When I was little, I used to love sport, I would be in the garden almost every day playing. Whether that was on my own with a racket and ball or playing games with my brothers. I loved football and was very often called a ‘Tom Boy’, a term I really hated.

I got to Primary school and I played in all of the teams, I loved it. I was the first girl ever to play in the boy’s football team and I even scored a goal in my first match. When I got to year six, I was so upset I didn’t get the ‘sports award’, I cried so hard that day and my relationship with sport and exercise changed. It changed because in that one single moment my confidence, my idenity was taken away from me. If I wasn’t Kavita the Tom Boy then who was I?

I started secondary school and I honestly do think that your teachers can influence whether of not enjoy a subject. My relationship with PE for the first couple of years was very rocky, I didn’t like doing PE with the boys and I hated changing in front of the other girls. It wasn’t until I was scouted to play tennis, I started to enjoy it again. I tried out for the football team and I was the goalkeeper, I played my heart out. I joined a club for tennis and played till I was 16 and got a job, I wish I had carried on.

I then decide to take on PE for GCSE and A-Levels, it was so hard, but I enjoyed it, it kept me fit and I was able to try lots of sports out. I volunteer over 500 hours and won a couple of awards, I got my buzz back. I Went further and studied a degree in Sports Science and applied for a job in Sports Development.

However, over time, my love for sport and exercise has been lost and the enjoyment has faded away. My enjoyment of food and understanding how to take care of myself was disappearing. I only exercised if I needed to, for example, to feel confident in my wedding dress and that was mainly for the photos and to be able to actually wear the dress – It was so heavy!! Even now, four years later I still say to people, I did bootcamp twice a week and two exercises just so I could carry the dress. I wish now, I did those classes for me, not for a dress. 

If I wasn’t Kavita the Tom Boy then who was I?

Over the years, I would look at myself, I would try lots of diets, I would exercise for a little while and then make excuses and I have lost count of the amount of money I have spent wasted on gym memberships! 

But I wanted to show you today, how much I can love myself, how much I take care of my body but more importantly my mind. These photos are times in my life, I felt confident and happy because I spent a lot of time working on my mental health.

Being a mum is tough work, it takes a toll on your mental load, it takes a toll on your body but the ONLY person who can help you with this, is yourself.

I needed the motivation to want to get my body back, but more than just that, my confidence back. I needed to know I wasn’t just Kavita the mum!

My confidence back.  I needed to know I wasn’t just Kavita the mum!

I started to exercise!!!

I started an exercise class for just women, just mums! I have made friends, I am enjoying myself and because it is fun I didn’t notice how much my body has changed! Don’t believe me? See the photos below and see how much I have changed because I have changed my mindset.

Thank you Sweaty Mama’s Bexley for giving me my confidence back!

I have changed my mindset.