Helen Jaman combined a family holiday with fitness and healthy eating to achieve amazing results

Stats Before After Height 164cm 164cm Weight 69kg 59.7kg Chest 97cm 89cm Waist 93cm 81cm Arms 31cm 27cm Thighs 58.5cm 55cm Hips 100cm 92.5cm

It was Women’s Health & Fitness magazine and past winners that motivated me to take on the 12-Week Bodyblitz Challenge. Seeing women from all walks of life (some with personal hardships, four children, not married and those who lead busy lifestyles) commit themselves to such a tough challenge and achieve amazing results was motivating. I joined a great gym, MBS Prahran, which focused strongly on changing body shape and appointed the best personal trainer a girl could get – Sofi Pino. Being a figure competitor herself, she not only motivated me, she encouraged me when the going got tough!

I felt if I was committing myself to the challenge, I would commit to cutting out all alcohol as well. I felt alcohol was something that hindered my weight-loss attempts in the past and largely contributed to my weight.

When I took control of my food (at home or going out) I no longer over-ate, because it was so good. If I went out I took my food with me and always had a protein snack in my bag.

One major hurdle was going on holidays for three weeks. Once upon a time I would have used those three weeks to drink, eat and do nothing. This holiday was a far cry from that. I turned my Byron Bay holiday into a healthy-exercise getaway!
For three weeks, every morning I went to the gym, walked to the lighthouse and had finished my exercise commitments by 9.30am. I stuck to my nutrition plan and allowed myself some lovely dinners out (making the right choices of course). It was one of the best holidays I’d had in a long time, and for once I came home thinner, not fatter!

Knowing that what I put into my body will affect how I look, making exercise a priority, and having my workouts and calorie intake planned, have been life-changing experiences for me.

I was lucky to have taken the reigns and pulled back before I developed any serious health issues. We only get one chance at living a fun-healthy life and taking care of ourselves, if we mess this up we only have ourselves to blame – we are masters of our own destiny.