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When I was a preteen, I started going to the gym with my dad. I found the gym comforting and he preached that exercise was always a priority. So, as I’ve gotten older, my love for fitness has only grown. I frequently trained with a personal trainer and ran several half marathons. But no matter how much I exercised: I always struggled with my weight throughout my life.

As an adult, I signed up for Weight Watchers more times than I can count in an effort to lose weight, but it was never sustainable. Sometimes I would lose 15-20 kilos, but as soon as I stopped dieting, the weight would immediately come back. It was a vicious cycle and I considered myself a professional yo-yo dieter. Despite my efforts, I weighed more than 170 pounds on my 5′ 3” frame in my mid-40s, 15 pounds heavier than when I was pregnant with either of my children.

The cycle continued, but when I entered perimenopause in my late 40s, I gained even more weight.

I also started experiencing side effects symptoms of perimenopause such as hot flashes, trouble sleeping, fatigue and brain fog. I did my best to manage the symptoms, but in early 2020, my brain fog was out of control. I couldn’t remember the names of my colleagues and/or clients I had worked with for years, I couldn’t remember the name of a refrigerator, and once, when I wanted to call my best friend, I couldn’t remember his name.

The brain fog got worse, so I became extremely concerned about Early-onset Alzheimer’s. I called my doctor and a few days later I was in his office explaining my symptoms, performing a series of booster tests, and having a complete physical exam. I had a bad memory, but my cognitive functioning was excellent, so my doctor told me that fortunately I did not have Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, she asked me about my diet and nutrition, which at that point consisted mainly of eggs, turkey bacon, peanut butter, chips, and a checkup. Portions non-existent.

The doctor initially wasn’t concerned about weight loss, but she explained to me that I needed to control my nutrition, because a balanced diet was not only the key to a healthy body, but also a healthy mind healthy.

My first instinct was to try Weight Watchers again. But after a few months, my weight didn’t change. My brain fog also persisted and I still didn’t necessarily eat a well-balanced diet. Then I tried Noombecause it focuses more on changing mindset and behavior, but I still haven’t had any luck. My weight was stable and my symptoms persisted. I was in a rut and starting to feel hopeless.

One day, a mutual friend posted about a physique competition on Instagram, and it caught my attention.

I wasn’t interested in the competition itself, but she had shared the profile of a woman named Trish who underwent a complete physical and mental transformation, as well as the profile of fitness influencer Joan MacDonaldwho began his transformation at age 70. I was so impressed by Trish’s journey and identified with her story, so I immediately contacted her and wanted to know more. Thanks to Trish, I met Michelle MacDonald, founder of The Wonder Women community and coaching program (and Joan’s daughter).

In September 2021, a call for new candidates was launched for Michelle’s transformation program from January 2022. The application file was quite complete: I had to explain why I wanted to transform, the challenges I had faced previously, those I had overcome and my exact eating habits for an entire week. I also had to submit a video of me doing a Romanian deadlift (which I didn’t know how to do) and a bodyweight squat.

A week later, I learned that I had not been accepted. There were more than 350 applicants for 20 places. I was devastated, but the next day I received a note saying I was one of 20 women selected to work with another coach from The Wonder Women. It was like I had won the lottery. I didn’t care what it took, but I was willing to give it my all. I knew my first day with the Wonder Women program would be the first day of the rest of my life. I started the program on January 3, 2022.

The program focuses on three key elements: mindset, strength training, and macro-based nutrition.

First of all, I had to read two books on mentality…The big jump And Atomic Habits– which was about breaking bad habits, creating new ones and identifying my goals. I weighed over 175 pounds at the time, so I wanted to lose weight, but I also wanted to build strength and revamp my diet.

From there, I began virtual training with The Wonder Women five days a week. I purchased a functional training system for my home gym that allowed me to push, pull, lift and squat. My trainer assigned me my workouts via an app, and I did them flawlessly, focusing on good form and progressive overload, with my five training days each week split between workouts. upper and lower body workout. I also built up to 45 minutes of cardio four days a week and 60 minutes of cardio three days a week, alternating between my treadmill, elliptical, and Peloton, and got at least 8,000 steps per day.

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Nutrition-wise, my coach immediately taught me how to count macros. Nothing was off limits, but I ate five meals a day and focused on prioritizing protein. I’m a creature of habit and eat a lot of meals repeatedly, so meal prepping was (and still is) my best friend. Today I love protein waffles with cream cheese, scrambled eggs, tuna salad, chicken, steak, fish and lots of berries and vegetables. I’m also obsessed with making protein ice cream in my Ninja Creami.

It wasn’t easy to let go of the fad diet mindset I’ve adopted for most of my life, but once I understood that food is fuel, I didn’t. ‘ve never looked back. Not only did I feel stronger during my workouts and started to notice significant muscle gains, but getting the right nutrients physically and mentally made me feel much better. I slept through the night, felt less tired overall, and about four months into the program my brain fog started to clear up. I was so much more lucid and a few months later I was more alert than ever. It took me a little over nine months to lose over 55 pounds.

After two and a half years of regular training and a balanced diet, I maintained my weight loss for the first time in my life and gained a ton of muscle.

When I’m on maintenance, my cardio is reduced to twice a week, and I still happily workout five days a week and count my macros for each meal.

Today, at 53, I just took the stage for my first physique competition to celebrate my transformation and good health. It’s something I never expected, or even had the confidence to conquer, but pushing my body to new limits has been the most incredible and rewarding process.

These three factors have been essential to the success of my health transformation.

1. I found a community of like-minded women to support and motivate my healthy lifestyle.

When I started this journey, posting about my transformation on social media was out of my comfort zone, but dedicating myself to it for about four months allowed me to unlock a whole new community. I’ve made friends from all over the world who follow my journey, appreciate the details I share about my healthy lifestyle, and are inspired to start their own journey. I’ve learned that you can’t beat surrounding yourself with strong, like-minded women.

2. I let go of doubt and learned to trust myself.

Most of my life, I placed self-worth on how I looked and how much weight I lost or didn’t lose. I have often tried to make myself invisible. But through the mindset work I did, I finally understood that negative self-talk was holding me back. I also realized that I am the only one who can make judgments about how I feel. I finally adopted the confidence to love myself.

3. I realized that progress is about consistency and lasting habits.

Losing weight isn’t easy, and maintaining weight loss is even harder, but once I learned to understand that progress comes down to a sustainable approach and a healthy mindset, I I discovered the key to success. From day one of my journey, I focused on one day at a time, actively choosing to do the work day after day. For what? So I can be the best, healthiest version of myself.

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