Three years on from the show, looking in the mirror, Justine does a double-take. “Is that me?” she laughs, checking out a physique that’s more like a model than the cuddly cook we knew on My Kitchen Rules three years ago.
“When I saw these clothes I just thought, ‘No way am I going to fit into that!’ They looked so narrow and small, but I did!”
Not only is the dump-truck driver from Western Australia sporting a short skin-tight dress for the first time ever, she has also lost a whopping 55kg in just 12 months!
The MKR star who competed with friend Angela in 2012, is almost half her size after deciding to commit to a strict Paleo diet when her dad suffered a stroke last year.
“I thought he was going to die in front of me,” she recalls. “His blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels were through the roof, and it was then I decided I had to do something about my health.”
Justine couldn’t look happier with her whopping 55kg weight loss!
The 46-year-old didn’t have to look far for inspiration. “When I was on My Kitchen Rules, Pete Evans always used to go on about how bad sugar is, so I cut it out completely from my diet.”
In just two weeks, Justine shed 7kg from her then 122kg frame, but it was no easy feat.
“It made me miserable. The first five days I had major headaches and I was ready to kill someone. I thought, ‘Why am I bothering?’ ” she Justine. “But sugar is a white poison. It is deadly and it tastes so good – I was addicted.”
Showing off her new-found confidence, Justine says she is finally ready to date – and she’s already got her eye on someone special. “I’ve decided I’m going to take the bull by the horns and be brave. There is someone I like and I told him recently how I felt, so watch this space!”
Read all about Justine’s incredible weight loss and get the details on the diet that helped her achieve it, only in Woman’s Day, on sale April 27.
