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Home / Lifestyle

How a mum-of-five dropped 25kg in six months

NZ Herald
27 Jan, 2018 02:14 AM6 mins to read

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Obesity in New Zealand is rising. This video outlines the statistics around obesity in NZ and where we rank in the world.

Following the birth of her fifth child, Angela Martin decided to make some changes to her lifestyle, and lost a whopping 25kg in just six months.

Learning she had tipped the scales at 90kg was the catalyst for Martin, 39 from Hobart, to take a hard look at her diet and the lack of exercise in her days.

Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia, Martin says she gained weight with each of her pregnancies and fell into some bad habits:

"I would go a long time without eating, and then be starving and reach for the quickest and most filling food I could find.

"A lot of white bread, cheese, and plenty of treat food. I would eat chocolate daily and was doing no exercise at all except for running after toddlers."

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READ MORE: • Paula Bennett reveals she has undergone a gastric bypass

As a result, she constantly felt exhausted and six months after the birth of her fifth child, Olive, she decided to start eating better and working out.

View this post on Instagram

My first attempt at running last year was a month or so in to my new found healthy lifestyle. I got to 300m and I was pumped that I'd done a whole lap of an oval 💪Fast forward 6 months and today I tackled an uphill run of 4.2km in 27 degrees and I managed to smash it and keep going until I reached 6.5km!! 😃 So now I'm drinking all the water and filling myself with lots of good food to thank my body for being so awesome in my 40th year of life ❤ You want this feeling girls trust me!! Go get it girls. Go bloody get it!!! 😃😃💪💪😘😘 #sweat12wc #sweatwithkayla #bbg #bbgmums #bbgmoms #bbgmumsover30 #bbggirls #bbgprogress #bbgmotivation #bbgtransformation

A post shared by Angela (@onehappyfitmum) on Jan 20, 2018 at 8:46pm PST

Martin's initial commitment was to exercise three times a week. She teamed up with another mum-of-five, something she says was "the best idea", and the pair began following Kayla Itsines' Bikini Body Guide workouts.

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On their off days they'd go for walks, which eventually turned into runs. Martin says teaming up with her friend meant they could both keep an eye on their kids while they trained.

When it came to reviewing her diet, Martin made the biggest changes.

She cut out processed food and sugars, replacing them with whole foods such as oats, bananas, lean proteins, almonds, tuna, greens, eggs, sweet potatoes.

After just two weeks the busy mum saw changes both in her physical and mental states.

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"I was able to think clearly for what felt like the first time."

She credits ditching sugar with having "a dramatic effect on my mind and energy levels."

And when the weight began to fall off she started really enjoying her workouts, no longer felt out of breath from simple tasks and noticed her back pain improving as she built up her abdominals.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Angela (@onehappyfitmum) on Jan 10, 2018 at 1:57pm PST

"I went from not being able to do sit-ups or any core exercises to having a very strong core five months in," she said.

"At first I could only manage 300m, but after 10 weeks I could run 5km in my fastest time ever."

At the 10 week mark, Martin realised she had lost 15kg, something she says absolutely encouraged her to keep working out and eating well.

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She went on to lose a further 10kg and now weighs 65kg.

Following her success, Martin has some words of wisdom for other busy mums looking to make healthy changes.

View this post on Instagram

So glad I didn't give up 💪So glad I'm teaching my kids about good health and exercise 💪 #bbgcommunity #bbgprogress #bbgmums #bbgmoms #bbggirls #bbg

A post shared by Angela (@onehappyfitmum) on Dec 13, 2017 at 11:25am PST

"Don't wait for the right time," she said. "Don't wait for the baby to be asleep, don't wait until the washing basket is empty, and definitely don't wait for when you feel less tired because it won't happen."

She recommends planning workouts but being flexible and including your children if you like.

Whether it's three 10 minute stints or a half hour morning session, Martin says the most important thing is to "find something that feels like it fits long-term.

"I realise now how easy it is to incorporate exercise into a busy day, it just needs to be a priority."

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