The owner and manager of the Pudsey site is Karen Halifax.  Although coming from a career in marketing, she always wanted to run her own business and ladies fitness and weight management is an area that she has always been passionate about.

“From a young age, I always struggled with my weight.  I went from being anorexic at 13 to piling on the weight throughout my teens and early 20s. I felt like such an ugly duckling.  But from then on, my attitude towards my body changed and I decided to take control over my eating and fitness.  It was my time to shine!”

Karen lost 2.5 stone 10 years ago and has kept it off ever since.

“Even whilst pregnant twice and having gained over 2.5 stone each time, I knew that I would get back into my old jeans - despite all those people telling me it wasn’t possible.  Changing your body physically starts with changing your attitude towards it.  With the right mindset, the commitment to getting fit and eating healthily naturally follows.”

As well as a fitness instructor, Karen is also a qualified Life Coach, specialising in motivating women to achieve their health goals.

“As someone who knows exactly how it’s like to be unhappy with how we look or feeling unfit, I understand the importance of support and encouragement when looking to make a change, so that’s the kind of environment we are striving to create at Ladyzone.”