LIZ ARCHIBALD - 'IT SOUNDS DRAMATIC BUT FITBUG CHANGED MY LIFE'

Fitbug fanatic Liz Archibald, a freelance consultant from Brighton, found that when she took on a long term contract two train journeys away from her house, her gym habit - or what little habit there was - went out the window. She turned to Fitbug to lose the excesses of Christmas and get in shape for a ski trip.

A BIT OF AN EYE-OPENER

Liz was really looking forward to setting off for Colorado for a ski-trip of a lifetime in the middle of January.

To dust off the skiing cobwebs, she arranged to spend a mini-break on the slopes to mark the New Year - but the trip turned out to be a bit of an eye-opener.

'When I got there I found that the ski trousers I'd bought last year didn't fit me,- she says. 'I knew I had over-done it a bit in the run up to Christmas but it was a massive shock to learn quite how much.

'I ended up skiing with the zip of the trousers slightly undone, which was fine for a couple of days, but I knew there was no way I could spend my whole time in Colorado like that.

'So when I got back I went on the Internet looking for a book or a DVD or anything to get me on the right track. Then I came across Fitbug,'

BITING THE BULLET

Although the idea appealed to her, she couldn't help but feel a little sceptical. After all she had had pedometers in the past and hadn't always trusted their results.

Besides she was already a member of the gym and she rarely went to that so why should this be any different?

'I'm not one of those people who hate going to the gym, but I never manage to go as often as you need to.

'And as I had taken a long-term contract working at offices that were two train rides away from my house I found I just didn't have time to go anymore.

'Fitbug promised to fit into my life better, but I still wasn't convinced. I'd had experiences of pedometers giving me figures that I didn't believe or stopping working when they slipped off my waistband.

'But the Bug customer feedback was all really positive so I decided to bite the bullet and go for it,- she adds.

SKY HIGH MOTIVATION

Fitbug monitored Liz's activity levels for the first week and then set her targets to increase how much she was doing.

At the same time it set out nutrition targets to help her to moderate what she was eating and help her shed the excess pounds.

'I like to think I know what I should be eating, but unfortunately when I'm not feeling particularly motivated my activity levels go down, my alcohol levels go up and so does my food intake.

'Since joining Fitbug, my motivation levels have been sky high and I have been eating much better.

'Plus, I have found myself filling in the nutrition pages every few days just to check that I am on the right track and to see where my energy balance is,- she explains.

By the time Liz set off for the Rocky Mountains, her ski trousers were snug, but at least she could do them up.

Over the course of the subsequent weeks she shifted the rest of the half a stone she'd piled on over Christmas at a rate of one or two pounds a week.

She is now chipping away at a few more pounds that she would love to shift. But while those stubborn pounds have proved a step too far in the past, this time she's got a feeling Fitbug is going to take her all the way to her goals.

LIFE CHANGING

She adds: 'It might sound dramatic, but I have found the whole experience life changing. My targets are too hard for me to achieve if I just leave it until the evening, so I have to make time to get active in the morning and during the day.

'I have stopped getting the second train to work and I walk instead. And before I would have taken lunch at my desk but now I always get out for at least a 20 minute walk.

'Then in the evening if I am not far from my target I find myself doing things around the house just to get the final few hundred steps in.

'The best thing is that walking isn't faddy. I'm enjoying being more active, when I get to work my head feels clearer, I have more energy throughout the day and I am more productive. It's a great feeling.'