Publisher: Fitbody Fifty

A word of warning: Don't EVER tell me I look "good for my age". I just might smack you with a dumbbell. I'm fifty(ish), and I'm not at all shy about letting people know my age. But I am on a bit of mission to prove that getting older doesn't mean slowing down, or behaving more sedately, or dressing like a granny. If people expect to find me sitting in a rocking chair knitting, they'd be sadly mistaken. I'm way more likely to be over at the park, doing pushups, squats or even swinging on the monkey bars. I want to show folks that no matter what your age, you're never too old to make positive changes to your health and fitness. You don't have to start running marathons or do anything drastic to see results. You just have to make progressive, consistent improvements on your current lifestyle and commit to sticking with it. Sometimes I'm serious, sometimes I'm a little bit silly. I like to share recipes, exercise tips, my own personal experiences and interesting stuff I find on the net and I try to practice what I preach. Hang around and have some fun with me! :) The back story To cut a long story.... well.... less long, I was never into sport or exercise of any kind, and managed to reach my fortieth birthday without doing anything much more strenuous than lifting my wine glass. I'd had minor battles with my weight throughout my twenties and thirties, but really blew out in my late thirties. I was pretty unhappy to be celebrating the Big Four-Oh at my highest weight ever. That's me on the left there, at my birthday party. The photo made me cringe. Actually, it made me cry. How on earth did I get that fat?! My health was suffering too, and I was determined to do something about my weight. Easy to say... I started and stopped various diets and pretty much got nowhere until one day in mid-2003, I had a major epiphany and joined a gym. I surprised myself by taking to it like a duck to water. I loved heaving weights around, took some regular classes, and after a few months, signed up for weekly sessions with a personal trainer. I also cleaned up my nutrition and was pleased to see my weight dropping regularly, until in early 2004 it was sitting in the mid-60s. That was when I came across the Body-for-LIFE program and found myself jumping head-first into a 12-week challenge. Two challenges later, in September 2004, I was a trim 58kg and pretty pleased with myself. From there, I went on to study for my Certificates III and IV in Fitness, and started up my own personal training and online coaching business. I took up running, did a few fun runs, bought a bike and took to the paths around my neighbourhood, attended my first Phat Camp, did this and that, and continued working on my physique and learning more about nutrition. It wasn't all smooth sailing - weight maintenance takes effort and commitment, the same as weight loss, and I had some learning to do in that respect. I've had a few ups and downs, but thankfully, have never even got close to that awful "before" photo. I love a challenge, and in 2008 I finally committed to something that I'd thought about on and off for a few years - a figure bodybuilding competition. In October that year, a few weeks before my 48th birthday, I strutted my stuff wearing not much more than a tan, a pair of high heels and a smile. The past couple of years have been interesting. I've suffered a series of annoying and sometimes debilitating injuries, had a battle with hormonal upheaval, moved house and had a lot of stress going on. Throughout all of that, I've been far from perfect. But I've learned some valuable lessons and am still moving forward. I'm now recovering nicely from my injuries, my fitness and strength are improving in leaps and bounds, and life is pretty good. That's my story in a nutshell. Stick around and see what happens next.