UKBFF Competition - 11th May 2014

ANNOUNCEMENT: Ok here goes… I'm going to enter a fitness competition! 

In exactly 17 weeks from today I will be standing on a stage somewhere in Hayes in an overly glitzy bikini showing off my (hopefully) 125lb ripped physique! or so we hope… :S 

See below? That's what I'm aiming for with the help of my new found prep coach Chris, who is a BNBF Middleweight Champion himself, as well as my PT Antony from Forward Fitness who knows my body and my condition so well that he can assist in tailoring any programme to my requirements. 

I'll be doing this with one other girl, Lucie who I actually went to school with when I was 11! She has already competed in the Miami Pro competition last year so It will be great to have someone with some competition experience :) 

I will be battling my MS along the way but having had the fist meeting with my dream team, Chris and Antony, MS is the least of my worries… hunger, anxiety battles and hitting hard weights 4 times a week is going to be the real battle! I will document on here as we go but I'm also hoping there will be an actual DOCUMENTARY on its way "to a TV screen near you… " Fingers crossed it gets commissioned and I can share this amazing MS journey with everyone and hopefully inspire a few people along the way! 

Wish me luck! 

P x

One Year Ago Today...

Happy Anniversary to me…

Exactly one year ago today I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis


Looking back over the past year MY MS has consisted of:

- Debilitating loss of feeling in my limbs
- Loss of eye sight 
- Fatigue 
- Vertigo
- Chronic pain in my lower limbs
- Anxiety and Depression
- Medication side effects - flu like symptoms 3 times weekly

To quote my first post, I was "Unable to feel my legs or arms and barely able to lift my self up, Pins and Needles crept up my body day by day until I was unable to open my hands or even hold a glass" 

I remember the day I tried to walk into my living room and just collapsed on the sofa. that was it…my body had shut down.

One year has passed and in this time I have successfully completed some amazing things which stretch far beyond new years resolutions. 

1. I introduced a daily exercise routine which taught me to walk again unaided, regain the feeling in my arms which enabled me to cut food for myself, hold a glass of water and brush my own teeth. 

2. I re-evaluated my nutrition and am now on an MS friendly diet which is strictly gluten and dairy free and its working wonders!!

3. Together with my friend Rhiannon we raised a record breaking £5,000 for the MS Society

4. As I had built up enough strength we then ventured over to New York for a week to visit the MS Society HQ State Side and found out we had raised the most money through an individual fundraiser over there too! 

5. I lost the feeling in my arms for a second time and then proceeded to lose the sight in my right eye. It took 2 weeks of treatments and high dose steroids to bring it back. 

6. In September I was invited to the House of Commons to be recognised for my efforts in raising awareness and Money for MS. 

7. Just before Christmas I lost the feeling in my leg AGAIN but worked hard in the gym along with physio to regain the feeling and power and ability to walk normally. 

8. The gym routine turned into a major hobby and I am now working towards a fitness competition on May 11th 2014 - UKBFF Bikini Category !!!! HUGE Challenge but what a way to start this next year of my life. For I do not know what tomorrow will bring, but i do know that today will consist of hard work prepping for a competition I will make damn sure I am in good physical and mental health to compete. Not just for competition sake, but to win… I am going into this to place. 

Introducing fitness and nutritional awareness to my life has to be the most influential change i've made in my life. From good health to romance I can honestly say I am a MUCH happier person this year than I was this day last year pre-MS diagnosis. 

"True failure lies in not facing up to the challenge"

P x

1st January 2014

Welcome to 2014… I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year :)

I'm starting mine here… in Doha, Qatar (I've come full circle as I began last year in Dubai!)

This christmas really was a special one and the highlight had to be the his and hers bracelet gifts!

#DIAMONDS really are a girl's best friend…

NEW YEAR 2014!

Much like every New Year, I've set myself some NY resolutions. However unlike every New Year, I am going to tackle these with a much more sensible approach… like building a brick wall, I will lay one brick at a time until I have my wall built high for all to see on 31st December 2014.

It's a simple but interesting approach as Will Smith explains below…

You may think I sound crazy..and at times even I think I am! But i'm approaching this year differently…i'm embracing the change in my life and am adapting to suit.

Almost 1 year ago I was handed with what felt like a life sentence disease. My life and everything I knew changed in an instance. 

I've come to realise that isn't the case at all and I have merely been faced with an obstacle. 

My resolutions this year are more important than ever. They aren't superficial (ok maybe one of them is) but they each serve a purpose and on the whole my focus this year has completely changed.

 My appreciation for life and the importance of living life has grown and with this so has my desire to achieve something great. Whether thats for myself, my family or for the world to see… I am going to achieve something great this year. 

So here we are, my resolutions/ goals for 2014:

1. Overcome my anxiety and weight complexes to compete in the UKBFF Competition, Bikini category. Prove to myself I can do this and inspire others with MS to rid the idea of limitations. 

2. Complete the Wedding Planning, Styling and Design course I am currently studying :)  and follow my dream of having a one stop destination wedding boutique. 

3. Stop spending so much money on clothes and accessories and put it towards New York Round 2 in 2015 instead. Although i've already been, I still dream of standing on top of the Rockefeller again and looking over at the breath taking view of Manhattan & Central Park… 

See you on the other side? only 364 days to go..

…and remember, whatever you LOVE to do… just go do it…

Find what you LOVE; your passion & desire will shine through and success will come.

Happy New Year everyone… Let 2014 be YOUR year 

P x