A 76-year-old fitness model has been praised for being 'absolutely amazing and inspiring' after reflecting on her incredible five-year health transformation journey.
At the age of 70, Joan MacDonald realised she needed to make changes if she wanted to live a healthier, happier life.
Suffering from high blood pressure, tiredness, and struggling to even get up and downstairs, Joan's daughter encouraged her mother to work with her and a group of other women to turn things around.
Nowadays, Joan is an inspiration to countless people of all ages, who find the strength to find a new path through her health and fitness app.
As previously reported by the Daily Star , this year marks five years since Joan embarked on her fitness journey, and her renewed confidence is clear to see.
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Joan, who lives in Canada, has now looked back on just how far she's come in a video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Joan Macdonald, where she has more than 80,000 subscribers.
Sharing before and after pics via her popular Instagram page, Joan, who has more than 1.6 admiring million followers, said: "It’s been over five years since I first started my health transformation journey and in this video, I wanted to share some of my experiences with you".

She continued: "The way I think now about fitness has changed so much since I started. I know things now that I had even realised as important back then. I’ve gained confidence in myself and my ability to stay on track with this lifestyle."
Joan, who goes by the Instagram handle @trainwithjoan, regularly shares motivational updates on her fitness progress and milestones.
She doesn't just regard her journey as a matter of losing weight.
Tthe last five years have been a period of 'full transformation' for her, whereby she has achieved more than she had 'ever thought possible'.


Joan's followers were greatly moved to hear of the progress she has made, both inside and out, and praised her for sharing her story.
One person wrote: "Your pics move me to tears (in a good way). Your beautiful story is always rolling around in my head throughout my days and inspiring me to know that the results of aging are not as inevitable as we imagine and that there is always more ahead in our journey!"
Another applauded: "Wow well done you, loving how consistent you are ar what you do and some of us young people can learn from you, You look amazing, much younger than before. Stunning lady!! You changed your habit and stuck to it."
Do you have an inspirational transformation story to share? We pay for stories. Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com