There is no age to become an Instagram star. The proof with Joan MacDonald, a 75-year-old Canadian turned fitness influencer and who has 1.5 million subscribers on the social network. Paradoxically, his secret weapon is that he never touched a barbell until he was 71 years old. Presentation.
Cholesterol, obesity, blood pressure, kidney failure and general exhaustion… Joan MacDonald’s list of health problems was long before she started exercising. In her own words, the Canadian even had trouble going up the stairs at the beginning of her 70th birthday. Today, however, it has become an example for millions of internet users. And she owes that to a sudden realization.
For decades, the seven-year-old treated her ailments with a clever cocktail of drugs. So the day his doctor, concerned about his health, told him he planned to double the doses, that was the last straw. Joan MacDonald decides to take the bull by the horns and completely disrupt her way of life. “That’s where I really hit rock bottom. I was tired of always being tired and depressed, and it was my daughter who contacted me,” does she trust the American channel ABC†
And exactly, Michelle, her daughter, knows a lot about sports because she is a fitness teacher. “It is now or never”she says to her 71-year-old mother.
“When Michelle gave me this ultimatum to do something with my life, I thought it was now or never. I was tired of being sick and tired. It was to exist, not to live.”
The Canadian then began a long journey. She joins her daughter in Mexico, where she runs a gym with her husband. She then started a whole new diet, divided into five daily meals, far from her usual snacking spread throughout the day. Then she launches into abs, pushups, stretching. During the first month, she manages to lose a few pounds, but mostly to strengthen her muscles and reduce her medication intake.
Back home, stimulated by these encouraging results and this newfound energy, she managed to continue her efforts. Four years later, Joan MacDonald stopped taking medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and acid reflux.
In addition to the thirty pounds she had lost, it was the impact of her efforts on her health that continued to motivate her and make her want to share her efforts with the world. With the hope, who knows, of bringing other seniors along…
To follow Joan MacDonald on Instagram, it’s here.