Mariam fights the flab

Being overweight can be a vicious circle; the bigger you get, the more it depresses you, the more you comfort eat, the more weight you put on.

Most of us will put a token effort in with whatever happens to be the fashionable diet of the moment and then give up.
If we’re lucky we’ll lose a little weight and decide to go out for a tasty slap up meal to celebrate and before we know it, we’re back to eating as we did before and the weight we lost soon finds its way back on to our thighs and muffin tops.
The up and down yo-yo of a woman’s physique is something many a woman can relate to and the nightmare of trying to lose weight gained is an ongoing battle against an terrorist enemy force that seems to regenerate itself endlessly.
The more determined might hire a fitness trainer to put them through their paces and keep them on track but for most of us the quest for the body beautiful is just out of our reach.
Not so for 25-year-old Bahraini Mariam Swar. When she decided enough was enough and set her mind to losing weight, she went a huge step further and is now one of the Middle East’s most sought-after personal trainers.
Starting off with just a few magazine articles on losing weight, Mariam set about losing 20kg without the aid of faddy diets.
Following her own regime and with the help of a step, free weights and an exercise bike, she made up her mind and didn’t stop until she’d achieved her goal.
“I was very overweight and depressed about it,” says Mariam. “I hated the way I looked and didn’t want to go out to a gym as I didn’t want people to see me that fat and that’s when I realised it was something I had to do myself.”
Along with losing weight, Mariam came to the realisation that getting into shape wasn’t just a means-to-an-end but a way of life and the more weight she lost, the more she became interested in the process and decided to take a fitness training course.
“It started off as just a way of losing weight and feeling better about myself but I became interested in the how of it all so I took a course and realised that I had found something I was really interested in pursuing as a career,” she said. “It took me about two years in total but once I had lost all the weight I wanted to lose and got the qualification I needed, I applied for a job as a fitness trainer and it all took off from there.”
After a few months Mariam was offered a job with a larger fitness centre and decided to take her Pilates certification in order to be able to offer her clients a more varied workout. It was at this point that she also started to take on clients on a one-to-one basis rather than just teaching a class.
“Although I enjoy teaching classes, I am much better when I’m working alone with a client as I am able to concentrate on exactly what they need.
“Having been through the nightmare of trying to lose weight and get fit I can completely relate to what the client is going through and can tailor a regime to suit their specific needs.
“It’s really rewarding to see the results and how much better they feel about themselves and to know that I was able to help them get that way.”
Despite her parent’s concerns, Mariam was looking for more of a challenge so she took a rare step for a Bahraini girl and moved away from home to Dubai where she now works as a personal trainer at the Aviation Club.
She explained: “I decided that it was time for me to expand my horizons. My parents were hesitant about me leaving home at first as they were worried about me but they knew that it would be good for me experience-wise as well as for my resume so they supported my decision.”
She now works a six-day week with up to six clients a day passing through her classroom, with a typical session consisting of a warm up, 30 minutes of weight training, 20 minutes of cardio and 10 minutes of stretching.
 She is also taking a course in nutrition in order to be able to offer her clients the full package and professional advice on what they should eat as well as the right exercises to do in order to make the most of their health.
Mariam will be coming back to live and work in Bahrain at the end of August.
She says: “Living and working in Dubai has been a great learning experience for me as I have had the chance to meet clients from all sorts of different backgrounds as well as learn new things from trainers from all over the world. Now I want to go home and apply what I’ve learnt and hopefully make people in Bahrain more aware of the importance of staying fit and healthy.”

By Marie-Claire
marie-claire@gulfweekly.com