Joan lost 23.8kg

“People call the diary a tool, but to me it’s a weapon”

Joan stats

Start weight	106kg
Current weight	82.2kg
Weight loss	23.8kg
% Weight lost	22.5%

 

 

Forty-something Joan Gibson used to stay in shape playing state-level basketball in her native Canada. Unfortunately knee and ankle injuries after university put an end to her sporting days. This lack of activity, combined with her tendency to overeat, meant Joan’s weight crept slowly and steadily upwards.

An emotional eater

Joan describes herself as an emotional eater. She used to eat when she felt low, to reward herself and to lift her mood. “I also enjoyed the physical feeling of being full and I wanted to feel full most of the time,” she says.

The jolt to do something about her weight came around six months ago when she caught sight of her reflection in a shop window. “I thought ‘who is that fat, middle-aged woman?’ I really didn’t want her to be me, but it was.”

Joan used to enjoy watching The Biggest Loser on TV and admired the contestants’ incredible achievements. When she and her husband Steve moved to a rural property in New South Wales, she had to watch the show online and that’s how she discovered The Biggest Loser Club.

Click to enlarge photos

Joan before

Joan at 106kg

Joan lost 23.8kg

Joan at 82kg

Feeling great

Riding Roys Boy

The journey begins

Joan decided to try The Club Meal Replacements to get her started and she focused on creating new, healthier routines that could develop into daily habits. She’s now pretty active and works her exercise around her work and farm commitments.

She begins most mornings with a 20 to 30 minute session on the cross trainer followed by breakfast, which is often a Biggest Loser Club Shake. She then feeds her three horses before heading off to work.

After work, Joan rides her horse, Roys Boy, and gets stuck into her chores. “It is amazing how tired you get tossing bales of hay,” she says. At weekends, she either walks or jogs, but spends much of her time outside with her animals. Home-based exercise is especially important for her as the nearest gym is around 30 minutes away, so the flexible nature of The Club exercise program worked really well for her. 

Country-loving Joan and her husband Steve both enjoy fresh-cooked meals like chicken stir-fry piled high with vegies and flavoured with chilli, garlic and ginger or grilled steak with a chilli garlic seasoning and salad. Joan grows many vegetables and herbs in her garden and enjoys cooking up the fresh produce.

Not so secret weapon

Like many Club members, Joan’s favourite tool is the online diary. “People call the diary a tool, but to me it’s a weapon,” she says. “It is powerful and protects me from potentially poor food choices. It even allows me to eat because I’m no longer afraid of putting things into my mouth for fear of weight gain. The diary also guides me about how much exercise I need to do and all these things allow me to see the bigger picture and be real with myself,” she says.

Slow and steady wins the race

At the start of her journey, Joan tipped the scales at 106kg and over 30 weeks, lost 23.8kg; she now weighs 82.2kg. She wasn’t looking for a quick-fix weight-loss plan, “I could have lost weight faster, but I wanted the changes I made to be permanent and easy to maintain over the long term,” says Joan.

Another factor in Joan’s success is that she still includes some of her favourite foods, such as peanut butter, into her plan so that she doesn’t feel deprived. “If you don’t learn to incorporate the foods you love, how can you ever be able to succeed and then keep the weight off?” she asks.

Joan loves the fact that life is so much easier now. She can literally jump onto the back of her Ute, jog and even stand for long periods without aching feet. “These are the things I didn’t know were difficult until they became easy,” she says.

Roys Boy knows

Joan is convinced that even her horse-riding skills have improved. “My balance seems better plus I don't feel like I’m being left behind as much when Roys Boy makes big strides. We seem to be able to move more as one now.”

Joan is delighted with the way she looks and urges everyone to do the same, not just for better physical health, but to feel great too. “I haven’t felt this good in years and years and it is so good to feel like the real me again. I don’t know how else to describe it. I feel like the person that I was and always wanted to be has returned. It’s a wonderful feeling.”