Co Tyrone fitness expert Tara wants to help women in their 40s and 50s regain their health after Covid

A mother of four and in her 50s herself, Tara is the owner of Tara Grimes Fitness whose services are designed for women who are experiencing difficulties in losing weight.

The Tyrone native specialises in creating personalised, coached fitness regimes for women in this age bracket and demand for her services has rocketed since the Covid pandemic.

She said a “perfect storm” was created for those who started going through the menopause during Covid. People were working from home and not getting as much daily movement and were within touching distance of snacks. They also might not have been aware of the signs that they were going through the menopause.

Most new clients at Tara Grimes Fitness, whose programmes focus on weight loss, toning and hormone management, report the same barriers to exercise: family and career pressures as well as sedentary habits developed during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

However, Tara believes that the increasing uptake of online coaching — as women move away from the more traditional onsite model towards private online coaching — is going a long way towards reversing the growing trend of poor diet and lack of flexibility in women.

Tara Grimes Fitness has a team of eight fitness coaches and three distinguished health professionals. Tara herself holds a BA (Hons) Degree from the University of Ulster and an MSc from Queen’s University, Belfast. She is a Certified MNU Nutritionist and Accredited Personal Trainer.

Tara Grimes said: “The pandemic created a perfect storm for weight gain for many Irish women, especially menopausal women. Women didn't fully understand the impact of menopausal hormones on their body shape and behaviours around food. Thankfully, we are becoming more and more educated now.

“People working from home were likelier to snack more at home and far less likely to engage in everyday activities like walking to the office from the car park, moving around the office, and everyday movements associated with your working day away from home. All these little movements add up. Poor diet and lack of good eating habits are the legacies of the pandemic.

“Thankfully, the behaviour of women towards fitness and fat-loss coaching has changed dramatically since the pandemic. People are moving away from diet clubs and gym sessions and towards professional online coaching, with the accompanying benefit of being able to lose weight away from potential onlookers.

“When I started one-to-one online fat-loss coaching, I quickly realised that I had a knack for getting my clients, who had struggled for decades, the results they paid for, and more importantly, enabling them to keep the weight off for the rest of their lives! With the initial conversation, I tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Irish women don’t want to be mollycoddled. They want the facts on how to lose weight and keep weight off. I have a 100% success rate.”

In Tara’s one-to-one VIP programme, participants are assigned to Tara herself, who customises a bespoke diet and movement plan to the individual’s desired weight-loss goal and is flexible for their lifestyle and the time available to them. The online Revive and Thrive programme also offers clients a bespoke fat loss and fitness plan and online support from their own highly qualified and experienced nutritionist and trainer.

Free programmes are available via Tara’s website, including the Fat Loss Guide and The Menopause Reset – a masterclass on weight loss during menopause featuring advice from the UK’s top clinicians and testimonials from real women who enjoyed success using Tara’s methods. Tara and her team are happy to have a 'no obligation’ chat with anyone – just contact her through who feels they need more support with weight management and overcoming that middle-age slump. Just contact her on taragrimesfitness.com

Tara Grimes sees significant increase in business from Republic of Ireland since Covid

Family and career pressures – as well as sedentary habits formed during lockdowns – main barriers to exercise

Attachments

• Scanned by Gmail