How a story in The Healthy Mummy Magazine inspired this mum to live a healthier life

Jo Janse has felt inspired by Aimee Clarke’s incredible weight loss story which featured in the latest edition of The Healthy Mummy magazine!

In fact, the mum-of-two has signed up to the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge and completely overhauled her lifestyle.

This is the third Healthy Mummy Magazine and is FULL of amazing content, including inspirational stories of women who have transformed their health and lives, heaps of healthy recipes, exercise programs, health features, and a specific meal plan to help you lose 5 kilos in just four weeks!

Read more about these amazing women and how they have gone about transforming their lives.

It all started for Jo after she picked up The Healthy Mummy magazine and came across Aimee’s story.

“It’s a story that I felt I related to. She has children and is the same age and height as me, with a similar starting weight,” says Jo.

“I saw her ‘now’ pic and thought that’s what I used to look like. Then saw her ‘then/past’ pic and thought ‘that’s what I look like now’.

“If she can lose 19kgs in two years then surely I could do it also?! I cut out her pictures and added them to my board which sits on my kitchen table so I see it every day.”

How Jo decided to transform her life

Putting her gradual weight gain down to ‘enjoying life’, Jo says she didn’t feel like she had an energy and often felt “lazy and lethargic”.

“I stopped taking photos of myself with my girls. And trying to find something to wear that didn’t make me look larger than I felt became a chore,” she says.

But it wasn’t until she saw a photo of herself that she realised how different she looked and after seeing Aimee’s story in the magazine, Jo felt inspired.

“March 2021 was my first Challenge. I tried the Healthy Mummy Smoothies and was delighted to find so many recipes. I love the structure of the weekly food menus,” she says.

“Being able to pick and choose what I want to eat from so many healthy new options is great. I love the fact that I know what I’m going to be eating g during the week rather than randomly shopping for anything and everything and spending money on stuff I didn’t always use.”

What Jo eats in a typical week

Breakfast

‘Smoothie’

Morning tea

‘Nuts and dried food’

Lunch

‘Smoothie or leftovers from dinner’

Afternoon tea

‘A sweet snack like the Chocolate Butter Cookies or the Caramelised Banana Cake or the Caramel Oat Slice’

Dinner

‘Vegetarian Lasagne or Stove Top Lasagne, the Slow Cooked Asian Chicken or the Bacon and Ravioli (pictured)’

Workouts

“I love being able to do them from the comfort of my own home. I love that they are short. I find it easier to commit if I know it’s only a short workout.

Wendy Smith is fantastic, so upbeat and charismatic with her belly and booty-busting workouts. These are my favourite.

Nathalia Melo is a close 2nd, with her 28 Day Stronger workouts. I try to get one of each of these done at least four times a week.”

Jo’s advice for others wanting to get fit and healthy

1. Start small 

If I were asked to give any advice it would be to start small. Don’t aim too high. For me, committing to too much makes it too hard and I just won’t do it. I’ll tell myself just one workout! Then, it’s over so quickly I usually do another if I feel I can.

2. Don’t stress about meal plans

I try not to stress about the weekly menu. I buy what I need, but life changes so quickly so if I find I don’t want to cook one evening, I won’t. I’ll eat some leftovers I have frozen from nights I have cooked extra for this exact reason.

3. Track what you eat

Tracking what I eat, exercise and drink is a great way to keep on top of everything. I set up a commitment/motivational board to help keep me going.“The Healthy Mummy Challenge app is great for me as it provides the structure I need and a community of mums going through the same thing,” Jo adds.

“Aimee Clarke is my inspiration. The hard work she put in to better herself, motivates me to do the same. I hope one day I can tell her, her hard work paid off more than she could realise.”

Get Your Copy Today! Available in supermarkets and newsagents!

And if you want to take control of your health goals – join the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge!

Are you ready to kick-start your weight loss?

Want to shift your weight but feel like you have NO TIME in your day to exercise and eat healthily?

That’s where the Healthy Mummy’s 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge can help.

What do you get? You get access to:

• 28 days of at home exercise routines (no gym needed) – with video instruction
• Customisable and breastfeeding friendly meal plans
• Time-efficient exercises for busy mums – under 30 mins
• Challenge combines Pilates exercises with interval and circuit training (HIIT)
• Suitable for basic to advanced fitness levels.
• Home to thousands of EASY-TO-MAKE recipes.

Find out more about joining the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.