Barbara Finch, 55
Before: 107kg
After: 56kg
When Barbara Finch weighed more than 100kg on Christmas Day, 2003, she knew she had to change her diet.
“I had Type II diabetes and high blood pressure,” remembers Barbara, 55. “I thought, ‘I have to do something about it’.”
So, on Boxing Day, she began a walking regimen and ditched her bad eating habits.
“I decided no more junk food and started walking 4km every day,” Barbara says.
After five months, the weight was coming off, but she made an even bigger commitment by joining a gym.
“I went to Fitness First and made my decision to start going regularly,” she explains. “Paul, my trainer, has been a great support. He says he gives me the tools and I use them.”
Barbara now works out five times a week at the gym and has shed an amazing 51kg.
“I used to have a cup of tea and would eat biscuit after biscuit,” she admits. “I couldn’t be bothered to cook and ate fast food. I was so overweight I was tired all the time, so it was easier to go out and grab something unhealthy.”
Barbara now prefers a salad sandwich to a hamburger.
“You’ll always find me at the local Subway, eating a salad sub,” she says. “And you’ll never find me eating anything fried.”
The energetic retiree hardly ever misses a gym session these days, despite back problems.
“I don’t let that interfere with my gym work,” Barbara says. “I go to the chiro once a month. It gets me through. I never have a day off.”
She can hardly believe how she used to look before she lost all that weight.
“When I found my ‘before’ photos, I was so disgusted I nearly cried,” she says. “I was so big I used to wear T-shirts down to my knees to try to hide my belly.”
With her son’s wedding coming up, Barbara is excited to be able to wear a size 10 dress.
“It’s great to go into a shop and buy a small size,” she says. “When I was a size 20, I could only wear jeans with elastic waistbands. I can buy some lovely clothes.”
Barbara can’t help herself now. She’s done a boot camp, and wants to learn to swim and climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge!
To find your nearest Fitness First, call 1300 557 799 or visit www.fitnessfirst.com.au
Barbara’s diet before
Breakfast: Chocolate biscuits and cereal with sugar.
Lunch: Fish and chips or burger with a soft drink.
Dinner: Fry-up of bacon, sausages and eggs, or a roast dinner with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and gravy.
Snacks: Milkshakes, junk food.
Barbara’s diet now
Breakfast: Wholemeal muffin with a light spread of marmalade, no butter. Yoghurt, a banana, some brazil nuts, a glass of water and green tea.
Lunch: Tuna, tomato and rice crackers. A Subway low-fat sub or wrap. A glass of water and an apple.
Dinner: Grilled chicken, steak, fish or pork with salad and no dressing. Water and an orange.
Snacks: Light muesli with low-fat yoghurt.
Barbara’s exercise plan
Gym five days a week for the following — three two-hour sessions of 30 minutes cross-training, 30 minutes stretching and 60 minutes with a trainer using a Swiss ball and weights.
Boxing class once a week.
Two hours general weights and training once a week.
Are you a big loser?
Do you have an amazing slimming story to share with the readers of Woman’s Day? Send your story to My Slimming Story, Woman’s Day, GPO Box 5245, Sydney, NSW 2001, or e-mail [email protected]
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