people would sponsor you in horror and amazement.
I felt I had more in common with a pair of old socks than with gym-goers. Terms like “reps”, “leg days” and “core strength” made me cringe, mainly because they were the secret language of an exclusive club to which I wasn’t invited.
