A Western Australia mom’s weight-loss transformation has left internet users stunned.
Theresa Hawkins (@itsmeetee__) shared her fitness journey in a reel on Instagram with the text overlay: “Your kids only get one mum.” The mom of three—Skylah-Jane, 10, Kylo-Rain, 7, and Winter-Mae, 6—told Newsweek she had seen the wording on another reel, further cementing the moment she felt most unlike herself.
“As moms, we give so much of ourselves, and sometimes we forget that our kids only get one mom and they deserve the best, happiest version of her,” Hawkins said. “It wasn’t about being perfect, just…being a mom who feels good, present and able to show up in the way I wanted to.”
Feeling uncomfortable in her own skin, Hawkins said she was unsure where to start. Her brother Noah—a personal trainer—was the first person she confided in.
“He helped me restructure how I was feeling and guided me toward prioritizing my health again,” she said. “That support was what helped me take those first steps.”
Noah created a meal plan and a gym routine she could follow without extra decision fatigue. “I ate in a calorie deficit, hit the step count he set for me, and tried my best to get to the gym,” Hawkins said.
Lean meats, vegetables, rice, bread, high-protein foods and healthy fats were all spread across six meals a day, but she didn’t deprive herself, making room for pre-workout snacks and ice cream.
Her steps were set at about 8,000 a day and, in the beginning, she trained in the gym three times per week, focusing mostly on heavy lifting split into upper-body days and lower-body and core days.
And because Hawkins was working long hours, her training happened mostly late at night, after the kids were asleep.
“It was a full grind, but now [it’s] my new normal,” Hawkins added.
Looking back at old photos, the mom of three feels proud of her past self. “My kids are the biggest reminder of how far I’ve come,” Hawkins said. “They see me as the same mom, just a more-improved version of what I always wanted to be.”
Hawkins wasn’t expecting much when she posted the reel. Instead, she received over 507,000 views and hundreds of comments.
“Omg [oh my God] I gasped, this is incredible!” one user wrote.
“Okay, now let me get my jaw from the floor,” said a second.
A third user even called it “the best transformation” they had seen in a while.
“Seeing people’s reactions and having so many women cheer me on has been incredibly encouraging,” Hawkins said. “There’s such a beautiful community out there, and I’m just so grateful that I’ve been able to attract people who feel inspired. I can admit it, I do feel like a total bad*** now!”