Members Spotlight: Saadia Savory

When George tells us we have to meet an inspirational person, we take notice. Saadia has been receiving personal training sessions with George since January and has made significant strides. Find out how she dropped 20 lbs.

What do you do professionally? 

Professionally I am an underwriter at Argo Group. I am underwriting casualty business. I’ve been doing that for 13 years and have been at Argo for 9. We're right across the street from Court House West so it's convenient to come here.

 How long have you been a member at Court House? 

We got our corporate membership through Argo two years ago. I used to come to West when it first opened and would use the gym in spurts. My son said to me ‘Mum, you always work out for the first six months of the year and stop.’ He was right, so I decided to get serious. 

 It's good because I have a highly stressful job so the gym helps me decompress. It's a great stress reliever and I wanted to practise more self-care. People don't realize that you have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of anyone else including the people you work with and do business with. I decided to treat myself. I know people probably think that going to the gym is not treating yourself but it really is. Overall your body looks better, you feel better, and mentally you are in a better space.

I schedule my PT sessions with George and put them on my work calendar. They are just a regular appointment to me. Once you schedule them in, you feel committed to that schedule.

How long has your new regime been going on for? 

Since January. George and I started with three days and the for the rest of the week, I was on my own. I had a plan and didn't want to go in too heavy at the onset. I gave myself two months to start to build up my strength and get comfortable with the machines, cardio, and by March I did the full transformation. I changed my diet completely. Between March and June, I lost 20 lbs.

I told George when I started that I wanted to be able to do a pull-up unassisted, now I can do five! It's important to set small tangible goals as you go. Once you lose your weight, you lose your weight. It's maintaining it and keeping it off which is the hardest part.

 What's next? 

From September 1st, there was a new plan. I continuously change what I do. It breaks up the monotony and helps you see a new goal at the end of the horizon.  People get into a rut about losing weight; you lose the weight and then don't know what to do with it.

 Why are you doing this? 

My family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and things that you can fix but people get lazy to do anything about it. I just don't want that to be me. I have two kids and I want to be around to see them have kids, so that is a huge motivator. I’ve always been physically active. I ran track, I did dance, I did everything as a child. I was the fit chick in school. Keeping weight off was never a problem for me but once you get over 35 your body starts to change a lot. I didn't want to let myself go.

 What is your current personal training structure? 

George and I do five days a week. Monday is a HITT circuit with cardio. Tuesday is upper body, consisting of shoulders, back, arms and chest. Wednesday is leg day - and we do a heavy leg day. George always says I lift heavier weights than guys which is ironic because I am not big. Thursday is another upper body day so we alternate with routines that we did not do on Tuesday. Friday is glutes and hamstrings. I also do cardio by myself three times a week for about 45 minutes to keep the weight at bay.

 How has personal training helped you attack your fitness and life goals?

It's kept me focused. Often, we set goals and think we can't accomplish them but we can. Personal training has kept me more present and consistent outside of the gym. It's given me a more open mind on how I should approach everything in life. The biggest thing for me about having a trainer was having someone to push me and tell me ‘no Saadia you are not going to quit.’ It makes it easier for me not to quit on things at work and home because I can't quit at the gym, so why quit anywhere else.

 Have you altered your diet to achieve better results? 

Yes. Diet is everything. I know it is difficult to change your diet, however, once you get into a rhythm and focus on it every day, it becomes second nature. It makes it much easier to go out and pick a better food choice. At some point, you would not even crave old food habits anymore because you don't want to feel that way. I see where the marriage between food and fitness happens. They are both on par for me now. I have to do both.

 For some, I know that food is a struggle. People generally overeat because they are stressed. That was me last year. I stress ate. I lost my father; it was a tough year. I put on 15 lbs. in a few months. So, the gym does two things: it takes away the stress so you don't binge eat and you don't want to lose your result, so it has a psychological impact.

Would you recommend George as a personal trainer?

I would but he's mine! You can't take him from me. I definitely would. I've recommended him to a few people already. If you want to train with George, expect him not to take it easy on you. If you're really serious about changing your lifestyle and getting mentally and physically fit, come to George.