Week 1 is done and I’ve enjoyed every second of it! All week I’ve felt energised, focused and really excited to be part of the group.

So what have we been up to so far? Well we’ve spent a lot of time on the fundamental movements (drilling our squats, learning correct technique for press-ups, sit-ups etc.) as Ray doesn’t want us to get injured, but we’ve also done a couple of really intense workouts that we actually all loved!

Last night’s was a 40-minute workout, 1 min on /1 min off, with the minute on at absolute maximum effort. There was 1 particularly evil section – the ski-erg – which (funnily enough) simulates the action of skiing. Well, I’ve never been skiing before, and after that experience I never will! It was BRUTAL – my triceps were burning after 30 seconds. I really wanted to give up but my team were shouting me on, giving me 30, 15, 10 second countdowns and I reckon I did 50% more than I would have done on my own. (in fact, I wouldn’t have done it on my own so make that 100%!)

All in all, the whole group did 20 minutes of work at 100% effort – not bad for a bunch of beginners.

From a personal perspective, I’m finding it really hard to get out the door at 8pm after the trauma of putting a 4-yr-old, 2-yr-old and 4-month old to bed. A couple of nights I’ve felt like I can’t do it and really haven’t wanted to go in. But as soon as I step inside the gym it’s all forgotten, that hour is just about me and I don’t have to think about anything else. It’s almost a form of meditation or mindfulness – all you think about is the moment you’re in, getting your position right or squeezing out 1 more rep.

But by far the biggest impact has been on my energy levels. Obviously having a young baby means sleep is rare, and before the course I felt like I was just going through the motions every day, praying for 10 minutes when I could just lay on the sofa or even have a nap.

I can honestly say that has changed dramatically in the last week, but I’m certainly not getting any more sleep (in the last few days baby Valentina has decided the cot is lava ????), so it can only be the endorphins from the training and the fact I’m no longer crashing between sugar highs and lows. Over Xmas (and since) I was easily eating the equivalent of about 2/3 chocolate bars a day, but I’ve cut that out completely so my blood sugar levels are more steady throughout the day.

The eating plan has been tough at times, but whenever I feel like I’m wavering I have a look at my ‘before’ photos (absolutely hideous, I’m too ashamed to share them now but I promise I will once I’ve got some dazzling ‘after’ photos to go with them!), and I take myself back to the awful experience in the H&M changing room with the 360-degree mirror. It’s only six weeks and I know people who have lost inches on it so I just have to be strong if I want it to work!

Overall, this is the most motivated I’ve ever been to lose weight and get fit. If I’d just been joining a new gym then I think I’d know deep down there was a good chance I’d give up after a few weeks. But this is so different. Not only am I motivated by my desire to look better, I also believe 100% that I can achieve it on this programme, which is the key to sticking it out.

Bring on the next 5 weeks!