At age 34, Jessica Hay can confidently say that determination has been the key to her success. The new Instagram fitness star is a keen long distance runner with a social media following in the tens-of-thousands, as she works to empower other Australians to achieve a happier and healthier life. Her ambition is to inspire people that against all odds, with determination and the right support, many obstacles can be overcome.
But Hay is not your ordinary health and wellness role model. At the end of 2016, Hay weighed almost 200 kilograms.
“I started to become overweight in my 20s,” Hay tells SBS. “Then I had my son in July 2015. I had a really bad C-section with him and the operation hit a lot of nerves. For a while after the surgery, I found it hard to be so active again. It was also the season of whopping cough. I didn’t go out and the weight started piling on.”
Hay says the more weight she put on, the harder it became to stay active. And so, at age 32 years, she began a vicious cycle of weight gain that was accompanied by a spiralling decline in self-esteem.
“I ate myself into a ridiculous weight. I was eating my emotions,” explains the mother of two. “It’s an awful feeling to do that – you experience a deep sense of shame about yourself that you never want to feel again.”
That was, until Hay experienced what she calls a ‘make or break moment’ in December last year. Standing on the scales, she looked down to see she was only a few bad meals away from weighing 200 kilograms.
“When I was confronted with that figure, it was overwhelming and scary.”
Right then and there, she committed to putting everything she had into becoming healthy again and decided, to partake in a parkrun: exercise that was local, affordable and achievable.
“I thought ‘I’ll just try and do it’…I felt a sense of achievement that I had done it and started to run. It was a real reward. Then, the next week, I went back and knocked off eight minutes from my time. I realised that this – running – was something I could do where I would be challenging no one but myself. So I kept on going back.”
Jess Hay participating in her local parkrun. Source: Supplied
Since then, she’s discovered a passion for running, has successfully lost almost six dress sizes and, armed with sheer determination, is currently training to complete a 10 kilometre run at the Melbourne Marathon this October.
“I don’t call it a weight loss journey anymore. I call it ‘the marathon journey’ because what I am doing now – running – is helping me to get healthier and lose weight, and in doing that achieve an epic goal at the end.
Not only has Hay’s health improved as a result of her newfound passion for running but her wellbeing has rapidly increased. Running has improved her mental health, restored her sense of confidence and instilled a sense of belonging in her community.
Most importantly, she adds, she is happier within herself as she continues to set a healthy example for her family.
“I’ll come home from a run and my four-year-old will say to me: ‘mummy did you go running?’ It’s an amazing feeling to hear that from my child. I feel there is a positive ripple of healthy habits moving through my entire family.”
While Hay has her eye on the main marathon prize in October, she makes it clear that her ‘marathon journey’ won’t end as she crosses the finishing line.
“This isn’t a phase now – this is something that is now my way of life. Running is something that’s going to always keep me healthy,” the Melbourne local says.
“The thing with exercise and good health is that you don’t have to beat anyone at anything – you are only challenging yourself." Source: Supplied
So what advice does this new wellbeing advocate have for others, struggling to find the confidence and will to commit to a lifestyle change?
“You’ve got to want it yourself. I can’t make you do it – no one could have made me exercise or eat better at the time.”
“The thing with exercise and good health is that you don’t have to beat anyone at anything – you are only challenging yourself. And once you start feeling better within yourself, you will also start to feel mentally, physically and emotionally strong.”
In August, Medibank launched Free + Active, their commitment to get Australians to get together and get moving. Medibank’s goal is for 1.5 million Aussies to feel happier, healthier and more connected through taking part in Free + Active in the next five years.
Update on Jessica Hay's recent Melbourne Marathon 10km effort: she smashed it!
