You Got This: Secret behind mum’s 15kg shred

When lockdowns took their toll on this working mum-of-two, she vowed to take back control and transform her life.

Welcome to You Got This, news.com.au’s weekly slice of fitness inspiration featuring tips and advice from real women who’ve experienced it all.

Covid has taken its toll on most people – whether it be mentally, physically and/or emotionally.

For Sydney-based mother-of-two Rhian Allen, the first year of lockdown was a “shocker”.

The 43-year-old said the stress of lockdown, together with running a busy household and her own business, The Healthy Mummy, played a huge impact on her health.

“The business side of life was exceptionally stressful and that in itself had a very negative impact on me – physically and mentally,” Rhian said.

“There was so much stress happening at work, so much pressure, so much uncertainty, so many moving parts and I had so much responsibility on my shoulders and I didn’t want to let anyone down – customers, staff, shareholders – and my stress levels were through the roof.”

She said that, together with the added joys of home school for her two young boys, led her to neglect her own physical health.

Rhian Allen, from Sydney, lost 15kg. Picture: The Healthy Mummy

“My eating and exercise habits changed dramatically over this time and my stress levels went to insane levels,” Rhian explained in a blog.

“I had zero time for me and my life seemed to descend into a ball of stress where all I did was work, stress and home school.

“It was pretty out of control and I was not in a good place and I did not take good care of myself – I was just not a priority in my own life and I was at the bottom of my own to do list”

In May this year, the businesswoman decided to take back control and focused on her health and fitness by embarking on a 12-week Healthy Mummy challenge.

She said the stress of Covid and lockdowns took its toll on her healthy both physically and mentally – especially while running a busy household and her own business.

“I didn’t set about to lose a heap of weight. I didn’t put a time pressure on myself and I didn’t make lots of drastic changes,” she said.

“I knew that if I did that, it would be too hard to maintain and that it would not be sustainable for the long term.”

She said she stuck to the meal plans on the app which also included treats, one glass of wine each night (instead of three) and incorporated a smoothie into her daily diet.

“I did the workouts. I chose the 10-minute ones as time was still tight.”

In May, the mum vowed to take back control of her health. Picture: The Healthy Mummy

She focused on feeling good rather than the pressure of losing a certain amount of weight. Picture: The Healthy Mummy

“I didn’t go hungry and I didn’t beat myself up if I didn’t follow the plan exactly on a specific day.”

Rhian said for her it was more about feeling back in control of her health and feeling fit and energised again.

She went on to lose 5kg in 10 weeks, adding while it hadn’t been “quick”, it had been “realistic and doable”.

She set herself another 5kg goal by taking on the exact same strategy.

The Healthy Mummy founder said her biggest piece of advice is to make small changes and find a program and lifestyle you can live your life around. Picture: The Healthy Mummy

“Small steps, no pressure, no harsh restrictions and slowly, but after another eight to 10 weeks, I had dropped another 5kg.”

“I was then 10kg down and I thought I am now only 5kg away from my pre-baby weight so I thought I would set myself one more goal – to get to that by Christmas.

“The last 5kg has been a slow burn. And it has taken about 12 weeks but I have got there.”

Rhian said she is feeling great both mentally and physically and “for the first time in a long time” was able to hop back into a bikini.

“My biggest piece of advice is that so often we want to lose weight really fast and then go on really restrictive diets where you miss out on nice foods and life but if you do this it is so hard to stick at it,” she said.

“Whereas if you make small changes and find a program or lifestyle that you can live your life around and where the weight comes off more slowly, it will still come off but you don’t have to go through the pain to reach your goals.”

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