Tea with the Queen

How I Transformed My Fitness in 2024

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I transformed my fitness in 2024 and throughout the year, I received a lot of comments and questions about the fitness journey I was undertaking.

Having fallen sick the year prior, I was committed to regaining my health and energy. Some of the steps I took were a commitment to 20,000 steps a day, healthier eating, and my year-long travel ban.

While I’m not 100% where I want to be, the improvement over these twelve months has been bigger than I could have hoped.

January is obviously the most popular time for people to make new commitments, which is why I want to share my journey with you today. I want to show anyone at the start of their journey the amazing results that are possible with a little discipline and dedication.

My First Steps: My journey began with a simple yet powerful commitment: 20,000 steps a day. I know it sounds daunting, but inspired by James Clear’s Atomic Habits, I used habit-stacking to incorporate it into my regular routine. I set out my activewear each night and then would start my day at 5AM. I woke up by going on a walk with a husband and then took my dog on one too! By 6.40AM, before most people are even awake, I’d already achieved 13,000 steps of my goal.

A New Diet: While walking did wonders for me, it’s not enough on its own. 80% of weight loss success comes from nutrition, which is why I joined Weight Loss Coaching Works, a program focusing on real food, accountability, and community support. With their help, I was able to lose double my original goal (17 kilos over 26 weeks) without resorting to drastic measures or drinking my meals.

Going Beyond Walking: Hitting my goal weight in July was a milestone, but the journey didn’t stop there. Transitioning to maintenance involved focus and further discipline. I’ve added strength-training and Pilates to my routine, so I can keep building my body’s resilience.

Throughout this whole journey, my discipline has been my strongest weapon. From walking laps in my kitchen late at night to reach my step goal, to cultivating a lifestyle that prioritises energy and health, I’ve continuously learnt that if you set your mind to it, even the hardest challenges can be overcome.

And it’s so so worth it. By taking care of ourselves, we can show up fully in both our personal and professional pursuits. It’s the ultimate investment in oneself, and now it’s your turn.

What are you willing to commit to for yourself?

What possibilities could your fitness journey unlock?

And how far will you go to build the life you deserve?

LINKS

Website

For a copy of Emma’s book, ‘Go-getter: Raise your mojo, shift your mindset and thrive’ – https://www.emmamcqueen.com.au/book/

