‘I feel like myself again!’
The radio personality opens up about her WW journey
Just weeks after announcing she’d embarked on a new health journey, Jackie “O” Henderson reveals she’s dropped an astounding 10kg, with the radio star telling Woman’s Day she’s finally got her confidence back.
“I feel great. I’ve got so much more energy and I don’t walk past the mirror any more and think, ‘My God, how did I get to this point?’” says the 46-year-old.
“I can wear what I want and I finally feel like my old self again.”
SEEKING HELP
The stunning media mogul says she approached lifestyle program WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) in early June this year after her punishing work schedule, uneven sleep cycles and not-sohealthy eating habits left her feeling unhappy with herself.
“My relationship with food has never been a healthy relationship. It’s been very up and down,” Jackie admits. “Breakfast radio isn’t the greatest job for a disciplined food and fitness regime. You’re always so tired by the time you finish the show that the last thing you want to do is go out and exercise, and the last thing you want to do in winter is eat a salad!”
The star admits she was stuck in a rut of endless comfort food eating, and while she’s never aspired to be “stick-thin” like the celebrities she interviews on The Kyle & Jackie O Show every day, she slowly found herself dressing down to hide her figure.
“I was in tracksuits the entire time because I had nothing that would fit me in my closet. I didn’t want to go out anywhere, I was feeling really crappy about myself,” she admits.
That feeling reached a peak last year when she was filming The Masked Singer. “They had to alter all of my clothes so they would fit me.
It was
humiliating. I felt really awful,” Jackie reveals.
“But we didn’t have to do that this year. It was so fun to have my stylist bring in a whole rack of clothing and me be able to fit into all of them. It was such a good feeling.”
She can even play dress-up again with her 10-year-old daughter Kitty!
“She’d raid my wardrobe and pull out all these dresses for me to wear and would say, ‘Mummy, you need to wear this today’ and I’d reply, ‘Baby, I can’t fit into that just yet’ – she was so sick of me wearing dowdy mum clothes because she sees all these beautiful outfits that I used to wear,” Jackie laughs.
JACKIE’S PLAN
After taking the first step and meeting with WW, Jackie was given a plan based on her favourite foods and schedule so it could fit seamlessly into her life.
“I just wanted to hold myself accountable for once. My mum always used to say, ‘ You never stick to anything’ and she was right,’’ says Jackie. “I’d researched a lot of food plans, but as soon as I had that meeting with WW, I instantly felt better about myself. It’s so easy and it doesn’t feel like a crash diet. You can still eat a lot of yummy foods. It’s just about making smarter choices.”
Acknowledging that she’ll never be a size 6, Jackie is more content with just being healthy – with the odd treat here and there, of course!
“I don’t want to be stick-thin. Because if I’m that weight, I’m not eating, it’s not natural for me. And on this I can have a glass of wine and a burger, and still stay within my point limit,” she says. “Carbs and wine are two of my favourite things in life, so when someone tells me I can have those two things and still lose weight, I am on board!’’
‘I just wanted to hold myself accountable for once’