Entries for the 2016 Member Awards are now open. It’s not often we can give public recognition to our amazing members and their truly inspiring achievements. Some are shy, some don’t want the publicity, and others honestly don’t believe that they are anything special. Trust us, all our members are special in their own ways and one of our goals is to help women discover their amazing selves.

Each year we have a Member Awards promotion, where members enter themselves (often with a little push from the Health Coaches) and tell us their unique stories. This year, we have three prize categories:

• Slimmer of the Year – great weight loss results
• Inspiration of the Year – success while overcoming the odds
• Ambassador of the Year – the life and soul of Healthy Inspirations

While there are three separate prize categories, each member completes the same entry form. The team of judges then filters entries into the different categories. The thing is, many women might be delighted with their results but not think they are inspiring, for example, or may not feel that they are anything special. Others around them can usually see it, though, and this is where the Member Awards is so important.

In 2015 we had many wonderful applications, and we’d like to share some in the coming weeks. The first one is Loretta H, from Tasmania, who lost 43 kilos and 142.5 cm.

“I saw an ad for Healthy Inspirations in the paper and thought “What the heck, I’ve got nothing to lose except a heap of weight and I’ve tried everything else.” I was sceptical to start with because everything else that I had tried, I was unable to sustain for the long term, but the ladies at Healthy Inspirations have taught me so much about my body and the food I choose to put into it, that I no longer view either as my enemy.

I am nearly 50 years old and for 26 years of my adult life I have weighed over 120kg, so needless to say there have been some mental and emotional hurdles to overcome. And just a few years ago I was so unfit I struggled to walk 200m to the shop; I now walk 10km once a week and every other day I walk up a steep hill around where I live. I actually enjoy walking now. Wow, I never thought I would say that.
Probably the biggest health benefit for me is that after 30 years of being on medication for high blood pressure, I am now off medication and maintaining normal blood pressure. When people ask what I’ve been doing, I simply say I’ve been seeing a health coach at Healthy Inspirations and learning heaps about food and my body, eating real food and discovering how different foods affect me and which foods work best for me.”

See a Health Coach in your centre for an entry form: we’d love to hear your story and share it to help inspire others.