WATCHING her daughter Grace twirl around in a tiny black flowery dress Billie Steele felt a jolt of envy.
“She’d ask me, ‘How do I look, Mum?’ and I would answer ‘Stunning’ because it was true,” says swimming instructor Billie, 53, mum to Grace, 26, and Gus, 19. “But the truth was I was also a little bit jealous and it made me snap at her.”
She adds: “Grace was everything I used to be – confident, full of life and slim. Every time I looked at her, I was reminded of my younger self. But now at 5ft 2in, I weighed 12st 8lb, and was a size 16.”
Billie says it “all went wrong” when the perimenopause hit in her forties and she turned to unhealthy snacks – even guzzling up to EIGHT cans of beer a night.
It led to her Body Mass Index (BMI) hitting 32.2, which is in the obese category. She was teetering on the verge of type 2 diabetes too, a chronic and serious condition where the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or use insulin properly.
It can cause symptoms including fatigue, blurred vision and slow-healing sores.
‘I was mortified’
She says: “I’d regularly skip breakfast, then be famished by the afternoon and order Uber Eats.
“My go-to was a huge pepperoni pizza loaded with cheese and garlic bread, followed by churros dipped in chocolate.
“Three or four nights a week, I’d have a takeaway for dinner too, often a massive butter chicken curry, with rice and a naan.
“In between, I’d graze on salty crackers topped with slabs of ham and cheese, washed down with up to eight cans of beer a day.”
But the situation really hit home when the same Uber Eats delivery man visited twice in one day… and mentioned it.
“I was mortified,” confesses Billie. “I was so embarrassed. But it wasn’t that which kicked me out of my bad-eating slump. It was a routine blood test that really rocked me.”
She says: “When the GP says I was pre-type 2 diabetic and had to change my lifestyle it was a lightbulb moment.”
Soon after, police officer Grace mentioned that a new gym was opening and asked her mum to go with her.
Reluctantly, though keen to spend time with her daughter and with the doctor’s words ringing in her ears, Billie went along.
“I felt totally out of place among the gym bunnies in crop tops, but I perked up when the staff announced a 12-week weight loss challenge,” says Billie, from New South Wales, Australia.
“I signed up but before the first session I sat in my car and just wept. Yet something told me not to give up.
“I went in, found a weight machine, and Googled how to use it. I gave it a go and then walked for 10 minutes on the treadmill.”
It was just a few minutes but it changed everything for Billie.
“From then on, I did a little bit more each time,” she says. “And I changed what I was eating, too.”
Breakfast was a soy latte, banana and overnight oats. Then, in the middle of the morning, she’d have a high-protein yogurt, followed by a chicken breast, two boiled eggs, kale, and spinach for lunch. Dinner was lean mince, veggies and brown rice.
I was also a little bit jealous and it made me snap at her. Grace was everything I used to be – confident, full of life and slim
Billie Steele
“Finally I ditched the beers, glugging water instead,” she says. “Within a month, I’d lost over a stone.
“Even when lockdown hit and the gym had to close, I kept eating well and, as soon as we could, Grace and I were back working out and running together.”
Now, three years on, Billie is a size 8-10, weighs 9st 4lb, has a BMI of 23.4 – in the healthy range – and is no longer pre-diabetic.
She’s documented her weight loss journey on Instagram and astonishingly now has 197,000 followers.
In one post she reflects on her 40s, compared to her 50s.
“Forties – drinking heaps… no exercise, starving myself all day sometimes and going nuts at night after a couple of beers.
“Uber Eats knocking at my door more than three times a week. Wasting money & my life. So unhappy.
“Fifties – running at least three times a week, lifting weights, knowing how to eat to lose weight and stay healthy, drinking loads of water, booze almost cut down to one drink a month.”
Best of all, she’s no longer jealous of Grace… and even pinches her clothes.
Grace isn’t just my daughter now she’s my best friend too. And when she was clearing out her old clothes she offered me first dibs
Billie Steele
She says: “Grace isn’t just my daughter now she’s my best friend too.
“And when she was clearing out her old clothes she offered me first dibs. I chose that little black dress with the flowers that I had admired years earlier. As I zipped myself into it, I realised just how far I’d come.
“But it was thinking about my health and not my looks, that made the difference.”
Follow Billie’s tips on Instagram.
How to stay fit as you get older:
As we age, maintaining physical fitness becomes increasingly crucial, and weight training plays a pivotal role in promoting overall health and well-being.
One of the primary benefits of weight training for older adults is the preservation and enhancement of muscle mass.
Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, is a common issue that can lead to decreased mobility, increased risk of falls, and a general decline in physical function.
Engaging in regular weight training helps to counteract these effects by stimulating muscle growth and improving muscular strength, thereby enhancing an individual’s ability to perform daily activities with greater ease and independence.
In addition to its impact on muscle mass, weight training also significantly contributes to bone health.
Osteoporosis, characterised by weakened and brittle bones, is another prevalent concern among older adults.
Weight-bearing exercises, such as lifting weights, promote bone density by applying stress to the bones, which in turn stimulates the production of new bone tissue. This can help reduce the risk of fractures and other bone-related injuries, fostering a more active and injury-free lifestyle.
Weight training also offers substantial metabolic benefits, which are especially important as metabolism tends to slow down with age.
By increasing muscle mass, weight training boosts the resting metabolic rate, meaning the body burns more calories even at rest.
This can aid in weight management and reduce the risk of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Furthermore, weight training has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, enhance lipid profiles, and reduce inflammation, all of which contribute to a healthier metabolic state.