Inspiring Edinburgh woman overcomes weight issues to become body builder

Struggling with counting calories and managing your weight is a sad unhealthy reality for many young women in Scotland’s capital.

But a young and inspiring Edinburgh women is breaking the mold and hopes her story can inspire others to see food as fuel and not something to fear.

Anna Thomson, 28, from corstorphinehe says that as a teenager and in his early twenties, he struggled to find a healthy weight and often found himself “trying to take up as little space as possible” in the world.

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She was constantly counting calories, trying to stick to 1,000 a day or even less, often fearful of going over a size six.

But after overcoming some mental health battles and growing as a person, Anna found solace in the gym.

It was from here that his slow and gradual journey towards a healthy relationship with food and exercise began.

Today she is a competitive bodybuilder and professional personal trainer, competing all over Scotland and transforming her physique into a picture of health.

About her journey, she said, “In the beginning of my life, I was quite a shy person and a bit of a doormat. He really wouldn’t speak for myself.

“Five years ago I was doing what a lot of girls do when they go to the gym. She just wanted to lose as much weight as possible even though she was already very small.

“I wanted to take up as little space in the world as possible and had been conditioned to think that thinner is better.

“My trips to the gym involved pure cardio and ab exercises, as I never dreamed I would be able to venture into free weights.

“It took me a while to work up the courage to go into the free weight section, but I gained the confidence after doing my own research online.

“I was always fascinated by weightlifting and admired the people in the free weight section, but I was aware that it was dominated by men.

“It took me about a year to work up the courage to set up a barbell for a free-weight squat. Now I can squat 100 kilos, which is crazy to think about where I started.

“It was a very gradual process. He was convinced that everyone would look at me and think I didn’t belong and was in the way.

“But now I can look back and know that it was my own emotional barrier in my head because everyone was so lovely and no one was looking at me, but it was my own insecurity that created that barrier.

“It was my mind that had to transform first and then I started to fall in love with weightlifting and started to take it more seriously.”

Anna said that her physique followed through overcoming her mental struggles and that she now has bulletproof confidence, regardless of the gym she walks into.

From there he began to take training seriously.

She adds: “The mental and the physical run completely parallel.

“I had such a low image of myself that I insisted on eating 1,000 calories or less a day and I didn’t feed my body well because I felt I didn’t deserve to take a place in this world.

“I would definitely say that modern society and the overexposure to various forms of social media and feminine forms was detrimental to my mental and physical well-being.

“As women, we naturally make that upward comparison. The influence of reality TV and the profile of the size six girl, as well as the pursuit of things like the perfect thigh gap, was very detrimental.

“Looking back, I was definitely underweight. She was convinced that she had to go ahead and lose more weight.

“If I was above a certain dress size, it would be the worst thing in the world.

“But now I’m happily a size 10, I can’t fit into a size 6 and I accept that.”

Anna said that as a society we need to stop paying so much attention to women’s dress size as this can evoke some harmful emotions.

She wishes she had discovered exercise a decade earlier and adds that there should be more support and structure for young women to understand what holistic physical exercise can look like.

Anna says that mental health is often forgotten about with fitness, but they are intertwined to a great extent.

She says she became very gradually but healthy obsessed with the gym, and through her own online research, discovered a desire to turn her obsessions into more than just a hobby by competing in bodybuilding events.

The fitness fanatic continued, “I had always admired the competitive side of weightlifting, but I always had a doubt that it wouldn’t be good enough.

“I thought back and forth as to whether I could deal with the bulking and cutting cycle as well as the calorie deficit element.

“In 2019 I got my first trainer, at first this was not for racing as I was still on the fence.

“I cut pretty skinny and loved the structure and reward of physically seeing what you put on.

“From there and during the Covid lockdown I did a huge gain phase while smashing the bar bell and silly bells in my living room – I put on some muscle and got into the prep stage.

“For bodybuilding competitions you are preparing all the time, gaining muscle or losing fat.

“My first competition was in September of last year.

“We need to be absolutely shredded on stage and start cutting body fat about five months before we compete.

“Cutting is not for the faint of heart, but it taps into a mental toughness you didn’t know you had.

“I have a brilliant trainer who wobbles it as much as possible, but to get to that level of incline you have to push your limits.

“The highest level of cardio was around 80 minutes per day. That was exhausting, but I only had to do it for a couple of weeks when the stair master was my best friend.

“You certainly expect a bagel on cheat day.

“I did all of this while studying at university to become a PT and also working part time.

“Once I proved that I could juggle all three, I felt like I could do anything.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that competition is about two percent of the process.

“The shimmery tan from the bikini and spray coat is just a very small part. If you don’t like the bulking and cutting process before that, then it’s not for you.

“But there’s nothing like that in showing off your physique, showing the years it’s taken you to get to that point.

“It was pretty surreal competing at the Arnold Sports Festival in front of 60,000 attendees, even more online.

“You feel great in your three layers of tan and sparkly bikini.”

Anna also turned her passion into a career by becoming a PT at PureGym in Gorge.

She says that her hard work researching health and fitness, as well as her own life experience, have given her the building blocks to pass on practical knowledge to help others.

Anna has shared some inspiring words for others looking to embark on the same journey.

She said: “I find immense power in helping others. My training remains my passion, but above all else, I use my experience and journey to help as many people as I can.

“Those who are in their chapter one, I want them to feel empowered and dominate in the gym and make sure they take their place in the world.

“Once you develop that confidence in the gym, it spills over into other spaces in your life.

“From the bottom of my heart, I would say it doesn’t have to be the gym, but find a form of fitness that you really enjoy if you want to build a healthy relationship with your weight.

“Not everyone is going to enjoy being in a gym, but there are so many sports out there.

“Being able to externalize everything through physical movement and feel the progression, there is nothing more empowering and it is when that change happens, you start to see food as fuel and not as the enemy. It allows you to evolve.

“I want to pass this on to other people and inspire others by saying that if I can do it, anyone can.”

Anna is available for one on one personal training at PureGym Edinburgh West (Gorgie) and one on one online fitness training remotely.

Anna works with complete beginners to more experienced athletes and any queries can be made via Instagram at @annalifts_ or by email to [email protected].