Chloe Robinson Personal Trainer

When you are given a calorie target, you should aim to eat as much as possible within that target, not as little as possible.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this happen:

A woman is given 1,800 calories

Instead of thinking:

“How can I build the most filling, nutritious, satisfying 1,800-calorie day possible?”

She thinks:

“How little can I get away with eating?” 🍽️

So breakfast becomes a coffee and an apple 🍎 ☕️

Lunch becomes a (sad) salad with almost no protein 🥗

By 4pm she’s starving 🕓 😖

By 8pm she’s raiding the cupboards and feeling guilty 🍫🍪🍩🥨🍬

That isn’t a lack of willpower, it’s a very normal biological response to under-eating.

The goal of a calorie target is NOT to see how much you can suffer 🙅‍♀️

It’s to create a level of intake that allows you to:

✔️ Hit your protein
✔️ Have energy for workouts
✔️ Look after your kids
✔️ Think about something other than food
✔️ Be consistent for months, not just 5 days

ESPECIALLY for busy mums and postpartum women, I’d rather see someone eat 1,750–1,850 calories consistently, than swing between 1,000 calories during the day and 2,500 at night because they’re starving.

Sustainable fat loss is usually built on; adequate food, adequate protein, and repeatable habits, not on trying to survive on the smallest number possible.

I think a lot of women have been taught that exercise only counts if it’s a perfect 5-day gym week.

But if I’m being completely honest, this is what a *realistic* week can look like when you’re pregnant, working, parenting, and trying to keep a household running:

Monday: 1-2 30-45 minute dog walks & household reset 🧼

Tuesday: 30 minute spin class & 30-45 minute lower strength workout in the gym 🚲

Wednesday: 1-2 30-45 minute dog walks & trip to the park with my toddler 🛝

Thursday: 30-45 minute upper strength session in the gym, 1 dog walk, casual evening stretches because my body starts feeling the week.

Friday: 30 minute mobility class & Full-body workout planned, with a 50/50 chance of actually doing it 🫣 evening dog walk.

Weekend: Family walks, park trips, chasing my toddler children, housework, and maybe some terminology or stretching if I feel for it!

That week would still be a huge win.

Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s repeatable 🔁

The women who get the best long-term results usually aren’t the ones who go all-in for two weeks.

They’re the ones who learn how to keep moving even when life is messy.

As someone about to become a mum of two, that lesson feels more important to me than any “summer body” challenge ever has.

One of the most freeing lessons I’ve learned over the years, is to stop letting one thing become my entire identity.

I used to be “the fitness girl.”
Before that I was “the dancer.”
Then I became “the vegan.”
Then “the personal trainer.”

Now I’m a wife.
A mum.
A friend.

Someone who loves the sea.
Someone who loves paddleboarding.
Someone who enjoys lifting heavy things...
but also slowing down.

Fitness is something I do, It isn’t who I am.

The same goes for food.

You don’t have to become “the gym person.”
Or “the runner.”
Or “the Pilates girl.”
Or “the healthy one.”

Those things can absolutely be part of your life...
but they’re only ever one chapter of the story.
The trouble starts when one chapter becomes the whole book.

Because what happens when life changes?
Pregnancy.
Injury.
Children.
Work.
Menopause.
Retirement.

If your identity can’t flex with your life, you’ll always feel like you’re losing yourself.

I’d rather be someone who values movement... than someone who only values one way of moving.

I’d rather be someone who looks after herself... than someone who needs to fit a label.

Your body isn’t your personality.
Your hobbies aren’t your personality.
Your character is.

And if I couldn’t step foot in a gym tomorrow...
I’d still be me.

What about you?

“I can’t do push-ups.”

A statement I hear from women regularly, in class and PT sessions.

I usually smile, nod and then continue with the demo anyway.

Not because I don’t care...

But because I know most women aren’t saying, “I’ve tried every progression and I definitely can’t do one.”

They’re saying...

“I’ve already decided that’s not something someone like me can do.”

That’s a very different thing.

As a coach, I don’t expect anyone to walk through my doors already strong, confident or knowing exactly what to do and what they’re capable of.

If they did, they probably wouldn’t need me.

My job isn’t to test you and score you pass ✅ or fail ❌

It’s to help you discover what you’re capable of today, and then build from there 💪🏼

Yesterday I sent Lauren a video from nearly 10 months ago alongside one from this week’s session.

The difference wasn’t just the push-ups.
It was hearing her say:
“I can’t believe that’s me.”

That sentence sums up exactly why I love what I do.
Because strength training isn’t just about building stronger muscles.

It’s about collecting evidence that you’re capable of more than you thought.

And once you’ve got enough evidence... the story you tell yourself starts to change too 🥰

Have you ever surprised yourself by doing something you genuinely thought you couldn’t?

I used to think people either “liked exercise” or they didn’t.

Now I don’t believe that’s true at all.

The first spin class I ever did was awful 🙅🏼‍♀️

Straight up, heavy resistance intervals.

Legs on fire 🦵🏼 🔥

I walked out thinking, “Well that’s not for me.”

Fast forward a few years... I qualified as a spin instructor and have now taught hundreds (if not thousands) of classes.

Turns out I didn’t hate spin.

I hated that spin class.

The same goes for running, the gym, HIIT, HYROX or whatever the latest fitness trend is.

If you’ve only ever tried one or two ways of exercising, you haven’t sampled “exercise”...

You’ve sampled one flavour of it 🍦

Find something you enjoy first, then build around it, because the workout that gets the best results is rarely the most intense one.

It’s the one you’ll still happily be doing years from now.

My client, Katie came back from holiday recently and told me about a staircase.

Not exactly the update most personal trainers expect 😅
She’d been away in Spain with friends and one day they to head into town.

The route?

A steep set of 100 or so step,s that took around 10 minutes to climb.

In the Spanish heat 🥵

The temptation to just grab a taxi was strong, but they decided to make the journey up on foot.

Katie was the first one to the top.

She told me it wasn’t easy, but she also told me something that made me smile.

She felt capable.

When she got to the top she wasn’t completely wiped out.

She wasn’t worried whether she’d make it.

She just got on with it.

When Katie first started training with me, her goals weren’t:
“Climb a staircase in Spain.” They were probably a lot like yours.

Lose some weight.
Feel fitter.
Improve general health.
Keep up with her toddler who, in her words, “isn’t getting any weaker.” (Pray for the mums of 3 y/o boys, are you all ok?!)

The staircase wasn’t the goal, but it became proof that what she’s doing is working 💪🏼

Fitness isn’t just about what happens in the gym, it’s bout what happens outside of it:

It’s carrying your child
Walking up the hill
Keeping up on holiday
Joining in instead of sitting out

And lately we’ve noticed some physical changes too.
A little more muscle definition in her legs.
A little more strength.
A little more confidence.
Pushing through those hard exercises (bulgarian split squats, we’re looking at you 👀)

But I think the staircase is my favourite progress marker so far.

Because nobody remembers the squat they did three months ago.

They remember the moment they realised their body was capable of more than they thought.

What’s been your favourite non-scale victory recently?