Meet Joan MacDonald, a 79-year-old women from Ontario, Canada, who’s proving age is just a number. The fitness content creator has been sharing her journey on Instagram, and her latest post reveals her secrets to maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. Also read | 92-year-old Chinese woman wows with impressive workout routine: 200 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and hula-hoop spins
Joan MacDonald inspires others with her fitness journey, showing that a balanced diet, regular exercise, and positive mindset can lead to a healthier lifestyle at any age. (Instagram/ Train with Joan)
Joan’s tips? Count macros, eat protein with every meal, focus on veggies and fibre, train with purpose, and prioritise cardiovascular health.
Joan MacDonald’s diet secrets
She took to Instagram on November 11 to share: “I maintained my weight now for almost 8 years. Losing weight was never the hard part. It was keeping it off. When I learned to count macros, eat protein with every meal, focus on vegetables and fibre, train with purpose to build muscle, and get my cardiovascular health up to speed, I finally learned how my body was meant to be. Mindset work, community and recovery because the added layers that continue to keep me going strong.”
In a December 2024 interview with Womenshealthmag.com, Joan shared details of her diet: “I started eating five balanced meals a day. As part of my plan, I had to track my macros – how much protein, carbs and fats I needed in each of the five meals. I could eat whatever I wanted, but it had to match the macros I was given by my daughter. I also had to stop snacking, and I had to drink water with every meal, and just slow down when I ate in general.”
‘I started doing weight training five days a week’
She also spoke about her workout regime, saying she ‘was unfit and overweight until 70’, post which she started strength training. Joan said, “At the beginning, I was strength training four days a week along with one day of yoga. The sessions lasted around 60 to 75 minutes with the warm-up and cooldown. I could see myself getting stronger and more skilled month to month. Once I got stronger, I started doing weight training five days a week. My plan had me doing two leg sessions, two upper body and one glute-focused session per week. This allowed each muscle group (upper and lower) to recover, while I trained the other.”
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This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.