‘I didn’t start my fitness journey until six years postpartum with the second so it really is never too late to start.
‘The biggest tip I can give is eat right to make your workouts count.
‘I used to workout and all I would think about at the time was what I was going to reward myself with at the end.
‘I exercised for a whole year this way and saw no physical results until I changed the diet.
‘There are many ways to do it but I recommend one simple lifestyle change at a time.
‘Find healthier alternatives for things you eat that aren’t so great. Once the food is under control, the rest is easy.’
There are some simple tips that Joanne says has helped her on the road to success.
Intermittent fasting
‘This was a game changer for me and it’s the tool that eliminated cravings and forced my body to use stored fat for energy,’ Joanne tells New Idea.
‘Eating my meals between 12-8pm stopped me thinking about food constantly and really helped me lose the belly fat.
‘It’s something I recommend to people stuck in a plateau or doing everything right but not seeing results.’
Get on top of nutrition
‘Cutting out most processed and pre-packaged foods and focussing on eating lots of lean protein and green vegetables and using healthy fats like organic butter or coconut oil to cook with is important,’ says Joanne.
‘I find reducing starchy carbs a sure fire way to shed fat and I opt for sweet potato or pumpkin when aiming for fat loss.’
Don’t focus on cardio
‘Weight training is a MUST and I would choose it over cardio any day,’ Joanne enthuses.
‘Cardio will only help you become a smaller version of yourself whereas you can change your shape with weight training while reaping many other benefits including getting stronger and increasing your bone mineral density so it’s very important for women.’
Change your mindset
‘Lose the ‘start tomorrow’ or ‘on Monday’ mentality,’ Joanne advises.
‘We all screw up our diets and fall off the wagon and I still do.
‘The only difference is I now move on very quickly and it’s made all the difference.
‘One cheat meal doesn’t undo your hard work as long as you don’t let it become a chat day or cheat week so just continue on with your journey like it never happened.
‘I never try to overcompensate with extra exercise as I feel this leads to an unhealthy relationship with food.
‘It’s ok to eat bad food with good people but it’s the self sabotaging and bingeing at home alone you want to avoid at all cost.’
For more from Joanne you can follow her on Instagram here
