After realising that cardio was only adding to her fatigue and hunger after giving birth to her daughter Banks in 2018, the 32-year-old mum-of-two traded in the treadmill for a weights rack.
“I was thinking I don’t need to do heavy weights because if I do heavy weights I’ll bulk up. I tend to build muscle fast,” she told Women’s Health.
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It didn’t take long before she realised she’d been approaching fitness the entirely wrong way. “I’m lifting and squatting and using a barbell with lots of weight on it, and I’ve never felt so strong but lean.”
Not to mention, weight training gets results fast – an important factor when you’re running around after two kids under the age of eight. “This is such a different, more efficient way of working out,” she added.
Another area of Hilary’s life she completely overhauled? Her eating regime. She recruited the help of a ‘flexible diet coach,’ who customises a weekly menu based on the things she considers non-negotiable (mainly, wine and chocolate-covered almonds.)
“He basically counts your macros for you—and it’s been amazing because it’s basically like a mathematical equation that I just follow, and it’s been really successful for me,” she said. Essentially, she’s become more mindful about what she’s eating and when - concentrating on minimising her carb intake and upping healthy fats.
“I had no idea how much I was eating throughout the day, snacking,” she says. “I lost 4.5kg and I was not starving myself, and just eating things that I like and being more conscious."
"I’m the first person to be like, 'I hate when you tell me what to do.' The second someone tells me ‘You can’t have wine,’ I’m like, ‘I want all the wine,’” she added. “It’s been cool to retrain my mind and figure out that this works. I can eat normally and live normally and enjoy food, but still get the results I’m looking for.”
