DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T…change career in my 40s

After 20 years in law, Monica Whyte decided it was time for something new

- MISHAAL KHAN

Pulling on my trainers, I grab my rucksack and head to the gym before a day at work in the park. For the rest of the day, I meet clients, watching as they break into a sweat, jogging round the park, doing squats, burpees and sit ups. They often tell me how good they’re feeling as they reach their targets, and I feel a sense of achievement I didn’t think possible in my professional life.

As a child, I was inspired by Margaret Thatcher, her intelligence and success, so when I learnt she was also a barrister, my mind was made up, and I spent my life working towards a career in the legal profession.

I’d always been a little chubby, and wasn’t interested in sport or exercise, so in 1990, when I went to study Law at the University of Central Lancashire, followed by my masters in International Law at Liverpool, my weight only crept up. When I wasn’t in the library, I was drinking beers or cocktails in the pub with friends.