Ellie Berra Personal Trainer

Ellie has achieved an incredible weight loss of nearly 8 stone and uses her own personal fitness journey and experience to help motivate her clients.

Tell us about your journey to fitness? Where did it all start?

My journey to fitness started like most: with a desire to lose weight. At a size 18 very near a size 20, something needed to change. Food had been a comfort for too long and so I joined the gym which had just opened near my house, and the long hours of cardio began. The love for all things fitness didn't arrive until I discovered weight lifting in a small group PT session. I couldn't wait for every training session: I would come alive and eager for a new PB, not only for me but for my gym friends too. I lost around 50kg (nearly 8 stone) and people would ask me for advice. I could not stop talking about it. I found people on social media that shared my feel-good obsession and decided that if I had managed it, I had to help other people to achieve it and so I become a personal trainer.

Do you follow a specific nutrition plan? If so, what/when do you eat?

I don't really follow a particular nutritional regime. I believe in a healthy balance. I advise clients to aim to have protein with every meal and to refrain from too much sugar, consuming most of their carbs from vegetables and sweet potatoes rather than pasta and bread.

Tell us about sporting events you have taken part in or have coming up

I completed Toughest Race last year with the Fempower UK team and I have run a few 10km races. At the moment I don't have a run or event planned, I train because it makes me feel good and I love to try what London has to offer, trying all different classes and venues.

Talk us through your training regime

I like a variety of training: I am a qualified Insanity™ instructor and I love using kettlebells in my training.

Tell us one unusual fact we wouldn’t know about you:

I have scoliosis and need to work on my flexibility. I am the mother of a 17-year-old.

What do you do to keep your clients motivated?

Advice on motivation? Find someone to train with; someone that can challenge you but have fun at the same time. Find an exercise that you enjoy and if working out feels like a chore, change what you are doing.

What is your favourite fitness quote?

“Your only competition is yourself.”