Even though Joseph had never struggled with weight, when she hit her late 40s, every extra calorie seemed to migrate straight to her belly. No matter what Joseph tried, she couldn’t change her abs—and it wasn’t just about vanity, either. “My mother died from diabetes when she was only 55, and before that, she lost a leg from the complications,” says Joseph. Knowing that extra belly fat increased the risk of diabetes, Joseph was determined to turn her health around. “I didn’t want my kids to go through what I did with my mom, and I had to find a way to get back to feeling like myself again,” she recalls. MORE: 23 Cleanest Food Choices You Can Make When she heard that Prevention was looking for busy women to help test Fit in 10: Total-Body Transformation, a new fitness program designed to help you tone up and lose weight with only 10 minutes of simple strength training a day, she decided to sign up. “I love a challenge, and I threw everything I had at it,” says Joseph. The short routines were easy to fit into her day—before her morning coffee or while pots simmered on the stove—but Joseph was surprised by how much she sweat, especially in the beginning. “It’s tough, but I love feeling myself get stronger and stronger,” she says. By the end of 8 weeks, she couldn’t believe the transformation. MORE: 8 Simple Meditations That Can Change Your Life “My arms are amazing. My butt is amazing. I can even do push-ups like my son, on my toes, and my stomach hasn’t been this flat in years,” she laughs. “It’s really incredible. I feel like I have the body and energy of a 20-year-old.” [block:bean=mkt-book-flexblock-fitin10-conte] So what was the magic change? “Definitely the strength training,” she says. “Before Fit in 10, I was just doing cardio. I had no idea how much strength training can change your body. This is my lifestyle from now on; I’m going to live to 100 or more.”
