The 70-year-old, who stood at 5'3", weighed 200 pounds after years of mindless snacking and was on blood pressure medication.
Fast-forward eight years, and MacDonald is a 78-year-old fitness influencer with 1.9 million followers who can hip thrust 235 pounds.
MacDonald started going to the gym five times a week, where she would do 15 minutes of cardio on a machine, followed by free weights.
MacDonald shared some of her biggest tips for getting fit and losing weight at any age.
I knew I wanted to lose weight, but I wanted also to get strong," she said.
Persons:
—, Joan MacDonald's, MacDonald, Joan MacDonald, 45lb, I'm, I've, it's, Will McLaren, MacDonald didn't, You've
Organizations:
Service, Business, Centers for Disease Control, Research, Preventive Medicine