Three years ago, Joan MacDonald of Cobourg, Ontario, weighed almost 200 pounds and was riddled with health problems. Now she’s an absolute unit who’s appeared on several fitness magazine covers and is the healthiest she’s ever been in her entire life.
She’s also 73 years old, but don’t let that fool you into thinking she’s just like any other grandma.
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Before she discovered her love of fitness, MacDonald was in “a very negative place”.
The retired public servant was taking daily medication for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and acid reflux, and was struggling to deal with progressive arthritis.
“I was very uncomfortable and unhappy,” she told CBC . “I would do anything to not be in a picture because if I had a picture taken, I’d hate it.”
When doctors began telling her she would have to up her medication dosages, MacDonald decided something needed to be done.
“[My health] was going downhill on a slippery slope,” she recalled. “I had lost control and it wasn’t a good feeling. It had to change. I didn’t want to end up in a nursing home like my mom did.”
In 2016, MacDonald’s daughter, Michelle, came to visit for Christmas and saw what kind of state her mom was in.
“I was shocked at how she was deteriorating,” Michelle told CBC .
She and her husband, who are both professional body builders, decided it was time to have a “tough talk” with MacDonald about her health.
In the end, they urged her to join a six-month fitness program lead by Michelle. And to their surprise, MacDonald agreed.
With Michelle’s help, MacDonald began to change her lifestyle and adopted healthy eating habits, as well as learning proper form and technique at the gym.
“It was very hot and humid. I’m telling you, I sweat buckets,” MacDonald recalled of her training, which began in Mexico with her daughter. “It was really, really difficult.”
But despite how hard the journey was, Michelle said her mom never wanted to give up, and she actually had to tell her to slow down.
After two weeks spent in Mexico with Michelle, MacDonald returned home and continued with the same habits she had been taught.
In a matter of six months, the retiree had managed to lose 45 pounds and was posing on the cover of fitness magazines with her daughter.
Although she had initially only intended to lose the fat, MacDonald began to see muscle definition and felt encouraged to keep training.
“People think that lifting weights [at my age] is terrible for your body,” she said. “But the more you lift, the stronger your bones become. Why would you want to have soft bones?”
Three years later, MacDonald is the fittest she’s ever been, and she’s even helping to inspire thousands of people around the world.
Her fitness Instagram, @trainwithjoan , has nearly 500,000 followers who are treated to incredible posts of the 73-year-old doing such workouts as leg presses, weighted squats, and even unassisted chin-ups.
“It’s remarkable that I can possibly influence people,” MacDonald said of her fan following. “It wasn’t to gain notoriety, but it ended up that way.”
“I would love to have more people change their lives from being sickly to stronger and capable of looking after themselves.”
It’s been an incredible journey for MacDonald, who’s gone from shying away from cameras to proudly posing for magazine covers.
“We’re only here for a short time, so I want to make the most of it,” she said. “I don’t want to be what I was because I was slowly dying. Now I’m going to live.”
She also said she hopes her story might inspire other women.
“Do it as soon as you can. Don’t wait to be my age to do it. You might not be able to.”
h/t: CBC
