MEMBER STORY: Laura Saavedra, Overcoming Burnout and Finding Balance

RECLAIMING YOUR ENERGY: Overcoming Burnout & Finding Balance

We met up with Hogarth Member, Laura, to hear about her story with overcoming burnout and how she juggles a career, being a mother and practicing self-care, while having the motivation to do it all! Find out how she worked on a healthy mindset and discovered a balanced approach to lifestyle and wellbeing here at The Hogarth.

Who is Laura Saavendra?

Laura Saveendra, like many of us, juggles many roles in her life, including being a devoted mother of two, working in the corporate world and now serving as a health and wellbeing coach instead.

Her passion for health and wellness inspired her to share her story with us. As a coach, Laura is dedicated to helping others achieve optimal physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Her story is an inspiration to those seeking to balance a fulfilling career and a healthy lifestyle.

What Prompted Laura’s Health and Wellbeing Journey?

Originally from Venezuela, Laura moved to the UK two decades ago. For a long time, Laura described herself as a ‘gym payer, not a gym goer’ and didn’t take exercising or healthy eating seriously. Over time she realised that she was putting herself through a lot of stress due to her ‘work-hard’ mentality and constantly striving to over-achieve. Work always took president over all else in her life, which worked out just fine up until she became a mother. The demands of motherhood and her job started pulling her in different directions, lead to burnout about four years ago. This experience was a real wake up call for Laura that she needed to start focusing on her health and wellbeing.

Laura: "I was always a gym payer, not a gym goer, for 20 years of my life.”

What Triggered Laura’s Burnout?

Laura Saveendra shared with us the various sources of stress and pressure that she experienced in her life during that time. Her mother was ill, her company was going through a difficult period, and she was emotionally struggling after losing a pregnancy two years prior. Additionally, as she approached 40, concern was building as she felt time was running out for her to have another baby. These multiple stressors, both personal and professional, left her feeling overwhelmed and without a way to release or recharge. This led to a build-up of stress and pressure that was a struggle to manage.

Laura's experience highlights the importance of recognising the impact of stress on our lives and finding healthy ways to manage it.

How did Laura Recover from Burnout?

Laura took nearly two months off work, which initially felt like a failure to her. This led her to start questioning why she had been living her life the way she had. As a high achiever since a young age, she had always been driven to succeed and overwork herself.

Following her burnout, she took personal development courses, went to therapy, and sought mentoring to learn more about herself.

When the opportunity arose to move to Hungary with her family, she took a career break and had her second child there. It was during this time, amidst the pandemic, that she found an online Health Transformation course. Following her second pregnancy, she had become conscious about her body for the first time and was feeling tired and lacking in energy. This sparked her interest in health and wellbeing, and she began her journey towards becoming a coach.

What did Laura Learn From her Self-Development?

Laura shared with us that she had previously been someone who paid for gym memberships but didn't actually attend. However, as she began to learn more about nutrition and the positive effects of exercise on the body, she started to exercise regularly and felt great about it, seeing positive changes in both her energy levels and body shape. However, she admitted that this initial motivation didn't last long.

Laura: "Eventually it became another source of stress, it became another source of pressure. I went to extremes...”

What Made Laura Lose Motivation?

Laura’s approach to health and fitness soon turned into just another source of stress and pressure. She became extreme in her approach by restricting her eating habits and setting very rigid exercise goals of 10,000 steps every day and training four days a week. This military-like approach lacked balance and variety, and she eventually lost motivation because she didn’t feel connected to her goals, which were, at the time purely aesthetic, which she shared was just not enough motivation to sustain her efforts in the long run.

Laura: "It was all becoming very military, very rigid. I didn’t have that balance, I didn’t have that variety anymore and eventually I just lost the motivation because I wasn’t really connected to what I was doing.”

Laura member story at the Hogarth Club

How did Laura alter her Mindset?

Laura found a more sustainable approach to health and wellbeing through Mind-Body nutrition coaching. This type of coaching focuses on the mindset and psychology around food and exercise, helping individuals to shift their thinking and behaviours in a more positive and supportive way. Laura is now able to use her own experiences to help others in their own journey towards better health and wellbeing.

Laura: "If you’re not achieving your goals, if you’re not feeling energised about coming to the gym or energised about eating healthy then there is something around the mindset that needs to shift.”

How Does Laura Find Balance Now?

Laura is now coming to the gym around 4 times a week and is loving the difference between the old her feeling that she had to do her steps and exercise versus now when she trains because she wants to.

Laura’s also returned to the corporate world part time, spending 3 days a week in this role and 2 days a week working on her own business as a health and wellbeing coach. She’s inspiring others to take on their health, many people are in the same space that Laura was in 4 years ago when she burnt out so Laura now wants to be an example and inspiration to others to take their health seriously but also to enjoy it!

Laura: "Since I started coming to the Hogarth, I really love this club. What I like about it is that it feels like a little community, it feels really cosy and the staff are really friendly.”

How Has The Hogarth Helped Laura Achieve Balance?

Laura mentioned that she loves the variety of classes and amenities that we offer here at The Hogarth, such as tennis, the gym, the spa, and the pool, she feels it covers all aspects of what she wants and needs from a health club.

Laura trains with weights about 3 to 4 times a week and enjoys taking yin yoga and Zumba classes in between. Lifting weights makes her feel energised and strong and gives her a sense of accomplishment and achievement. The classes help give her a sense of community and variety.

The numbers on the scale used to dictate her day and control her mood, when she stopped focusing on the scale and calorie counting, her body and mind started to relax. Although, like most of us, she still has a goal to look and feel good, her main focus now is on feeling healthy and prioritising her overall health and well-being.

Now when Laura thinks about exercise and health, the main words she associates with it are freedom, balance, and peace-of-mind. Laura's story is a true testament to the power of self-discovery and the potential for personal growth and transformation.