YouTube Channel

Read The Full Transcript

[00:00:00] Emma: Welcome to Tea with the Queen. Over the last year, I've had a lot of comments about the amount of steps that I do, a day, minimum of 20,000! About the weight that I have managed to shift. And I wanted to dedicate today's episode,
[00:00:15] to my fitness journey. it's a fitness journey that is very simple to do and uh, just takes a little bit of discipline and some dedication.
[00:00:23] First, some context. Last Christmas. I gave you my heart and the very next, no, no, no. Last Christmas I had spent the year prior working on my health. I had been visited by COVID, which had turned into glandular fever. And so I was working with an amazing naturopath. Uh, shout out to Susie Hunter. Amazing naturopath to get my energy back.
[00:00:50] And we have incorporated naps. We had worked on supplements, etcetera, etcetera. I got to the end of last year and I was looking down the barrel of a whole stack of travel for this year. I was still recovering from glandular fever. My, my energy was so low. Energy wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. And so I made some decisions.
[00:01:07] The main decision was a travel ban for this year, which has been amazing. I have loved not traveling this year, 2025. I'm back. I'm back in traveling, but for 2024, not traveling. Not only did I make that decision, I was the heaviest that I had ever been. And whilst I don't have a weight issue. I was struggling to get into some of my clothes, most of my clothes, if I'm honest.
[00:01:31] And so I knew that I needed to shift some weight in order for the energy to come. And so I thought, right, I'm going to do an overhaul. I have done a travel ban. I've got my supplements right. I've got my naps right. I need to get my weight right and my commitment to my physical health right. So here's what it looked like for me.
[00:01:52] Firstly, I committed to 20,000 steps a day. before you go, Oh my goodness, how do you do that? I was easily able to get to 10, 000 steps because I was already walking our dog who is 16 and he needs a lot of walks during the day. He can't do long walks anymore. Just little short little walks. So 20, 000 is obviously double.
[00:02:13] I do a minimum of 20, 000 steps a day. I made the decision to do 20, 000 steps. From the moment I made that decision, I never had to make that decision again. It was cemented in my mind in order to make sure that I was habit stacking. So there's a great book by James Clear called Atomic Habits. And he talks about creating a habit that's easy and then stacking it with other easy habits.
[00:02:38] So I set out my outfit the night before my active wear. I set my alarm for 5 AM. I got up and I walked for an hour and 10 minutes with my hubby. I came back, got the dog and took the dog for another 30 minutes while it was nice and cool. And so by about 6. 40 in the morning, which is when everyone else is waking up, I'd already done my 13, 000 steps.
[00:03:01] In the very first instance, when I first started this, I would come home, I would have a shower and get Evie ready for school, do all the things. But the other trick that I did to, um, make sure that I stack this habit well, I'd have a shower, I put different active wear on, and then I'd to remind myself to move.
[00:03:21] Most of you know I do a lot of coaching, which is on Zoom, and so I can be sitting on my bottom for hours at a time. And so having my activewear on and my sneakers on gave me no excuse. I just got up and moved in between calls or in between sessions. And then I would take the dog for another three walks, just 15 minute walks around the block, So it was walking. I haven't done any other exercise. I have started now to incorporate strength training and also Pilates. But for the bulk of the year, I've just walked. Now, you might say, is that enough? No, no, it's not enough. We all know that eating is 80 percent of the weight loss journey, And I followed an eating, plan which saw me shed, I thought I was going to lose about eight kilos. I'm like, I need to lose about eight kilos. It's not a big deal. Anyway, I shed 17 kilos. It wasn't hard and it helped me work out that I was eating way, way too much. Now, I know the question for you is, did you have to have drinks?
[00:04:23] Did you drink your meals? No, I didn't. I ate real food and I also had support. I joined a program called Weight Loss Coaching Works. It's a private program and they are getting sensational results. I lost 17 kilos in 26 weeks, I think it was, and I've maintained that and my hubby, as of this recording, has lost about 35 kilos.
[00:04:44] Weight loss coaching works
[00:04:47] on the premise that you eat real food so that you don't have to go and, you know, um, buy special things from the supermarket. It works on accountability and it works on supplements and doing your steps and also having an amazing group of cheerleaders cheering you on. Now, accountability is tough.
[00:05:06] Accountability is tough, but I have watched, a lot of people in this community. I've watched a lot of people lose the weight, get their energy back, , and maintain their fitness. Yeah. Now I started my journey on January 29th, 2024. Wasn't the smartest choice. My daughter's birthday was the next day and I had to forego cake.
[00:05:32] So that sucked, but I hit my ultimate weight goal on July 24th, which means I'm now in maintenance. One of the things that I talked about with my coach, his name is Wayne, was the BMI. Now, I don't know how you feel about BMI, but I was like, BMI is a load of bollocks. But I decided to keep an open mind and try and hit my BMI and hit my weight that would recognize the BMI.
[00:06:00] I've got an amazing set of scales called Renfo and it tracks so many things. It tracks not only your weight, But it also tracks your, uh, biological age. It tracks your, uh, visceral fat. It so many things. Now, when I first started, I looked at that Renpho scale on my phone. I looked at the app and there was a lot of red, a lot of red.
[00:06:24] Today, there's a whole stack of green with a few more things I need to focus on. What I already knew going into this, um, time and space was that I was an absolute sweet tooth. I was one of those chicks who had sweets in the drawer in her, desk in the car and I I just knew I had to kick that sweet tooth habit.
[00:06:48] My downfall is not cakes. It's not ice cream, although I do love ice cream, but it's lollies. I love sweets. And I just did not want to have that anymore. And the moment I went on this journey and started fueling my body with the things that I needed, my sweet tooth left me. So I don't crave that stuff anymore.
[00:07:07] I lacked energy before this, even though I was having a nap every single day. Now, I lay down because I love a nap. Naps are super productive, but it doesn't mean I have to go to sleep. It just means I'm resting my body. I feel like my energy has lifted from like a four or five out of 10 to a eight or nine out of 10.
[00:07:30] I also am still doing my 20, 000 steps a day, but have started strength training now, because I am at an age where I need to make sure that I am strong and healthy. I have been in perimenopause for the last 10 years. And so when people ask me what I'm doing and they say, Oh, I can't do that because I'm in perimenopause.
[00:07:49] Yeah, you can. Yeah, you can. If you're in menopause, if you're in perimenopause, this is not a cookie cutter approach. Right. This works for some people and doesn't work for others. One of the things that I would say is that I have an absolute gift of discipline. So if I set my mind to something, I do it. Now those 20, 000 steps are awesome.
[00:08:13] The problem with the gift of discipline is that I can't let myself off the hook. So this year I ran a couple of retreats here in Melbourne. It was nine o'clock at night. I was a thousand, two thousand steps off. So I just had to walk the kitchen table because I wouldn't let myself off the hook. I'm dealing with that.
[00:08:31] But what I do know is that, oh my goodness, I feel so much better. I lost so much weight. I didn't mean to do this, that I. Um, and I didn't fit into my clothes for the other reason was that the clothes were now too big. So that has been brilliant for me because I have been thinking long and hard about sustainability and the amount of things that we purchase.
[00:08:55] And so, um, one of my rewards for hitting my ultimate goal Goal and maintaining it was to, uh, you've heard me talk about the amazing Nicole Vine. She took me shopping and we bought a capsule wardrobe, so I'm not replacing my wardrobe like for like, I'm actually just replacing it with a few key pieces that I need.
[00:09:14] And for next year, for 2025, I have said to people, any events we hold, please wear the same outfit. Please don't feel like you need to go and buy anything new. It's all about sustainability. I think for me. this fitness journey has told me I can do hard things. It's also shown me that I was eating way, way too much of the wrong things and that you can manage your energy, your mood and your hormones with excellent supplements.
[00:09:43] Now I supplement with weight loss coaching works supplements and my naturopaths recommendations as well. So I've got both of those things happening at the same time. He's the thing. This is an investment in you. This is the ultimate self care. This is, for me, it was about actually just taking the time to work out what makes me have more energy.
[00:10:09] How can I bring that to the world? And what else can I do from a fitness perspective to get strong? We've now incorporated strength training in and Pilates in, so I'm doing some of those. And I'm just loving the fact that I've got more movement and that I am making sure that I am looking after myself because if we don't look after ourselves, who's, who's going to look after us, right?
[00:10:32] We're the first ones to give up all the things that are self care for us. So my encouragement from this is hopefully I've inspired you to go and try something new. You know what? I also read lots of books. I think 20, 000 steps, you put a podcast on, you listen to some books, you would get through a ton of stuff.
[00:10:50] It's been awesome for that. So I would. encourage you to figure out what do you need to be the healthiest version of you. So happy to have conversations about my journey in the DMs or on email or on text message, however you want to do that. I hope you found this useful. My fitness journey, everyone's fitness journey is really different, but I have been answering questions all year about what the heck I'm doing.
[00:11:13] So I thought I would share it with you. Thank you so much for your time and I'll see you next week.