“I looked in the mirror and saw an old, tired, overweight woman who was lost,” Joanna Blacker previously told Express.co.uk.
Joanna, 53 at the time, wanted to move her seemingly “growing” body fat and spare tire strapped to her abdomen.
Not only that, but menopause hit her really hard, especially with all the symptoms she was experiencing. “I was in a terrible downward spiral of menopausal symptoms,” Joanna revealed.
“At times, menopause-like symptoms felt like torture: brain fog and difficulty concentrating, low mood, excessive weight gain, joint pain, and even skin that became really dry. I felt itchy.”
Dieting didn’t help either, and Joanna admitted she was reaching for chocolate and cake “to try to feel better”.
But of course, the extra fat she was eating only added to her misery as her waistline grew and her clothes started to feel snug.
Weighing 12.2 stone (78kg), Joanna felt she had “lost a lot of the strength” she once had and felt like she had lost direction in life.
Things needed to change, and Joanna knew she wasn’t in a good place, so she decided to do something about it by changing her diet and exercise habits.
“I was also really interested in finding out how healthy my body could actually be with the right guidance,” Joanna said.
Joanna knew she needed help, so she signed up with Ultimate Performance for one-on-one personal training and nutritional guidance.
“I lost 2 kg in the first two weeks and the fog started to clear. This small but fast change flipped a mental switch on me and made me want to do more and be more active. ” she revealed.
About her diet, Joanna said: “I thought I’d miss chocolate, but instead I made a protein shake with Ultimate Performance Salted Caramel Whey Protein Powder and added a scoop of Chocotrient, a nutrient-rich fruit and green powder. “I did it,” he said. Thanks to this, I no longer crave chocolate. It was like drinking a thick milkshake and gave me the “sweet solution” I needed. ”
Joanna worked with Ultimate Performance Personal Trainer Mark Bloys to train three times a week and incorporate strength training.
“It was a full-body approach consisting of a series of seven different exercises targeting different muscle groups using machines and free weights,” Joanna said.
“I also started walking. I started out at 12,000 steps a day, and at the peak of my training I increased to 16,000 steps.”
Regarding Mark’s support, Joanna said with a big smile, “He held me accountable and pushed me to do my best even when things were tough!”
Now Joanna is on the other side of her weight loss journey. I lost 15 percent body fat and over 1.5 percent of my spare tire on my belly. “It feels incredible,” Joanna smiled. “I’m really proud of having achieved what I have.”
