As 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 got older, my love for fitness only grew. I frequently trained with a personal trainer and ran multiple half marathons. But it didn’t matter how much I exercised—I still struggled with my weight throughout my entire life.
As an adult, I enrolled in Weight Watchers more times than I can count in an effort to lose weight, but it was never sustainable. Sometimes, I would lose 15 to 20 pounds, but as soon as I stopped dieting, the weight immediately came back. It was a vicious cycle and I considered myself a professional yo-yo dieter. Despite my efforts, I was over 170 pounds on my 5’ 3’’ frame in my mid-40s, which was 15 pounds heavier than when I was pregnant with either of my kids.
The cycle continued, but when I started perimenopause in my late 40s, I gained even more weight.
I also started experiencing undesirable perimenopause symptoms like 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 who I had worked with for years, I couldn’t remember what a refrigerator was called, and on one occasion, when I wanted to call my best friend, I couldn’t remember her name.
The brain fog worsened, so I became extremely concerned about early onset Alzheimer’s. I called my doctor, and a few days later, I was in her office explaining my symptoms, performing a series of recall tests, and undergoing a complete physical exam. I had terrible recall, but my cognitive functioning was great, so my doctor said that I thankfully did not have Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, she asked about my diet and nutrition, which at that point, mainly consisted of eggs, turkey bacon, peanut butter, chips, and non-existent portion control.
The doctor wasn’t initially concerned about weight loss, but she explained that I needed to get my nutrition in check, because a balanced diet was not only key to a healthy body, but also a healthy mind.
My first instinct was to attempt Weight Watchers again. But after a few months, my weight didn’t budge. My brain fog also continued, and I still wasn’t necessarily eating a well-balanced diet. Next, I tried Noom, since it focuses more on mindset and behavior change, but I still had no luck. My weight was steady, and my symptoms persisted. I was in a rut and was 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 mindset transformation, along with the profile of fitness influencer Joan MacDonald, who began her transformation at 70. I was so impressed with Trish’s journey and identified with her story, so I immediately contacted her and wanted to learn more. Through Trish I found Michelle MacDonald, founder of The Wonder Women community and coaching program (and Joan’s daughter).
In September 2021, there was a call for new applicants for Michelle’s January 2022 transformation program. The application was pretty extensive: I had to explain why I wanted to go through a transformation, the challenges I previously faced, which ones I had overcome, and my exact eating habits for an entire week. I also had to submit a video of myself doing a Romanian deadlift (which I had no clue how to do) and a bodyweight squat.
A week later, I heard back that I was not accepted. There were over 350 applicants for 20 spots. I was devastated, but the next day, I received a note to say I was one of the 20 women selected to work with another The Wonder Women coach. It felt like I won the lottery. I didn’t care what it took, but I was ready 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 macros-based nutrition.
First, I had to read two mindset books—The Big Leap and Atomic Habits—which centered around breaking bad habits, building new ones, and identifying my goals. I was over 175 pounds at the time, so I wanted to lose weight, but I also wanted to build strength and revamp my nutrition.
From there, I started virtual training with The Wonder Women five days a week. I bought a functional training system for my home gym that allowed me to push, pull, lift, and squat. My coach assigned my workouts through an app, and I did them without fail, focusing on proper form and progressive overload, with my five days of training each week split between upper- and lower-body workouts. 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 a day.
Ninja Ninja Creami
As for nutrition, my coach immediately taught me 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 on repeat, 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 veggies. I’m also obsessed with making protein ice cream in my Ninja Creami.
It wasn’t easy ditching the fad diet mindset I adopted most of my life, but once I understood that food is fuel, I never looked back. Not only did I feel stronger during my workouts and start noticing serious muscle gains, but getting the right nutrients physically and mentally made me feel so much better. I was sleeping through the night, felt less fatigued overall, and about four months into the program, my brain fog started lifting. I was so much more clear-headed and a few months later I was sharper than ever. It took me just over nine months to lose over 55 pounds.
After two and a half years of consistent training and a well-rounded diet, I’ve maintained my weight loss for the first time in my life and gained a ton of muscle.
When I’m in maintenance, my cardio is scaled back to twice a week, and I still happily strength train five days a week and count my macros for every meal.
Today, at 53 years old, I just stepped on the stage for my first physique competition as a celebration of 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 were key to my health transformation success.
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 putting myself out there about four months in allowed me to unlock an entire new community. I’ve made friends from around the world who follow my journey, appreciate the details I share about my healthy lifestyle, and are inspired to start their own journeys. I’ve learned that surrounding yourself with strong, like-minded women is unbeatable.
2. I let go of self-doubt and learned to embrace confidence.
Most of my life, I placed self-worth on my appearance and how much weight I was or was not losing. I 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 on how I feel. I finally embraced the confidence to love myself.
3. I realized that progress is about consistency and sustainable habits.
Weight loss is not easy, and maintaining a weight loss is even harder, but once I learned to appreciate that progress boils down to a sustainable approach and healthy mindset, I unlocked the key to success. From day one of my journey, I have focused on one day at a time, actively choosing to do the work day in and day out. Why? So I can be the very best, healthiest version of myself.
