Alison Beaumont struts her stuff on the catwalk at the
culmination of last year's American Express Queenstown
Winter Festival Lindauer Ladies Fitness and Fashion
Challenge. Photo supplied.
Twelve months ago Alison Beaumont looked in the mirror
and asked herself a question which would change her life.
"How did I get this fat?"
The former MediaWorks employee said she had been a consistent
weight most of her life, but had recently noticed an
increase.
She wondered if she was becoming "a fat old woman".
That thought was the only motivation she needed to apply for
the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival Lindauer
Ladies Fitness and Fashion Challenge.
It meant three months pumping iron and sweating it out at the
gym, a place Mrs Beaumont (58) had never dedicated time to
before.
"I was always a good walker [but] I've never been a gym
person.
"I thought 'I have got to do this'."
Mrs Beaumont sent off her letter of application and explained
she did not want to be "old and fat".
The day she was accepted for the challenge was when her life
turned around, she said.
"As soon as I started it, I started feeling empowered and I
could see it was going to work.
"My husband was away and came back after two weeks. He was
amazed at the results."
Mrs Beaumont said after six weeks she was back to her
previous weight.
By the end of the challenge, she had lost 12kg.
"That was just so amazing.
"It just made me think 'I did that' and I thought if I could
do that, I could do anything.
"People say 'I'm too old', but you absolutely can do whatever
you want, whenever you want, you have just got to have the
passion, desire and determination.
"That's a great feeling to have, that empowerment."
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