I had been trying to lose weight for years. I realized being overweight was not good for my health. I read many articles about weight loss, what kind of food to eat and avoid, what exercises to do, etc. I tried it on my own. While these tips really worked, I could not maintain my weight loss for long. Before realizing it, the weighing scale would go back to its original number. I admit that it was very discouraging. Many times I was tempted to try other, quicker alternatives to lose weight. However, I always believed that the only way to lose weight and be healthy was by doing it the healthy way.

My personal insight told me that it was lack of discipline and irregular exercise-diet plan that caused my weight to stay up despite all my efforts. Knowing this, I started searching for a sports center or place whose philosophy matched mine. And voilà, Slender Shapes had the answers to all my questions.

It's been just over a year and a half since I joined Slender Shapes. Within 8 months, I'd lost about 9 kg, and I've maintained that loss for about a year. I wanted to lose the weight to feel strong and lean and energetic again, and now that I've lost it, I just love the way I look and feel! There is NO WAY that I'm going to let myself go again.

It's no exaggeration to say that Slender Shapes is almost totally responsible for how good I feel now. From the day I stepped into the gym until today, I have been challenged, motivated, encouraged and inspired through the workouts, the advice of the staff, and by simply talking to the other gym members. Everyone knows that you don't lose weight healthily and keep it off unless you eat in moderation and exercise, but no one likes to actually do it. Being a member of the gym, with the encouragement and help of all the women around you, eating in moderation and exercising is no longer a chore or something to be endured. It becomes a shared enterprise and is therefore enjoyable.

The circuit programme is great! I love the fact that you don't have to wait for machines, or even think about what machine to use next. You just pick a point to start, follow the circuit and hit all your major muscle groups in just 30 minutes. It's cardio-vascular, it's strengthening, it's muscle-building … and if you come in one day and don't feel like following the circuit, that's okay too. The instructors are always there to show you a new move, or to challenge you through an old move. As soon as you start to stagnate, one of the instructors will notice (they see everything!) and will come up to you and say – let's try something else. And now they also conduct classes throughout the week: Stretch and Tone, Velocity classes, Strengthening and Sculpting classes. It keeps things interesting and different. And every so often, the instructors will come up with some kind of game or challenge – there was a cardio challenge and some other pick-a-card challenge. The girls really work hard and are ingenious at keeping our motivation high.

Machines are just machines and exercises are just exercises. To my mind, what distinguishes Slender Shapes from any other gym that I know is the atmosphere that the management and instructors have created. Everyone is genuine and friendly. There are no posers. New members are introduced to existing members. Chatting is encouraged. Whenever someone steps off the scales and announces that they've lost a kilo, cheers ring out, followed by shouts of “Give that woman some cake!” You never feel that the road to weight loss and good health has to be traveled alone, and that makes all the difference.