The Ultimate Body Plan. Gemma Atkinson

      Evil Steve

       The Ultimate Body Plan

      While my training now had more focus and my aims had changed (no more Kylie hang-ups!), when the summer of 2017 rolled around, I knew I wanted to give myself a new challenge. Olly and I had split up totally amicably in 2016 and I was training back home at the Manchester branch of Ultimate Performance. I was still hosting my radio show, but had just left Emmerdale where I’d played Carly Hope for around two years. I absolutely loved the job and the people there, but wanted to change things up. But while I was still hitting the gym, I’d got into a bit of a training rut. So I signed up to the gym’s 12-week training plan that promised to transform both your body and your mindset, and started working with personal trainer, Steve Chambers. He soon became known as Evil Steve!

      I didn’t have a holiday booked or want to get in shape for a specific event, I just wanted to challenge myself. I was seriously curious to see what my body and mind were capable of. Plus, I respond well to stricter routines. It’s when you’re left to your own devices that you half-heartedly do some weights before heading home and eating three bags of crisps.

      This plan is 100% focused on feeling great rather than on vanity. You’re far more likely to stick with something if you’re doing it for sustainable long-term results (to feel great) than to hit a certain number on the scales (like some faddy diets promise) because, if you don’t reach that goal you’ll feel like crap. More often than not, even if you do reach it you still feel rubbish because you’re not dealing with the cause of your feelings, both mental and physical – bad diet, poor sleep, stress, low self-esteem, lack of energy etc. You’re just dealing with what you think is a symptom (weight). You’ll then keep punishing your body because you won’t know how to feel better, constantly moving the goalposts: ‘I’m now a size 8, but I still feel exhausted, run-down, stressed and unhappy. Maybe I’ll feel better at a size 6.’ No, you won’t. This plan offers a total lifestyle overhaul with no unrealistic expectations to falter under. In feeling stronger and more positive, you’ll be in the best position to take on everything – with looking great a happy side effect.

      The plan meant I had to start cooking and prepping meals in advance, which you will too. People can feel daunted by this, but you can make time for it. If you’re serious about change, you’ll get up 15 minutes earlier to make your breakfast, or put aside a couple of hours on a Sunday to prep your food for the next few days like I do. Once you get into the routine of it, it becomes second nature. Also, I find it extremely motivating to remember that I’m eating to fuel my muscles, to feel great for the rest of the day. Cutting out rubbish that makes you feel sluggish isn’t a chore when you can really feel the results.

      So, on day one of the plan, I put my leggings and crop top on and looked in the mirror. I took the top photo opposite (taking progress photos is part of the programme; see here) and thought, ‘Right, this is how you look now. You’ve had 32 years on these feet, these legs, looking how you do, feeling how you do. Now it’s just 12 weeks to see where it can go and what you can do!’ I really psyched myself up for it, getting into the mindset of an athlete before a fight.

       The transformation

      The first week of the 12-week programme was horrendous. Horrific. The worst. I felt sick, I was shaking and dripping with sweat. ‘God, I can’t do this,’ I thought. ‘I want to quit. I want to die.’

      But I didn’t quit. I didn’t die.

      What I did do was lose fat, which proved I’d had it to lose in the first place. My body was responding immediately to working out, and after 3 weeks I’d lost 1.5% of my body fat. But it was actually more the mental changes that struck me first. I started feeling proud of myself – knowing I’d sweated, had had a good session and burned loads of calories. Something changed in my body language – my shoulders went down and my chin up and I even walked with more confidence. Plus, I started sleeping better. I already found myself waking up, checking my phone and seeing it was ten minutes before my alarm was due to go off. I wasn’t waking feeling sluggish, exhausted or bloated as I’d had a good meal the night before.

      Three weeks in, I noticed more definition in my arms. When I sat down my stomach and thighs stayed tight. My entire body was getting leaner and I felt much more energetic. Friends and family also started seeing changes, which is always a huge motivator.

      Depending on your fitness levels to start with, your results at this stage will probably be even more dramatic than mine were. If you stick to the plan 100% it’ll be a shock to the system and you’ll shed weight and body fat. However, be warned – you may still be craving the sweet stuff. They say it takes between two to three weeks to cleanse your palette. Keep going! Push through. Your body is essentially detoxing so your skin may actually break out as it gets rid of all the toxins – but then, once they’re out and if you keep at it, at around this point your skin will really start to glow!

      Before I started the Ultimate Body Plan

      After 12 weeks I’d lost 13lbs and 5% of my body fat.

      These changes will spur you on. Your body wants to get better, it wants to get healthier, so as soon as you start nourishing it and treating it well, it’ll respond, like it’s saying ‘thank you’.

      Week five was a strange one for me because I actually put some weight back on, hitting around 11 stone – fine for someone of my height with broad shoulders. So don’t panic if you put on weight! People can read that I weigh 11 stone and freak out, but I was losing a lot of body fat while gaining muscle mass. So many factors affect women’s weight – everything from eating more salt, where you are in your menstrual cycle, and even the weather! (As we tend to drink more water when it’s hot.) I felt great, was leaner, my clothes fit better and I was as healthy as I’d ever been. Instead of losing weight, I was aiming to beat my personal bests every week. If I could lift one more rep on a Tuesday than I did on a Monday, I knew I was progressing. I felt amazing, while looking completely different to what was considered ‘perfect’ in the public eye, or what was considered beautiful by most people. Yes, some magazines think I should be a size 8, but I’m simply not built that way. I’m a size 10–12, but I can squat 90kg.

      About midway through the 12-week programme I was asked to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, the biggest show on national telly. I told Becca, my agent, that I didn’t think it was the right time and I’d like her to turn it down. I was happy with my life the way it was. I loved working on the radio show, I was training hard and I had time for friends and family. For the first time in a long time, there was no press intrusion in my life. I wasn’t in the public eye as much and I was really enjoying that.

      During week seven I went on holiday with some mates and didn’t put a sarong on to walk from the pool to the bar as I felt 100% comfortable in my bikini now. I also had no desire to binge just because I was on holiday – I didn’t want to throw away all my hard work. So I took a skipping rope with me, downloaded some HIIT workouts onto my phone before I left, did lots of swimming and went on big walks along the beach. I ate healthy meals and had some treats, but was surprised by how much I didn’t want to eat crap, drink loads and sit on my butt all day – not because I felt I had to keep to the plan, but because doing all this had made me feel so good.

      It’s a strange process actually – realising that you feel incredible. Noticing that you’re waking up feeling energetic and determined rather than uncomfortable and tired. I find working out very therapeutic; whether you’re doing HIIT or weights, your head goes somewhere else. Some of my best ideas come to me when I’m exercising. You have space and time to yourself – often the only time of day you get that.