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'Whenever I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I’d think, "Who the hell is that?"'

After avoiding activity of any sort for 39 years, acting agent Jess Alford, 40, from South East London, took the plunge and started strength training. She hasn’t looked back.

I’ve always joked that I was ‘allergic’ to exercise. I hated sports at school and was, for want of a better phrase, lazy as hell. I’d always eaten fairly well (maybe a bit too much) but my lack of movement meant I’d struggled with my weight since secondary school. The more sedentary I was, the more my weight climbed up, and the more it did, the less inclined I was to move. I’d tried every diet under the sun, always going for the quick fix, always yo-yoing.

But in the summer of 2019, I weighed over 16st – and something shifted. I can’t really pinpoint the lightbulb moment. I was unhappy and insecure, and the desire to make a change crept up on me. With my 40th birthday looming, it felt like the time had come – and a fad diet wasn’t going to cut it. I wanted to get fit. Still, the idea of exercising was so completely alien and so intimidating.

I wanted guidance, so I explored gyms near my office in Soho, and signed up for 10 sessions at Fitness Lab. It’s a small studio that only does personal training – there were never more than three people training at the same time. My first session in August 2019 was horrendous. I was battling my way through banded hip-thrusts when I thought, ‘This is it – game over. I can’t do this’.

When I went back to the office, my face puce, my colleagues were so wonderfully supportive and their encouragement made me think, ‘OK, I can. So, muscles still achy, I was back in the gym a few days later for the next session. When my five weeks were up, I realised I was actually quite enjoying my workouts. I loved the fact that every week I could do a little bit more, and move in a way I’d never thought myself capable of.

Another unexpected benefit was that I’d effectively booked in time for myself. It was the best therapy – just to switch off and focus on me. Without hesitation, I signed up for another 50 sessions with my trainer, Jack Coxall. I was all in.

My bi-weekly, hour-long sessions were full-body workouts featuring strength fundamentals – squats, deadlifts, bench presses and rows. As for my cardio fitness, Jack gave me the goal of hitting 10,000 steps a day, and when that became easy, 15,000.

He also had me tracking my calories with MyFitnessPal, and set me a weekly calorie allowance rather than a daily one, which gave me a bit more freedom. I didn’t cut out any foods at all.

In the morning I’d have overnight oats with mixed berries, yoghurt, and peanut butter. For lunch, a chicken breast with sweet potato wedges and stir-fried veg and dinner, shepherd’s pie or salmon and veg.

By early 2020, I was down over 3st and when I turned 40 in March, and I was well on my way to reaching my goal. And then 2020 threw a bit of a spanner in the works with a global pandemic. I was definitely concerned about slipping into my old sedentary habits, but having my programme to focus on and goals to work towards really helped me navigate those emotions.

I kept up my twice-weekly strength sessions, and my daily walks. In May, I bought myself a bicycle, just for local cycles. But when restrictions lifted, I started cycling into work every day, which is about seven miles each way. If you’d told me I’d be fit enough to do that in 2019, I’d have told you to eff off.

When I got back to the office, my colleagues didn’t recognise me. And back in the gym, I every time I caught sight of myself in front of the full-length mirror, I’d think, ‘Who the hell is that?’ To date, I’ve lost 6st 6lbs.

I still can’t quite believe what I’ve achieved – from nearly weeping over banded hip thrusts to being able to perform the move with a 110kg barbell. But what I’m most proud of was taking the first step – making the choice to do something for me and my health, even though it was really scary. It was one of the bravest things I’ve ever done.

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