Mom “abandons old woman’s body” with health transformation at 51

A mum had a ‘glow’ and transformed her ‘old lady body’ to get super fit in her 50s and now feels ‘stronger’ than ever. Billie Steele, 51, didn’t struggle with her weight until she had her second child aged 35 and tipped the scales at 13.5lbs and a size 16.

She lost weight but found herself gaining it back at the age of 48 after becoming perimenopausal – reaching 12kg and a size 14. Billie battled depression, drink and diet for three years, but she was able to start making changes after realizing the “burden” of her health. it could be on her two children.

She went to the gym and changed her life and is now a young 51 year old. Billie, a personal trainer, said: “I can’t believe how I look. I was in the self-destruction Olympics. I felt disgusting. Now I feel physically stronger. Everything about my body is better than it was ever.

“My memory is clearer. I have better flexibility. Everything is amazing. I love a good glow.”

Billie worked hard to lose 4kg after gaining weight after having her son Gus, 17. But at 48, she started to slip back on.

She said: “At about 48 I started experiencing perimenopause. I started holding on to all this weight. I became very depressed and anxious. It just got out of hand.”

The weight gain affected the mother’s mental health and she struggled with suicidal thoughts and spent 21 days in rehab for depression. She isolated herself from her friends and family and even stopped speaking to her 25-year-old daughter Grace.

She said: “I felt like an idiot. I drank. I created an estrangement with my daughter. I just stopped talking to her.”

When the pandemic hit, Billie continued to grow, and it wasn’t until her doctor told her she was pre-diabetic that she knew she had to change. She said: “They said I would be diabetic if I didn’t change my diet and stop drinking. I imagined that I was a burden to my children.

“I felt very ashamed. I did everything for myself.”

Billie changed her diet and now makes an effort to cook dinner at home every day. She said: “I stopped ordering from Uber Eats. I stopped drinking beer every night.”

Billie’s daughter saw that her local gym was running a 12-week challenge and encouraged her to sign up. She said: “I felt like all the flesh was ripped from my bones.

“I felt like a kid again — I had to teach myself and teach myself how to do everything all over again.”

Now Billie is a slim 9kg and a size eight and looking back at old photos she doesn’t even recognize herself. She said: “I feel like it’s not even me.

“It feels like I’m looking at a stranger. That woman finally put on her lapels. It got us to where we are today.

“I hated the person I was before. Now I’m grateful that she made the decision to want more for herself.” Billie goes to the gym four days a week for resistance training, runs three days a week and takes 10,000 steps a day.

She eats home-cooked protein-rich whole foods and avoids alcohol. She said: “I’m happier and more peaceful.”