Mum of 7 finds balance in work, life and fitness

Dubai - Born and raised in the UK, 39-year-old Charlotte, who has been living in Dubai for six years now, juggles her time between her family and own business and still finds time to be physically active and stay competitive in the fitness circuit.

Hitting the right work-life balance and still finding time to stay fit is really a challenge. But this is not impossible to achieve for Dubai resident Charlotte Borghesi, a mother of seven children ranging from one-and-a-half to 17 years old and a businesswoman who has had a long and illustrious career.
Born and raised in the UK, 39-year-old Charlotte, who has been living in Dubai for six years now, juggles her time between her family and own business and still finds time to be physically active and stay competitive in the fitness circuit. 
"I plan my day with discipline and have a routine that I'm completely religious too," Charlotte tells Khaleej Times. "I wake up at five every morning and spend an hour with my husband eating breakfast and then at 6am we go to the gym together every day apart from Friday which is our day we devote 100 per cent to the kids."
She adds: "I'm always strict with my working hours which ensures I don't waste time. I focus on being productive and I find being fit and healthy gives me extra energy to get more out of my day. 
"I am also very good at being clear on what I will not do - we don't have a television and I never watch TV - our social life revolves around the gym and with our children and work colleagues and we don't socialise really outside of this," adds Charlotte, who is the owner and director of Children's Oasis Nursery and founder of Grow DMCC family of companies.
Participating in the 30X30 Dubai Fitness Challenge has been easy for Charlotte as she does exercises for a minimum of one hour a day.
"I love the concept of the fitness challenge as it's really pushing those less active to exercise so I hope my efforts can inspire someone else to join," adds Charlotte, who previously led a multi-million-dollar acquisition and integration of global consumer goods giant, Reckitt Benckiser at the age of 25. 
But keeping her family fit and healthy is always a top priority. Charlotte and her husband have inspired their kids to be active. "Between them all the ski, snowboard, horse ride, sail, play hockey, football, tennis, table tennis, run, CrossFit, golf, rugby, cricket to name a few - they are always active," she shares. 
"My 14-year-old son plays football at least 90 minutes every day apart from Friday and the younger ones can't wait to get involved as they just want to copy mum and dad and the big brothers and sisters, and they love coming to the gym with us and trying out gymnastics," she adds. 
angel@khaleejtimes.com
 

• UAE
• Dubai Fitness Challenge
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