Age-defying Aussie mum, 47, shares her health secrets

Aussie mum Nicola Arthur is constantly surprising people when she reveals she is actually 47-years-old.

Stunning pictures show the yoga and wellness coach looking more radiant than most women her age, and she puts it all down to completely turning her life around from drinking and binge-eating to decades of yoga and healthy eating.

When Nicola, from Sydney, took on a hairdressing apprenticeship at the age of 17, she became more social, indulging in a party-girl lifestyle of heavy smoking, binge-drinking, and overeating.

“When I turned 24, I started training for fitness competitions to get fit and lean again. Around this time, I learnt to eliminate things out of my life that I knew were simply no good for me, like drinking, late nights, bread and sugar etc,” the mum-of-two said.

But she still found herself yo-yoing for years, falling into a pattern of trying fad-diets, and then binging. It wasn’t until Nicola fell pregnant with her first child Lucia in May 2002 that she found the motivation to really change her lifestyle.

She started only eating raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. She also began practising yoga and believes it has helped her to reduce negativity and accept herself.

“That changed everything,” she said. “I didn’t want to hurt my special daughter growing inside of me.”

While a messy divorce a few years later was the “hardest thing” she went through, Nicola said it laid the foundation for her new clear way of thinking.

“I stumbled upon yoga when I was 27 and it slowly helped pull me out of tall hose negative patterns and self-hate about my body and I learned to fully love and accept myself,” she said.

Nicola, who now runs detox retreats in Bali, uses Instagram to educate and inspire her followers.

“I facilitate detox retreats helping lead people through what helped me years ago, detoxing with raw vegan plant-based foods,” she explained.

“My key advice for anyone wanting to make permanent and positive changes to take things slow. Reduce things one by one, little and often.

“I feel amazing, my energy is sustainable all day. I’m more positive and balanced and I continue to grow and evolve. You can have all these things too.”

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