Meet the Liverpool carer that has become a personal trainer after losing more than seven stones

A Liverpool carer who shed more than seven stones with life-changing gym workouts has become a personal trainer to help other people achieve the same incredible ‘transformation’.

Megan Foster, 22, went from 18st to 10st 9lb, thanks to a healthy eating regime and carefully crafted weight training sessions.

“I had tried everything to shift the weight, but nothing seemed to work,” she says.

“But with the right help, and the right mindset, it shows anyone can do something to lose weight or feel better and healthier.

“Going to the gym has transformed me and it’s transformed my life – and now I want to help others do the same.”

Megan, from South Liverpool, explains that it was at secondary school that she began piling on pounds.

“I was about 12 when I started to put a lot of weight on,” she says. “I tried hard to lose it, but it was just going on, week after week.

“Then in 2015 I drastically lost weight, going from 18st to 12st – and I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid.

“I was prescribed medication which balanced the hormones, but then it became underactive, and I started putting all the weight back on again.

“I tried everything. I went to slimming group and practically lived in the gym every single night from school, doing hours of cardio. Eventually, in 2017, my medication was regulated. Very slowly, over two years I lost a stone and a half, and then two, and then I plateaued.

“I couldn’t lose any more no matter how hard I tried.”

 Although she ate reasonably healthily, Megan admits that she would snack on chocolate and biscuits – and even have a crafty portion of chips on her way home from a weigh-in!

But it was after her mum suggested getting a personal trainer, that Megan started to see huge results, to her body and her mindset.

“When I got to 18st I just thought I can’t put any more weight on. I’m a young woman and this isn’t how I want to live the rest of my life. I was in a size 20 clothes and, being a young girl, I just thought it needs to come off – that was my cut-off point. 

“When my mum suggested the personal trainer, I Googled them and started with the first one that came up, and I’ve never looked back. It has completely changed my life.

“The training, I must admit, is more intense than when I used to go to the gym on my own – then I didn’t really know what I was doing and, to be honest, I’d be looking at my phone half the time.

“I used to do hours of cardio and never even looked at the weights section because I thought weight-training would just make me bigger, but it doesn’t, it actually changes your shape and transforms your body by effectively toning around the fat.

“I have also started eating a nutritionally balanced diet too. It’s about educating yourself.”

Megan admits she’s still not a huge fan of breakfast but, for lunch, she has balanced diet meals from Morrisons (if she’s working), salads, or chicken with peppers and rice; and for tea, salmon with vegetables or homemade healthy curries.

She goes to the gym every day, work permitting, and does a combination of weight-training exercises; and she enjoys it so much and was so pleased with the results, that Megan decided to become a personal trainer herself.

“I was nervous about going to a personal trainer at first, and I feared I was just going to go big and bulky, but I soon changed my view completely to the point I said ‘this is what I want to do’. I want to help other people.”

Megan began studying and training to become a personal trainer and now works part-time for her in-home carer role, and spends the rest of her time as a PT.

“I went from thinking nothing was going to work, to looking ad feeling like a different person, happier, healthier, and more confident; and feeling I could wear nicer clothes, which is especially important when you are younger.

“You need to believe it’s what you want, first and foremost, so the mindset is important. But it’s amazing what you can achieve.”

Megan says people do raise eyebrows when you mention PTs because of the cost, but she says: “I look at it in investing in yourself – that’s what I did, and I have seen the results – I lost another person!

“A lot of people are scared about working out in the gym, and they’re not 100% sure of what to do. But with the right help, you can get incredible results.

“I have finally succeeded – now I want to help others succeed too.”

Follow Megan’s journey on Instagram here.

By Janet Tansley