Austin was ready to make a change—she just didn't know how she could find the time to get healthy. Her days started at 4 a.m. and went full tilt until she crawled into bed, exhausted, at night. So when she saw that Prevention was looking for busy women to test the 30-Day Belly Fix, a new Fit in 10 program that targets belly fat with just 10 minutes of daily exercise and clean eating, she felt hopeful for the first time in years.
"I knew that I could fit in 10 minutes of exercise, no matter how crazy my day was," says Austin. "So I decided to give it a try."
Austin hadn't worked out regularly in more than 2 years, and she was nervous she wouldn't be able to keep up with the workouts even though they were only 10 minutes. "I was wrong," she says happily. "Thanks to the modifications, I was able to keep up even though I was really out of shape. I never felt like I was going to hurt myself or like the routines were so extreme that I wouldn't be able to do another one the next day."
The clean eating plan also made a big difference for Austin. "I always made sure that my family was eating beautiful, wholesome foods, but this really helped me with portion sizes and tuning in to my body," she says. "I stopped eating just for the sake of eating, or as a way to self-medicate."
Within weeks of following the meal plan and squeezing in one 10-minute workout a day—usually in the evening, right before making dinner—Austin started to see her body changing. "I noticed my mood first," she recalls. "I wasn't as irritable and generally just had more energy and felt more upbeat." Then her daughters started to comment that her belly was quickly shrinking. "They were always commenting how beautiful I looked and cheering me along," says Austin. "But I think what they really noticed was my new confidence, and the fact that I could get down on the floor and play with them or pick them up more easily. Before, everything was such a struggle."
Only 30 days after starting the program, Austin had lost 9 pounds and had trimmed 8 inches off her belly. "I honestly couldn't believe how quickly it came off," she says. "I'd started wearing a size 18, and now I'm swimming in those clothes."
Determined to get down to a healthy weight, Austin went right into another 30-day cycle on the Fit in 10: 30-Day Belly Fix program. At the end of 2 months, she'd dropped a total of 18 pounds and was down to a size 14.
"I finally feel like I'm taking care of my body and not fighting it. I'm so much stronger—mentally, emotionally, and physically. Now when I walk into a meeting with investors, I feel proud. I'm myself again—the woman that my kids, husband, and I deserve."
