Only 21% of adults in the UK are happy with their body image (Mental Health Foundation, 2019). You may be wondering why I’ve started with this fact. Well, this was something I came across whilst doing background research for my nutrition, fitness and wellness company, FreedomFit. But before I get into that, I thought I would start with a quick monthly recap of what I have been up to during the month of August, whilst on the PTY enterprise pathway. Just in case this is the first time you’ve heard about this pathway, it is a placement year where I get the opportunity to work on my own business alongside receiving funding and support from Surrey Student Enterprise.

Successes

            As I mentioned in my July vlog, I have been looking into developing an app where clients can access their workout plans, nutrition plans, direct chat with their nutritionist and personal trainer, helpful blog posts and a community feed. This month I received the app prototype which looks and works like the app without it yet being the fully functioning product. It has been an amazing tool for gathering some feedback, which I’m glad to say has overall been very positive and useful suggestions have been made too.

            I have also completed over 80% of my level 3 personal trainer course and I’m hoping to do the theory exams very soon. This means, once I’ve also completed the practical assessments, I will be a fully qualified PT! What’s more exciting is that I have also found someone who is interested in becoming our first FreedomFit registered nutritionist!

Challenges

            I’d say the overall running theme by way of challenges this month, is finding the right balance. With everyone at university currently on their summer holiday’s it’s been difficult finding the right social-work life balance. It’s also taken me some time to find the right balance between when to stop working but then also not getting distracted by e.g. social media during the workday. Luckily, I am quite self-disciplined which has helped me get into a good work rhythm over the course of the month. Also writing weekly and daily to-do lists has made sure I get done what I need to but allowed for free time too.

Meetings and Business Mentor

            I’ve been having weekly meetings with my business mentor, Vincenzo. We have been working through the specifics of the problem that FreedomFit is trying to solve and the causes of this problem. This led me onto my research which I mentioned at the start of this post. The meetings and the research have made me focus on the finer details of FreedomFit and I now have a clear vision of what I would like to achieve. I ideally want to help young adults boost their confidence and self-esteem using nutrition and exercise as tools to make them feel good from within. I want to help our clients establish a balanced, non-restrictive way of eating (taking the focus off numbers such as calories and weight) and find a way of working out that makes them feel strong and empowered, shifting the focus from physique goals to performance. I also hope to run workshops on building confidence and educating our clients with nutrition and exercise basics. If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, then be sure to give @freedomfit.uk a follow over on Instagram!