'I'm fitter at 41 than I was in my 20s'

"Running did a lot more than just keep me in shape," says Cindy Chambers. Photo: Callie Lipkin

I’ll never forget the moment I decided to take back my life.

It was a miserably hot day in March, and, 7 months pregnant with my first daughter, I’d never felt so lost. My excitement over becoming a mum had been overshadowed by the recent loss of my father; to make it worse, I barely recognised myself when I looked in the mirror. I knew that gaining weight would be inevitable when I got pregnant, but I hadn’t realised that the extra 23 kilos would make it impossible to keep up with the thing I loved most: my intense training regimen.

I’d been an athlete since high school, when I first understood that running did a lot more than keep me in shape. It gave me confidence, strength and time to think, and nothing made me happier than signing up for a long-distance race and working to beat my best time. As a young adult, I had even competed in local fitness competitions.

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I PUT MYSELF BACK ON MY PRIORITY LIST
Looking fit and healthy was my world. And while being a mum was my top priority, with each kilo I gained, I felt my identity - and my happiness - slowly slipping away.

As I sat in my car, staring down at my expanding hips, I realised that the negative self-talk filling my brain - you look horrible, your bum is so big, you’ll never be a runner again - was the exact body-hating rubbish that I never wanted for my daughter. Be the person you want your kids to be, I thought.

Determined to shed the baby weight in a healthy way - no obsessing over numbers or kilojoules - I set a goal that would force me to put training back on my priority list: by the time my daughter was a year old, I would
race in my first Ironman event. I was scared- completing a 3.9km swim, 180km bike ride and full marathon seemed crazy at the time - but I knew that achieving something this big would prove that motherhood, as much as I really wanted it, didn’t have to come at the price of neglecting my true self.

When I finally crossed that finish line, it was a little like giving birth all over again. I was flooded with emotions: relief that it was over, exhaustion from travelling 225kms, and exhilaration from completing one of the world’s most challenging events. The baby weight was gone, but more importantly, I felt like me again.

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I’M HEALTHIER THAN EVER, PHYSICALLY & EMOTIONALLY
Now, at 41, I have two beautiful daughters, and I’m also the healthiest I’ve ever been, both physically and emotionally. Finding the time to train while juggling my job as a nurse and taking care of my family isn’t easy, but I’ve found ways to cut corners, like signing up for a meal delivery program.

It helps me eat clean and spend less time in the kitchen while modelling healthy behaviours for my girls. Whenever I’m tempted to skip one of my workouts due to our crazy schedule, I remind myself that putting myself last helps no one. Be the person you want your kids to be, I think. And then I go for it!

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