#MyFitnessJourney: We Meet Aoife Doyle, Owner Of Pixie Fitness

Tell us a bit about your fitness journey.

I struggled with my weight from an early age, and spent years of going from overweight to underweight and everything in between. I started working in a gym when I was 20 and became interested in the fitness aspect but my food still wasn’t under control. I would yo-yo between binge eating and starving myself. It was only after my first child when I was 23 that I decided to take control of my body and adapt a more sensible, long-term approach.

What does your gym session look like?

I like to keep my training sessions short as I live a busy life. I generally pick six exercises, three lower body and three upper body and I’ll incorporate a challenging weight. I use a mixture of free weights and I use the odd machine. My glutes are my weak area so I focus a lot on them.

How often do you work out?

I lift weights roughly four or five times per week and I try to get out for two long outdoor walks a week as they help me to unwind and relax.

What does a day on your plate look like?

Breakfast – oats or eggs
Snack – whey protein shake.
Lunch – Chicken/turkey on some rye crackers
Dinner – steak/fish/chicken/turkey with lots of vegetables
Snack – yoghurt and some peanut butter
On weekends I’ll treat myself to some nice chocolate or ice cream.

How important is diet?

Food plays a massive role. If you eat nothing but crappy processed foods, you’re going to feel crappy and unmotivated to do anything. Good food is essential to hitting your fitness and health goals.

What should we make sure to include in our diets?

Try and eat protein with every meal, for example, poultry, lean meats, or a protein supplement if needed. Carbohydrates are important too so oats, vegetables, and things like brown rice. Also get your healthy fats in. My favourites are eggs, avocado, salmon, and coconut oil.

What should we cut out?

Alcohol is a big problem when you’re trying to shape up, you can’t drink every weekend and expect results, a drink occasionally is fine but certainly not every weekend.

What stops people from being successful with their transformation goals?

A lack of consistency. People tend to give up after a bad day when really they need to get straight back to business and learn from their slip-ups rather than giving up. Sleep and stress are also a problem. When you’re sleep deprived or stressed you tend to make poor food choices. Getting more sleep and finding ways to relax goes a really long way.

Tell us a bit about Pixie Fitness.

I decided to go out on my own as a personal trainer in 2013 and that’s when Pixie Fitness was formed. I offer a very down-to-earth training approach that fits in with my clients’ lifestyles. I find this approach works better in the long run.

What does your fat loss package entail?

The four-week fat loss package includes weekly training and a full nutrition plan that’s focused on maximum fat loss in minimum time. All my workouts are less than 30 minutes long and can be done from home or in the gym, if not in the studio with me.

What results can people expect? And in how long?

Results vary between clients, I like to focus more on measurements rather than scale weight. On the four-week fat loss program, clients can expect a loss of between 10 and 20cm on their waists, depending on what their starting point was.

Can you give us five tips for getting in shape for summer?

• Clean up your food and eat plenty of protein and vegetables.
• Incorporate weight training into your weekly exercise regime.
• Lots of cardio isn’t necessary if you’re eating right and lifting weights, but some nice long walks outdoors are a great form of cardio and also help you to de-stress.
• Set goals and stick to them, whether it’s fitting into your favourite jeans or getting ready for bikini season, visualise your goal and don’t stop until you hit it.
• Find a training and food plan that you can stick to long term rather than extreme regimes that can do harm in the long run.

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