After reaching a point where she felt she could not carry on as she was, one mom transformed her lifestyle and dropped 70 pounds by sticking to a strict meal plan.
There are moments when a person suddenly sees how far they have drifted from where they want to be. For Lyndsey Kelly, that realization became the turning point that reshaped her life.
At 47, Lyndsey started out at 191.8 pounds. By overhauling her routine and making weight loss her focus, she brought her weight down to 123 pounds and has since developed a passion for bodybuilding.
Before making the change, she said her habits included weekly takeaways and drinking alcohol every Friday and over the weekend. But the biggest reason for changing course was her son.
She explained: “I changed for my son. I wanted to be a role model and show him what you can achieve.”
In January 2024, while in her mid-40s, Lyndsey decided it was the right time to make a lasting change. She felt she needed to improve her health not just for herself, but for her family too.
Lyndsey told Talk to the Press: “I yo-yo’d with my weight over the years, particularly when my son was young as he was my priority and I would put myself on the backburner. But he is 16 now so I’ve got so much more time.”
To fit training around 12-hour workdays, she began getting up at 4am to exercise. Her routine includes ‘40 minutes of fasted cardio’, walking to work, and a ‘weights session in the gym after my shift finishes.’
Her momentum picked up after she entered a competition offering three months with a personal trainer. That experience later led her to enter a bodybuilding contest. Although she did not win, her trainer encouraged her to keep going.
Looking back, Lyndsey said her old lifestyle involved little activity, frequent takeaways and regular alcohol. She described herself as a former ‘couch potato’ and said adjusting to a disciplined fitness plan did not come easily.
She said: “At first it was agony, but after a couple of weeks you get into it and it becomes routine. I quite enjoy it now because I like the structure and the discipline but that only comes with time. I’m not killing myself with cardio, it’s just consistency.”
Her previous eating habits included:
BREAKFAST – bacon butty (bacon sandwich)
LUNCH – Subway sandwich, pasties (pastry and meat) or pies
DINNER – lasagne or spag bowl (spaghetti bolognaise)
SNACKS – chocolate bars, flapjacks or crisps
She eventually replaced that with a far more structured approach.
After changing her diet, Lyndsey followed a set five-meal daily plan featuring foods such as oats and yoghurt, chicken and rice, chicken wraps, mince with potatoes and vegetables, and sourdough bread with peanut butter as a treat.
By 2026, that consistency had carried over into competition. At the NABBA World Championships in Gateshead, she placed second in the Open Female Over 45 category, another sign of how far she had come since starting her transformation.
For anyone thinking about making a similar change, Lyndsey said: “You’ve got to get used to it and give it time.
“It can be a bit boring at first, but once you start seeing results, you realize it works. Trust the process.”