Question: Can you give us a brief history of your diet / lifestyle before starting with this program?

Emma: I always thought that I'd been fairly good eater and tried to eat what I thought were fairly healthy food choices. However looking back I can see that some of those choices were full of sugar (they tasted good but weren't necessarily good for me) which just turned to fat or my eating would be based on my emotional state at the time. I would often have chocolate binges and then try and run what I'd eaten off but that was no way to sustain a healthy lifestyle. I spent four years in London where I ballooned and never got back to an acceptable weight. In my mind I didn't see the over sized person I had become until I saw photos of myself where I realised I needed to do something.

Question: Can you describe your diet / lifestyle now?

Emma: My diet and lifestyle now is completely different and more balanced - lots of fruit and vegetables. I'm more aware of my eating choices and what foods are good for me and can see the effects on my body when I do eat 'not so healthy' food. My body actually rejects the bad stuff! Even though my food intake is completely different I don't feel I am missing out on anything or that it is hard work to maintain. I make my own muesli with berries for breakfast, salads for lunch and look forward to salmon or chicken with vegetables for dinner. I find when I don't have these things I really miss them.

Question: Can you give us a brief history of your physical activity before following Donna Aston's principles?

Emma: I competed in sport and all through high school, played basketball a couple of times a week, tennis lessons and enjoyed most sports until I lived in London where I really didn't play any sport but tried to fit in a run every week. In 2006 I ruptured my ACL playing basketball and was out of physical activity for approximately one year. I started jogging once a week after that but never had the confidence to get back to team sport.

Question: Can you explain your physical activity / dietary changes now?

Emma: I'm now a very active person and have a great deal of energy and confidence to try new things. I train once a week with Al, run a couple of times a week, took up rowing last year and have been entering lots of 10km fun runs. My goal is to complete the 23km half marathon on the Great Ocean Road in May 2011 in under 3 hours! I find I really look forward to my workout session each week as the variety of training sessions keeps me motivated and it's good to see my progress with certain exercises now that I'm getting fitter. I've also started riding to work once or twice a week (45km round trip) which I find is a great de-stressor at the end of a tough day.

Question: Do you have any comments you'd like to make to inspire others?

Emma: I would like to say that it is probably the best thing I have done for myself in a very long time -perhaps ever. It's not been easy-there's been up and down moments. The support I get from Al and the rest of the team at Aston Fitness is part of the reason I have been successful. It takes a commitment on my part but I've found that being consistent with my eating and exercise and taking responsibility for myself goes a long way in achieving the goals I set. Just seeing my results has inspired some of my workmates to change their eating habits, which is amazing to see from my point of view, as the little things you do for yourself really does have an effect on other people. If you don't take that step to see just what you can achieve it would be such a shame, as the benefits coming out the other side are enormous. What could you do if you were not afraid?